Ludden Harrier

September 22, 2006                                                                                                              Edition No. 4

Syracuse, New York – There is something to be said about moral victories. No, they aren’t real victories that will be seen in the wins and losses column of any sports page. Moral victories won’t win you any titles. But if you could have heard the voice of one of the opposing coaches during Wednesday’s race, you’d have learned in a hurry that the Eagles performance was one of beauty and that good things will be arriving soon for the young harriers from J-E.

The final tally on Wednesday’s wild weather day was Westhill 17 – JE 44, and Bishop Ludden 25 – JE 31. The race versus Westhill, N.Y. State’s # 3 squad in Class B was going to be a difficult task for the Eagles to overcome. The Eagles’ strategy was to focus on Bishop Ludden, a team that J-E has handled quite easily over the last twenty years or so. "The rivalry really got it’s beginning when current J-E coach Todd Wolfanger was the Bishop Ludden Cross Country Coach for a few years" said J-E Coach Roman, "my boys always wanted to show Coach Todd that they were in shape and that he was crossing into enemy territory by coaching for Ludden. "More recently, a coaching legend named Jerry Smith has taken the reigns of Bishop Ludden, and the rivalry continued" said Roman, "because Jerry is a legend in this area, and to beat a Jerry Smith coached team is not something to take lightly". Last fall, entering into Sectional competition, it was predicted that Ludden would beat the Eagles by a narrow margin, and this infuriated the J-E Harriers. The Eagles eventually spanked Bishop Ludden at sectionals by 60 points…….

The scene was all set……the racers had warmed up, the Eagles’ warm up contained a focus not seen recently by the squad, the sky had let loose a barrage of cold rain that would pierce the skin of the pumpkins that would soon be gracing the lawns of central New Yorkers, the coaches had given their pep talks, and all that was left was the start of the race. The race began with Westhill, Bishop Ludden, and the Eagles from J-E getting out furiously, everyone knowing that the race could be lost early on.

Ludden was definitely the favorite in the race, as they returned their entire squad from the 2005 season. From early prognostications, the Black Knights were going to be at least ten-point victors over the Eagles. Unfortunately for the Gaelic Knights, no one told the Eagles that they should lay down and play dead. "We entered the meet with one major goal, and that was to upset Bishop Ludden, a team that on paper was better than J-E" said J-E Coach Roman.

As the race progressed, it was obvious that the Eagles were running an inspired race. As the harriers reached the halfway point of the race, Jordan-Elbridge held a solid four point lead. With 1000 meters to go, J-E was clinging to a two point lead, only to have Bishop Ludden’s Nick Barletta pass both of J-E’s top two runners, Jeff Donohue and Donato Direnzo. Barletta’s surge was just what Ludden needed, and was a 3-point swing in the score. At about the same juncture of the race, Bishop Ludden’s fourth man, Dave Gorman pulled away from J-E’s pack of four and went on to hold the pivotal 13^{th position in the race. "If Jeff held on to second place, and Jake (Griffin), Shelby (Brayton), and Mike (Marrero) hold their spots, J-E wins the meet 27 – 29" said the Eagles Coach Roman. "We put our sixth runner across the line before Bishop Ludden’s fifth, which is awesome". "I have to say, though, that we gave Ludden a huge scare and forced them to beat us". "We didn’t lose the race, they won it through hard work". "If you could have heard the Bishop Ludden Coach screaming to his runners: "I hope you have some tricks up your sleeves now boys" and "we’re behind, you’ve gotta move up"! "We definitely got their attention.}

So overall, J-E is saddled by two losses, but the affects of this meet is going to stay with the Eagles for a long time. "We came together as a team yesterday and I doubt that we will return to the listless, unmotivated, non-passionate team that we were in our first two meets" said Roman. "Remember, the headline from Friday’s meets was "Just Like Kissing Your Sister". "We have turned the corner and some solid results will hopefully follow".

So overall, J-E is saddled by two losses, but the affects of this meet is going to stay with the Eagles for a long time. "We came together as a team yesterday and I doubt that we will return to the listless, unmotivated, non-passionate team that we were in our first two meets" said Roman. "Remember, the headline from Friday’s meets was "Just Like Kissing Your Sister". "We have turned the corner and some solid results will hopefully follow".