An exciting boys cross country race unfolded Wednesday afternoon as Jordan-Elbridge did just enough to hold off Westhill by a score of 27-29.
This was a stark contrast to the girls meet, where the Warriors, newly reinforced this season with some highly-talented transfers, roared to a 17-39 victory over the Eagles.
In that boys race, J-E proved strong at the front in an exciting four-way race to the finish. Greg Bader beat Steve Slonosky to the line, each finishing in 14 minutes, 34 seconds, while Westhill’s Casey Bunce edged Jack Gugel for third place, both clocking 14:35.
This gave the Eagles enough points to withstand the Warriors’ surge that began with Jon Moore getting fifth place in 15:03. Will Down and Peter Lynch each finished in 15:06 as Mitch Lamb took eighth in 15:08.
Still, J-E could win if it had the next two finishers – which it did. The work of Carlin Coomey and Scott Sullivan proved decisive, as Coomey took ninth place in 15:17 and Coomey (15:30) wrapped up J-E’s victory.
For this season, Westhill’s girls team combined with Bishop Ludden, giving the Warriors a pair of Betsy Black and Jessica Curry. Together, they went 1-2 against J-E, Black winning as both posted times of 17:21, as did Lissa DiPaola.
J-E’s Phebe Alley led her side, finishing fourth in 18:20, but Susan Lopez (18:57) and Caroline Black (19:04) gave the Warriors the clinching points. Courtney Hourigan was seventh in 19:10, just ahead of teammate Jessica Salisbury (19:12), as J-E’s Brianna Byrnes (19:26) topped Claire Sheen (19:42) for ninth place.
