You want teams that win championships in the top five of our countdown. Both programs featured here have done so. You also want elite players moving onto to the next level. Both programs have that in spades. Especially our next program on the girl’s side. They have perhaps the best high school athlete CNY has ever seen.

4. Cicero-North Syracuse Girls Basketball

When you've had one of the best players ever to play the sport come through your program, you're virtually guaranteed a spot in any Top 10 list.  When you've had future Division I, II, and III All-Americans come through it, it's a gimme.

C-NS girls' basketball coach Eric Smith brought the Northstars' program to the national stage while Breanna Stewart was on the roster.  "Stewie" not only led C-NS to consecutive NYS titles, she also helped start a run of 8 straight Section III championships by winning one in each of her four years of high school.  The program's success also led to invites to national high school tournaments from Arizona, to Philadelphia, to Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Northstars continue to routinely travel out of state today.

Since Stewart graduated, Smith has also coached the likes of McKayla Roberts, a D-II All-American and all-time leading scorer at Le Moyne College, and Beth Bonin, a D-III All-American at SUNY-Cortland.  2020 grad Jessica Cook is just the latest college-bound player from C-NS, on her way to playing for Division I Toledo next season.

C-NS Resume

  • 8 Straight Section III Titles 2009-16; added a 9th in March 2020
  • Won 2 straight NYS Titles in 2011 & 2012
  • National Gatorade Player of the Year Breanna Stewart (4x NCAA Champ and WNBA No. 1 Pick)
  • Other alums include Le Moyne's all-time scoring leader McKayla Roberts, and D-III All-American Beth Bonin at SUNY-Cortland

4. Jamesville-DeWitt Boys Lacrosse

Superstition is a funny thing. When things are going right a routine can seem necessary, but when things go bad, that same routine needs to change. That’s why J-D boys lacrosse head coach Jamie Archer hasn’t made a big deal about small things. He know it takes players to become an elite program in section three.

And elite players have come in bunches at J-D. The Red Rams have ridden backs of these stars to 11 section three championships in the Spectrum News Era and four state titles.

From 2009 to 2016 the Red Rams rattled off eight straight sectional crowns, dominating class B in Central NY. When you have that kind of success Archer says the rest starts to fall in place. The players have seen it, so they definitely believe it when they reach the varsity level.

Success across the whole campus in the SN era was pretty easy to find. Whether it was Archer’s lacrosse program, McKenney and Ike’s boys basketball program or the girls basketball team winning state championships was pretty much the norm.

Tack on the fact that Archer has placed numerous athletes to division one programs, and Syracuse more specifically, the Red Rams laxers have bull dozed their way into our countdown.

J-D’s Resume

  • Four State Championships
  • Back-to-Back State Titles in 2010 & 2011
  • 11 State Championships in the Spectrum News Era
  • Eight Straight Sect. Three Titles from 2009-16
  • Numerous Players Have Reached D-I Level (Many Going to SU)