Above: Watch Highlights from the Boys Eastern States Championship
Hidden in the excitement last week were a few standout performances deserving recognition and praise.
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Pennsylvania Thunderous at Manhattan College Invite
On Saturday, Pennsylvania teams and athletes braved the weather conditions and took Manhattan by storm again.
La Salle College High School finished second to US #5 Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) in the Eastern States Championship, again displaying that they're among the best teams in the Northeast.
Over the 4000m course, La Salle averaged 13:01 (16:15 5K pace), with Cole Casadei leading the way. Casadei arguably had the best high school race of his career. He finished fourth overall with his electric 12:28.30. He made up a ridiculous amount of ground in the final 1k.
Top 10 Finishers
| PLACE | VIDEO | ATHLETE | TEAM | MARK | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Joe Barrett | 11 | Christian Brothers Academy | 12:13.60 | 1 | |
| 2 |  Peyton Shute | 12 | Co-op Gateway / Woodbury | 12:18.10 | ||
| 3 |  Steven Hergenrother | 12 | Ridgefield High School | 12:24.50 | ||
| 4 |  Cole Casadei | 12 | La Salle College | 12:28.30 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Jason Parra | 12 | Millikan (SS) | 12:28.50 | 3 | |
| 6 |  Chris Larnard | 12 | Boston College High School | 12:33.50 | 4 | |
| 7 |  Tamrat (Tam) Gavenas | 11 | Phillips Academy Andover | 12:33.80 | ||
| 8 |  Brenden McMahon | 11 | Ridge HS | 12:34.30 | 5 | |
| 9 |  Justin Landis | 10 | North Penn | 12:41.90 | 6 | |
| 10 |  Emmett Johnson | 11 | St. Johnsbury Academy | 12:45.10 | 7 |
The boys who beat him? US #8 Joe Barrett, US #37 Peyton Shute, and US *HM Steven Hergenrother. If you want to start putting your name in the national spotlight, that's how you do it.
Also notable, Justin Landis returned to the North Penn line-up. It was the first time he had raced since September 9th, but he didn't miss a step. He finished ninth overall in the Eastern State Championship, just 13 seconds back from Casadei. His return helped lead North Penn to an eighth-place finish.
Council Rock South finished 15th.
Other Quick Notes:
- La Salle Freshman boys go 1-2-3-5-7 to dominate the Freshman Boys D Race.
- North Penn Freshman boys go 1-2-4-13-19 to win the Freshman Boys E Race.
- Joseph Walker finishes 12th in the Varsity A Race, leading Father Judge to a fifth-place finish.
Ryan Pajaks Runs PA #3 All-Time Mark
This one was overshadowed by Drew Griffith's PA State Record run at the MileStat Invitational, but it deserves commendation.
At the Mingo Classic on October 12th, Ryan Pajak ran a ridiculous 14:40.51 to break the course record and set the new PA #3 All-Time mark.
No one knows that course better than Pajak; it is his home course. He is the only person in the history of the course to break 15 minutes. Actually, he is the only person in course history to run faster than 15:10.
And that's certainly saying something when you look at the prestige of the course's all-time list, which features multiple state champions.
Ben Bumgarner, the 2017 PIAA 2A State Champion, only ran 15:41 on that course. He is fifth all-time in course history.