PA traditionally sends a lot of teams to the 'biggest and best' Manhattan Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. This year is no exception. The Hatboro and Saint Basil girls will race in the prestigious Eastern States race against national power Saratoga Springs and other ranked teams. And for the boys, North Penn will race against prevously ranked Warwick Valley NY, Hatboro will be racing against NE#8 Shenendehowa NY, and LaSalle will be in the big race as NE#1 Fayetteville-Manlius NY goes against NE#3 Christian Brother Academy NJ.
Below the preview on the Northeast ranked teams is a list of PA teams participating this year in the Varsity races. The entire seeding list can be found here as a Word document:
The sheer number of athletes is impressive. The precision of putting on consecutive races is remarkable. But the significance of virtually every one of the varsity races is undeniable.
It's not just bragging rights that are on the line. It's rankings. For the first time in the history of this sport, the best boys and girls teams in the US get the chance to race each other in December at the inaugural Nike Team Championships.
Because the Manhattan Invitational traditionally balances the best teams among the races, most of the ranked boys teams will have to depend upon comparisons of average times to make their cases. But the field is so deep this year, that several of the races have significant clashes - two of which have two top ten teams squaring off. But the ranked girls' teams go head-to-head in the Eastern States race at 2:25.
The stats: 10,600 athletes from more than 350 schools from 15 states and the nation's capital. There are 14 varsity races, six JV, nine freshman, five sophomore, and two intermediate.
But stats only scratch the surface. We're talking races that teams have been aiming for all year. Many of the New York teams thought the Manhattan Invitational looked good because it would give them another week of training, and would be a shorter trip than going to North Carolina for Great American a week earlier. They get an assessment of where they are, and then reload and aim for Federations, where a win would establish end-of-season credentials for post-season laurels.
First, the boys Varsity races. Right off the bat, it's a match-up of ranked teams in the Boys A race at 1:03pm. NE#6 Lockport NY gets to face NE#7 Monsignor Farrell NY. Lockport is coming off a defeat at the feet of NE#1 Fayetteville-Manlius NY at the McQuaid Inv in Rochester NY. FM simply set a team time record average of 15:20 for the 3-mile course. And it was raining! Lockport's average was 15:48. Then turn around and watch the start of 1;15 Varsity Boys B where it's former NE#7 Warwick Valley NY facing a challenge from PA's North Penn, always a strong program.
Then it's the big one! NE#1 vs. NE#3.
"The guys are itching to get 'em."
"We're looking forward to it."
If ever there were understatements about the significance of the Boys Varsity C race, it was said this week by Christian Brothers NJ coach Tom Heath and Fayetteville-Manlius NY coach Bill Aris as each looked ahead to his team's race against each other in the Boys C race at 1:27pm. Heath requested the match-up, and now he and XC fans have their wish. It's NE#1 vs. NE#3. CBA, who, if you recall, was the pre-season NE#1. You already know about FM's great race in Rochester. On the same day in north Jersey, CBA posted the 14th fastest team average ever recorded on the Holmdel NJ course at the Shore Coaches Invitational. That's the Groups and All-Groups course, so it sees the best teams and races each year. With five guys under 17, the 16:34 average shows this group is for real. Holmdel is not a fun run.
In the Varsity Boys D race, it's NE#8 Shenendehowa NY. Challenging them will be a strong Hatboro-Horsham PA team. In Race F, former NE#8 Chaminade NJ gets a chance to get back into the rankings with a race against current NE#10 Bishop Hendricken RI. Hendricken won a race in VA this past weekend, while Chaminade was two points shy of beating Guilford CT at Saint Anthony's NY Invitational.
All that action happens between 1 and 2:15pm. And then the fireworks begin.
It's Eastern States girls at 2:25!. There are 11 ranked, or formerly ranked teams in this one race. Obviously, Saratoga Springs NY is the favorite. After their Great American performance, people are talking all-time here. But that's why they run the races, and the back woods of Vanny have seen some amazing things happen in cross country. Challenging Saratoga, and looking for dominance over the rest of the field, will be NE#2 Bay Shore NY, which set a team average meet record at McQuaid. NE#3 Bethlehem Central NY ran great at Great American. But with 154 points, they were way behind Saratoga. California #8 Thousand Oaks was an easy winner last weekend, and will hope to show the east coast teams how deep CA is this year. SE#10 Eleanor Roosevelt MD and NE#10 Unionville didn't race last weekend and both will be looking to make an impression. Also joining the fray will be previously ranked teams Warwick Valley NY, Saint Basil PA, Hatboro-Horsham PA, Morris Knolls NJ, and Columbia NY.
It's 2.5 miles of Vanny x 36 races. Does it get any better than this?
10.600 athletes from over 350 schools from 15 states and Washington, DC
14 Varsity Races
6 JV (4 boys, 2 girls)
5 Sophomore (3 boys, 2 girls)
9 Freshman (5 boys, 4 girls)
2 Intermediate (1 boys, 1 girls)
Boys Varsity A / 1:03 PM
Boys Varsity B / 1:15 PM
Warwick Valley NY
North Penn PA
Boys Varsity C / 1:27 PM
NE#3 CBA NJ
NE#1 Fayetteville-Manlius NY
Bishop McDevitt PA
LaSalle PA
Boys Varsity D / 1:39 PM
Shenendehowa NY
Hatboro-Horsham PA
Boys Varsity E / 1:51 PM
Allderdice PA
Boys Varsity F / 2:03 PM
Boys Varsity G / 2:15 PM
Archbishop Ryan PA
Germantown Academy PA
Lower Merion PA
Girls Eastern States / 2:25 PM
Saratoga NY
Warwick Valley NY
Thousand Oaks CA
St. Basil PA
Unionville PA
Bethlehem Central NY
Bay Shore NY
Hatboro-Horsham PA
Columbia NY
Morris Knolls NJ
Eleanor Roosevelt MD
Varsity Girls A / 2:37 PM
Archbishop Ryan PA
Allderdice PA
Elk Lake PA
Varsity Girls B / 2:49 PM
Nazareth PA
Varsity Girls C / 3:01 PM
Lower Merion PA
Varsity Girls D / 3:13 PM
North Penn PA
Bishop McDevitt PA
Conwell-Egan PA
Varsity Girls E / 3:25 PM
Varsity Girls F / 3:37 PM