Mass Teams at Manhattan Invite Today

Today is the Manhattan College High School Cross Country Invitational (aka Manhattan Invite), held at Van Cortland Park in the Bronx (not in Manhattan). It is the largest HS cross-country meet in the East, if not in the country, and often establishes the top teams and individuals in the region.

The meet includes 40 separate races, including Eastern States Championship races for boys and girls varsity teams, as well as a number of varsity races for teams that aren't quite at the championship level, and freshman and sophomore races. The varsity races are held over a 2.5-mile course that eliminates part of the field loop from the 5K course that is used for the Footlocker Regional meet. It doesn't eliminate any of the hills, however, and the shorter distance is quite challenging.

In 2003, Belmont's Victor Gras made a splash at Manhattan, running a meet record 12:16. He wuld go on to finish 2nd at the Footlocker Regional race. Newton North competed at Manhattan in 2004 and won one of the eight varsity races that year. That was also the year that we first got to see the dominant Fayetteville-Manlius team, which took the top five places in its race with a spread of 12 seconds from 1-5.

This year there are 14 Massachusetts boys teams, and 9 Massachusetts girls teams attending Manhattan.

Brookline, Oliver Ames, and St. Johns (Shrewsbury) will be competing in the boys championship race, in which Brookline's David Wilson faces Bay State Invite winner Mike Moverman of OA. The rest of the Mass. teams are scattered among the other seven varsity races. Race assignments (for boys races A-G) are shown below:

Lowell (A)
Tewksbury (B)
North Andover (B)
Westford Academy (B)
Whitinsville Christian (C)
Medford (D)
Seekonk (D)
Xaverian (D)
St. Johns Prep (D)
Catholic Memorial (G)
Chelmsford (G)

Lincoln-Sudbury is entered in the girls championship race along with Oliver Ames. It will be intresting to see how Jenna Davidner fares, after running away from the D2 file at last week's Bay State meet.

The other Mass. girls teams are:

Bromfield (A)
Seekonk (A)
Tewksbury (B)
Chelmsford (B)
Westfield Academy (C)
Whitsinville Christian (D)
Lowell (E)

For more information, results, photos, etc. check the link below:

2008 Manhattan Invitational Meet Website