Manhattan Invitational ready for its 2017 run at VCP

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

The Manhattan Invitational has a storied history in New York City and annually serves so many high schools that it is a cross country equivalent of the Penn Relays. 

There are 42 races extending from 9:40 a.m. Saturday until past 4 p.m. Thousands of runners will complete Van Cortlandt Park's 2.5-mile course. 

The two biggest news-making races are the Eastern States Championships. This is where legends are made.

The boys go at 2:15 p.m. and feature US#8 Christian Brothers Academy NJ, US#11 Green Hope NC and US#20 Fayetteville-Manlius NY. Some of the top runners in East, including Dalton Hengst (McDonogh School MD), Josh Hoey (Bishop Shanahan PA) and Nathan Lawler (Pittsford Mendon NY) will vie for fastest-of-the-day honors.

Manhattan is also the place that the Fayetteville-Manlius girls have typically come to assert dominance, scorching a path from Van Cortlandt Park to Portland, Ore. and Nike Cross Nationals. 

F-M has won eight of the past 10 Eastern States girls championships. Last year, the Hornets scored 34 points.

Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland NY is in the Varsity C race but may have the best chance at taking down Jessica Lawson's girls course record of 13:53.9 in 2015. Tuohy recently ran 14:06.9 on the 2.75-mile course at the Grout Invitational and won the race by 96 seconds.

A ninth victory this year would put the school one win away from Saratoga Springs' record 10 Eastern States wins.

Christian Brothers of Lincroft, N.J. has won the Eastern States boys title five times in the past eight years. 

RunnerSpace will have a live finish-line feed all day that can be viewed from DyeStat.com and chief photographer John Nepolitan will be on hand to shoot the finishers.

2016 PHOTOS - Sub Varsity | Girls Varsity | Boys Varsity | Girls Eastern States | Boys Eastern States

For a list of Manhattan records, check HERE.