La Salle College PA Boys, Bethlehem Central NY Girls Win Eastern States Team Titles

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Jackson Barna of Ridge NJ bounced back from a DNF a week earlier at the Shore Coaches Invitational and ran the sixth-fastest circuit of all-time on the 2.5-mile Van Cortlandt Park course at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational Presented by Hoka. 

Barna ran 12:04.8 on the way to a victory in the Eastern States Championship race as the Manhattan Invitational, one of the largest regular season meets in the United States, roared back to llife after a cancellation in 2020. The meet welcomed teams from 15 states. 

Barna's winning time trails only two performance by record holder Edward Cheserek (11:55.4 in 2011 and 11:58.7in 2012), Alex Ostberg in 2014 (11:57.4), Bryce Millar in 2014 (12:02.4) and Joe Rosa in 2009 (12:03.8). 

PHOTO GALLERIES by John Nepolitan

Second-place finisher Getachew Hayes from LaSalle Institute NY was second in 12:13.6, good for the No. 13 fastest run in meet history. 

La Salle College High of Pennsylvania pulled out a narrow team victory over Corning-Painted Post NY, 104-112. U-32 of Vermont was third with 146 and Bishop Hendricken RI was fourth with 147. La Salle Academy of Rhode Island was fifth with 154 points and Northeast No. 1, Ridge, was sixth with 165. 

La Salle College, the Northeast region No. 2, had the best finishes at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 and won those matchups against Corning to win the meet. Drew Brill led the effort with his 11th place overall finish (12:49.4) and was joined by Zachary Brill, Ryan McGinley, Will Rau and Josh Lloyd.

Gary Martin of Archbishop Wood PA, one of the top runners in the country, won the Varsity A race in 12:34.6.

Karrie Baloga from Cornwall NY sped away to the best time among the girls with 14:11.0, good for No. 17 on the all-time list. She won the Eastern States Championship girls race by 22 seconds. Freshman Zariel Macchia from William Floyd NY was second in 14:33.6 and a pair of Olympic Trials qualifiers in the women's 800 meters, Juliette Whittaker of Mt. de Sales MD and Sophia Gorriaran from Moses Brown RI, were third and fourth. 

The Bethlehem Central PA girls made it a sweep for Pennsylvania, edging out Ridgewood NJ for the Eastern States team title, 62-66. Corning-Painted Post was third with 90 points. 

Bethlehem Central, located upstate near Albany, had slight advantages over Ridgewood at the No. 3 (13-16), No. 4 (14-17) and No. 5 (18-19) spots. 

Rylee Davis led the way for the Eagles with 15:26.0 for eighth place overall, sixth for team scoring purposes. Annie Bolke, Anna Chrapowitzky, Katherine Bannigan and Maeve Conway contibuted to the win. 

Bethlehem Central prepared for Manhattan by winning the Grout Invitational on Oct. 2.