Headliner On Broadway

The boys' cross country team from Christian Brothers Academy keeps showing that it is deserving of the nation's No. 1 ranking. On Sunday in the Eastern States Championship race, the Colts would have averaged less than 13 minutes per runner on the 2.5-mile Van Cortlandt Park course had top man Tim Gorman not fallen early in the race.

Gorman still got up and fought back to finish 23rd overall, the fifth scorer for CBA. That finish gave the team 60 points, an easy winner over Fayetteville-Manlius (103), Rush-Henrietta (157), Don Bosco Prep (171) and Bishop Hendricken of Rhode Island (191).

Perhaps the strangest thing about CBA - its inability to grab headlines. That's because a junior from St. Benedict's Prep keeps stealing all the thunder. For the third week in a row, Edward Cheserek has taken down a course record. First it was Garret Mountain, then Holmdel Park and now he has become the first high schooler to run under 12 minutes on the famed Van Cortlandt Park course.

After finishing more than 25 seconds clear of Piscataway's Tim Ball (12:21.02) and more than 50 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Dustin Wilson of Chestnut Hill (12:47.10), Cheserek told Jim Lambert of the Star Ledger that the warm conditions suited him perfectly.

"All last night I kept thinking about what I had to do to get under 12 minutes," Cheserek said. "When I got up today and saw how hot it was out, I knew I could do it. I love running when it's hot."

"Last week's record (14:53 at Holmdel Park) was harder to break, but this means more because of the history of the course here," he added. The old mark was 12:03.80 set by Joe Rosa of West Windsor Plainsboro North in 2009.

On the girls' side, Fayetteville Manlius proved that the CBA boys and Cheserek weren't the only unstoppable force in the Bronx. Averaging nearly 30 seconds better per girl, the nation's No. 1 team had three runners in the top 10, including individual champion Jillian Fanning, and four others in the top 24. Joining Fanning in the top were senior Katie Sischo in sixth and Annika Avery, the only top-25 freshman, in eighth.

The top 10 was a showcase of well-known New York talent with third-place North Shore's Brianna Nerud in second and teammate Samantha Nadel in ninth. The only out-of-stater in the first 10 was Haley Pierce of Tatnall (Del.) in third. Her team had all five scorers among the top 26 finishers to lock down second-place with 83 points, 38 more than FM. North Shore had 105 points followed by Pennsbury (156) and Champlain Valley (165).

The remaining top 10 included Kelsey Margey of Friends Academy (fourth), Lizzie Predmore of Shenendehowa (fifth), Rachel Paul of Sachem East (seventh) and Laura Leff of West Genesee (10th).

Below are all the results from the 2011 Manhattan College High School Cross Country Invitational. This story as well as Sunday's live coverage was produced by Tim Fulton, Brian Hickey (of shakerrunning.com) and Brett Hoover.

Boys' Eastern States Championship
Top 10 Runners
1. Edward Cheserek (St. Benedict's), 11:55.39
2. Tim Ball (Piscataway), 12:21.02
3. Dustin Wilson (Chestnut Hill), 12:47.10
4. George Kelly (CBA of N.J.), 12:47.75
5. Nick Ryan (Fayetteville), 12:50.20
6. Austin Lane (Greenwich), 12:54.10
7. Daniel Galford (Monsignor Farrell), 12:54.54
8. Matt Deyo (Fayetteville), 12:55.00
9. Mike McClemens (CBA of N.J.), 12:56.21
10. Will Bragg (CBA of N.J.), 12:58.13
Full results

Top 10 Teams
1. CBA (N.J.), 60 (13:01.22)
2. Fayetteville-Manlius, 103 (13:11.04)
3. Rush-Henrietta, 157 (13:21.43)
4. Don Bosco Prep, 171 (13:22.89)
5. Bishop Hendricken, 191 (13:29.49)
6. St. Anthony's, 224 (13:30.98)
7. West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 237 (13:35.54)
8. Westfield, 240 (13:33.45)
9. Tatnall, 245 (13:35.39)
10. Salesianum, 266 (13:38.09)

Girls' Eastern States Championship
Top 10 Runners
1. Jillian Fanning (Fayetteville Manlius), 14:03.8
2. Brianna Nerud (North Shore), 14:22.6
3. Haley Pierce (Tatnall, Del.), 14:25.8
4. Kelsey Margey (Friends Academy), 14:35.7
5. Lizzie Predmore (Shenendehowa), 14:40.8
6. Katie Sischo (Fayetteville Manlius), 14:41.8
7. Rachel Paul (Sachem East), 14:45.4
8. Annika Avery (Fayetteville Manlius), 14:49.0
9. Samantha Nadel (North Shore), 14:50.5
10. Laura Leff (West Genesee), 14:57.5
Full results

Top 10 Teams
1. Fayetteville-Manlius, 45 (14:47.30)
2. Tatnall (Del.), 83 (15:14.96)
3. North Shore, 105 (15:25.14)
4. Pennsbury, 156 (15:58.44)
5. Champlain Valley, 165 (16:07.24)
6. Canandaigua, 200 (16:15.22)
7. Sachem East, 209 (16:20.24)
8. Shenendehowa, 212 (16:18.90)
9. La Salle, 236 (16:32.30)
10. Queensbury, 239 (16:35.94)

Boys' Varsity Races
Individual Champions
Boys Eastern States — Edward Cheserek (St. Benedict's, N.J.), 11:55.39
Boys A — Thomas Awad (Chaminade), 12:57.24
Boys B — Mike Marsella (Chariho, R.I.), 12:43.47
Boys C — Stephen Lewandowski (Mountain Lakes, N.J.), 12:59.14
Boys D — Brendan Smith (CBA, N.Y.), 12:50.99
Boys E — Jon Lee (Shoreham Wading River), 13:12.83
Boys F — Konrad Surkont (Stuyvesant), 13:06.47
Boys G — Stephen Bourget (Manhassat), 13:18.65

Team Champions
Boys Eastern States — 1. CBA, N.J., 60 (2. Fayetteville-Manlius; 3. Rush-Henrietta)
Boys A — 1. Collegiate, 107 (2. Chaminade; 3. Warwick Valley)
Boys B — 1. Chariho (R.I.), 61 (2. North Hunterdon; 3. Baldwinsville)
Boys C — 1. La Salle College, 45 (2. Notre Dame BG; 3. Mountain Lakes)
Boys D — 1. Walt Whitman, 45 (2. St. Joseph's Prep; 3. Lincoln-Sudbury)
Boys E — 1. Lowell, 55 (2. Hackensack; 3. Pearl River)
Boys F — 1. St. John the Baptist, 73 (2. Stuyvesant; 3. St. John's Prep)
Boys G — 1. Smithtown, 93 (2. Haddon Township; 3. West Morris Mendham)

Girls' Varsity Races
Individual Champions
Girls Eastern States — Jillian Fanning (Fayetteville Manlius), 14:03.8
Girls A — Tara Hanley (Chatham), 15:33.9
Girls B — Meghan McGovern (North Penn), 14:47.8
Girls C — Talia Guevara (Miller Place), 15:29.9
Girls D — Colette Richter (Mountain Lakes, N.J.), 15:16.6
Girls E — Mary Cain (Bronxville), 14:31.1
Girls F — Rachel Christ (Rumsen Fair Haven), 15:09.4

Team Champions
Girls Eastern States — 1. Fayetteville-Manlius, 45 (2. Tatnall; 3. North Shore)
Girls A — 1. Holy Names, 44 (2. Colonie, 3. North Rockland)
Girls B — 1. North Penn, 70 (2. Niskayuna; 3. Lowell)
Girls C — 1. Liverpool, 114 (2. Baldwinsville; 3. Cornwall)
Girls D — 1. Pearl River, 78 (2. Shaker; 3. St. Anthony's)
Girls E — 1. Bronxville, 53 (2. Suffern; 3. Nanuet)
Girls F — 1. Rumsen Fair Haven, 72 (2. Cicero-North Syracuse; 3. Mount St. Dominic)

Junior Varsity Races
Boys' Individual Champions
Boys A — Scott Zapcic (CBA of NJ), 13:32.34
Boys B — Christian Delgado (Shaker), 13:49.86
Boys C — Dan Luzzi (Westfield), 13:57.45
Boys D — Jack Vanderzee (Queensbury), 14:10.05
Boys E — Will Randall (West Genesee), 14:41.39

Girls' Individual Champions
Girls A — Jenna Farrell (Fayetteville Manlius), 15:12.59
Girls B — Morgan Nobels (Bronxville), 16:46.04
Girls C — Caroline Silverman (Tatnall), 16:43.24
Girls D — Hayley Roberts (La Salle), 17:27.96

Sophomore Races
Boys' Individual Champions
Boys A — Mike Higgins (Don Bosco), 13:35.50
Boys B — Thomas Slattery (Chaminade), 13:47.87
Boys C — Ryan Depinto (Syosset), 13:35.62

Girls' Individual Champions
Girls A — Ekaterina Meringolo (St. Anthony's), 17:19.65
Girls B — Talya Williams (Notre Dame Bishop Gibbons), 16:26.13

Freshman Races
Boys' Individual Champions
Boys A — Quinn Cooney (Chelmsford), 6:05.71
Boys B — Benito Muniz (Carmel), 6:03.16
Boys C — Jake Johnson (Colonie), 6:06.38
Boys D — William Colgan (Green Meadow), 6:03.83
Boys E — Kaushik Pilar (Shaker), 6:12.23

Girls' Individual Champions
Girls A — Emily Carmichael (Thousand Island), 6:57.58
Girls B — Bianca Delucia (Patchford-Medford), 7:14.18
Girls C — Tyra Wynn (Queensbury), 7:02.50
Girls D — Emily Crounse (Shenendehowa), 7:07.86

Intermediate Races
Individual Champions
Boys — Matt Bouthillette (St. Augustine School), 6:26.0
Girls — Juliet Kohli (Mt. Hebron Middle School), 7:06.8