State of the Action: There was no question about it, at nearly 40 teams, this was the largest Boys Eastern States race in recent memory. The flow of the race clogged the arteries of Van Cortlandt's backhills, making passing almost impossible for much of the race. It also made the race unpredictable, as the ebb and flow of the race was half the movement of the runner, and half the momentum of the crowd. A matter of seconds could be the difference of forty places in the team scoring. The huge field inflated the scores of all the teams, and made the race unpredictable. It was clear, that to win the race, you had to get out early, and maintain your position.

Downington West was one of the favorites coming in, so much so that they headlined the cover of the Pre-Race Projections. Their top two finishers in the Hoey brothers was no surprise, and their third ran consistent to what he had in the past. The major steps came from their 4th and 5th runners, navigating through the traffic, bringing their score down leaps and bounds at a time. It may have been the highest winning team score in meet history, and Broughton of North Carolina was not far behind. In a race this congested, taking second overall can do wonders. Their 5th man was also the highest placing in the field, closing the gap, and compression, on D-West.

Behind them, we find three regionals teams, Fayetteville-Manlius, Liverpool, and CBA, who ran the same speed ratings as they were predicted at, with minor variations for each. Another NC team, Mount Tabor rounded out the Top 6 slots.

What does this mean? Less than 30 points separated 6th from third. In some cases, that was only a 7 second difference. It proves that this race was loaded, and every minor improvement or regression would explode the team scoring.

Downington West will meet up again with CBA at NXR-NE. Liverpool and FN will meet again at Sectionals, each vying for a berth to States. Mount Tabor and Broughton both travel back home to NC, to race eachother once again. For many, this is just the first round, of a multiple month battle.

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  Eastern States Boys Race - 2015 Manhattan Invitational
  
  

=================================================================================
Rank Team                      Total    1    2    3    4    5   *6   *7   *8   *9
=================================================================================
   1 Downingtown West            177    8    9   28   61   71   73   99
      Total Time: 1:04:20.90
          Average:    12:52.18
   2 Broughton                   192    2   37   44   51   58   70   95
      Total Time: 1:04:54.80
          Average:    12:58.96
   3 Christian Brothers Academ   205   12   42   45   47   59   78 121
      Total Time: 1:05:07.20
          Average:    13:01.44
   4 Liverpool                   209    5   23   34   43 104 114 153
      Total Time: 1:04:49.70
          Average:    12:57.94
   5 Fayetteville-Manlius        228   20   29   30   64   85 120 191
      Total Time: 1:05:06.00
          Average:    13:01.20
   6 Mount Tabor                 232   14   31   32   54 101 152 165
      Total Time: 1:05:10.30
          Average:    13:02.06
   7 St. Anthony's               266   15   17   22 103 109 148 193
      Total Time: 1:05:11.00
          Average:    13:02.20