Virginia's top ranked boys and girls cross country teams from Midlothian will be racing on Saturday against the top teams in the Northeast in the Eastern States Championship division at the Manhattan College Invitational. In our MileSplit affiliate site in New York, ArmoryTrack.com's meet preview, the Midlothian boys were ranked as the #2 fastest team coming into the meet based off the famous Tully Runners speed ratings at a 177.4 speed rating behind Christian Brothers Academy of New Jersey at a 178.4 speed rating. The Midlothian boys program has never ran this fast at this point of the season as the Trojans ran last Saturday nearly putting six runners under 16 minutes on the 5K course at Great American. The Midlothian girls made history and rocked the foundation of the New York girls dominance in high school country back in 2006 when they won the title at Manhattan. Could the Midlothian boys be primed to pull off such a monumental feat?
Meanwhile, Midlothian senior Brayden Burleigh is expected to be one of the top 10 individuals in the Eastern States race coming off his 15:20 5K performance at Great American while Jim Rosa from New Jersey is expected to be a heavy individual favorite. Also racing at the historic Van Cortland Park 2.5 mile course will be Atlee's Andrew Catanese, who will be challenging Burleigh later in the season for the Central Region and AAA state title, but on Saturday will be racing in the varsity boys "D" race with his Atlee teammates. Catanese recently ran a 15:25 5K in a Wednesday meet while starting his season out with a 14:52 course record at Fork Union.
The Midlothian girls will be facing a much tougher field in the Eastern States Championship girls' race with the nation's top three ranked programs in the country with defending NXN champions (Harrier US #1) Fayetteville Manlius of New York and recent Great American champions over runner-up Midlo in US #2 Saratoga Springs of New York. Meanwhile, Great Oaks of California makes the trip all the way across the country as the US #3 team to face the best on the East Coast. Midlothian girls might not have the firepower to challenge those three programs, but may be able to get up to race for a fourth place finish and an opportunity to prove themselves as one of the top NXN contenders for the Southeast Region facing the region's top ranked program in US #10 Tatnall of Delaware. Midlothian has an opportunity to move up in the national rankings if they can beat Tatnall or US #14 Queensbury of New York as Midlo's team performance at Great American ranks them ahead of both this season in the speed ratings at a rating of 122.6. Pennsbury High School (127.0 speed rating) of Pennsylvania also will be a tough matchup for Midlo as a potential NXN Northeast qualifier later this season. Midlothian may not have an individual runner crack into the top 15 individually, but will rely on a tight pack of four as seen at Great American which should become five soon with returning All-State runner Marie Johnston working herself back into fitness after being out earlier due to mono.
Course Map - Google map has info on bathrooms, starting line, and much more
Van Cortlandt Park - even more info on races at Van Cortlandt, where to eat, park, and watch the races.