Joe Barrett's stunning victory fueled Christian Brothers Academy, ranked No. 1 in NJ and No. 5 nationally, to one of the greatest performance in course history as the Colts ran away with its second straight title at Saturday's Eastern States Championship race at the 50th Manhattan College Invitational at muddy Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
Barrett, a junior, stopped the clock at 12:13.6 to win a red hot duel with Peyton Shute of Gateway/Woodbury, who was second in 12:18.1, to spark CBA's high octane machine to a 12:44.2 average!!!
That's No. 2 all-time on the legendary 2.5-mile layout behind the 12:32.76 run by Fayetteville-Manlius of NY in 2014.
The times by Barrett and Shute were among the fastest ever run on the historic course, which has been used for championship meets since 1957!!!
The 12:13.6 by Barrett places him tied for No. 13 on Vanny's all-time list and he's now the sixth fastest NJ runners in course history. Shute, a senior, moved into No. 28 all-time and No. 11 among NJ runners on the course. Shute also broke the South Jersey record of 12:20.5 that was set 36 years ago by the great Jason DiJoseph of Paul VI in 1987.
"Last year, Joe learned a lot from Nick Sullivan (former teammate) about hard work and racing,'' said CBA coach Sean McCafferty. "This year, Joe is learning to win. He has become a great leader. This 12:13 is a powerful statement. He wasn't concerned about the conditions.''
New Jersey's Top 12 All-Time at Van Cortlandt Park (2.5mi)
- Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict's Prep, 11:55.4 (overall course record), 2011 (Chez also ran 11:58.7 in 2012)
- Jackson Barna, Ridge, 12:04.8, 2021
- Joe Rosa, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 12:03.8, 2009 (course record for 2 years)
- Jim Rosa, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, 12:08.7, 2009
- Craig Forys, Colts Neck, 12:10.7, 2006 (course record at the time/lasted for 1 race)
- Marco Langon, Bridgewater-Raritan, 12:13.0, 2021
- Joe Barrett, CBA, 12:13.6, 2023
- Liam Murphy, Allentown, 12:15.2, 2019
- Brad Hudson, North Hunterdon, 12:15.7, 1983 (course record at the time)
- Edwin Rutto, St. Benedict's Prep, 12:15.7, 2014
- Brian Leung, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, 12:17.9, 2007
- Peyton Shute, Gateway/Woodbury, 12:18.1, 2023
COLTS RUN WILD
CBA certainly made another strong statement with its second straight Eastern State title as the Colts put their top five in the top 20 on their way to the 12:44.2 average and a convincing 51-128 victory over runner-up La Salle College of Pa. CBA's spread from 2-7 was just 25 seconds.
This is the 19th Eastern State title for CBA, and eight of those championships have come since 2009.
CBA's scorers were all under 13 minutes!!!
They were Barrett (first in 12:13.6), Alex Kemp, 12th in 12:45.7, Conor Clifford, 14th in 12:50.6, Alex Mastroly, 17th in 12:54.8, and Wyatt Falkowski, 19th in 12:56.4.
CBA coach Sean McCafferty was very pleased with way his guys ran.
"Racing in those conditions is never easy,'' said McCafferty. It was muddy, cold and incessantly raining. These boys did exactly what we asked of them and pushed through. This adversity teaches them a lot. We welcome more of it.
For some perspective on just how fast CBA's 12:44.2 average is - CBA's former school record average at Vanny was 12:44.4, which came in 2013 and was the course record at the time. CBA's third fastest average of 12:44.6 came in 2012, and the 2011 CBA team that won the Nike National Championship averaged 13:01.2 at Van Cortlandt.
Additionally, the 2013 CBA squad that averaged 12:44.4 at Vanny went on to average a course record 15:52.2 at Holmdel Park when the Colts won the Meet of Champions title.
So based on those numbers and factoring in the conditions on Saturday, it would be surprising if CBA's current pack doesn't smash the Holmdel CR average this season. They are that talented, and could just be the best team in NJ history. Time will tell!
More NJ in Eastern States Race
Brenden McMahon of Ridge HS also finished in the top ten, running 12:34.3 for eighth place in this super deep race to lead Ridge, No. 5 in the state, to 10th place in the standings with 272 points and a 13:25.8 average. No. 11 ranked St. Peter's Prep was 14th with 326 points and an average of 13:36.1.
Ridge's lineup included McMahon, 8th 12:34.3, Dev Patel, 42nd 13:15.7, Matthew Fukushima 62nd 13:29.3, and Dmitry Cole 71st 13:35.5. Displacers were Justin Breivogel, 118th 14:14.1, and Edward Condolon 142nd 14:32.8.
St. Peter's lineup included Tommy O'Brien, 25th 12:58.6, Aidan Prucher, 43rd 13:17.3, Liam Rocks 74th 13:37.4, Ivan Rocks 81st 13:43.1, Colin Rutledge 133rd 14:24.1. Displacers were Abraham Went, 166th 15:07.9, and Alex Giattino 170th 15:12.7.