Kingsway senior Kyle Rakitis ran 12:53 on the legendary Van Cortlandt Park 2 1/2-mile course and placed 3rd in the Varsity B race at the Manhattan Invitational Saturday.
Rakitis finished only 14 seconds behind overall winner Devan Kipyego of St. Raphael Academy of Pawtucket, R.I.
Kingsway placed 5th out of 22 schools in Varsity B with 134 points. Walt Whitman of Bethesda, Md., won the team title with 82 points.
Also for the Dragons, senior Ryan Allen placed 12th. Allen, a two-time national scholastic racewalk champion, ran 13:31.
Although Foot Locker East Regionals have always been run on the 5K course at Vanny, the 2 1/2-mile course has been used for every other meet since the mid-1960s.
Here are the five fastest South Jersey times on the Vanny 2 1/2-mile course:
12:20 … Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1987
12:28 … Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 1985
12:30 … Bill Stewart [Cherry Hill East], 1983
12:31 … Jim Smith [Haddonfield], 1979
12:32 … Ed Blakeley [Haddon Township], 1974
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 