Leading off today: Four-time defending Nike Cross Nationals champion Fayetteville-Manlius posted 32 points to run away with first place at the girls Eastern States Championship race yesterday during the Manhattan Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park.

   Jillian Fanning finished second in 14:16.08 over 2.5 miles to lead the F-M effort and easily fight off runner-up Tatnall, Del., (80 points) and Great Oak, Calif., (90). Katie Sischo (fourth, 14:26.38), Christie Rutledge (seventh, 14:52.14), Katie Brislin (eighth, 14:56.51) and Heather Martin (11th, 15:08.43) rounded out the F-M scoring as senior Courtney Chapman continues her recovery from a bout with the flu last month.

   Cornwall senior Aisling Cuffe, the defending champion, took individual honors in 13:58.14 to come within three seconds of the course record.

   Shaker pulled an upset by winning the boys Eastern States division with 102 points to beat Lincroft (N.J.) CBA and Fayetteville-Manlius with 144 and 168 points, respectively. Warwick Valley placed fourth with 183.

   Shaker's top finisher was Michael Librik in 14th place, but his first four teammates across the line were all within 15 seconds of the junior.

   The Bayport-Blue Point boys won the Varsity A class with the day's low score (60), Somers earned the Varsity C championship, St. Anthony's earned Varsity D honors over five N.Y. schools in the top six, Shenendehowa triumphed in Varsity E and Pearl River won Varsity G.

   In the girls divisions, Shenendehowa won Varsity B, Bronxville won Varsity C and Greenwich won Varsity F.

   Brentwood wins: Brentwood, fresh off consecutive trips to the state Class AA final but unranked this fall, beat No. 17 Commack 3-1 in boys Section 11 soccer action as Julio Olivares, Frank Guzman and Davaughn Nimmons found the net.

   Brentwood is 8-1-1 and Commack 9-1. Commack had ended Brentwood's 78-game league unbeaten streak early last season and owned a 1-0 win in their first matchup this fall.

   The bad news for Brentwood is that its string of injuries continued. Marvin Chinchilla sprained an MCL and is unlikely to return until late in the sectional tournament, coach Ron Eden told Newsday.

   The game marked a milestone of sorts for Eden. Factoring in 182 wins as an assistant coach, he's now been part of 400 Brentwood victories in 31 years.

   More soccer: Sophomore Charlie Cosentino scored off a pass from Dan Buerkle midway through the first half for Irondequoit in a 1-0 upset of Class A No. 3 Pittsford Sutherland. Nick Reed and Dylan Scott combined for the shutout.

   In girls Class A intersectional action, Melanie Patterson’s second-half goal led No. 6 Vestal over No.

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13 Liverpool 2-1.

   The Buffalo Nichols girls settled for a 2-2 tie with Mercyhurst, Pa., as Haley Schmurra connected for the equalizer with two minutes to play. Nichols is 10-1-1 with 10 shutouts this fall.

   Off-the-field intrigue: The Times Herald-Record reports former Washingtonville head football coach Tim Johnson filed suit against the district last month in the U.S. District Court in White Plains. Johnson declined to discuss the suit, the paper reported.

   Johnson, now an assistant there Don Clark, contends the district passed him over for the head coaching position last year after fans yelled racial comments at him during a game.

   “This hasn’t affected Tim and I," Clark said. "We have been friends for 10 years. This is between him and the district.”

   Counting down: When we turned the page on the calendar this morning, we began counting down to the final 50 days on New York's fall sports season that wraps up with a Friday/Sunday schedule for football finals at the Carrier Dome on Thanksgiving weekend.

   If seven weeks seems like forever to go in the autumn, let this put matters in perspective for you: The Section 5 football playoffs in Classes AA and D begin next weekend.