Vestavia Hills junior distance runner Ethan Strand will have a chance to become a national champion.
Strand finished in sixth place with a time of 15:07 at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship South Regionals on Nov. 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina, earning an automatic invitation to compete in the National Finals on Dec. 14 in San Diego at Balboa Park.
The top 10 finishers advanced to nationals.
Strand is the first Alabamian to qualify for the boys championship race since Hoover’s Robert Bedsole in 2004. Strand also is the first Vestavia Hills runner to advance to nationals.
Strand will compete against 39 other runners from across the country who qualified at the South, Northeast, Midwest and West regional Foot Locker meets.
Strand has won the past two Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 7A state cross-country titles, including this fall when he completed the 5K race in 15:18.58.
A live webcast of the national race can be viewed at footlockercc.com at noon CST Saturday.
