In one of the greatest distance duels ever, Edward Cheserek of
St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.) used a powerful finishing kick to nip Futsum Zeinasellassie of
North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) by a mere 1 second on Saturday to win the prestigious Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship in San Diego.
Cheserek was timed in 14 minutes, 51.5 seconds, while Zeinasellassie's time was 14:52.1.
Cheserek, a junior, set a course record at all seven of his previous meets this year. However, the Balboa Park record (14:36), which was set in 1985 by Reuben Reina, remains intact. Cheserek's previous closest victory had been by almost 25 seconds.
"Next year, maybe I will break the course record," Cheserek said on the race's
Facebook page.
The girls title was won by Molly Seidel of
University Lake (Hartland, Wis.) in 17 minutes, 21.4 seconds. Seidel came from behind to win by 2 seconds over junior Erin Finn of
West Bloomfield (Mich.).