Eureka senior Hannah Long qualified for the third time to compete in the 36th annual Foot Locker Cross Country Championships National Finals.
Long recently won her third consecutive Missouri state cross country championship.
The national race will be held Dec. 13 at Morley Field, Balboa Park in San Diego, Calif.
Long finished sixth at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championship Midwest Regionals held Saturday (Nov. 29) in Kenosha, Wis. That finish earned her an automatic invitation to compete in the national finals. The top 10 girls in the seeded races qualified to compete against runners from the South, Northeast and West Regional meets in the national finals.
Long’s time in the 5,000-meter run was 17 minutes, 37 seconds. The course had muddy conditions. The temperature was 40 degrees.
Anna Rohrer, of Mishawaka, Ind., won the Midwest Regional with a time of 16:57. Lauren Gregory, of Fort Collins, Colo., placed second in 17:27, and Maryjeanne Gilbert of Peoria, Ill., placed third in 17:29.
