Northern Burlington junior Liliah Gordon earned a trip to Foot Locker Nationals with a 7th-place finish at Northeast Regionals Saturday in Boston.
Gordon ran 17:51 over 5,000 meters at Franklin Park and was the top New Jersey finisher in the 45th annual Foot Locker Northeast Regional.
The top 10 finishers in each of four regional races qualify for the Foot Locker National Championships Dec. 9 at Balboa Park in San Diego.
She became the first South Jersey girl to place in the top 10 and qualify for nationals in seven years, since Mainland Regional’s Alyssa Aldridge won the 2016 race. She went on to place 13th in San diego.
Gordon is the second Burlington County Foot Locker national qualifier and the first since Cherokee’s Megan Lacy placed 3rd in the 2010 race at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
She joins Brittany Sedberry of Ocean City in 2004, Chelsea Ley of Kingsway in 2008, Briana Gess of Haddonfield in 2013 and Alyssa Aldridge of Mainland Regional in 2015 as the 5th girl from South Jersey to qualify for nationals as a junior.
Paul VI senior Shalean McNally was the 2nd finisher from South Jersey in 16th place in 18:31, just 15 seconds out of the top 10.
Gordon and McNally both placed in the top 25 last year, Gordon in 20th in 19:16.1 at Van Cortlandt park and MCNally 23rd in 19:L22.4.
Zariel Macchia of William Floyd High School of Mastic Beach on Long Island’s south shore in Suffolk County, N.Y., won the race in 17:13. Macchia, a member of the U.S. junior team that competed at the Pan Am Games, has run 4:47.00 for the full mile and 10:08.50 for two miles.
2023
*Liliah Gordon [Northern Burlington], 7th [17:51]
2016
Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg.], 1st [17:40.3]
2015
Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 5th [17:44.2]
*Alyssa Aldridge [Mainland Reg,.], 6th [17:47.8]
2013
*Briana Gess [Haddonfield], 5th [17:43.2]
2011
Holly Bischof [Bishop Eustace], 4th [18:24.9]
2010
Megan Lacy [Cherokee], 3rd [18:08.0]
Megan Venables [Highland], 4th [18:11.0]
2009
Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 3rd [18:33.1]
Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], 5th [18:36.4]
2008
*Chelsea Ley [Kingsway], 5th [18:08.3]
2007
**Chelsea Ley, [Kingsway], 10th [18:33.1]
2004
*Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 10th [18:33]
2003
**Brittany Sedberry [Ocean City], 2nd [18:16.4]
2001
Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 2nd [18:07.8]
1998
***Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], 17th [18:36]
1982
Michelle Rowan [Washington Township] 2nd [17:28.7]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 