Peyton Shute placed 5th in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals Saturday morning and earned a trip to San Diego for the Foot Locker Nationals.
Shute, a senior at Woodbury, ran 15:08 over 5,000 meters at Franklin Park in Boston and became the first South Jersey boy to qualify for nationals since Mainland’s Kevin Antczak in 2019 and the first from Gloucester County ever.
Shute was in 9th place through the first mile despite getting out in 4:41. He moved up to 5th with a 5:00 second mile.
The top 10 finishers in each race qualify for the Foot Locker National Championships Dec. 9 at Balboa Park in San Diego.
Ryan Pajak of Ringgold High in Monongahela, Pa., the PIAA Class 2A champ, remained undefeated, winning the race in 14:51.
Cherokee senior Nick Kuenkel placed 12th in 15:40 and missed qualifying for nationals by eight seconds. Kuenkel was in 17th place through two miles before moving up to 12th in the final 1.1 miles.
Audubon senior Aiden Williams also had an oustanding race, taking 21st overall in 15:59, best ever finish by an Audubon runner at Foot Locker.
Foot Locker moved from its long-time home at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx to Boston this year. It was at Vanny every year from 1979 through 2022 other than 2009, when the meet was held at Sunken Meadow Park in Smithtown, Suffolk County, on Long Island.
The Northeast Region consists of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C., and U.S. citizens in overseas military installations.
Here’s a look at all South Jersey qualifiers at Foot Locker (aka Kinney / Champs / Eastbay) Northeast Regionals:
Boys
2023
Peyton Shute [Woodbury], 5th [15:08]
2019
Kevin Antczak [Mainland Regional], 4th [15:24]
2015
*Josh Clark [Highland], 4th [15:28.4]
2014
Luke Petela [Haddon Twp.], 2nd [15:33.4]
Shawn Hutchison [Bishop Eustace], 10th [15:45.7]
2013
Lou Corgliano [Hammonton], 9th [15:40.7]
2012
Shawn Wilson [Cherokee], 3rd, [15:42.5]
2008
Brett Johnson [Ocean City], 8th, [15:50.1]
2003
Jonathan Anderson [Cinnaminson, 7th [15:30.4]
2001
Marc Pelerin [Cherokee], 6th [15:40.1]
1998
Nate Miller [Highland], 5th [15:49]
1997
*Murad Campbell [Overbrook], 2nd [15:27]
1988
Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 1st [15:17.6]
1987
*Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 4th [15:47]
Eric Lorenz [Holy Cross], 8th [15:50]
1986
**Jason DiJoseph [Paul VI], 6th [15:55]
1985
Kevin Pumphrey [Highland], 2nd [15:25.6]
Ron Faith [Paul VI] 6th [15:46]
1979
Jim Smith [Haddonfield] qualifier, unknown place [N/A]
Jerry Andrews [Highland], qualifier, unknown place [N/A]
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 