Shane Brosnan Qualifies for National XC Championship

Shane Brosnan continued the greatest cross-country season ever by a Union Catholic runner when he qualified for the Eastbay National Championships by placing fifth at Saturday’s Northeast Regional Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

The fifth-place finish by the Harvard-bound Brosnan earned him a spot on the starting line for the national championship race on Dec. 11 at Balboa Park in San Diego. Brosnan, one of just 40 runners in the country who qualified for the prestigious race, is the first runner from UC to qualify the national cross-country championships.

Knowing a top 10 finish was needed to secure a spot in the national championships, Brosnan ran a strategically sound race, moving up into the top 10 in the second mile and then finishing with a flourish to place fifht in 15:24.9, which is tied for No. 10 all-time on N.J.’s Van Cortlandt list.

It’s been an amazing season for Brosnan.

In addition to his berth at nationals, Brosnan broke a 23-year-old course record at Warinanco Park when he won the Union County title in 15:28, he won the State Non-Public A title in 15:45, and he earned All-State honors when he finished third in a Union County course record 15:22 at the Meet of Champions at Holmdel Park, tied for No. 11 in course history, to lead the Vikings to its first M of C title, which secured the No.1 ranking in the state for the season.

Brosnan will be doing a lot of traveling in the next couple weeks. Before he heads for San Diego, Brosnan will running with his team at the RunningLane Cross-Country Championships this Saturday in Huntsville, Alabama when the Vikings clash with many of the top teams in the country.