Milling Finishes 27th in Foot Locker National Race

York High School senior Scott Milling followed a ninth-place regional finish in the Foot Locker Cross Coutry Championships with a top-30 mark in Saturday's National Final.

Competing in San Diego, Milling clocked a time of 15:53 to take 27th among the field of 40 runners from around the country. Milling posted a 15:10 to place ninth in the Midwest Regional on Nov. 24 in Kenosha, Wis.

"It went pretty well. My goal was not to go out too hard the first mile and then just to pick off as many guys as I could," Milling said afterward on the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships website. "My goal was to get All-American, but 27th was a good finish for me since I was ninth in my region."

Milling told the website the course at Balboa Park in San Diego was a change of pace from what he's run in Illinois.

"The course is really nice, but, man it's tough compared to the flat courses back in Illinois," Milling said, telling the website the finish was his favorite part of the race.

Milling was part of York's squad which won the school's 28th cross country title in this fall. The team and legendary coach Joe Newton were honored in Springfield last week for the accomplishment.

"What the York cross country team has accomplished is unprecedented in Illinois sports. Congratulations to the cross country team and their coaches—particularly Coach Joe Newton who, with over 50 of exemplary coaching experience, is a legend in the sports community," State Sen. Kirk Dillard said during the team's visit to the Statehouse on Dec. 5.