Shawn Wilson wanted to book the longest trip of his life.
But first he wanted to break a record that was close to home.
Wilson, a Cherokee senior, accomplished both in the last few weeks of his high school cross-country career.
Wilson set the school record in winning the state Group 4 championships Nov. 17 at Holmdel Park - breaking the mark set in 2001 by Marc Pelerin, now a Cherokee assistant coach. Wilson ran the 3.1 miles in 15 minutes, 40 seconds, surpassing Pelerin's 15:45.
A week later, Wilson finished third in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships, earning a trip to the Foot Locker National championships Dec. 8 in San Diego.
"I've never been farther west than West Virginia," said Wilson, who was named South Jersey's cross-country Runner of the Year by the South Jersey Track Coaches Association. "It's pretty awesome to be going out there."
Wilson skipped the Nov. 21 Meet of Champions, in which he likely would have been one of the favorites, to prepare for the Foot Locker event at Van Cortland Park in New York.
"After I won states and set the school record, I knew the next thing was trying to get to San Diego," Wilson said.
Wilson said he and Pelerin had talked for the last couple of years about Wilson's potential to set the school record.
When it happened, "he was a good sport about it," Wilson said.
Wilson, who has not made a college choice, is shooting for a top-10 finish at Balboa Park in San Diego.
"Shawn's success has come from a combination of talent and hard work," Cherokee head coach Steve Shaklee said. "He's prepared to run his best race yet."
Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com or @PhilAnastasia on Twitter. Read his blog, "Jersey Side Sports," at www.philly.com/
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