Harriton High School senior Max Norris will compete for a national cross country championship Dec. 8 in San Diego, having qualified with a top-10 finish in Saturday's regional race, organizers of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships reported.

Norris finished seventh among Northeast boys in the Bronx race, posting a time of 15:49 for 5,000 meters.

The Harriton standout had little margin for error. The 11th-place finisher—first to miss qualifying—was no more than five seconds behind Norris at the end.

Norris's fourth-place finish at states earlier this month was the best ever by a Harriton runner, Lower Merion School District reported.

Ten runners apiece from the Northeast, South, Midwest and West qualify for the championship race in San Diego, which will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern time Saturday, Dec. 8.

Last year's national champion was Newark's Edward Cheserek, who defended his regional title in the Bronx on Saturday with a time of 15:22.