Group aims to save Foot Locker National HS Cross Country meet in Balboa Park

The Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships — an iconic Balboa Park event drawing future Olympians for almost 50 years — has ended, the company said Thursday, shocking fans and athletes nationwide.

But behind the scenes, a group including Santee’s Tracy Sundlun and led by Olympian Jorge Torres of Boston, is trying to save the event for elite high school runners.

Sundlun, a founder of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon Series that began in San Diego, told Times of San Diego that he’d heard Foot Locker was going to let go of the meet a while ago.

And since then, he said, “we’ve been working on this.”

In a phone chat, Sundlun said he’s only a soldier in the effort to find an underwriting sponsor, maybe a “sergeant,” but that Torres was the leader.

In a phone interview, Torres said he was grateful for Foot Locker’s role in showcasing prep runners for 45 years and has been working for two weeks on keeping the national meet in Balboa Park and regional qualifying events as in the past.

Torres, one of only two boys to run in four Foot Locker Cross Country nationals, later ran the 10,000-meter run for America at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Among the many people shocked at the Foot Locker news was Steve Brand, the Union-Tribune sportswriter who covered preps for decades and still freelances for the paper.

“It is devastating for the sport in general and San Diego particularly,” Brand said via email. “It was the only true national high school championship and the San Diego running community embraced it.”

In a post Thursday morning, Foot Locker said it ended the event “after thoughtful and careful consideration.”

“As we look to the future, this strategic decision reflects our ongoing commitment to evaluating where we can make the most meaningful impact for our business, our customers, and the communities we serve, including the running community.”

This spring, Foot Locker was acquired by Dick’s Sporting Goods. Queries to both companies were not immediately returned.

“As the longest running cross country race in the nation,” said the Foot Locker post, “it has brought together generations of runners, coaches, families and fans and helped build one of the most inspiring communities in high school sports.”

Meanwhile, the sportswear company Nike continues to operate its own high school cross country event.

But Brand notes that the two meets were not similar.

“Nike stressed teams, Foot Locker individuals,” he said. “The Nike course isn’t nearly as historic as Balboa Park, weather has been a big problem for them but not for Foot Locker.”

Brand added: “It’s a sad day for both the sport and the city. Maybe if the U.S. military had stepped up and paid for everything, it might have lasted long. That’s the kind of sponsor they needed to survive.”

This story will be updated.