GUILDERLAND — For the second year in a row, Brian Rhodes-Devey will be soaking up some sun in December.

The Guilderland all-star cross-country runner will be heading to San Diego to take part in the Foot Locker Nationals on Dec. 9.

Rhodes-Devey qualified for the national meet after a good showing at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals on Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. He covered the course in 15:27.9 to finish seventh overall and clinch a spot. Rhodes-Devey will be joined by friend and rival, Steve Murdock, of Shenendehowa as the only Section II runners to head to San Diego. They join with Tom Gruewenwald of Manlius as the only three runners from New York to go to the national meet.
"I think at Foot Locker," Rhodes-Devey said, "my goal was to qualify for the national meet. I was thinking going into the race to just go with the flow. I ran a very relaxed race.
"I went out and ran strong and with confidence," Rhodes-Devey added. "And I was running with the main pack for the first two miles. It was an enjoyable race, and I felt really good."

The past two weeks have been good for Rhodes-Devey. He had struggled at the state meet — finishing seventh — but came back with a strong second-place showing at the New York Federation Meet two weeks ago.
"I think the state meet was just one of those days," Rhodes-Devey said. "I can’t really explain it"But I rebounded to have a couple weeks of good workouts and I was able to get more confidence."

Last year, Rhodes-Devey was running with tons of confidence, heading into the Foot Locker Nationals. He won the state and Federation meets and had a strong showing at regionals.
"Last year, going out there, I was interested in running well," he said. "This year, I have more experience and more of a feel for it. This year, I’m definitely looking to make a lot more noise. I want to get an All-American spot. I’m looking forward to having a good race out there."

The experience of last year’s meet should bode well for Rhodes-Devey and the other runners from the area.
"Last year, everyone from the Northeast did not have a real feel for the course," Rhodes-Devey said. "It will be our second time out there. We’ll bring knowledge to the table. We want to have a good showing as the Northeastern Team."

It will also be Rhodes-Devey’s last cross-country race as a high-school runner.
"I want to go out with a bang because of that," he said. "Nothing beats going to California."

When he returns from California, Rhodes-Devey will be taking a couple of weeks off from training. And he then will pick up training, though he won’t be participating in indoor track this winter.

Rhodes-Devey will be working with the Guilderland cross-country coach, Bob Oates, and will train for the Junior Nationals, an eight kilometer race in February.
"The top eight will go to the Junior Worlds in Kenya," Rhoses-Devey said. "I watched and followed the race last year, because I had a few friends running. I’ll run eight kilometers in college, so it will be good to get experience to race at a higher level. It’s for guys under 19. So it’ll be good to compete against older guys."

Rhodes-Devey, who will be running for the University of Texas next year, is looking forward to running against college athletes at the Junior Nationals.

Rhodes-Devey then will focus his attention on competing in outdoor track in the spring, but he feels the time off will be good.
"It’s been four strong years of three seasons of running," he said. "The time off, I’ll really enjoy it."

Whatever happens for Rhodes-Devey for the rest of the year, it has already been a successful season.
"I want to go out there and improve my time," Rhodes-Devey said. "I think I can. I’ve improved by 10 seconds on every course that I’ve run last year. I’ve got experience and I should be able to go faster."