12/07/07 

No one from Connecticut has won the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships since Liz Mueller of Waterford in 1991.

No boy from Connecticut has ever won the race, which started in 1979. Ahmed Haji of Conard-West Hartford (2002) and Kevin King (1980) of Westhill-Stamford finished eighth, the highest state boys finishers.

Donn Cabral of Glastonbury would like to change that at Saturday's 5,000-meter national championship race at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Cabral, a senior, finished 21st in 15:57 last year. He's come a long way since. Two weeks ago, the two-time State Open and New England champion broke a 25-year-old meet record at the Northeast qualifier for Foot Locker, finishing the 5,000-meter course at Van Cortlandt Park in New York in 15:09.