Rome shines in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — Local cross country runner Regan Rome competed in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Finals in San Diego, Calif. on Saturday.

Rome, a junior at Dallas High School, finished 19th out of 38 runners with a time of 18:04. She said her finish was better than she expected and that she was very excited about it.

To finish in the top half made me ecstatic, Rome said. I definitely did better than I thought I would, so I'm really thrilled.

Rome qualified for the event by placing fourth in the Northeast Regional in New York last month.

This was Rome's first time competing in such an event and said that she will definitely work hard to run again next year.

As far as her training, Rome said she is going to just try and not get injured and bump up my training a bit.

Rome has been a Wyoming Valley Conference fixture in the sport since her freshman year. Named The Times Leader's Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for 2012, Rome won a District 2 and WVC individual title with the Mountaineers this past season.

She finished the season with a third-place finish at the state meet, helping Dallas finish second in the team competition.