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Happy birthday to Gavin Mason Thomas-Holvey!

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Families gather at Daniels’ Christmas Trees in Harding to find the perfect symbol of Christmas

Dallas coach Matt Samuel sensed the calm in Ally Rome in the days before she headed to Hershey to defend her PIAA Class 2A Cross Country Championship.&#8220;Leading into the state championships this year, her comment to me was, &#8216;coach I&#8217;m really in a good spot. If I go down to the state championships and run really fast and don&#8217;t win, I&#8217;m still good with that&#8217;,&#8221; Samuel said.Rome took care of the running really fast part. She never had to deal with the part that included not winning.The senior completed her high school cross country career with a perfect season running for the Mountaineers, claiming a second straight individual state title to go with the team state title she was part of as a sophomore.Rome won each of her races for Dallas, including title repeats in the conference and district championship meets to earn Times Leader Wyoming Valley Conference Girls Runner of the Year honors.&#8220;This season has been my most consistent season,&#8221; Rome said. &#8220;Every time, I ran what I expected, or faster.&#8221;One of those faster days was the district championship when Rome&#8217;s time of 18:29 at Elk Lake was the fastest ever run in the district in a Class 2A race.That sent her to Hershey with an established District 2 rival still chasing in pursuit.Scranton Prep&#8217;s Erin Feeney, a University of Pennsylvania recruit, ran with the leader for more than half the race before Rome calmly started to pull away for a 19-second victory in 18:30.Although Rome acknowledged that there was more pressure on her than ever before as a defending state champion, she handled that situation well.&#8220;She&#8217;s a very level-headed, rational girl,&#8221; Samuel said. &#8220;She&#8217;s very smart, knows her abilities and knows what she can do.&#8220;She never really panics and I think that was evident at the state meet this year. It was no surprise to us that Erin Feeney was going to be running very well.&#8221;And, it was no surprise to Samuel that Rome would lead his team through a district championship season and arrive in Hershey ready to defend her personal title.Rome followed older sister Regan&#8217;s four titles to make it six straight years that one of the Rome girls were District 2 champions. Her brother Mitchell, a sophomore, was part of a perfect season that included state, district and conference championships for the Dallas boys.Their mother Amy, a former Penn State distance runner, is a Dallas assistant coach and part of an athletic family that includes father Craig&#8217;s time as an NCAA Division I wrestler at Wilkes.&#8220;Overall in her training, she&#8217;s got a very good grasp of what she&#8217;s doing,&#8221; Samuel said of Ally. &#8220;It&#8217;s something that&#8217;s instilled by her parents. They&#8217;re very good with that stuff and they&#8217;ve made my job certainly a lot easier.&#8221;Times Leader Girls Cross Country All-StarsRebecca BalaraDallas, Soph.Earned a state medal by finishing 21st in the Class 2A field after placing fourth in the District 2 field.Sam DyerBerwick, Jr.Finished 17th among Class 2A girls in Class 2A District 2 competition.Mary EverdaleHazleton Area, Jr.Paced the Cougars&#8217; District 2 Class 3A team title by finishing fourth overall in 20:57.Jade FryLake-Lehman, Soph.Took home an eighth-place medal from the District 2 Class 2A field and finished 40th at states.Tara JohnsonPittston Area, Sr.Captured the District 2 Class 3A gold medal with a run of 19:21 and finished 74th at states.Bailey LoyackPittston Area, Fresh.Finished with a seventh-place medal in the District 2 Class 3A championships.Riley OremusDallas, Jr.Finished 20th overall at Class 2A districts and came in at No. 113 in the state championships.Maggie ToczkoTunkhannock, Sr.Blazed to a fifth-place finish in the District 2 Class 2A field.Lyndsey WilliamsHoly Redeemer, Soph.Earned a sixth-place medal in the District 2 Class 2A field and finished 42nd in the state field.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas senior Ally Rome is the 2015 Times Leader Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. Rome completed her high school cross country career with a perfect season running for the Mountaineers, claiming a second straight individual state title to go with the team state title she was part of as a sophomore. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_AlyRome-MVP.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas senior Ally Rome is the 2015 Times Leader Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. Rome completed her high school cross country career with a perfect season running for the Mountaineers, claiming a second straight individual state title to go with the team state title she was part of as a sophomore. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Dallas senior wraps up perfect season</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Tom RobinsonFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div>

Times Leader Girls Cross Country Player of the Year Ally Rome wraps up golden career