Roman capitalizes on second opportunity

By: Bill Williams
   When Monroe Township High School senior Scott Roman finished 47th Saturday in the NJSIAA Group III Cross Country Championships, he knew he was capable of better.
   It didn’t take long for him to prove it.
   The next day, Roman won the USA Track & Field State Cross Country Championship with a time of 16 minutes, 22 seconds in the 5K. He advanced to this Sunday’s USATF Region 2 Championships in Holmdel. A win or top finish there will catapult him to the national championships the following week.
   For Roman, it was satisfying to shake off the disappointment of the 17:35 he ran a day earlier in the group meet.
   "I wasn’t happy with my performance Saturday, but this kind of made up for it," Roman said.
   Facing 36 competitors from throughout the state — most of whom he had never raced against — Roman managed to pull away early and beat his closest opponent by 32 seconds.
   "It was a lot different than the high school meets," he said. "A lot of these were kids from private schools I had never faced before. I made a move at the 1,000 mark and I didn’t see any of them again."
   Separate from his participation in MHS events the past four years, Roman has long been involved with the USATF – the national governing body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States, according to its Web site. Roman estimates he’s been running with the organization since he was only 10 years old.
   It’s not surprising considering track and field seems to run in the Roman family bloodlines.
   His father Steve ran track at Highland Park during his high school days and his brother Steve was a two-time county champion for Monroe before graduating in 1999. His uncle Mark has run marathons and his sister Nova currently runs for Rutgers University.
   So while his upbringing may have predisposed Roman to participating in track-based athletics, he has a definite love for it on his own.
   "It’s a true measure of what you can do," Roman said, while comparing running to other sports. "It’s only you. There’s no one else out there."
   His high school coach, Frank Bonich, also notes the passion for the sport that Roman displays week in and week out.
   "Scott shows great heart," Bonich said. "He comes from a long line of runners. It’s in their blood. He’s trying to carry that torch and he’s doing a great job. He’s doing us proud as well."
   At the high school level this year, Roman only lamented one loss.
   A slim 28-31 loss to Bishop Ahr on Sept. 27 would have made a great difference in the Falcons’ season if it had gone the other way. The Monroe boys squad finished the season with a 9-2 mark, including that Bishop Ahr defeat.
   If it the meet had been held later in the season, Roman suspects Monroe would have won, but regardless, he thought the team did "pretty well" overall.
   Individually, he still has his eye on the prize that has thus far eluded him — a county championship. He has two more shots at it , in winter and spring track, before he departs Monroe to hopefully continue his track career at the collegiate level.
   But before any of that, he has the next USATF event this weekend and Roman has his goals set high once again.
   "I’d like to win this one as well," Roman said.