Boothbay Regional High School sophomore Karen Higgins placed in the top 40 and was the fastest girl from Maine in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional cross-country championship race Nov. 30. Overall, 110 girls from over 10 states and districts competed at the event in Boston.

Higgins earned 35th place with an 18:55.40-minute finish. The winner, Virginia Kraus of Pennsylvania, finished in 17:34.40. Higgins said she wanted to compete this year to learn how it feels. She said she wants to focus on qualifying for nationals in the next two years, which require a top ten finish at a Footlocker regional race. Regional races are held for the Northeast, Midwest, West and South.  

“I had a lot of fun racing against all of the competitions and all the girls definitely pushed me to run fast,” Higgins said. “Since I ran it this year, I will know how the course and the race will feel when I want to focus on my time and place in the future.”