FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Fairmont Senior’s Sophia Tomana signed her Letter of Intent on Wednesday to continue her running career with the Wheeling University Cardinals.

Tomana helped Fairmont Senior capture back-to-back cross country state titles in 2019 and 2020.

Tomana says she grew up in a Catholic school system, so this choice gets her back to her roots.

She’s a four-time second team all-state selection, and spoke about what her recruiting process was like, as well as the coach that inspired her to run her career to the distance.

“My mom was my middle school coach, and ever since middle school the biggest goal was going to be collegiate running. I’m excited to go somewhere and represent my high school as well as my middle school,” Tomana said. “I got a lot of messages, both over social media and also letters (in the mail). So, kind of like in the movies. You open up your letter; it’s real exciting.”

And not only is Tomana going to compete with the Cardinals cross country team, but she’s also hoping to compete in distance events on the Wheeling track & field program, as well.