Engel punished the D-III field with a 36-second victory, crossing the line in 19 minutes, 10.47 seconds to win the D-III regional championship in Troy. Engel, who runs cross country on a partial schedule so she can also play varsity soccer, surprised even herself with the victory.
It also must have come as a shock to Knepp, who beat Engel by two seconds at last Saturday’s district meet in Cedarville.
“It was just running my race. I don’t think I did that much different,” Engel said, comparing the two races. “I normally don’t look behind me, but on the turns and places like that (the lead) kind of surprised me.”
Engel’s regional championship highlighted a solid effort by area teams.
Three teams and four individuals advanced to the state championships at National Trail Raceway in Hebron next Saturday.
As for Engel, she’s looking forward to gaining valuable experience running with the state’s best.
“I just want to have a good race. Have a good experience,” she said. “You’re supposed to enjoy what you’re doing so that’s the main priority.”
Also in D-III, West Liberty-Salem finished fourth as a team to advance for the first time since 2012. Freshman Grace Adams finished third overall and junior teammate Reghan Bieleski seventh to lead the Tigers.
“I thought it was a possibility, but it was a lot of hard work to get there,” Adams said. “I wasn’t expecting the whole atmosphere of the regional meet. All the people screaming. It’s crazy.”
Tigers coach Ann Vogel knew her top two runners were a good bet for state. But a team with one four-year runner, one senior out for the first time, one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen?
“We’ve got a great group of girls and they’re hard workers. This is probably one of the sweetest times for me to get to state, with a team that’s not expecting it,” Vogel said. “They fought and battled. They’re rag tag but they did a great job today.”
Senior Jenna Magnuson is the lone four-year runner for the Tigers. And she missed summer training with a commitment to the ROTC. Vogel gave Magnuson special orders prior to Saturday’s race.
“I told her today she was our drill sergeant out there,” Vogel said. “She had to push everyone. I was proud of her leadership.”
In Division II, Shawnee’s Joel Rodgers finished sixth to lead the Braves to their seventh straight state appearance. The team finished third to grab one of the four qualifying spots. The Braves are also young with three sophomores and two freshmen among the top seven runners.
“This is a great group of guys and I hope they go back next year,” said Rodgers, who along with Josh Hayes are the two seniors. “They fought for me. I saw the look of fire on every one of their faces today. That’s all I needed them to do for me. They’re my family and I love ‘em.”
Shawnee coach Brian DeSantis is looking for a top-five finish at state next week, as long as they get their emotions under control. The high-energy atmosphere might have contributed the Braves running the first mile faster than wanted.
“It seemed maybe we were a little too aggressive. Next week we’ll look to go and run our race. Technically, (we want) a more controlled start than what we had today,” DeSantis said.
“But when you take five underclassmen and tell them to go get it done, and they do get it done – great job, boys.”
Greenon junior Max Pettit finished fifth and Northwestern senior Ryan Cleland 14th to advance as individuals.
Shawnee’s girls also advanced for the third consecutive season after finishing third in the D-II meet. Junior Grace Holmes finished fifth to pace the team.
In D-III boys, West Liberty-Salem junior Nick Williams finished 10th and Emmanuel Christian Academy senior Justin Webster 11th to advance to state.
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