Vogel guides Tigers to third straight state meet

West Liberty-Salem won eight meets this season, including the OHC title.

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By By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer 11:03 PM Saturday, November 19, 2011

WEST LIBERTY — The West Liberty-Salem High School girls cross country team keeps climbing the ladder at the Division III state cross country meet.

In 2008, the Tigers finished fifth, then finished fourth last season. This year, they were just one spot short of the podium, finishing third.

“We always set a goal to get on the podium, and we were just short of that this year,” Tigers coach Ann Vogel said. “One meet doesn’t take away from the girls’ entire body of work throughout the season. I was extremely proud.”

The Tigers won eight meets this season, including their seventh straight Ohio Heritage Conference title and back-to-back district and regional championships.

For her efforts this season, Vogel was named the News-Sun All-Area girls cross country coach of the year.

The Tigers finished third at the D-III state meet this season, 29 points back of second-place Minster.

The team was obviously disappointed with its placing, but still finished as one of the top three teams in the state.

“They’re not afraid to set their goals high,” Vogel said. “It would be easy just to make it our goal to go to state and not care after that point. The girls want to get on the podium and they put themselves in a position the last three years to compete for a state title. Not a lot of teams can say they’ve done that.”

Vogel said the Tigers had several athletes achieve new heights this season.

“Once things get settled down, they can look back and be proud of their season,” Vogel said. “They know they gave it their all when it mattered.”

The Tigers returns all of their top seven runners again next season and hope to improve on their state finish. They’ve already starting planning workouts and scheduling team camps.

But Vogel said no matter what happens next season with six returning seniors, the team has already left its mark at West Liberty-Salem.

“It’s been an amazing ride with these girls,” Vogel said. “I’ve never coached a group that’s so committed to the team and to each other. This is a special group. I’m happy to have been a part of this team.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0365, Michael.Cooper@coxinc.com or on Twitter @SNS_Wizard.

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