The rest of the D-III field had to wait about 25 seconds to experience the same thing.
Engel dominated the 3.1-mile course at National Trail Raceway on Saturday to win in 17 minutes, 46.9 seconds. Engel, who joined Teresa Dunn (1982) as an Irish state champ, eclipsed the previous D-III course record of 17:58.03 set by Coldwater’s Sarah Kanney in 2012.
The top 30 runners in each meet earned All-Ohio honors.
“I honestly was just thinking to come and enjoy the moment. Have fun. Not putting too much pressure on myself,” said Engel, who previously finished sixth (2018), 14th (2017) and eighth (2016) at state.
Kinsman Badger senior Miranda Stanhope finished second in 18:21.9 and just ahead of West Liberty-Salem sophomore Megan Adams (18:42.4) and Catholic Central senior Bridget Engel (18:44.5).
Prior to Saturday, Addie and Bridget – the lone Irish runners – had finished 1-2 at the district and regional meets. Bridget, who placed 35th in her first state appearance last season, gave it another good run Saturday.
“I was surprised, yeah. I was thinking podium or top 10 would be hard,” Bridget said. “I thought it was going to be super duper hard to get here so I didn’t know if that was attainable.”
Also in D-III girls, West Liberty-Salem closed the gap on Minster to finish as state runners-up. Minster won the state title in 2017 by a D-III state record 96 points. They won last season by 88. The Tigers got within 10 points Saturday.
“What a great race,” West Liberty-Salem coach Ann Vogel said. “And you throw (third place) Fort Loramie into that mix, too. For three schools to score under 100 points is amazing. My hat’s off to (Minster coach) Jessie (Magoto) and her team. She’s the gold standard and that’s who we try to strive to be as good as. I’m so happy for her. She’s one of my favorite people in the world.”
Joining Adams on the podium for WL-S were junior Katelyn Stapleton (19th), senior Grace Adams (30th), junior Madison Bahan (52nd), senior Lydia Moell (68th), sophomore Mandilyn Weaver (124th) and freshman Maggie Davis (128th).
Minster entered the state meet ranked No. 1 in the state. West Liberty-Salem was No. 2 and Fort Loramie, last season’s state runner-up, was No. 3. Injuries had the Tigers dinged up early in the season but the team never backed off their biggest goal.
“For them to keep plugging away and believing … their goal in August was to be on the podium,” Vogel said. “To do that says a lot about their resilience. … We ran with a lot of composure. They were confident and kept moving up through the pack.”
In D-II girls, Shawnee finished 11th as a team with a pair of All-Ohio runners in sophomore Audrey DeSantis (ninth) and senior Olivia Warax (18th). They were joined by sophomore Tessa Holcomb (72nd), sophomore Abigail Klemmensen (124th), senior Caylee Hirtzinger (158th), junior Tori Malicki (172nd) and senior Madi Canley (173rd).
“I’m really proud of them this year,” DeSantis said of her teammates. “We’ve had a lot of sprained ankles and injuries. We really pushed through it.
“I’m definitely thinking about big goals, getting better than ninth next year. I’m excited I have two more years.”
Shawnee sophomore Jordyn Dillavou ran in the D-II boys race and finished 28th.
Northwestern had a pair of runners in D-II with senior Kassidy Carpenter (48th) in the girls race and senior Drew Blazer (21st) in the boys race.
Greenon junior Gavin Patrick (22 nd) also competed in D-II boys.
The West Liberty-Salem boys went as a team in D-II and placed 10th. Sophomore Dylan Lauck (16th) led the Tigers with All-Ohio honors. He was followed by sophomore Tate Yoder (42nd), senior Cade Clerico (113th), senior Noah Smith (114th), senior Gavin Harrison (135th), junior Hayden Kennedy (139th) and freshman Andrew Kimball (158th).
In D-III boys, Cedarville made a major leap to fifth from 15th last season when the Indians made their state debut. Junior Ethan Wallis (8th) and junior Trent Koning (15th) paced the team. Freshman Caleb Sultan (85th), junior Payton Herron (94th), senior Jeff Salsibury (116th), sophomore Drew Mason (132nd) and senior Isaiah Estepp (140th) rounded out the roster.
Coach Kris Williams said the team goal was to finish fifth. And with five of the seven runners returning next season the plan is to do even better next season.
“They were fired up about next year before we even started this race,” Williams said. “This is going to be a real confidence booster. I don’t think I’ll have to beg them to get out and run now.”
Cedarville junior Ellyn Coe competed in the girls D-III race and finished 51st.
Tecumseh senior Kylee Mastin finished in 105 th in the D-I race.
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