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Division 3 - Can Anyone Stop Addie Engel?
Girls
We posed the question with Taylor Ewert in the Division 1 section and we bring it back for the Division 3 section: Can anyone stop Springfield Catholic Central's Addie Engel?
No. Well... Probably not.
Engel has been on an absolute tear this season, scorching all competitors in her path en route to ten victories in ten tries. She has only missed a sub 18 minute mark once - her season opener on August 20th (18:18.50), boasts a 17:16.40 season best from Saturday Night Lights, a 17:39.24 season average, and recently won her region by 1:05. Engel's season best is 46 seconds ahead of the next closest competitor and her season average is 1:11 ahead of everyone else.
Needless to say, we don't see the senior state track champion losing on Saturday.
Who could possibly take her down, though? Look for anywhere from 4-10 girls to form a tight chase pack behind Engel led by Badger's Miranda Stanhope, Mount Gilead's Allison Johnson, Liberty Center's Hope Oelkrug, and West Liberty-Salem's Megan Adams. Oelkrug is number two in the division based on season best times (18:02.31) and Stanhope is second among season averages (18:50.47)
Minster is far and away the favorite to win the team championship Saturday. They won by 88 points last fall, and returned most of the team for 2019. They sit comfortably ahead of every team in every category you could imagine (average season bests, average season averages, 1-5 split) and look just as formidable as they did last year after a win in their region meet. Watch for West Liberty-Salem, Fort Loramie, and Liberty Center, all solid teams in one way or another, to at least make an attempt at unseating Minster. But we don't see Minster losing. Kyle's predictions:
Individuals
1. Addie Engel
2. Hope Oelkrug
3. Miranda Stanhope
4. Allison Johnson
5. Megan Adams
Teams
1. Minster
2. West Liberty-Salem
3. Fort Loramie
4. Liberty Center
5. Mount Gilead
Noah Fisher (Ayersville) enters the weekend as the favorite for the individual title in Division 3. His personal best of 15:20.38 comes from a meet in late August, but, while he hasn't bested the time since then, he has three other marks under 15:30 this season and seven total under 16:00. Only eight others in Division 3 can boast a mark under 16:00, but Fisher is the only one under 15:35. What's more is that his season average, calculated based on marks from eleven different meets this season, has him at 15:52.30, the only average under 16:00.
Needless to say, Fisher is looking poised to defend his Division 3 XC crown this Saturday.
Upset candidates in the individual race include Derek Amicon, Eli Fullerton, Liam Dennis, Demetrius Snellenberger, Ethan Supplee, Thomas Caputo, Brody Rupe, and Luke Nester. Of those contenders, look for Amicon, the Region 11 champion, Snellenberger, the Region 9 champion, and Dennis to be the most formidable competitors.
In the team competition, Mount Gilead looks the strongest after handling the Region 11 race. Their average season average among their 1-5 boys is the only one under 17:00 in the division, but based on season bests, they are trailing McDonald. New London and East Canton's region victories make them contenders, as well, with East Canton standing out the most after taking down the aforementioned McDonald. This could be a tight one on Saturday with the title going to any of these four squads. Kyle's predictions:
Individuals
1. Noah Fisher
2. Derek Amicon
3. Demetrius Snellenberger
4. Eli Fullerton
5. Liam Dennis
Teams
1. Mount Gilead
2. East Canton
3. McDonald
4. New London
5. Summit Country Day