At the Division II regional meet, Seigel placed fourth in 17 minutes, 02.3 seconds to advance to Saturday’s state meet in Columbus for the second straight year. He was fifth at the district race, but at regionals he beat all but one of those who beat him at districts.
“He didn’t have a great race at state, and I’d say a little happy to be there,” Badin coach Steve Deitzer said. “This year he’s man on a mission. He just ran with incredible heart and passion right from the start to the finish.”
Seigel knew team champion Dayton Carroll would set the pace, so he stuck close to the Patriots’ No. 2 runner, who finished sixth. Seigel finished strong and was edged out by less than a second for third place.
“I decided to run really smart,” Seigel said. “Last week I didn’t run the smartest. I went out too hard at the beginning and lost pace with the front of the pack. But today I stayed in touch with the front of the pack and that really helped out.”
Last year Seigel placed 62nd at the state meet.
“Last year at state wasn’t the best,” he said. “But I feel more confident, I feel more trained.”
Both of Badin’s teams placed eighth Saturday and did not advance. But Seigel will be joined by freshman Abby Mathews, who finished sixth in 20:01.3.
“It’s exciting and I’m thankful for all my teammates who have helped get here and pushed me and my coaches,” Mathews said. “It was muddy, but it was fun. We practice running in the mud sometimes and rainy days, so I was kind of used to it.”
Mathews knows the course well. She watched her older brother, Owen, run there and qualify for state. He now runs for Northern Kentucky. Her sister, Maura, is a junior on the team and qualified for state as a freshman. Their father, Jeff, was part of the first Badin cross country team.
Mathews ran just outside of the top 10 for much of the race before moving up.
“Abby ran just her normal brilliant race,” Deitzer said. “She started under control and just worked her way up through the pack. She is very smart racer, runs really great tactics and just is relentless.”
Fenwick junior Sam Gutzwiller advanced to state in Division II in 15th place with a time of 17:17.9.
Two runners advanced in girls Division I. Lakota West freshman Evelyn Prodoehl finished third in 19:13.9. Lakota East junior Jocelyn Willis was ninth in 19:38.8.
About the Author