“It feels great,” Bell said. “Top-5 in the state in Division I, that’s pretty good. … It was a great way to finish off the postseason.”
Bell was right next to Walsh Jesuit senior Luke Ondracek as they approached the finish line, but Bell kicked it into gear to bring home third place
“I’m more of a speed guy,” Bell said. “I don’t really like the 5K as much as I like the 800 and the mile. I love blitzing it. When I got down there, I knew I wasn’t getting passed at the state meet. I was going. I was just making sure that I wasn’t getting passed. I was making sure I could solidify my spot on the podium.”
Moments after her first appearance on the state’s biggest stage, Lakota West freshman Evelyn Prodoehl was already thinking about next year.
She finished eighth in the D-I girls race in 18:16, but had her eyes set on a top-5 finish.
“It wasn’t what I had hoped for, but it’s still good,” Prodoehl said. “My first mile wasn’t as fast as my PR course mile and I was a little disappointed. I guess I never caught up, but I was able to pass some people though.”
The freshman was happy to qualify and will use the experience to prepare for next year.
“I’m hoping to come here three more years and my goal is to win at some point,” she said. “Next year, I’m going to get top-5.”
Talawanda senior Hannah Lippincott placed 64th in 19:17 in the D-I girls race, while Lakota East junior Jocelyn Willis placed 81st in 19:36.
Badin freshman Abby Mathews placed 19th in the D-II girls race in her first state appearance in 18:57. She could only describe the feeling of making the podium as “amazing.”
“I’m super excited,” she said. “It was perfect weather. I don’t like it to be too cold.”
She passed eight runners in the last mile to finish in the top20.
“I never really go out too fast, I like to slowly reel them in,” Matthews said. “I wanted to go get them. That was kind of my plan.”
Badin senior Dominic Siegel placed 38th in 16:36 in the D-II boys race.
“I started out really fast because everybody else started out really fast,” he said. “Last year, I got 60-something so this year to get 38th, I’m really happy I moved up a lot of places from last year.”
Fenwick junior Sam Gutzwiller finished 179th in the D-II boys race in a time of 19:10. He was happy to finish after suffering a leg injury during the regional race last week.
“I finished and that’s all my coach told me to do,” he said. “That’s the worst time I’ve had since freshman year, but at least I finished and I can come back stronger next year and hopefully get here senior year and hopefully be healthy.”
Volleyball
Badin falls in regional finals
The Rams dropped a 3-0 decision (25-19, 26-24, 25-14) to former Greater Catholic League Co-ed rival Roger Bacon in the D-III regional final at Vandalia Butler’s Student Activities Center.
Badin (17-10) advanced to the regional final with a five-set win over previously unbeaten Fenwick on Thursday night.
Roger Bacon (20-6) advances to the state semifinals next week at Wright State’s Nutter Center.
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