Ventura's Sadie Engelhardt is The Star's All-County Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year
Running for gold is fun.
For Sadie Engelhardt, running for collective gold was even better.
Ventura High’s elite runner added to her medal collection by defending her CIF-Southern Section Division 2 and CIF-State Division II championships as a junior.
In the process, Engelhardt led the Ventura girls cross country team to its first section and state championships in two decades.
“The team was really good,” Engelhardt said. “That was an addition to the season that really that made it a lot more fun.”
The Star’s All-County Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year improved her state title-winning time by 17 seconds year over year at Woodward Park in Fresno on Nov. 25.
“That was by far the fittest and best season that I’ve had in cross (country),” Engelhardt said.
Engelhardt further carved her place in Ventura County history by twice bettering Simi Valley legend Sarah Baxter’s records at Woodward Park, first at the Asics Clovis Invitational and then at state.
“I’ve heard a lot about her,” Engelhardt told The Star in November. “Obviously, she was a legend. I’m excited to be among such a credited athlete.”
Another well-known local runner also played a major role in Engelhardt’s season. Josh Spiker, the former Ventura High All-American, took over as the Cougars coach.
“I think we’re the perfect kind of match just because he’s been through everything that I’m going through,” Engelhardt said. “He kind of gets my personality. … I feel like I have this kind of back-and-forth communication with him.”
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Engelhardt won six of the eight races she ran this season.
She won the Asics Clovis Invitational in a meet record of 16:39.3, a personal best for a 5K.
She took the Ventura County Championships at Lake Casitas in 17:14.2, a 28-second margin over the field.
She won both the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 prelims and finals. Her time of 15:26.8 on the rain course at Mt. San Antonio College was a personal best for three miles. She beat the field by more than a minute.
She won state in 16:40.7, breaking Baxter’s Division II record from 2013 by more than two seconds.
Conversely, he first experience at Nike Cross Nationals was a literal washout.
At a flooded Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Oregon, Engelhardt finished 26th in 18:14.0, a time that made her shudder.
“I had never gone through the finish chute seeing 18 minutes trying that hard,” Engelhardt said. “The worst part was the grass. It felt like quicksand with the mud. It felt like you had to slow down, you couldn’t go fast. It was crazy.”
The trip wasn’t a complete loss.
“I made a lot of friends,” Engelhardt said. “Obviously NXN is team nationals, so I had to branch out a little bit.”
Some of those relationships could be lasting. Engelhardt is the nation’s No. 1-ranked track recruit in the Class of 2025, according to Milesplit.com.
She’s identified four potential destinations and has already taken official visits to North Carolina State, Oregon, and Virginia.
“All of them went really well,” Engelhardt said. “It’s not going to be an easy decision.”
She made the trips on her own, without her parents.
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“I just kind of wanted to get a feel for it without them,” Engelhardt said. “My dad just said you kind of have to experience it on your own.”
She plans to visit Stanford next month. There’s currently no plan for a fifth visit.
“I think I’m going to cut it there,” Engelhardt said. “All those schools are the ones I can see myself going to. I won’t waste any more coaches’ time.”
Spiker was a top recruit who ran at Wisconsin under now Oregon coach Jerry Schumacher. So he has provided advice on the process.
“Obviously Josh has so much experience with that,” Engelhardt said.
He told Engelhardt to inquire about how long the coach intends to stay the school and to make sure she could see herself living there “and being happy,” Engelhardt said, “if anything happened with running.”
Her trip to Eugene featured a reunion with so many former running rivals, including Newbury Park’s Sam McDonnell, Mira Costa’s Dalia Frias, Crescenta Valley’s Mia Barnett and Dana Hills’ Allura Markow, who are now all Ducks.
“It’s just weird seeing them at college, imaging being their teammate,” Engelhardt said.
She watched many of her future potential teammates run at NCAAs on her phone, while riding to CIF-SS finals with her teammates.
NC State won the national championship. Oregon, Stanford and Virginia all finished in the top 15.
“All the schools that I’m looking at, they all made it to nationals,” Engelhardt said. “That was obviously really great for NC State. … It was crazy how they pulled it together.”
There’s no imminent decision. Her plan is to make her decision public at some point during her senior cross country season.
“I don’t have to make the decision right now,” Engelhardt said. “I think I’m going to decide next fall most likely, probably before signing day.”
Her focus now is on preparing for her indoor and outdoor track seasons.
She took a week’s break from running after Portland and is now ramping back up, making sure to run daily on a recent family vacation.
Engelhardt will return to Boston to run both the New Balance Grand Prix on Feb. 4 and the New Balance Indoor Nationals in early March.
The Star’s All-County Girls Cross Country Second Team
Aelo Curtis, Ventura
Laura Castagna, Westlake
Jenna Johnson, Agoura
Anna Dahlquist, Rio Mesa
Maya Natarajan, Newbury Park
Elizabeth Walker, Oaks Christian
Delaney Napierala, Oaks Christian
Keena Walker, Foothill Tech
Jenna Murray, Moorpark
Tate Creason, Oak Park
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Sadie Engelhardt is The Star's Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year
