Illini Sign Canadian Standout
April 19, 2005 | Women's Cross Country
April 19, 2005
Illinois' women's track and cross country team bolstered its middle distance and distance corps Tuesday when Katie Engel of North Gower, Ontario, Canada chose Illinois as her collegiate destination. Engel comes to Illinois from South Carleton High School and trains with the Ottawa Lions running club.
"Katie will make an immediate impact on our cross country and track teams," Illini distance and head cross country coach Karen Harvey said. "Katie has tremendous range, and the speed to run a fast 800m and the strength to be a great cross country runner. Her personal best times and accomplishments speak for themselves."
Engel brings an impressive resume with her. Her top 5,000m cross country time is 18:08, she placed seventh at the 2004 Canadian Cross Country Championships and she ran for the Canadian team at the 2005 World Junior Cross Country Championships.
Engel holds the St. Lawrence Fieldhouse record in the 1,000m indoor at 2:52 and has run the mile in 5:01. In the 800m her top time is 2:09 while she's clocked 4:32 in the 1,500m and 9:58 in the 3,000m. Engel plans to study biology when she begins classes.
