The Wilson Post
LEBANON WEATHER

XC – Engle steps down at Lebanon High




Lebanon High cross country coach Marc Engle has stepped down after leading the program since 2004.

Lebanon High cross country coach Marc Engle has stepped down after leading the program since 2004.

Longtime cross country coach –

LEBANON – Marc Engle has stepped down after having served as head coach of the Lebanon High cross country program since 2004.

Former cross country assistant J.D. Lakeman will assume the head coaching duties while Engle plans on helping as an assistant as much as he can.

“I’ve been blessed to have worked with some outstanding people at Lebanon and have had the opportunity to work with wonderful athletes,” Engle said. “The support this program has enjoyed through the years has been great.

“We built a family at Lebanon and tried to be a place where our former runners always had a place to come home to. We’ve had good kids who have been an asset to our school and the community.”

“Coach Engle is a dedicated and well-established leader for the Blue Devil community,” said LHS Principal Dr. Scott Walters.

“When we had our final conversation last week to discuss the future of the cross country program, Coach Engle let me know that his physical limitations would no longer allow him to be the head coach, and it was very clear that the time he would miss with the players hurt him the most.

“He is a players’ coach. We will miss him here, but are grateful that he will still be around as much as possible.”

A former math teacher at Lebanon High, the Terre Haute, IN native developed a string of elite Blue Devil distance runners, the first being Clay Hannah who went on a highly decorated running career at Belmont University.

“I think the world of Coach Engle,” said Hannah, LHS Class of 2006 and runner-up in the state cross country meet as a senior.

“He made sure we had what we needed to compete. He certainly put in the time, he’d be there at 5 in the morning in order for us to train.

“Coach is a high character person, who instilled confidence in all of us and knows how to get the best out of his athletes.”

Engle goes out on an extremely high note as Ole Miss signee Aiden Britt captured the TSSAA cross country championship in the fall of 2020 as well as the 3,200 meters title earlier this year at Spring Fling.

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