NORMAN, OKLA. - Jessica Engel, the Scooper, has made a successful transition to Jessica Engel, the Sooner.another state title in the sprint medley relay.

Just a year removed from the climax of her high school running career at Sturgis, Engel is quickly making a name for herself in the Division I college ranks at the University of Oklahoma.

Engel had the best cross-country season of any of the Sooner freshmen last fall, running third in her first outing at the Golden Hurricane Invitational with a time of 11:19, just 33 seconds behind the leader.

She backed that up with a second among the Sooner women (69th overall) at the Roy Griak Invitational and a 62nd, 1:42 behind the leader and again topping all of the Sooner newcomers, at the Penn State National Invitational.

Competing in an era with some of the strongest high school cross country and track runners in the state's history, including Allison and Kristi Eckert of Sioux Falls Roosevelt, and Ramsey Kavan and Betsy Bies of Yankton, has only made her better at the college level, Engel said.

"Overall, that made me faster and made me mentally stronger," Engel said in a telephone interview last week.

"That's definitely a part of racing, being mentally tough. It helped me be more competitive and try my hardest every race. I think I learned that in high school," she said.

As a Scooper, Engel continually climbed the high school cross country standings. She finished ninth in the state as a sophomore, fourth her junior year and third her senior year.

She ended her prep track career in spectacular fashion at the state Class AA meet at Sioux Falls last May. After trailing Alison Eckert in the 800 run, Engel won the 1,600 run over Bies in dramatic fashion, then anchored the Scoopers to

"That last year was my most memorable. I ran well and got to be with my teammates one last year. It was a good experience," she said.

A highlight thus far at Oklahoma was helping the Sooners to a best-ever finish in the Big 12 Conference Cross Country Championships at Lubbock, Texas, on Oct 26.

Engel was 33rd overall behind Oklahoma seniors Jessica Eldridge (7th) and Catherine Odell (24th). Freshmen Kelly Waters (47th) and Lauren Watson (59th) rounded out the Sooner finishers.

"That just went really well for me. I felt like I really ran within myself," Engel said.

"We placed sixth as a team, which was the highest that any OU women's team has ever placed. It was neat to be a part of that," she said.

Engel ran indoors for the first time this year. Her 4:56.69, en route to eighth in the championship mile at the Razorback Invitational, was a personal best.

"I really enjoyed cross country. Indoor was a new experience for me. I've never, ever run on an indoor track before," she said.

The indoor season ended early with a soft-tissue leg injury, forcing her to redshirt the outdoor track season this spring.

Engel may still run unattached yet this spring. She also plans to move up to longer distances including 5,000- and 10,000-meter races.

Engel said the transition from small-town high school to major college has gone well.

"It's a lot of fun being around people who are doing what they love to do. They're more serious about it," she said. "It's not quite as intimidating as it was at first."

She has managed to avoid homesickness.

"I wouldn't say it was that bad at all. I have lots of friends here and there's so much to do, you really don't think about it that much. I would say that my mind's not really on that," Engel said.

"I definitely miss the hills and living there and miss my family and old friends," Engel said.

Training in the heat of her home state has also prepared her.

"It's pretty hot in South Dakota during the summer. The humidity here definitely takes some getting used to, but really there was nothing too drastic," she said.

"We ran early mornings, and sometimes we'd run in the evenings to miss the hottest part of the day. "I've gotten stronger because we do circuits and abs, that's something we didn't do in Sturgis. That's helped me to be an overall stronger runner," she said.

She has also charted the next step in her future after college.

"I've been undecided most of the year, but recently I decided to declare my major in nursing," she said.