FALL ATHLETES Miranda Stanhope

For most athletes, reaching the pinnacle of their sport requires years of dedication and hard work.

For Miranda Stanhope, all it took was one race to establish herself as a force to be reckoned with in the running community.

Stanhope was 10 in 2012 when she decided to give running a try by entering the Kinsman K-Town 5k Run.

“My Mom was running the race, so I just figured I would run to see what it was like,” Stanhope said. “I remember her telling me, ‘take your time, I’ll wait for you at the finish line, just have fun.’”

As it turned out, there was no need for mom to wait. Stanhope finished in a time of 26:13, besting Mom and winning the 9-14 age bracket by nearly two minutes.

“I enjoyed the run, I was drawn to the sport right away and I’ve been at it pretty non-stop ever since,” Stanhope said.

A junior at Badger High, Stanhope achieved another milestone on Nov. 10 when she won the Division III Ohio High School Cross Country Championship. Stanhope, who also captured district and regional titles en route to the state meet, won state in a time of 18:51. She finished two seconds ahead of Emma Watcke of Minster.

Stanhope qualified for state as a freshman and sophomore. She became the first Trumbull County individual girls champion since Becky Testa of McDonald in 1994.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Stanhope said. “I just remember coming down the stretch, thinking back to all of the hard work and realizing it all paid off.”

Stanhope’s state title wasn’t even her best showing of the weekend. Just 24 hours after winning the top prize in Ohio, she competed in the Nike Cross Country Midwest Regionals in Terre Haute, Ind. There, she finished 16th but with a time of 18:08.

— Steve Ruman, The Vindicator