SYRACUSE -ÊWawasee cross country coach Dave Stookey has one small complaint about his boys team. And it's not really a complaint at all, it's more like an observation.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
"I guess it's hard for me to see because I was always very serious when I was focusing to run. I guess I tend to be more uptight than they do."
But Stookey had nothing to worry about Tuesday as the Warriors downed Northern Lakes Conference opponents Plymouth and Concord. The Warriors defeated the Pilgrims 16-45 and the Minutemen 17-44.
"I guess there's such a thing as being too focused," said Stookey. "Some coaches don't allow their team to even talk from the minute they step on the field until after the race to get them focused to run. Our guys wouldn't react well to that."
Obviously the team reacted well to their own method of focusing. Wawasee secured the first three places and finished with six of the top 10 places. Rob Chalfant cruised to a win in 16:43, 18 seconds faster than his teammate and closest competitor Ryan Stichter who crossed the line in 17:01. Flaco Perales placed third with a time of 17:03.
The first non-Wawasee competitor to cross the line was Concord's Mike Pillow. Pillow crossed the finish line in 17:35, nearly one minute after Chalfant.
Luke Stoffel (fifth), Curt Farrell (seventh) and Eric Gingerich (10th) rounded out the top 10 finishers for Wawasee. Farrell and Plymouth's Dan Jefferies ended the race with an all-out sprint for sixth place. Jefferies edged Farrell and took sixth place with a time of 18:05, while Farrell had a 18:06.
"Our strength is our understanding of the team concept," said Stookey. "We have good runners, very good runners. Our top four runners do not really change a lot. There may be a change in who places second or third, but it is always the same four guys. Now five, six, seven and eight, that changes all the time. We have six to eight guys who move in and out of those spots."
With the wins over Concord and Plymouth, Wawasee keeps its NLC record spotless at 4-0.
"Wawasee continued its winning ways in the conference by defeating Concord and Plymouth," said Stookey. They have a big challenge this Saturday at Culver in the big school division and next Tuesday against also undefeated conference foe Northridge and NorthWood. We will quickly find out how good we really are."
Wawasee Girls Get First NLC Win
In the girls race, Wawasee picked up its first Northern Lakes conference win of the season. The Warriors defeated Concord 21-34 while falling to Plymouth 18-45. Brittany Winchester led the Warriors with a third-place time of 16:59. Jessica Lundgren also placed in the top 10 for Wawasee with a time of 17:53 that earned her ninth place. Shannon Mumma, Kayla Auer and Meghan Lantz rounded out the Warrior finishers.
"The Wawasee girls won their first conference meet over Concord," said Stookey. "This will hopefully spur them on to win another one."
The girls are 1-3 in NLC matches and will travel to Nappanee Tuesday for a match with NorthWood and Northridge.
BOYS - WAWASEE 16, PLYMOUTH 45; WAWASEE 17, CONCORD 44; PLYMOUTH 26, CONCORD 33
Top 10 individual results -Ê1. Rob Chalfant (W) 16:43; 2. Ryan Stichter (W) 17:01; 3. Flaco Perales (W) 17:03; 4. Mike Pillow (C) 17:35; 5. Luke Stoffel (W) 17:46; 6. Dan Jefferies (P) 17:35; 7. Curt Farrell (W) 18:06; 8. Brian Schrimsher (P) 18:06; 9. Ryan Prahl (C) 18:08; 10. Eric Gingerich (W) 18:12
Other Wawasee finishers -Ê11. Matt Dunithan 18:14, 12. Simon Hernandez 18:19, 14. Brian Stutzman 18:37, 19. Cris Smeltzer 19:15, 23. Andy Popenfoose 19:48, 24. Pete Melendez 19:48, 29. Jerad Rensberger 19:59, 32. Dustin Coquillard 20:10, 35. Eric Vallejo 20:29, 38. Brian Brandon 20:51, 39. Ryan Earnhart 20:57, 52. Jerad Bauman 26:03
GIRLS -ÊPLYMOUTH 18, WAWASEE 45; WAWASEE 21, CONCORD 34; PLYMOUTH 15, CONCORD 50
Top 10 individual results -Ê1. Morgan Uceny (P) 15:53; 2. Kourtney Beckham (P) 16:29; 3. Brittany Winchester (W) 16:59; 4. Carin Benge (P) 17:09; 5. Stephanie Stemp (P) 17:23; 6. Katherine Adams (P) 17:27; 7. Rebecca Martin (P)17:41; 8. Ashley Howard (P) 17:43; 9. Jessica Lundgren (W) 17:53; 10. Katie Juday (C) 18:13
Other Wawasee finishers -Ê12. Shannon Mumma 18:46, 13. Kayla Auer 19:08, 14. Meghan Lantz 19:29 [[In-content Ad]]
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"I guess it's hard for me to see because I was always very serious when I was focusing to run. I guess I tend to be more uptight than they do."
But Stookey had nothing to worry about Tuesday as the Warriors downed Northern Lakes Conference opponents Plymouth and Concord. The Warriors defeated the Pilgrims 16-45 and the Minutemen 17-44.
"I guess there's such a thing as being too focused," said Stookey. "Some coaches don't allow their team to even talk from the minute they step on the field until after the race to get them focused to run. Our guys wouldn't react well to that."
Obviously the team reacted well to their own method of focusing. Wawasee secured the first three places and finished with six of the top 10 places. Rob Chalfant cruised to a win in 16:43, 18 seconds faster than his teammate and closest competitor Ryan Stichter who crossed the line in 17:01. Flaco Perales placed third with a time of 17:03.
The first non-Wawasee competitor to cross the line was Concord's Mike Pillow. Pillow crossed the finish line in 17:35, nearly one minute after Chalfant.
Luke Stoffel (fifth), Curt Farrell (seventh) and Eric Gingerich (10th) rounded out the top 10 finishers for Wawasee. Farrell and Plymouth's Dan Jefferies ended the race with an all-out sprint for sixth place. Jefferies edged Farrell and took sixth place with a time of 18:05, while Farrell had a 18:06.
"Our strength is our understanding of the team concept," said Stookey. "We have good runners, very good runners. Our top four runners do not really change a lot. There may be a change in who places second or third, but it is always the same four guys. Now five, six, seven and eight, that changes all the time. We have six to eight guys who move in and out of those spots."
With the wins over Concord and Plymouth, Wawasee keeps its NLC record spotless at 4-0.
"Wawasee continued its winning ways in the conference by defeating Concord and Plymouth," said Stookey. They have a big challenge this Saturday at Culver in the big school division and next Tuesday against also undefeated conference foe Northridge and NorthWood. We will quickly find out how good we really are."
Wawasee Girls Get First NLC Win
In the girls race, Wawasee picked up its first Northern Lakes conference win of the season. The Warriors defeated Concord 21-34 while falling to Plymouth 18-45. Brittany Winchester led the Warriors with a third-place time of 16:59. Jessica Lundgren also placed in the top 10 for Wawasee with a time of 17:53 that earned her ninth place. Shannon Mumma, Kayla Auer and Meghan Lantz rounded out the Warrior finishers.
"The Wawasee girls won their first conference meet over Concord," said Stookey. "This will hopefully spur them on to win another one."
The girls are 1-3 in NLC matches and will travel to Nappanee Tuesday for a match with NorthWood and Northridge.
BOYS - WAWASEE 16, PLYMOUTH 45; WAWASEE 17, CONCORD 44; PLYMOUTH 26, CONCORD 33
Top 10 individual results -Ê1. Rob Chalfant (W) 16:43; 2. Ryan Stichter (W) 17:01; 3. Flaco Perales (W) 17:03; 4. Mike Pillow (C) 17:35; 5. Luke Stoffel (W) 17:46; 6. Dan Jefferies (P) 17:35; 7. Curt Farrell (W) 18:06; 8. Brian Schrimsher (P) 18:06; 9. Ryan Prahl (C) 18:08; 10. Eric Gingerich (W) 18:12
Other Wawasee finishers -Ê11. Matt Dunithan 18:14, 12. Simon Hernandez 18:19, 14. Brian Stutzman 18:37, 19. Cris Smeltzer 19:15, 23. Andy Popenfoose 19:48, 24. Pete Melendez 19:48, 29. Jerad Rensberger 19:59, 32. Dustin Coquillard 20:10, 35. Eric Vallejo 20:29, 38. Brian Brandon 20:51, 39. Ryan Earnhart 20:57, 52. Jerad Bauman 26:03
GIRLS -ÊPLYMOUTH 18, WAWASEE 45; WAWASEE 21, CONCORD 34; PLYMOUTH 15, CONCORD 50
Top 10 individual results -Ê1. Morgan Uceny (P) 15:53; 2. Kourtney Beckham (P) 16:29; 3. Brittany Winchester (W) 16:59; 4. Carin Benge (P) 17:09; 5. Stephanie Stemp (P) 17:23; 6. Katherine Adams (P) 17:27; 7. Rebecca Martin (P)17:41; 8. Ashley Howard (P) 17:43; 9. Jessica Lundgren (W) 17:53; 10. Katie Juday (C) 18:13
Other Wawasee finishers -Ê12. Shannon Mumma 18:46, 13. Kayla Auer 19:08, 14. Meghan Lantz 19:29 [[In-content Ad]]