Much has been made of Warsaw coach Phil Jensen turning the Tigers' football program around in four years, from 2-7 his first year to 8-2 this year, but arguably no Warsaw coach has changed a program like Paul Sibray helped the girls cross country team.

Five years ago, Warsaw would send four girls to meets, because these were all the runners Sibray had available. More times than not, the Tigers earned an incomplete because they did not have enough runners to qualify for a team score.

Now Warsaw is going to the state finals for the first time in school history.

Warsaw has 22 runners in 1999, and four of them - Jennifer Finch, Hillary Barlow, Rachel Rondeau and Summer Boyd - placed in the top 25 at Saturday's Manchester Semistate.

At the regional two weeks ago, No. 19 Warsaw placed fourth, behind No. 5 West Noble, No.13 Northridge and No. 18 DeKalb.

At the Manchester Semistate, Warsaw placed second, behind only West Noble. Northridge fell to seventh and DeKalb to eighth.

"(Sibray) is pleased with us that we got to semistate," Barlow said. "This just adds to it.

"We would always say, 'When we go to state ...' but nobody really thought we would make it. It's a nice surprise."

Said Sibray: "I really felt we were on the bubble. The kids ran inspired. You see teams peak at the right time. This is our time."

Finch placed fourth, Barlow seventh, Rondeau 15th and Boyd 24th. But the key performance may have been turned in by junior Amy Robertson. Robertson, Warsaw's fifth-place runner for much of the season, again turned in Warsaw's fifth-place score. But she finished 63rd in a race with 150 runners.

"Where she placed," Barlow said, "really got us up there. She was the key."

Barlow, Boyd, Finch and Rondeau have each finished first in at least one race this season. While Finch has been Warsaw's top finisher at sectional and semistate, Sibray hesitates to call her his best runner.

"Jennifer has been up front," he said, "but Hillary is coming on. Anyone can pop up there. We're going down to a different course. I know this course doesn't suit Jennifer as well. You never know who will lead us."

The Tigers may be surprised to make it to the state finals, but what make it even more surprising for them is because they have been nowhere close to 100 percent all year. Barlow has hip problems. Boyd has back problems. Melonie Albert has battled stomach problems since spring. Her troubles caused her to miss two months of training over the summer, and after staying competitive with Finch last season, she is about two minutes behind Finch this season. Warsaw's seventh runner is Cassie Noble.

"I'm hoping next year my times are where they should be," Albert said.

These are the major hindrances, let alone the nagging injuries.

Said Sibray of the 1998 Albert: "We probably had as good of a race at semistate as we could have had now. If Melody was in peak condition like last year, it would have been better yet."

The biggest difference for the Warsaw runners this week will be dealing with the hills of southern Indiana.

"We're doing a lot of hill practices to get ready for the hills," Rondeau said.

And they are taking practices seriously. Sibray had parent-teacher conferences at Claypool Wednesday and could not show up for practice. The girls held their own practice, running together through Warsaw.

The hills will present a new challenge, and whatever the weather is, there is no way possible it can suit Warsaw's top six runners. Barlow, Finch and Albert like nasty, cold, rainy weather; Boyd, Robertson and Rondeau prefer moderate weather.

For a program taking its first trip to state finals, celebrations have been subdued. Asked if the school or anyone did anything for them, Rondeau said, "Not really. They have congratulated us."

For Robertson, knowing one thing is enough.

"We're the only fall sport here still going," she said.

Thanks to Sibray, who turned the program around.

"We have seven girls who get the focus," Sibray said, "but all 22 are part of a history-making team."

1999 GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY STATE FINALS

1 p.m. Saturday at Indiana University Golf Course in Bloomington

Team qualifiers: top five teams from each semistate

Individual qualifiers: top 15 teams from each semistate site and those from qualifying teams

Tickets: $4

Competing teams - Warsaw, Bellmont, Ben Davis, Bloomington South, Carmel, Chesterton, Clarksville, Columbus North, Floyd Central, Fort Wayne Northrop, Homestead, Lake Central, LaPorte, Lawrence North, Martinsville, Michigan City, New Albany, Valparaiso, West Noble, Westfield

Jennifer Finch

Year in school: Sophomore

Preferred course: Fast and flat.

Preferred weather: Cool, drizzling.

Running style: "She goes out early, tries to hold on up front."

Sectional: 1.15:34

Regional: 11. 15:53

Semistate: 4. 14:48

Injuries: None

Sibray: "I compare her to a colt. She likes to go out, run and kick her heels up."

Hillary Barlow

Year in school: Junior

Course preferred: A challenging course with hills.

Weather preferred: Doesn't matter.

Running style: "She doesn't have a good kick like Jennifer, so she tries to set her pace early and hold it."

Sectional: 7. 16:07

Regional: 8. 15:49

Semistate: 7. 14:57

Injuries: Has hip problems that affect her right leg.

Sibray: "The way she has battled through all her adversity ... she keeps coming back and never quits."

Rachel Rondeau

Year in school: Freshman

Course preferred: Flat; likes Manchester's course.

Weather preferred: Warm.

Running style: "She goes out hard but is a second-half runner who finishes strong."

Sectional: 4. 15:53

Regional: 17. 15:58

Semistate: 15. 15:09

Injuries: None.

Sibray: "She has been the fluent one. She runs so smoothly. Being able to run up front has really helped. She has a wonderful attitude about approaching the race."

Summer Boyd

Year in school: Senior

Course preferred: Likes Ox Bow; likes a course that has some hills.

Weather preferred: Doesn't matter

Running style: "She knows her pace and where she needs to be each mile. She paces herself."

Sectional: 9. 16:12

Regional: 19. 16:13

Semistate: 24. 15:29

Injuries: Has battled back problems since spring.

Sibray: "She's been our leader for four years. It's good to give her the opportunity to go to state this year."

Amy Robertson

Year in school: Junior

Course preferred: Flat.

Weather preferred: Moderate.

Running style: "She's like Rachel, a strong finisher. She establishes herself then tries to build up so she can finish strong."

Sectional: 24. 17:13

Regional: 36. 16:47

Semistate: 63. 16:17

Injuries: None.

Sibray: "Amy is an excellent worker who is conscientious about her role on the team."

Melonie Albert

Year in school: Sophomore

Preferred course: "She likes a mixture. She's a strong runner."

Weather preferred: Colder.

Running style: "She may not push it as hard early as Jennifer, but she likes to try to stay up front."

Sectional: N/A

Regional: 52. 17:21

Semistate: 96. 16:56

Injuries: Has battled severe stomach problems since spring.

Sibray: "To go through what she has all year with her stomach problems ... any lesser person would have given up."

Cassie Noble

Year in school: Junior

Preferred course: Flat

Running style: "She goes out and is pretty consistent throughout the whole race."

Sectional: 40. 18:25

Regional: N/A

Semistate: 122. 17:51

Injuries: None

Sibray: "She's a hard worker who's run consistently all year. She brings a lot of spirit to our team. She's our jokester." [[In-content Ad]]