The area teams begin cross country competition this week and will run through the sectional on Oct. 18. Regionals will be one week later and the semistate will be Nov. 1. The state finals will take place Nov. 8.

Warsaw

The Tigers' boys team returns its entire varsity roster from last year's squad that qualified for regionals. The names will be the same, but the results may be even better.

"The difference between this year and last year," head coach Jeff Grose said, "is that they are in much better shape and a lot better conditioned. The times are much better. They are older and they've had that year of experience. We're off to a good start."

David Hoffert, Will Woodward, Greg Patrick and Justin Rice will be the top runners.

Last year, Warsaw squeaked out a number of meets and Grose would like to see that change.

"This year I hope that we can do a really nice job in the (Northern Lakes) conference and make it easier on themselves by winning the meets by a much larger number than just one, two or three meets. It was a great year last year, but this year should be better."

Chris Gackenheimer, Don Kennedy and Ian Fussle will battle for starting roles behind the top four.

On the girls side, head coach Paul Sibray sees this team as one that will not be carried by one runner. After having just five girls two years ago and nine girls last year, the cross country team now boasts 14 girls.

"Last year, we had Summer (Boyd), and then we had a big gap, then three or four other girls," Sibray said. "This year, we have three or four girls to fill in that gap. It's wonderful for me to come and see 14 girls. It looks like a mob to me, but I'll take it."

Boyd, Rachel Cullison, Amy Robertson and Kim Love are the top tier runners, but Sibray feels that Julie Wilhite, Kim Fluke, Ashley Blue, Andrea Harrold, Christy Bassford and Mary Cupp could all push those top four runners.

Sibray has only good things to say about his only senior, Blue.

"I ask for leadership from my seniors," Sibray said. "Ashley is out here running injured. She shouldn't even be out here running, but she wants to run. That's the kind of girls we have. She has loose cartilage. This is the kind of girl she is. She talked the doctor into allowing her to run.

"I'm not sure we will win any more meets. But we will be better off overall."

Triton

Head Coach Kurt Kreft is in an enviable situation. His girls team went 6-4 last year, lost only one senior and added six new solid runners to a team that went to the regional last year. It's hard to think of a better situation than that, but Kreft has one in his boys team. The Trojan boys went 8-2 last year without a single senior. To top that off, Triton is still without a senior this year. It can't get much better than that.

"We should be very strong on the boys team, probably the strongest in years," Kreft said. "On the girls side, we made it to regionals as a team last year, and we should at least accomplish that and probably more."

The only loss to graduation among the two teams was Rachael Yeiter. However, there will be plenty of runners ready to take her place.

Reaghan Kreft, Lissa Bradley, Liz Miller and Devan Marsh will all start. Freshman Shelly Miller looks like a strong candidate to take Yeiter's spot among the starters.

Mason McIntyre, who qualified for regionals last year, Wes Rettinger, Matt Savill and Jason Lemler will return as the top four this year. The boys team did lose Isiah Bowers, who decided not to run this year, but it shouldn't hurt the team. Jason Bules and Bryan Bell should also battle for starting spots.

"I would like to see the boys take first or second in the (Northern State) conference," Kreft said. "I'd really like to see us go undefeated in the regular season. I don't know if it's possible, but I would like to see the boys advance to regionals as a team. It will be close, and it will depend on how they develop through the year.

"I'd like to see the girls qualify for regionals again this year and win the conference. I'd like to see three girls qualify for regionals also."

Manchester

Head coach Kevin Walter can rely on a number of veterans to lead the boys and girls teams.

Senior Jeremy Stacy has been the No. 1 runner the past two years and will anchor the team again this year. Junior Josh Hileman will be the No. 2 runner, replacing graduate Royce Walters. Daniel Walter, a three-year letter winner, will hold down the No. 3 position. Junior Tom Wion and sophomores Derek Miller and Lee Shafer will also be probable starters. Freshman Nate Kerr could push for a starting spot.

Jan Riccus and Rod Smith are the other sophomores on the team. Ryan Accetta, Ross Fawley, Joel Hartsough, Scott Holbert, Tyler Selleck and Luke Thompson are the other freshmen additions to the team.

Outside of Walters, Manchester also lost Chris Good, Andres Buecher, Reed Christiansen, Adam Sell and Matt Scheerer from last year's team.

The girls only key loss from last year's team was Tara Wion. Marissa Knecht, the only senior on the team, will be the captain. Her sister, sophomore Shay Knecht, qualified for the semistate last year. Cassie and Christy Markstahler are the only other two returning letter winners.

Jocelyn Warren, Alyson Beery, Heidi Yoder and Amy Harris are the other members of the team.

"We think we're improved," Walter said. "Especially on the girls side. We have our four returning veterans. We have seven girls, and that's the ideal number. The boys are an unknown. We return a number of people, but some of the veterans are really been challenged by these freshman."

Wawasee

Dave Stookey's boys team can see improvement over last year out of one eye and a commitment to the future out of the other eye. Last year's team had only seven members, while the squad this year will carry 13. With six freshmen, Wawasee can look toward building for the future without surrendering much this year.

"It's like a rebuilding year with that many freshman," Stookey said. "But we still have some veterans to build around. I'm looking for an improvement win-loss wise."

The Warriors were not hit too hard by graduation, losing only two runners, John Hursch and Matt Engleberth. Hursch, however, was Wawasee's top runner from a year ago.

Three letterwinners return and all will start. Jeff Moerchen, Curtis Shoemaker and Peter Wagoner all ran extensively last year. Also, Dusty Lytle is expected to start after getting experience last year on the varsity squad. Pete Melendez, a freshman, could crack the top five, along with Jerid Stoffel, who played football last year, but switched to cross country.

"Hopefully, we will improve on our conference record," Stookey said. "We lost a couple of close ones, but that doesn't count. I'd like to qualify for the regional, at least."

Betsy Hoffman's girls team has high expectations for this year and the future. Hoffman wants to see the team advance at least to the semistate this year and with only one senior and one junior, the team will gain the experience for the following years.

"We lost a real good runner with Aubrey Coy," Hoffman said. "But, the sophomores are really strong. I think we've got a good chance of having a good year. If I can keep everybody healthy this year, they'll be making some marks."

Mary Cockburn, Alisha Henderson and Megan Hoffman will be the probable top three runners. Katy McCauley is the No. 4 runner but will be pushed hard by Krista Bestul, Laura Lundin, Mandie Sawyer and Brenda Wong.

Cockburn is the only senior and Hoffman the only junior, so the sophomores will gain plenty of experience for the next two years.

"That's going to be the meat of the team for the next couple of years," Hoffman said. "We lost six seniors from last year and only got one freshman in, so the team is down size-wise. However, I don't think that is going to hurt us. The runners I have are strong runners."

NorthWood

The NorthWood boys team lost six players in all. Dan Bontrager, Barry Anglemyer and Ross Martin all graduated. Jason Bonewitz decided not to run this year and another runner was lost to soccer. Only five sophomores and two freshmen remain on the team.

"We're very young," head coach Kirt Hunsberger said. "We're going to take our bumps especially in the conference. It's a pretty solid conference all the way around. We're just looking to get some guys some experience."

Sophomore Aaron Hoover will be the top runner. He placed third in the (Northern Lakes) conference in the two-mile run in track last year. Sophomores Mark Davidhizer and Andy Rummel will start along with freshman Jason Myers. Sophomores J.R. Luvano, Jeremy Sarber and freshman Jonathan Lechlitner will push for the final starting spot.

"Each meet we run, we will gain experience," Hunsberger said. "There aren't going to be a lot of bright spots as far as wins, but we're pretty solid with four guys. One of our goals is to establish a solid fifth runner as soon as possible."

On the other hand, the girls team has some high expectations. Hunsberger believes that this team may be the one of the best teams ever at NorthWood. Brooke Tobias is one of the top runners in the area. She was runner-up in the conference and sectional last year and finished ninth in the semistate.

"On the girls side, the conference is very tough," Hunsberger said. "Northridge is the team to beat, but that second spot is wide open. That's the one we're going to go after."

After Tobias, seniors Amanda Hoover and Monica Whitehead will start. Two junior volleyball transfers, Angie Callander and Annie Zell should also start.

"There are a couple of invitationals that we go to this year that we can come away from with some wins," Hunsberger said. "We need to get some experience for these girls who have never run but have good talent."

Tippecanoe Valley

Terry Screeton's boys and girls cross country teams are both looking to improve on seasons that were drastically different last year.

The boys team ended 1-7 last year, and despite having only six team members, will look for more wins. The girls team ended 7-1 last year and missed the semi-tate by just five points. This year, Screeton hopes that the team can qualify for semistate.

"We're going to be real strong on the girls side again," Screeton said. "On the boys side, we're going to be much improved time-wise. I just hope that translates into some wins."

Graduation dug deep into the Valley girls team last year. Heather Wilcox, Christina VanCleave and Aura Strohschein are all gone from the team. The boys team lost no one from a very young team and will use the experience from last year as a stepping stone.

The six members of the boys team are Kevin Hileman, Ian Fawley, Mike Ross, David Tilden, Evan Boggs and Nick Miller.

Jenny Day is the No. 1 runner on the girls side. Sarah Kindig and Tamar Strohschein will back up Day in the starting lineup. Kelly Walters and Steph Tilden will also start. Emily Jackson, Tiffany Norris and Cari Whetstone will battle for the last two starting spots.

Francis Kanter, Kelly Kamp, Liz Stavedahl and Jamye McCalla will also compete on the team.

Whitko

Steve Hoopingarner returns the majority of his runners from last years boys team and also improved in size. The team went from eight athletes last year to 11 this year and lost only Ben Fingerle to graduation.

Mike McKeighen, Tylen Hull, Jered Deckena and Daryl Nicodemus are Hoopingarner's top four boys. Phil Fetro, Micah Moncrief and Scott Ervin should be the next three runners for Whitko.

Joshua Hoffman, Greg Kessie, Zach Kessie and Adam Bower will round out the Wildcats' team.

"Our goal is to place second in the conference," Hoopingarner said. "We also want to get out of sectionals."

The girls team has just seven runners on this year's squad. Brooke Southworth, Jill Metzger, Rita Wilkinson, Tiffany Obregon, Rachel Lehman, Natalie Ridenour and Lisa Menck will all contribute.

"Setting personal best times for each of the individuals is a goal," Hoopingarner said. "We'll probably struggle a little bit to start out with, but we'll improve a lot throughout the year."

Cross Country Capsules

Manchester Boys

Previous Record - 3-4

Home Meets - Manchester High School

Key Losses - Royce Walters, Chris Good, Andres Buecher, Reed Christiansen

Probable Starters - Jeremy Stacy, Josh Hileman, Daniel Walter, Derek Miller, Lee Shafer, Tom Wion

Other Members - Jan Riccus, Rod Smith, Ryan Accetta, Ross Fawley, Joel Hartsough, Scott Holbert, Nate Kerr, Tyler Selleck, Luke Thompson

Manchester Girls

Previous Record - 4-3

Home Meets - Manchester High School

Key Loss - Tara Wion

Probable Starters - Marissa Knecht, Cassie Markstahler, Shay Knecht, Christy Markstahler

Other Members - Jocelyn Warren, Alyson Beery, Amy Harris

Wawasee Boys

Previous Record - 3-6

Home Meets - Wawasee High School

Key Losses - John Hursch, Matt Engleberth

Probable Starters - Jeff Moerchen, Peter Wagoner, Curtis Shoemaker, Dusty Lytle, Pete Melendez, Jerid Stoffel

Other Members - Kyle Bowser, Robby Chalfant, John Heckaman, Ken McIntosh, Andy Popenfoose, Andrew Waugh, Dustin Young, George Coquillord

Wawasee Girls

Previous Record - 7-2

Home Meets - Wawasee High School

Key Losses - Aubrey Coy, Heather Levernier, Heather Morgan, Kristin Sigler, Jenny Szynal

Probable Starters - Mary Cockburn, Alisha Henderson, Megan Hoffman, Katy McCauley

Other Members - Krista Bestul, Laura Lundin, Mandie Sawyer, Brenda Wong, Julie Blakeslee

NorthWood Boys

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - NorthWood High School

Key Losses - Dan Bontrager, Barry Anglemyer, Ross Martin, Jason Bonewitz

Probable Starters - Aaron Hoover, Mark Davidhizer, Andy Rummel, Jason Myers

Other Members - J.R. Luvano, Jeremy Sarber, Jonathan Lechlitner

NorthWood Girls

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - NorthWood High School

Key Loss - Sarah Bonewitz

Probable Starters - Brooke Tobias, Amanda Hoover, Monica Whitehead, Amanda Hoover, Monica Whitehead

Other Members - Stacey Cerame, Grace Bonewitz, Tina Cerame

Valley Boys

Previous Record - 1-7

Home Meets - Tippecanoe Valley High School

Key Losses - None

Probable Starters - Kevin Hileman, Ian Fawley, Mike Ross, David Tilden, Evan Boggs, Nick Miller

Valley Girls

Previous Record - 7-1

Home Meets - Tippecanoe Valley High School

Key Losses - Heather Wilcox, Christina VanCleave, Aura Strohschein

Probable Starters - Jenny Day, Sarah Kindig, Tamar Strohschein, Kelly Walters, Steph Tilden

Other Members - Emily Jackson, Tiffany Norris, Cari Whetstone, Francis Kanter, Kelly Kamp, Liz Stavedahl, Jamye McCalla

Warsaw Boys

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - Warsaw Community High School

Probable Starters - David Hoffert, Will Woodward, Greg Patrick, Justin Rice

Other Members - Chris Gackenheimer, Ian Fussle, Don Kennedy, Alain Germeaux, David Robertson, Darren Granger, Adam Conley, Matt Zellers, Chris Wilson, Nate Ridderman, Jason Sibray, Jeremy Miller, Mike Jenks, Matt Krallman, Cory Gackenheimer, Rob Peters, Jacob Sweatland, Scott Moore

Warsaw Girls

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - Warsaw Community High School

Key Losses - Jill Sibray

Probable Starters - Summer Boyd, Rachel Cullison, Amy Robertson, Kim Love

Other Members - Julie Wilhite, Kim Fluke, Ashley Blue, Andria Harrold, Christy Bassford, Mary Cupp, Katie Hake, Rachel Siesennop, Linda Winston, Jenny Ellison

Triton Boys

Previous Record - 8-2

Home Meets - Triton High School

Key Loss - Isiah Bowers

Probable Starters - Mason McIntyre, Wes Rettinger, Matt Savill, Jason Lemler, Jason Bules, Bryan Bell

Other Members - Rob Salyer, Brandon Zeider, Ben Moore, Mark Walters, Chris Leiter, Justin Vining

Triton Girls

Previous Record - 6-4

Home Meets - Triton High School

Key Loss - Rachael Yeiter

Probable Starters - Reaghan Kreft, Lissa Bradley, Liz Miller, Devan Marsh, Shelly Miller

Other Members - Kylie Carter, Cara Wampler, Gwen Roberts, Sisteen Christian, Crystal Maahs, Danielle Kreft, Shelly Miller, Melissa Virgil

Whitko Boys

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - None

Key Loss - Ben Fingerle

Probable Starters - Mike McKeighen, Tylen Hull, Jered Deckena, Daryl Nicodemus, Phil Fetro, Micah Moncrief, Scott Ervin

Other Members - Joshua Hoffman, Greg Kessie, Zach Kessie, Adam Bower

Whitko Girls

Previous Record - N/A

Home Meets - None

Key Loss - Susan Dome

Probable Starters - Brooke Southworth, Jill Metzger, Rita Wilkinson, Tiffany Obregon, Rachel Lehman, Natalie Ridenour, Lisa Menck [[In-content Ad]]