Wawasee Boys, Girls XC Teams Have Common Goal
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Both Wawasee’s boys and girls cross country teams, however, have the same goal.
Competing at Saturday’s New Haven Semistate at IPFW in Fort Wayne, the top six teams and top 15 individuals from a non-qualifying team will advance to the Nov. 2 IHSAA state finals in Terre Haute.
The Wawasee girls advanced to the semistate by finishing third at Saturday’s Elkhart Central Regional, while the boys were fifth.
At the semistate, the Lady Warriors will compete in a field with five ranked teams, including No. 5 Carroll, No. 7 Penn, No. 9 Pendleton Heights, No. 10 Northridge and No. 12 Homestead.
Those five teams may be favorites to get out, but the sixth position is up for grabs, and that’s where Wawasee fits in.
“Obviously, the teams that are going to be up front are Carroll, Penn, Northridge and teams like that, but we need to take care of teams that we know we can run with,” first-year Wawasee coach Doug Slabaugh said. “Those teams would be Fort Wayne Concordia, Fremont, Norwell and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.”
Even against the second tier of teams, Wawasee will need to run a strong race to finish in the top six.
“I think it’s a position we can get to, but as a team, they need to be up and ready to go,” Slabaugh said. “We’ll have to have real good day.
“Our pack needs to be ready to go and be able to help one another,” he added. “It’s always nice when you have your teammates there pulling you along.”
The Wawasee pack was pretty strong during the regional at Ox Bow Park in Dunlap, as the Lady Warriors’ runners finished between 14th and 67th place.
Having just run the sectional at Ox Bow four days earlier, Wawasee was familiar with the course, and lead runner junior Bre Robinson, dropped six seconds between the two meets, from 20:17 to 20:11.
However, in the days between the two meets the biggest drops in times for Wawasee were made by freshmen Delanie Bame and Elizabeth Zorn.
Finishing 28th at the sectional, Bame posted a time of 21:30, but ran the course in 20:29 four days later at the regional, finishing 22nd.
Zorn placed higher at the sectional (46th) than she did at the regional (59th), but her time of 21:51 at the regional was 54 seconds faster than her sectional time of 22:45.
“Physically, they’re feeling good,” Slabaugh said about the freshmen duo. “As long as they come mentally prepared, they should have a good day.”
Despite the big drops, neither has bested Robinson, who returns for the New Haven Semistate after finishing 50th in 20:24.
“She’ll come ready to race and she’s just a hard worker,” Slabaugh said.
Robinson and junior Courtney Linnemeier are the lone upperclassmen, as the other five runners have been freshmen Bame, Zorn, Bridgette Yoder, Molly Swartz and Bailey Schroeder.
With so much youth, it’s hard to say how the girls will respond to a meet this late in the season, but Slabaugh isn’t worried.
“They’re loose, but are also real excited about the opportunity,” he said. “They’re up for a challenge, so they’re coming in ready to go.”
The Wawasee boys will also be ready to go Saturday, although their chances for advancement will be tougher.
Seventh-ranked Carroll will be the favorite in the boys race, but No. 15 Northridge will push them, as will No. 19 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, No. 22 Homestead and No. 25 Mt. Vernon.
Wawasee’s boys squad advanced to the semistate following its fifth-place finish at the Elkhart Central Regional, but Slabaugh insists the ultimate goal is to finish in the top six at semistate.
“The main goal is to get the team out (to state), then the next thing is to get the team some experience,” he said. “They’re excited. They’re guys that have plenty of experience and need to step up.”
The experienced guys will be the ones with the best shot to advance.
Senior Adam Doll was fifth at both the sectional (16:38) and the regional (16:34), while junior Zach Cockrill made a big jump between his sectional and regional times, going from 17:16 to 16:36.
“Those two play a big part in our team’s success,” Slabaugh said. “We’re looking forward to them leading the team.”
Doll is making his first appearance at the semistate, but has consistently been Wawasee’s strongest runner and is a strong contender to advance to Terre Haute.
“He’s one of those guys you want on your team,” Slabaugh said. “He’s really embraced his role. I’ve seen him grow a lot and mature. He’s pumped for Saturday. He’s real excited.”
And helping Doll along has been Cockrill.
“It’s great having him right there with (Doll),” Slabaugh said. “He pushes him in practice and those two really help pull our team along. If those two can move up from where they’re seeded, it would be awesome. Every place matters.”
With Doll and Cockrill leading the team, the rest of the Wawasee runners will need to pack up, including senior Austin Yoder, junior Bailey Yoder, junior Troy Carolus, senior Austin Krizman, along with either Sam Griner or senior Jacob Tucco.
“They need to come out and get into position,” Slabaugh said. “They need to be tough. They need to fight and show some heart and desire.”[[In-content Ad]]
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Both Wawasee’s boys and girls cross country teams, however, have the same goal.
Competing at Saturday’s New Haven Semistate at IPFW in Fort Wayne, the top six teams and top 15 individuals from a non-qualifying team will advance to the Nov. 2 IHSAA state finals in Terre Haute.
The Wawasee girls advanced to the semistate by finishing third at Saturday’s Elkhart Central Regional, while the boys were fifth.
At the semistate, the Lady Warriors will compete in a field with five ranked teams, including No. 5 Carroll, No. 7 Penn, No. 9 Pendleton Heights, No. 10 Northridge and No. 12 Homestead.
Those five teams may be favorites to get out, but the sixth position is up for grabs, and that’s where Wawasee fits in.
“Obviously, the teams that are going to be up front are Carroll, Penn, Northridge and teams like that, but we need to take care of teams that we know we can run with,” first-year Wawasee coach Doug Slabaugh said. “Those teams would be Fort Wayne Concordia, Fremont, Norwell and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.”
Even against the second tier of teams, Wawasee will need to run a strong race to finish in the top six.
“I think it’s a position we can get to, but as a team, they need to be up and ready to go,” Slabaugh said. “We’ll have to have real good day.
“Our pack needs to be ready to go and be able to help one another,” he added. “It’s always nice when you have your teammates there pulling you along.”
The Wawasee pack was pretty strong during the regional at Ox Bow Park in Dunlap, as the Lady Warriors’ runners finished between 14th and 67th place.
Having just run the sectional at Ox Bow four days earlier, Wawasee was familiar with the course, and lead runner junior Bre Robinson, dropped six seconds between the two meets, from 20:17 to 20:11.
However, in the days between the two meets the biggest drops in times for Wawasee were made by freshmen Delanie Bame and Elizabeth Zorn.
Finishing 28th at the sectional, Bame posted a time of 21:30, but ran the course in 20:29 four days later at the regional, finishing 22nd.
Zorn placed higher at the sectional (46th) than she did at the regional (59th), but her time of 21:51 at the regional was 54 seconds faster than her sectional time of 22:45.
“Physically, they’re feeling good,” Slabaugh said about the freshmen duo. “As long as they come mentally prepared, they should have a good day.”
Despite the big drops, neither has bested Robinson, who returns for the New Haven Semistate after finishing 50th in 20:24.
“She’ll come ready to race and she’s just a hard worker,” Slabaugh said.
Robinson and junior Courtney Linnemeier are the lone upperclassmen, as the other five runners have been freshmen Bame, Zorn, Bridgette Yoder, Molly Swartz and Bailey Schroeder.
With so much youth, it’s hard to say how the girls will respond to a meet this late in the season, but Slabaugh isn’t worried.
“They’re loose, but are also real excited about the opportunity,” he said. “They’re up for a challenge, so they’re coming in ready to go.”
The Wawasee boys will also be ready to go Saturday, although their chances for advancement will be tougher.
Seventh-ranked Carroll will be the favorite in the boys race, but No. 15 Northridge will push them, as will No. 19 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, No. 22 Homestead and No. 25 Mt. Vernon.
Wawasee’s boys squad advanced to the semistate following its fifth-place finish at the Elkhart Central Regional, but Slabaugh insists the ultimate goal is to finish in the top six at semistate.
“The main goal is to get the team out (to state), then the next thing is to get the team some experience,” he said. “They’re excited. They’re guys that have plenty of experience and need to step up.”
The experienced guys will be the ones with the best shot to advance.
Senior Adam Doll was fifth at both the sectional (16:38) and the regional (16:34), while junior Zach Cockrill made a big jump between his sectional and regional times, going from 17:16 to 16:36.
“Those two play a big part in our team’s success,” Slabaugh said. “We’re looking forward to them leading the team.”
Doll is making his first appearance at the semistate, but has consistently been Wawasee’s strongest runner and is a strong contender to advance to Terre Haute.
“He’s one of those guys you want on your team,” Slabaugh said. “He’s really embraced his role. I’ve seen him grow a lot and mature. He’s pumped for Saturday. He’s real excited.”
And helping Doll along has been Cockrill.
“It’s great having him right there with (Doll),” Slabaugh said. “He pushes him in practice and those two really help pull our team along. If those two can move up from where they’re seeded, it would be awesome. Every place matters.”
With Doll and Cockrill leading the team, the rest of the Wawasee runners will need to pack up, including senior Austin Yoder, junior Bailey Yoder, junior Troy Carolus, senior Austin Krizman, along with either Sam Griner or senior Jacob Tucco.
“They need to come out and get into position,” Slabaugh said. “They need to be tough. They need to fight and show some heart and desire.”[[In-content Ad]]
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