Warsaw Runners Beat Wawasee, Plymouth
September 20, 2017 at 4:14 p.m.
Warsaw Runners Beat Wawasee, Plymouth
By Dale [email protected]
The Warsaw boys, running without suspended frontrunner Zeb Hernandez for the third consecutive meet, edged Wawasee 27-28 and beat the host Pilgrims 20-41 to complete a 7-0 conference season.
Wawasee’s boys handled Plymouth 21-40 and concluded the NLC?dual meet season with a 5-2 record.
On the girls side, Warsaw coach Matt Campbell rested five of his top seven runners, but the Lady Tigers showed their depth by beating Wawasee 19-44 and Plymouth 15-48.
The Lady Tigers will take a 6-1 league record into the NLC Meet at Ox Bow Park on Sept. 30, while the Wawasee Lady Warriors, who topped Plymouth 20-41, are 4-3.
Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills said he will learn more about Hernandez’s situation today, and that he was happy to see his other runners step up.
“It is what it is,” said Mills. “If we make it out of the semistate five weeks from now it’ll feel even better. I will know exactly what’s going on (today), but I’m gonna say he’s gone for the season.
“When I dropped the bomb on them they were in shock. We’ve talked every night about the loss of one is an opportunity for another. We’ve managed to do OK. Saturday we didn’t really run all that great (at the New Prairie Invitational). We had bigger gaps than we normally do, and against our semistate opponents we were only one place from making it out. So, we’re happy.”
Taylor Mills led Warsaw with a second-place finish Tuesday, crossing the line two seconds behind Wawasee’s Luke Griner.
The Tigers’ five scoring runners all finished in the top 12.
Justin Fleming was fifth (17:46), Lucas Howett sixth (17:53), Xavi Ramirez seventh (17:57) and Sam Lechlitner 12th (18:14).
“We’re not used to a lot of ups and downs like on this course,” said Mills. “No. 1, we don’t train on much of that, and of course it’s warmed up. I’m telling you, this course back when Jake (Poyner), Ellis (Coon) and Robert (Murphy) and them ran they stopped during the race at least four times to wait for other runners because they didn’t know where to go from turn to turn. And then it turned into this massive sprint to the finish.
“This course, we don’t have very good luck on.”
There was an instance of unfamiliarity Tuesday as well, as a Wawasee runner and a pair of Warsaw runners took a wrong turn.
It also happened in the girls race.
To go with Griner’s win, the Wawasee boys had all five of their scoring runners finish in the top 11.
Spencer Hare was fourth (17:40), Braxton Alexander eighth (17:59), Michael Hammer 10th (18:08) and Jace Alexander 11th (18:09).
“I think we showed a little bit of a learning curve from a couple weeks ago when we ran Northridge,” said Wawasee boys coach Chad Hoffert. “We started off a little bit too slow, thinking that Northridge would come back to us and they didn’t, and they squeaked it out by one.
“We talked about that. Sometimes you have to go out, maybe a little bit beyond your comfort so that you put yourself in position to give yourself a chance later on in the race.
“I think some of our guys maybe did go out a little beyond their comfort zone today to try and give themselves a chance later on in the race, and maybe it didn’t quite work out for them.”
In the girls 5K, Warsaw’s Megan Metzger captured the first win of her prep career, crossing the line in 21:36, two seconds ahead of runner-up Kenzie Smith of Wawasee.
The Lady Tigers saw all five of their scoring runners finish in the top six.
Adree Beckham was third (21:50), Taylor Gunter fourth (22:22), Sierra Palmer fifth (22:23) and Megan Dawson sixth (22:28).
“We sat five of our girls out, and we’re trying to find some missing pieces from the back end and she stepped up and won the race,” Campbell said of Metzger.
“It’s nice (to be able to rest girls). We’re just a lot bigger school, so we kind of have the advantage there. Our team works hard, all of them, so it’s nice to give other girls the opportunity to get some attention. We’re trying to build confidence, and we hope those girls believe they can run up there.”
Other scoring runners for the Lady Warriors included Caitlin Wortinger (13th, 23:28), Reagan Atwood (15th, 23:54), Autumn Turner (16th, 23:58) and Valeria Pizana (19th, 24:08).
Plymouth’s boys team was led by the third-place finish of Jeff Oliver, while Ella Hissong led the Lady Pilgrims with a seventh-place finish.
(Boys)
WARSAW 27, WAWASEE 28; WARSAW 20, PLYMOUTH 41; WAWASEE 21, PLYMOUTH 40
(listed are the five scoring runners)
Warsaw – 2. Taylor Mills 17:25, 5. Justin Fleming 17:46, 6. Lucas Howett 17:53, 7. Xavi Ramirez 17:57, 12. Sam Lechlitner 18:14
Wawasee – 1. Luke Griner 17:23, 4. Spencer Hare 17:40, 8. Braxton Alexander 17:59, 10. Michael Hammer 18:08, 11. Jace Alexander 18:09
NLC Records: Warsaw 7-0, Wawasee 5-2
(Girls)
WARSAW 19, WAWASEE 44; WARSAW 15, PLYMOUTH 48; WAWASEE 20, PLYMOUTH 41
Warsaw – 1. Megan Metzger 21:36, 3. Adree Beckham 21:50, 4. Taylor Gunter 22:22, 5. Sierra Palmer 22:23, Megan Dawson 22:28
Wawasee – 2. Kenzie Smith 21:38, 13. Caitlin Wortinger 23:28, 15. Reagan Atwood 23:54, 16. Autumn Turner 23:58, 19. Valeria Pizana 24:08
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The Warsaw boys, running without suspended frontrunner Zeb Hernandez for the third consecutive meet, edged Wawasee 27-28 and beat the host Pilgrims 20-41 to complete a 7-0 conference season.
Wawasee’s boys handled Plymouth 21-40 and concluded the NLC?dual meet season with a 5-2 record.
On the girls side, Warsaw coach Matt Campbell rested five of his top seven runners, but the Lady Tigers showed their depth by beating Wawasee 19-44 and Plymouth 15-48.
The Lady Tigers will take a 6-1 league record into the NLC Meet at Ox Bow Park on Sept. 30, while the Wawasee Lady Warriors, who topped Plymouth 20-41, are 4-3.
Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills said he will learn more about Hernandez’s situation today, and that he was happy to see his other runners step up.
“It is what it is,” said Mills. “If we make it out of the semistate five weeks from now it’ll feel even better. I will know exactly what’s going on (today), but I’m gonna say he’s gone for the season.
“When I dropped the bomb on them they were in shock. We’ve talked every night about the loss of one is an opportunity for another. We’ve managed to do OK. Saturday we didn’t really run all that great (at the New Prairie Invitational). We had bigger gaps than we normally do, and against our semistate opponents we were only one place from making it out. So, we’re happy.”
Taylor Mills led Warsaw with a second-place finish Tuesday, crossing the line two seconds behind Wawasee’s Luke Griner.
The Tigers’ five scoring runners all finished in the top 12.
Justin Fleming was fifth (17:46), Lucas Howett sixth (17:53), Xavi Ramirez seventh (17:57) and Sam Lechlitner 12th (18:14).
“We’re not used to a lot of ups and downs like on this course,” said Mills. “No. 1, we don’t train on much of that, and of course it’s warmed up. I’m telling you, this course back when Jake (Poyner), Ellis (Coon) and Robert (Murphy) and them ran they stopped during the race at least four times to wait for other runners because they didn’t know where to go from turn to turn. And then it turned into this massive sprint to the finish.
“This course, we don’t have very good luck on.”
There was an instance of unfamiliarity Tuesday as well, as a Wawasee runner and a pair of Warsaw runners took a wrong turn.
It also happened in the girls race.
To go with Griner’s win, the Wawasee boys had all five of their scoring runners finish in the top 11.
Spencer Hare was fourth (17:40), Braxton Alexander eighth (17:59), Michael Hammer 10th (18:08) and Jace Alexander 11th (18:09).
“I think we showed a little bit of a learning curve from a couple weeks ago when we ran Northridge,” said Wawasee boys coach Chad Hoffert. “We started off a little bit too slow, thinking that Northridge would come back to us and they didn’t, and they squeaked it out by one.
“We talked about that. Sometimes you have to go out, maybe a little bit beyond your comfort so that you put yourself in position to give yourself a chance later on in the race.
“I think some of our guys maybe did go out a little beyond their comfort zone today to try and give themselves a chance later on in the race, and maybe it didn’t quite work out for them.”
In the girls 5K, Warsaw’s Megan Metzger captured the first win of her prep career, crossing the line in 21:36, two seconds ahead of runner-up Kenzie Smith of Wawasee.
The Lady Tigers saw all five of their scoring runners finish in the top six.
Adree Beckham was third (21:50), Taylor Gunter fourth (22:22), Sierra Palmer fifth (22:23) and Megan Dawson sixth (22:28).
“We sat five of our girls out, and we’re trying to find some missing pieces from the back end and she stepped up and won the race,” Campbell said of Metzger.
“It’s nice (to be able to rest girls). We’re just a lot bigger school, so we kind of have the advantage there. Our team works hard, all of them, so it’s nice to give other girls the opportunity to get some attention. We’re trying to build confidence, and we hope those girls believe they can run up there.”
Other scoring runners for the Lady Warriors included Caitlin Wortinger (13th, 23:28), Reagan Atwood (15th, 23:54), Autumn Turner (16th, 23:58) and Valeria Pizana (19th, 24:08).
Plymouth’s boys team was led by the third-place finish of Jeff Oliver, while Ella Hissong led the Lady Pilgrims with a seventh-place finish.
(Boys)
WARSAW 27, WAWASEE 28; WARSAW 20, PLYMOUTH 41; WAWASEE 21, PLYMOUTH 40
(listed are the five scoring runners)
Warsaw – 2. Taylor Mills 17:25, 5. Justin Fleming 17:46, 6. Lucas Howett 17:53, 7. Xavi Ramirez 17:57, 12. Sam Lechlitner 18:14
Wawasee – 1. Luke Griner 17:23, 4. Spencer Hare 17:40, 8. Braxton Alexander 17:59, 10. Michael Hammer 18:08, 11. Jace Alexander 18:09
NLC Records: Warsaw 7-0, Wawasee 5-2
(Girls)
WARSAW 19, WAWASEE 44; WARSAW 15, PLYMOUTH 48; WAWASEE 20, PLYMOUTH 41
Warsaw – 1. Megan Metzger 21:36, 3. Adree Beckham 21:50, 4. Taylor Gunter 22:22, 5. Sierra Palmer 22:23, Megan Dawson 22:28
Wawasee – 2. Kenzie Smith 21:38, 13. Caitlin Wortinger 23:28, 15. Reagan Atwood 23:54, 16. Autumn Turner 23:58, 19. Valeria Pizana 24:08
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