NEW CARLISLE – A suspension cut Zeb Hernandez’s season short last year.
The Warsaw Lady Tigers failed to advance from the semistate in 2017.
They are all making a return trip to the boys and girls cross country state finals this weekend.
Hernandez, Warsaw’s standout boys runner who finished 24th in the state meet as a sophomore in 2016, finished 11th in Saturday’s semistate at New Prairie High School with a time of 16:30 and advanced as an individual.
Warsaw’s boys team finished 10th out of 20 teams with 237 points and didn’t make the cut.
The top six teams as well as the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team qualified for the state finals, which will be held Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute.
The Lady Tigers didn’t have a runner in the top 20 of the 178-person 5K girls race, but finished fifth out of 20 teams with 180 points.
“We have always focused on the entire group performance. We knew if we could close the gaps between our runners it would put us in a good position to advance,” said Warsaw girls coach Jason Fleming.
Freshman Wini Barnett led the Lady Tigers with a 28th-place time of 19:56, while sophomore teammate Adree Beckham was 36th in 20:03.
The rest of Warsaw’s five scoring runners included senior Remi Beckham (44th, 20:15), freshman Ava Knight (54th, 20:28) and senior Angie Sanchez-Vijil (62nd, 20:44).
Junior Amslie Howett (82nd, 20:59) and senior Carmen Yoder (123rd, 21:43) rounded out the Lady Tigers’ seven-runner lineup.
The places that runners on teams finished didn’t equate to the points they received, as runners competing as individuals were not scored.
Barnett, for example, was scored as 23rd, though she finished 28th.
Fleming said he wasn’t as concerned about times at this point in the season as he was where his runners finished.
“In the postseason we have focused on places and less on times,” said Fleming. “We want to be in the mix up front regardless of the times.”
West Lafayette won the girls team title with 55 points and were joined in the group of qualifying teams by Valparaiso (92), Chesterton (134), Lowell (143), Warsaw (180) and Crown Point (189).
West Lafayette senior Mary Schultz was the race winner with a time of 18:24, finishing nine seconds ahead of Lowell senior Jordyn Boyer.
The Manchester Lady Squires finished 12th out of 20 teams with 314 points.
Sophomore Torina Runkel led Manchester with a 34th-place time of 20:01, and was followed in the team’s scoring lineup by sophomore Halle Briner (76th, 20:52), freshman Kambree Cashdollar (92nd, 21:14), and seniors Jaelyn Webb (100th, 21:20) and Katie Barker (119th, 21:37).
Juniors Maddy Evans (156th, 22:28) and Sydney Diefenbaugh (168th, 23:01) rounded out the Lady Squire’s lineup.
On the boys side, Lowell junior Gabriel Sanchez won with a time of 15:59. He finished just under three seconds ahead of runner-up Genesio Christofanelli, a junior from Crown Point.
Caston senior Mitchell Rans, who won the sectional and regional races at Culver Academies that Warsaw’s boys won as a team, was third with a time of 16:07.
Valparaiso won the semistate boys title with 100 points, three points ahead of runner-up Lowell, and 13 points ahead of third-place Crown Point.
Highland (141), Harrison (145) and West Lafayette (155) rounded out the six boys teams that qualified for the state meet.
Warsaw was the only area school competing in the 179-competitor boys race as a team, and was led by Hernandez’s 11th-place finish.
Sophomore Sam Lechlitner finished 25th in 16:51 and missed advancing by one spot.
The rest of the Tigers’ scoring lineup included sophomore Jacob Kissling (50th, 17:19), senior Jack Horoho (88th, 17:38) and junior Fernando Niebbia (126th, 18:12).
Freshman Harrison Phipps (130th, 18:13) and senior Anthony Bass (162nd, 19:00) rounded out Warsaw’s lineup.
The Tigers were without the services of sophomore Tanner Stiver, who has been a consistent No. 3 runner for the team this season but was in a walking cast Saturday.
Two area runners competed in the semistate as individuals – Tippecanoe Valley sophomore Matthew Howes (94th, 17:42) and Manchester sophomore Carter Bedke (113th, 17:59.
NEW PRAIRIE SEMISTATE
Note – top 6 teams as well as top 10 individuals not on an advancing team qualify for state finals.
(Girls)
Team Scores – West Lafayette 55, Valparaiso 92, Chesterton 134, Lowell 143, Warsaw 180, Crown Point 189, Hobart 241, Twin Lakes 265, Wheeler 287, Lake Central 302, Portage 302, Manchester 314, LaPorte 330, McCutcheon 348, Rochester 367, Harrison 388, Culver Academies 391, Munster 405, Western 467, Benton Central 474
Manchester – 34. Torina Runkel 20:01, 76. Halle Briner 20:52, 92. Kambree Cashdollar 21:14, 100. Jaelyn Webb 21:20, 119. Katie Barker 21:37, 156. Maddy Evans 22:28, 168. Sydney Diefenbaugh 23:01
(Boys)
Team Scores – Valparaiso 100, Lowell 103, Crown Point 116, Highland 141, Harrison 145, West Lafayette 155, Chesterton 178, Portage 189, New Prairie 212, Warsaw 237, LaPorte 249, Lake Central 343, Merrillville 393, Caston 401, Plymouth 417, McCutcheon 439, Culver Academies 458, Frankfort 459, Lafayette Jeff 494, Rochester 497
Race Winner: Gabriel Sanchez (Lowell) 15:59
Warsaw – 11. Zeb Hernandez 16:30, 25. Sam Lechlitner 16:51, 50. Jacob Kissling 17:19, 88. Jack Horoho 17:38, 126. Fernando Niebbia 18:12, 130. Harrison Phipps 18:13, 162. Anthony Bass 19:00
Local Individuals – 94. Matthew Howes (T. Valley) 17:42, 113. Carter Bedke (Manchester) 17:59
