TERRE HAUTE – They were hoping for a better finish Saturday, but the Warsaw Lady Tigers certainly had a cross country season to be proud up. With a team score of 408 points, the 6th-ranked Lady Tigers finished 16th among the 24 teams in the 34th annual girls state finals at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. While the goal, first-year coach Matt Campbell said last week, was to finish in the top 10 at state, it just wasn't meant to be. “We weren't happy with our place, but I'm happy with how they ran,” said Campbell, whose team's journey to the state finals included sectional and regional titles and a third-place finish in the New Prairie Semistate. “We had three girls set personal records. We're proud of that. We didn't have everybody run as strong as we wanted, but we have a lot of things to be proud of.” Mishawaka senior Anna Rohrer, who missed last season because of a foot injury after winning state as a sophomore, won Saturday's 5K girls race in a record time of 17:08, finishing 42 seconds ahead of runner-up Taylor Nicholson of Avon. Rohrer ran what was a state record time of 17:13 when she won two years ago. For warsaw, sophomore Allison Miller led the way, finishing 58th out of 208 runners in a time of 19:12. “She went for it,” Campbell said of Miller, who won individual sectional and regional titles and finished fourth in the semistate. “The leaders ran the first mile in 5:30. Her PR is 5:22. The competition at state is insane.” Also for the Lady Tigers, junior Emma Hayward (19:47) finished 110th, freshman Mia Beckham (19:51) was 119th, junior Brooke Rhodes (19:51) was 121st, sophomore Anna Craig (20:22) was 156th, junior Hannah Dawson (20:25) was 159th and sophomore Charlene Orr (20:27) finished 163rd. “We're young,” said Campbell. “This was a great experience, and we're focused on doing better next year. The girls improved from last year, and we have a lot of things to be proud of.” The Lady Tigers finished 21st out of 24 teams in the 2013 state finals. Carmel won the girls team state championship with 55 points, claiming its fifth-straight state title. The Greyhounds also won five consecutive titles from 1984-88. Avon finished a distant second with 124 points, followed in the top 10 by West Lafayette (147), Penn (158), Columbus North (171), Zionsville (247), Carroll (272), Pendleton Heights (283), Floyd Central (284) and Hamilton Southeastern (284). Northridge, the team Warsaw shared the Northern Lakes Conference championship with, finished 12th with 348 points. In the 69th annual boys state finals, Carmel senior Ben Veatch beat Brebeuf Jesuit senior Zack Snider in a photo finish. Both crossed the line in 15:09, three seconds ahead of third-place runner Cooper Williams of West Lafayette. Williams’ finish led West Lafayette to a state title on the 50th anniversary of its last championship. The Red Devils won the team title with 133 points, while two-time defending champion Carmel was second with 140 points. Munster finished third with 143 points, followed in the top 10 by Columbus North (164), Brebeuf (182), Bloomington North (237), Hamilton Southeastern (241), Carroll (246), North Central (246) and Bloomington South (253). Goshen, which won the Northern Lakes Conference boys championship, finished 20th with 509 points.
STATE FINALS (5K, LaVern Gibson Championship Course, Terre Haute) GIRLS Team Scores – Carmel 55, Avon 124, West Lafayette 147, Penn 158, Columbus North 171, Zionsville 247, Carroll 272, Pendleton Heights 283, Floyd Central 284, Hamilton Southeastern 284, Warren Central 300, Northridge 348, Lake Central 366, Bloomington South 370, Valparaiso 400, Warsaw 408, Indpls Catheral 415, Portage 417, Seymour 442, Homestead 443, Terre Haute North 450, LaPorte 504, Jasper 547, Huntington North 557 Top 10 – 1. Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka) 17:08 (state record), 2. Taylor Nicholson (Avon) 17:50, 3. Madison Woods (Penn) 17:55, 4. Alexandra Dalton (Greenwood) 18:03, 5. Lauren Johnson (W. Lafayette) 18:12, 6. Rachel Nichwitz (Ham. S'eastern) 18:14, 7. Haley Harris (Carmel) 18:15, 8. Alex Buck (Pendleton Heights) 18:16, 9. Madelyn Dalton (Carmel) 18:18, 10. Katherine Free (Indpls Cathedral) 18:18 Warsaw – 58. Allison Miller 19:12, 110. Emma Hayward 19:47, 119. Mia Beckham 19:51, 121. Brooke Rhodes 19:51, 156. Anna Craig 20:22, 159. Hannah Dawson 20:25, 163. Charlene Orr 20:27
BOYS Team Scores – West Lafayette 133, Carmel 140, Munster 143, Columbus North 164, Brebeuf Jesuit 182, Bloomington North 237, Hamilton Southeastern 241, Carroll 246, North Central 246, Bloomington South 253, Avon 257, Fishers 320, Terre Haute South 327, Lake Central 349, Valparaiso 356, Crown Point 410, Mt. Vernon 430, West Noble 465, North Harrison 488, Goshen 509, South Bend Riley 511, Lafayette Jeff 518, Terre Haute North 579, East Noble 585 Top 10 – 1. Ben Veatch (Carmel) 15:09, 2. Zack Snider (Brebeuf) 15:09, 3. Cooper Williams (W. Lafayette) 15:12, 4. Seth Williams (Col. North) 15:14, 5. Mark Beckmann (DeKalb) 15:25, 6. Ryan Kritzer (Munster) 15:26, 7. Chase Ballard (Col. North) 15:26, 8. Brandon Arnold (W. Noble) 15:30, 9. Curt Eckstein (Oldenburg Acad) 15:32, 10. Jacob Schmeling (Carroll) 15:33
