DUNLAP - Though they ran the same 5,000-meter course at Ox Bow Park Saturday, Warsaw's boys and girls cross country teams used different routes in advancing to the semistate.
En route to their fourth-place finish, the Warsaw boys used a consistent team effort to score 97 points, placing four runners among the top 21 finishers.The Lady Tigers, on the other hand, got a first- and second-place finish, respectively, out of their top two runners and finished third as a team with 82 points.
"I preached all week to the kids that it's not about getting faster, it's about staying healthy," said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills. "We're just a little off. We're right there, running with some very good teams."
The top five teams, as well as the top 15 individuals, advanced to Saturday's New Haven Semistate, which will be at IPFW.
Concord won the boys regional championship with 51 points, followed in the top five by South Bend St. Joe (77), Northridge (88), Warsaw (97) and Mishawaka (118).
Penn finished sixth in the boys competition with 156 points, followed by Wawasee (160), Goshen (169), South Bend Riley (190) and South Bend Clay (277).
Senior Nate West led the Warsaw boys with a 12th-place time of 16:38, while junior Trevor Callahan (16:47) was 15th, senior Jeremiah Stichter (17:03) was 20th, junior Jordan Scroggs (17:03) was 21st and junior Zach Hollopeter (17:34) finished 38th.
"The biggest thing for us is we weren't far off of St. Joe," said Mills. "We figured St. Joe would just come in here and annihilate some teams, and we weren't far off them. We're right there. Trevor Callahan PRed, Nate West was in the 16-minute range and two guys were right at 17 minutes. We just need to get our fifth guy to move up a little."
The final two runners in Warsaw's lineup, freshman Brysten James (17:58) and junior Marcos Aguirre (18:19), finished 57th and 62nd, respectively.
Wawasee senior Jose Mejia, who finished fourth in Tuesday's sectional at Ox Bow Park, finished 16th in the regional, missing out on a semistate berth by six seconds.
Wawasee junior Adam Glannon finished 19th in a time of 17:03.
No other Warrior runner finished in the top 30 of the 73 runners.
In the girls event, Penn won the team title with 68 points, finishing ahead of Northridge (74) and Warsaw (82).
Also advancing to the semistate are the girls teams from South Bend Riley (97) and Mishawaka (132).
Fairfield finished sixth with 151 points, followed by St. Joe (164), Bremen (174), Goshen (224) and Concord (309).
Just as she has in every race she's competed in this season, Warsaw freshman Ashley Erba won the regional, finishing in a time of 18:34.
Erba's regional-championship time was seven seconds faster than her sectional-winning time from Tuesday.
Just like she did in the Northern Lakes Conference Meet and the sectional, Warsaw senior Cendall Ogle finished second, crossing the line in a time of 19:00.
Ogle's regional runner-up time was 11 seconds better than her sectional runner-up time.
Sophomore Brooke Kline finished 15th for the Lady Tigers in a time of 19:59.
"Brooke Kline finished 15th, she ran a great race," said Warsaw girls coach Jerry Gackenheimer. "We've got three runners in the top 15, that's pretty good. Every body ran well. We really wanted to get to the semistate, and that's what we did."
Warsaw sophomore Lilly Fleming finished 33rd in a time of 20:45, while Warsaw's fifth scoring runner, sophomore Creigh Ogle, was 39th in a time of 21:08.
Senior twins Amber (21:21) and Bethany Plummer (21:35) finished 43rd and 46th, respectively.
"In August, we sat down and set some goals," said Gackenheimer. "We set a goal of winning the Tiger Invitational. We set a goal of winning the Northern Lakes Conference. We set a goal of advancing to the state finals. So far we've accomplished our goals. We had hoped to win the sectional, but we're still running, that's the important thing. We're going to the semistate, going to run our best and try to advance to the state finals."
The boys race at Saturday's semistate is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., with the girls to follow at approximately 1:45 p.m.
There will be 20 teams, as well as a number of individuals, competing in each race.
The top six teams, as well as the top 15 individuals, advance to the state finals, which will take place Oct. 31 in Terre Haute.
BOYS
Team scores - Concored 51, St. Joe 77, Northridge 88, Warsaw 97, Mishawaka 118, Penn 156, Wawasee 160, Goshen 169, Riley 190, Clay 277
Individual champion - Trevor Moore (Northridge) 16:13
Warsaw - 12. Nate West 16:38, 15. Trevor Callahan 16:47, 20. Jeremiah Stichter 17:03, 21. Jordan Scroggs 17:03, 38. Zach Hollopeter 17:34, 57. Brysten James 17:58, 62. Marcos Aguirre 18:19
Wawasee - 16. Jose Mejia 16:53, 19. Adam Glannon 17:01, 35. Matt Rensberger 17:28, 49. Silas Shear 17:51, 51. Daniil Garnder 17:54, 66. Thunder Olsen 18:28, 69. Jack Adams 18:50
GIRLS
Team scores - Penn 68, Northridge 74, Warsaw 82, Riley 97, Mishawaka 132, Fairfield 151, St. Joe 164, Bremen 174, Goshen 224, Concord 309
