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NO. 5 (5A) HOMESTEAD AT WARSAW
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Warsaw
Coaches: Drew Wood (Homestead), Phil Jensen (Warsaw)
Records: Homestead 1-0, Warsaw 1-0
Last Game: Homestead 57, Hunt. North 0; Warsaw 19, Columbia City 13
Last Year: Did not play
Matchup: Warsaw has ended its county rivalry with Tippecanoe Valley and will now battle the always-tough Homestead Spartans, the 1998 5A state runner-up. Junior tailback Brad Seiss led the Tigers on the ground in last Friday's win, carrying the ball 13 times for 47 yards in limited action. Seiss suffered a concussion in the game and will not play Friday. David Muta fared well in replacing Seiss last week, rushing for 25 yards on five carries and scoring the winning touchdown. Homestead 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior quarterback Mike Rhinehart rushed for three touchdowns and tossed two more in the Spartans' 57-0 thrashing of Huntington North last Friday. In all, Rhinehart was 12 of 19 for 211 yards.
Wood: "(Warsaw's) size alone is intimidating. Even more scary is their tailback (Seiss). I've heard a lot of good things about him, and he's looked good on film. Their quarterback (Jared Scrafton) looks like a big strong kid with good speed who can run and pass. Skill-wise, they look pretty solid. With their front-line size, we're not planning on going head to head with them. They propose a lot of problems. We look forward to going against them."
Jensen: "Mike Rhinehart is a great high school athlete. It's incredible that he's that big and can move like that. I think he runs a 4.6 (second) 40 (yard dash), and he's smart. But we can't worry about him. We're working on getting better. In the Columbia City game we fought hard and found a way to win. Now we have to work on doing things fundamentally. If we do those things for four quarters, the result doesn't matter. Rhinehart is a great player, and Homestead is a great team. It will be a great challenge. Playing fundamentally for four quarters is the true challenge."
WAWASEE AT CARROLL
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Fort Wayne
Coaches: Joe Rietveld (Wawasee), Mike Cheviron (Carroll)
Records: Wawasee 1-0, Carroll 1-0
Last Game: Wawasee 42, Whitko 22; Carroll 44, Leo 14
Last Year: Carroll 30, Wawasee 12
Matchup: A week ago these two teams combined to score 86 points. Defense will be a key this week. Last year the Warriors managed to score only 12 points against Carroll in an 18-point loss. Warrior quarterback Brent Doty passed for 116 yards and one score last week on 12-of-16 passing. Doty also led the Warriors on the ground with 56 yards rushing on three attempts. Travis Klenke led the Wawasee receiving corps with three catches for 40 yards. Kenny Hendricks led the Charger ground attack in last Friday's win over Leo with 99 rushing yards on nine attempts. He scored two touchdowns as well. Senior quarterback Matt Ogle was 8-of-13 passing for 156 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Rietveld: "(Carroll) is big, fast and athletic. They're a good football team. I think their line has four guys who are at least 6-3, 250. Their quarterback is 6-5 and over 200 pounds and runs the option. He can throw the ball, and he can throw the ball deep. Their defense switched to a 4-3. They are an aggressive team, and they get up the field. Our offense plays well for their defense. We spread them out. We were 12 of 16 (passing) last week, and those were mostly short passes. We have to get the ball outside. They're going to pack it inside."
Cheviron: "(Wawasee) spreads things around with their receivers. There's not really one guy you can key on. I'm impressed with their passing game. Their offensive line is big, as always. Offensively they're a sound team. Defensively we see some things we can attack. They run a 4-3, which is what we like."
TRITON AT NORTHFIELD
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Wabash
Coaches: Rod Wildman (Triton), Tony Uggen (Northfield)
Records: Triton 1-0, Northfield 1-0
Last Game: Triton 14, Caston 9; Northfield 25, Wabash 6
Last Year: Northfield 24, Triton 0
Matchup: Triton snapped an 18-game losing streak with its win over Caston last Friday. Northfield snapped an eight-game losing streak with its win over Wabash. The Trojans' last win came against Northfield on Aug. 28, 1998. Northfield's last win came against Triton. Joe Potter led Triton's rushing attack a week ago with 103 yards. Landon Grubbs and Bryon Watkins combined for 75 yards receiving, while junior quarterback Steven Boyer was 3 of 6 through the air for 81 yards and a touchdown. Northfield senior quarterback Shawn Smith rushed for 129 yards and passed for 80 yards in the Norseman's win over Wabash last week. Smith was responsible for three touchdowns. Northfield will be without the service of Chad McWhirt, who tore something in his shoulder and will miss five to six weeks. Josh Judy will miss three to four weeks with a knee injury.
Wildman: "We saw a good attitude, and the kids were determined to win (last week). We saw more aggressive, tough play than we've seen in two years. (Northfield) comes in off a win as well. It's the first time in a long time we've both come in 1-0. They like to spread out and run the run-and-shoot offense. Their quarterback, Shawn Smith, throws well and runs well."
Uggen: "I felt we played reasonably well last week. We made few mistakes and no turnovers. We only had five penalties, which I think is pretty good for a first game. Our quarterback, Shawn Smith, ran for 129 yards and passed for 80 and had three touchdowns, so he had a pretty good game. They (Triton) have some size. Per pound they are bigger than us up front. We didn't lose any skilled players last year. We're pretty evenly matched, except for us losing some kids to injury last week. They play about 15 kids and we play about 18 to 20. So if we can wear them out, it might make life easier."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY AT MISSISSINEWA
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in Gas City
Coaches: Scott Bibler (T. Valley), Vince Lorenzano (Mississinewa)
Records: T. Valley 1-0, Mississinewa 0-1
Last Game: T. Valley 13, North Judson 0; Manchester 20, Mississinewa 7
Last Year: Did not play
Matchup: Mississinewa senior Chris Lamb, who rushed for 1,500 yards last year as a junior, picked up where he left off. He carried the ball 25 times for 208 yards in Mississinewa's 20-7 loss to Manchester last week, including one 76-yard gallop. Lamb, 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, is a physical runner who breaks tackles and is not afraid to lower his head and take hits. Valley broke out its new ground game last week, and results were mixed. The Vikings failed to score an offensive touchdown - the two scores came from the defense. Then again, Valley dominated the clock and field position, running 60 offensive plays to North Judson's 38. North Judson managed but five first downs. Valley ran the ball 50 times for 147 yards.
Bibler: "(Lamb) is a big concern of ours. He's a very strong runner with a nice balance of strength and speed. Our front four must have a great night, as well as our linebackers. Mississinewa runs a lot of blasts, isolations right at the linebackers because they are big up front. Their guards go 225, and their tackles are 235 and 240. They went 5-5 last year, but with eight returning starters on offense and eight returning starters on defense, they are expected to do better this year. We've seen them do some play-action. They are a run-oriented team. ... I was exceptionally pleased with our defensive play Friday night because North Judson was a huge team. They looked like they had men out on the field. To keep them to 108 yards of total offense was great. To get two defensive scores was exceptional. I was a little disappointed we didn't score on offense, but we ate up the clock and kept them in poor field position."
Lorenzano: "Valley runs a dive-option set with a lot of motion. They have some pretty good running backs, and (B.J.) Cunningham is especially good. They have average speed and size, but their kids run hard. ... Last week I thought we had some breakdowns, especially in the first half, when we had 11 penalties. While we have Lamb, we have a new quarterback, fullback, center, tight end and new wideouts. I'm pleased we moved the ball against a team the size of Manchester, but at the same time, not pleased we didn't score more than we did. Defensively against Valley, we have to stop Cunningham. We have to gang-tackle and swarm around him, or in our terms, draw blood. We can't give up the big plays down the field. Offensively, we have to complete our passes and stretch their defense. We know they will put eight or nine up there in the box to try to stop the run."
HERITAGE AT MANCHESTER
Kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday in North Manchester
Coaches: Bob Yager (Heritage), Al Bailey (Manchester)
Records: Heritage 1-0, Manchester 1-0
Last Game: Heritage 39, N. Haven 20; Manchester 20, Mississinewa 7
Last Year: Heritage 35, Manchester 21
Matchup: Heritage may be loaded with underclassmen players at the skilled positions, but those underclassmen delivered the first week. Heritage racked up 430 rushing yards in the win over New Haven. Junior Jerry Clopton tallied 201 yards, and junior Matt Fleming rolled up 164 yards. Manchester senior running back Josh Peden rushed for 79 yards on 27 carries last week against Mississinewa. The Squires scored all 20 points in the first half. Manchester had 242 yards, but Bailey believes the Squires would have left the game with more points and a lot more yardage had they not dropped so many balls.
Yager: "Manchester's backfield is definitely a strength for them. Peden is a good running back, and they have a couple of fullbacks who do some nice blocking for him. Their quarterback throws the ball pretty well. Manchester is a team that likes to run the football but will mix in the pass. You have to defend the run and the pass against Manchester, because they do both pretty well. ... I'd say last week went better than expected for us because I didn't know what to expect. We have a combination of a veteran line and talented underclassmen running backs. We have four linemen back who started last year. Our backfield is made up of juniors, but they've been through it already. Clopton started all last year, and Fleming started against Luers."
Bailey: "They had a lot of good athletes last year, but their young guys grew up last year. They are a junior-laden team this year. Their goal is to run the ball, but they will use the play-action pass. Their line has pretty good size, averaging about 220. Their h-back is 5-10, 165 pounds. Their other back is 6-0, 190. He shows patience, gliding along until he finds a seam and takes off. Heritage uses the wing-T offense with some misdirection, and that's hurt us in the past. What you see is not always what you get with that offense. There will be all kinds of fakes. It's the same offense as what Whitko runs and what Valley has started running this year. Our defensive players can't just fly to the tailback. Everybody has to play an area when you face a misdirection team."
COLUMBIA CITY AT WHITKO
Kick-off: 7 p.m. Friday in South Whitley
Coaches: Ron Frickey (Col. City); Bryan Sprunger (Whitko)
Records: Columbia City 0-1; Whitko 0-1
Last Game: Warsaw 19, Col. City 13; Wawasee 42, Whitko 22
Last Year: Columbia City 45, Whitko 8
Matchup: After starting the season with a loss, both Whitko and Columbia City are hungry for a win. The Eagles will look to last year's leading rusher Joel Cearbaugh to lead the offensive push. Against Warsaw, Cearbaugh gained 141 yards on 34 attempts. Cearbaugh also caught three passes for 36 yards last week and punted four times for 84 yards for an average of 21 yards. Signal caller Aaron Parker completed 4 of 9 passes for 42 yards to add to the Eagle offense as well. Whitko will look to Brent Goble to lead the ground attack after gaining 100 yards on six carries against Wawasee. The Wildcats will look to Adam Wendel and Brad Walpole to lead the offense at the quarterback slot. Wendel completed 6 of 10 passes for 53 yards, while Walpole completed 3 of 4 passes for 46 yards last week. Jeff Shepherd (two catches for 23 yards), Adam Hall (two catches for 22 yards) and Alex Frantz (two catches for 31 yards) shared the Whitko receiving duties.
Frickey: "Personally, Bryan and I have played against each other 16 times, and we are good coaching friends. Whitko runs an excellent misdirection wing-T that has given us fits in the past. Had they not turned the ball over against Wawasee, the game would have been very close. Obviously Joel (Cearbaugh) is an excellent running back, he was an all-conference running back with 1,100 yards last year. Week to week we try to establish a running game, but we try to set up the pass, too. A must for us is to do better in special team play. Last week poor special team play was the difference in the game against Warsaw."
Sprunger: "Columbia City is very similar to Wawasee. Offensively they have Joel Cearbaugh, a 1,000-yard rusher last year, returning. They want to get the ball in his hands as much as possible and create things for him offensively. They have a good football program and Ron Frickey is a good coach. We've got to work on some things from last week. We didn't tackle. We had a good first half, but then in the second half we fumbled the ball five times. Football is about the simple things, the basics. We are going to work on blocking, tackling and holding on to the football."
NORTHWOOD AT BREMEN
Kick-off: 7 p.m. Friday in Bremen
Coaches: Rich Dodson (N'Wood); Geoff Jankowski (Bremen)
Records: NorthWood 0-1; Whitko 0-1
Last Game: Jimtown 30, N'Wood 21; Plymouth 27, Bremen 13
Last Year: NorthWood 34, Bremen 28, OT
Matchup: This will be a battle of two tough teams who did not start the season the way they would have liked, NorthWood with a nine-point loss to No. 3 Jimtown and Bremen with a 14-point loss to a tough Plymouth squad. The Panthers will look to Mike Blosser, who moved into the quarterback spot left open by Charlie Roeder's graduation. Blosser completed 10 of 15 passes for 117 yards with no interceptions against Jimtown. He also rushed for 17 yards. Willy Will was Blosser's favorite target, catching five passes for 57 yards. Ben Lehman led the Panther ground attack with three rushes for 47 yards. The Lions will look to Brett Leeper to lead the ground attack after he gained 72 yards on six carries last week against Plymouth. Quarterbacks Nick Bragg and Kevin Faulstich combined to complete 6 of 10 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown last week. Jason Shideker was their favorite target, catching four passes for 40 yards.
Dodson: "I really don't know much about Bremen this year. They have a good runningback in (Brett) Leeper. They have the ability to be a good football team. Right now we are just trying to prepare our football team to play against anyone. We need to play better and eliminate some mistakes we made last week. We need to run the football better and make Bremen earn everything they get."
Jankowski: "NorthWood has a good quarterback, MIke Blosser, this year. He can run the football and throw the football, I think he may even be better than (Charlie) Roeder last year. Willy Will, a receiver, is probably their best athlete, and he is tough as well. We will try to stop Will and Blosser. Our team is good defensively and pretty good offensively. We are making strides. We are working on special teams right now. We made some mental mistakes here and there. We had some trouble with punts and lost some fumbles, so Plymouth got the ball at our 40-yard line most of the time. That doesn't give you much space to work with."
Sibray Battles Back After Surgery To Remove Tumor
By Jeff Holsinger, Times Union Sports Editor
The words on Paul Sibray's gray T-shirt read, "Life is simple. Eat. Sleep. Run."
If only this were true all the time.
Sibray, Warsaw's girls cross country coach, is living proof life does not always follow words printed on a gray T-shirt.
Sibray loves to run. At cross country meets, Sibray would run along the course to see how his athletes were doing at certain points. And they were not always his athletes. He would do the same at boys meets, even though he wasn't the boys coach. He'd run along to offer encouragement.
Last year Sibray's team pushed the season to the limit. Warsaw advanced to the state finals, the first Warsaw girls cross country team to do so. The Tigers placed 13th.
As the season wore on, Sibray found it increasingly difficult to run in practice with his team. Finally, the week of the state finals, he couldn't run at all.
Something was wrong.
"I figured my blood count was real low, that I had anemia," Sibray says. "The doctors worked on my anemia but couldn't get my blood count up. It was headed toward where I would need a transfusion, so I decided to head up to Mayo to get treated for anemia.
"They found that I had a tumor between my spinal cord and spine."
The tumor went a long way toward explaining the kidney problems, the bladder problems and the weakness in his hands. The weakness in his hands was there for as long as he could remember. Doctors previously consulted told him the weakness was a hereditary condition, that there was nothing he could do about it.
"I gradually got weaker and weaker," Sibray says. "It had been building for years and culminated last year. Now they think all of that was tied to the tumor."
The tumor was not the only bad news. Doctors also found a protein indicative of cancer. To make matters even worse, the tumor, which had thinned out his spinal cord, was completely hidden. The only way to get to it would be to move his spinal cord during surgery.
Sibray's eight-hour operation took place Feb. 15.
After the surgery, Sibray could wiggle his toe.
That was it.
"They told me going in I had an 85 percent chance of coming out the way I went in," Sibray says. "We never talked about the other 15 percent. This was a surprise."
But Sibray fell into the 15 percent group. Today he has no feeling from his chest down. He did regain more movement. His walk is a slow shuffle aided by a cane.
"My legs are really heavy, like they are asleep and they never wake up," he says. "If I kick something, there is a prickly feeling. I know when I bump something.
"They can't give me any timetable, can't tell me how much feeling I may regain. That's the way it is with a spinal cord."
Sibray set two goals. One, he wanted to compete in a race by July 4. Two, he wanted to continue coaching. He didn't get to run his race, and he had doubts about coaching when the only thing he could wiggle was a toe.
"I never wanted to give this up," he says. "It's too much fun, too meaningful."
Sibray rehabs two times a week in Fort Wayne. He teaches half-days at Claypool Elementary then goes to cross country practice in the afternoons.
"(Tuesday) was rough," Sibray says. "(Wednesday) was better. It's just like training to run. You're tired in the beginning, but it gets better."
During rehab sessions the therapist asks Sibray to take longer steps while keeping his balance.
"The hardest part," he says, "is thinking about everything I have to do just to walk. I have to think about three things just to walk."
The good news is, since the doctors removed the tumor, his kidneys have functioned better, his blood count has gone up and the protein indicative of cancer has been cut in half.
"The doctors can't figure it out," Sibray says, "but I know it has to do with pop - that's p-o-p - 'power of prayer.'"
His faith in God remains unshaken. Even now, Sibray says, "Everything fell into place. I was led to Mayo by God, and He took care of everything."
People aware of Sibray's plight offered their thoughts and volunteered to help any way they can. Gary Robertson, father of Warsaw cross country runner Amy Robertson, will help Sibray coach this season.
The familiar sight of Sibray running along the course and offering encouragement during meets cannot take place right now, but a solution has been offered. A local business plans to provide Sibray an all-terrain vehicle that he can use to get around at meets.
Just another example, he says, of what people have done for him and his family.
"The biggest part of it is not being as mobile as I'd like to be," Sibray says. "Students have been very willing to help. I have plenty of assistance.
"It's been as hard on my wife as it has been on me. She's my caretaker. She's been my coach. The support and care of our good friends and even from people we didn't know has made it a lot easier on us."
Cross Country Capsules
By Jeff Holsinger, TImes Union Sports Editor
Warsaw girls
Head coach/years: Paul Sibray (fifth)
1999 record/results: 6-1 NLC (second)/13th at state finals/second at semistate/fourth at regional/second at sectional
Opening meet: Saturday in DeKalb Invitational
2000 roster: 21
Key losses: Summer Boyd
Key returners: Senior Hillary Barlow, sophomore Rachel Rondeau, junior Jennifer Finch, junior Melanie Albert, senior Amy Robertson, senior Cassie Noble
Outlook: Warsaw's trip to the state finals last year earned the Tigers a No. 15 ranking in the preseason cross country poll. The trip to the state finals by the girls cross country team was the first in school history. Individual female cross country runners from Warsaw have gone to the state finals in past years. Warsaw last won the NLC title in 1990. The Tigers return six of their top seven runners from a year ago.
Sibray: "Everyone thinks as you get older, you'll be better. That's the case with guys, but girls are opposite of guys. Guys develop and get stronger. Girls develop and get slower. Look at your state champions. A lot of them are freshmen and sophomores. Right now, we're pretty comparable to where we were last year. We hope to have the same situation as last year, with three girls (Barlow, Finch, Rondeau) competing for first place. That's a good situation to have.
"Jennifer Finch runs better on flat courses. She's asthmatic, so the hills create a harder time for her. A big question mark for her early in the season is how she can contend with the weather with her asthma. Hillary likes courses that are more rugged. Rachel is good on any course. I think the conference will be very strong. Plymouth has a very strong runner in Morgan Uceney. If she gets any help at all, they will be very good. NorthWood and Goshen were solid last year."
Warsaw boys
Coach/years: Jim Mills (first)
1999 record/results: Third in the NLC; did not advance out of sectional
2000 roster: 21
Opening meet: Saturday at DeKalb Invitational
Key losses: Jason Sibray, Nate Ridderman
Key athletes: Senior Jake Sweatland, senior Matt Krallman, senior Cory Gackenheimer, senior Robert Peters, senior Michael Jenks, junior Darrin Fawley, freshman Ryan Holbrook, freshman Landon Geiger
Mills: "It's gonna take some of our younger kids helping out. We have to have seven or eight depth-wise because of injuries and sickness. We have great leadership. Northridge and Wawasee are two of the stronger teams in the conference. I believe if we pull it all together and our young guys come along, by the end of the year, we can challenge for the conference title."
Wawasee girls
Coach/years: Dave Stookey (sixth)
1999 record/results: Wawasee won one meet and placed last in the NLC
2000 roster: 8
Opening meet: Saturday at Hoke Farm meet; Wawasee placed second
Key losses: Jennie Gunden, Alisha Henderson, Julie Blakeslee
Key athletes: Freshman Brittany Winchester, freshman Meghan Lantz, senior Mandie Sawyer, junior Kayla Auer
Stookey: "I thought I had upwards of 15 girls committed to cross country, but one thing led to another, and several dropped out for various reasons. A couple of them who dropped out might have been faster than anyone we have left. We seem to be in a down cycle. We have some girls who have the potential to be decent runners. We hope to develop them, so we have five to go along with Rachael Stichter next year. Rachael is an eighth-grader who is undefeated in cross country meets."
Wawasee boys
Coach/years: Dave Stookey (sixth)
1999 record/results: Wawasee was undefeated in the regular season, tied for first in the NLC and placed fifth in the regional
2000 roster: 18
Opening meet: Saturday at Hoke Farm meet; Wawasee placed first
Key losses: Jerid Stoffel
Key athletes: Senior Rob Chalfant (41st at state finals last year), sophomore Ryan Stichter, sophomore Flaco Perales, sophomore Eric Gingerich, freshman Matt Dunithan, freshman Luke Stoffel
Stookey: "(Winning) the NLC has to be one of our goals. We know Northridge is really tough. NorthWood lost a couple of key guys; Warsaw, with their numbers, is always considered dangerous. I don't think there is any one dominant team in the conference. Rob is dealing with an injury, IT Band Syndrome. It's an overuse injury. He has still been running, and doctors think in three to six weeks he will be 100 percent. If our young guys contribute and Rob gets healthy, this could be one of the better teams to come out of Wawasee since the late 1980s, when a team went to state in 1988. The potential is there. Maybe this team is a year away, I don't know."
Tippecanoe Valley girls
Coach/years: Terry Screeton (15th)
1999 record/results: Fourth in the TRC, sixth at sectional
2000 roster: 14
Opening meet: Tuesday at Warsaw
Key losses: Emily Jackson
Key athletes: Senior Sarah Kindig, sophomore Sara Zehr, freshman Laura Lash, junior Kelly Allen, junior Carri McFarren, freshman Kayla Kruger
Screeton: "Everything's really positive. We're really tough for our first six or seven runners, we're pretty deep. We think we can finish in the top two in the conference. We're definitely looking at getting out of the sectional."
Tippecanoe Valley boys
Coach/years: Terry Screeton (15th)
1999 record/results: Seventh in the TRC, seventh at sectional
2000 roster: 10
Opening meet: Tuesday at Warsaw
Key losses: Evan Boggs, Chris Leiter
Key athletes: Junior Ben Vanlaningham, junior Jeff Whetstone, senior Ian Fawley, freshman Chris Hileman, freshman Eric Whetstone, senior Mike Ross, junior Jerry Ross
Screeton: "We're just looking for improvement. We'd like to move into the top four in the conference, which is a possibility. We're not healthy now, but by midseason, we hope we're challenging people."
Whitko girls
Coach/years: Steve Hoopingarner (12th)
1999 record/results: Whitko placed last in the TRC and did not advance out of sectional
2000 roster: 11
Opening meet: Thursday at home against Rochester
Key losses: None
Key athletes: Junior Angel Puckett (has advanced to semistate two years in a row), freshman Trista Mathias, freshman Jolene Reed, freshman Lisa Wilkinson
Hoopingarner: "We'll be young. We have some runners out for the first time. I think the girls will have a pretty good season. Northfield will be the team to beat, and Southwood will be pretty decent."
Whitko boys
Coach/years: Steve Hoopingarner (12th)
1999 record/results: Whitko placed third in the TRC and did not advance out of sectional
2000 roster: 9
Opening meet: Thursday at home against Rochester
Key losses: Darryl Nicodemus (advanced to regional last year as a junior), Mike McKeighen, Tylen Hull, Micah Moncrief, Phil Fetro
Key athletes: Sophomore Mark Walter, senior Josh Hoffman, senior Greg Kessie, sophomore Bart Loe
Hoopingarner: "We hope to steadily improve throughout the season and peak at the end. We need to get a meet underneath us to see where we're at. We lost a lot of seniors and a junior who would have been a decent runner, and that will hurt us."
Triton boys
Coach/years: Curt Kreft (fifth)
1999 record/results: 11-1/second in NSC/eighth in sectional
2000 roster: 17
Opening meet: Thursday at Knox
Key losses: Brandon Zeider, Jason Bules
Key athletes: Junior Nate Gephart (73rd at state finals last year), junior Chris Kauffman, junior Errik Lemler, freshman Josh Moore
Kreft: "These boys ran together three times a week during the summer. We expect to place first or second in the conference and first or second in the sectional. We expect to go to semistate. It's early, but this could be one of the best boys cross country teams Triton has ever had. We have good unity, and we have vocal leaders."
Triton girls
Coach /years: Curt Kreft (fifth)
1999 record/results: 8-4/third in the NSC/sixth in the sectional
2000 roster: 12
Opening meet: Thursday at Knox
Key losses: None
Key athletes: Senior Shelly Miller, sophomore Carrie Kauffman, junior Cassie McIntyre, sophomore Bobbi Rutherford, sophomore Ashley Zelt, freshman Emily Gephart, freshman Kylie Kreft
Kreft: "Since we had no seniors on last year's team and added a couple talented freshmen this year, we'll be better. Right now we're looking for leadership to give us some enthusiasm. We think we can place first or second in the conference, and we'd like to be in the top five in the sectional to make it regional."
NorthWood boys
Coach/years: Mark Mikel (third)
1999 record/results: 12-3 overall/3-3 (third) in the NLC/sixth at Elkhart Sectional
2000 roster: 8
Opening meet: NorthWood has completed two meets and is 2-0.
Key losses: Aaron Hoover (16th at semistate last season), Mark Davidhizar (54th at semistate last season), Jason Meyers
Key athletes: Senior Andy Yoder, senior Jon Lechlitner
Mikel: "Losing eight seniors to graduation, including two all-conference runners who went to semistate and Jason Meyers, to say this is a rebuilding year would be an understatement. We have four freshmen working hard, including two who are very talented. We have two sophomores who are really improving. We expect to see a lot of improvement throughout the year, and we're hoping to finish somwhere near where we finished last year. We'll probably take our lumps this year, but our kids have great attitudes and work ethics."
NorthWood girls
Coach/years: Kirt Hunsberger (sixth)
1999 record/results: 11-5/3-3 NLC/fourth at sectional/seventh at regional
2000 roster: 13
Opening meet: NorthWood has completed two meets and is 2-0.
Key losses: none
Key athletes: Junior Nina Bearss, senior Cort Sandy, freshman Kara Huff
Hunsberger: "We always look at winning the conference. This is the best the conference has been in my six years as girls coach. It's deep from top to bottom. The key for us is the end of the season. We have set a goal to go to semistate. We've been on the bubble the last couple of years and haven't been able to do it."
Manchester boys
Head coach/years: Fred Miller (first)
1999 record/results: N/A
Opening meet: Saturday at DeKalb Invitational
2000 roster: 6
Key losses: Derek Miller
Key athletes: Senior Scott Holbert, senior Ross Fawley, junior Kyle Williams
Miller: "My outlook is to see us improve on what we did last year. Being able to compete as a team at each race. If we improve individually on what we did last year, hopefully we'll improve as a team."
Manchester girls
Head coach/years: Fred Miller (first)
1999 record/results: N/A
Opening meet: Saturday at DeKalb Invitational
2000 roster: 4
Key losses: None
Key athletes: Junior Lydia Flora (advanced to semistate as a sophomore), freshman Erika Kambs, junior Jill Kambs (injured with stress fractures), sophomore Kassondra Burgan
