Of the 24 high school boys cross country teams that will compete in Saturday's state meet in Terre Haute, 14 were there last year. Among the teams back for at least a second-straight season is No. 9 Warsaw, as the Tigers will end their season on the state's biggest stage for the third-consecutive year. Saturday's 5K race, which will be run at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. The race will feature as many as 208 competitors – seven runners from each of the 24 teams, as well as 40 competitors that advanced to state as individuals. Among those competing indivudally is Manchester junior Matthew Fahs-Brown, who finished 10th in last week’s New Prairie Semistate. Warsaw finished a program-best fourth in last year’s state meet, led by Jacob Poyner (6th), Ellis Coon (8th) and Robert Murphy (14th). Poyner (Wake Forest) and Murphy (Vincennes), as well as steady runner Brysten James, graduated from last year's squad. A handful of other runners decided not to come out for the team this year. Still, the determined Tigers found their way back Terre Haute. “Last year we knew we could get on the podium,” said veteran Warsaw coach Jim Mills. “This year we've had a smaller group. I don't think a lot of people expected we'd do this, but the guys have worked hard and done everything we hoped they would.” Despite their graduation losses, as well as those that chose not to run, Warsaw won a third-straight Northern Lakes Conference championship, as well as sectional and regional titles before finishing second in last week's New Prairie Semistate. Warsaw’s seven-man lineup Saturday will feature seniors Ellis Coon, Tyler Houvener and Ryan Goon, juniors Daniel Messenger and Nick Bergen, and sophomore Jonathan Beres. “We think we have an oustide chance to make the podium again,” said Mills. “If we can put it all together, I don’t think it’s out of the question.” The Tigers dominated the 10-team sectional field, scoring 19 points, while Culver Academies was a distant second with 80 points. In the 10-team regional at Culver Academies, Warsaw won with 20 points, followed by runner-up Western with 78 points. And in last week’s New Prarie Semistate, Warsaw scored 108 points, finishing only behind fourth-ranked West Lafayette, which won the team title with 89 points. While Warsaw has been impressive as a team in all three stages of the state tournament, one common theme has been the impressive individual performances of Coon. The Tigers’ standout senior won the sectional in a time of 16:28, finishing 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Fahs-Brown. He won the regional in a time of 16:17, five seconds ahead of runner-up Robert Duke of Eastern. And he took first at the semistate in a time of 15:45, beating LaPorte senior Anthony Didion to the line by just over a second. Now Coon has one race left in his high school career, and he is among those expected to challenge for the top spot Saturday. “He feels confident right now,” Mills said of Coon. “He’s in great shape, and he’s had several weeks of great practices. He’ll be ready to go Saturday. Like I’ve said before, if it’s a close race down the stretch, I won’t bet against Ellis.” Others that are expected to contend for the individual state championship are Zachery Panning (Concordia), Jackson Bertoli (Terre Haute South), James Huffman (North Central), Ari Coulopoulos (Valparaiso) and Zack Snider (Brebeuf Jesuit). Panning and Bertoli finished second and fourth, respectively, in last year’s state meet, while the other contenders were among the top 16. Carmel is the defending team state champion. The Greyhounds are looking for their third championship in the past six years.
