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SYRACUSE - If Saturday's boys cross country semistate at Manchester High School was decided on paper, it appears that Wawasee would be making its first trip to the state meet since 1988.
If one were to look at last week's regional scores of the 20 participating teams, Wawasee would finish third - only DeKalb (47) and Richmond (49) topped Wawasee's regional runner-up score of 71.
The top five teams and 15 individuals advance to the state meet Nov. 4 in Bloomington.
"I think on paper it might look that way, that we should get out of there," Wawasee coach Dave Stookey said. "It's almost more mental preparation than it is physical. I think there's seven or eight teams that have a chance of getting out of there."
The complete Manchester Semistate field reads like this: Fort Wayne Northrop, Norwell, Bellmont, Fort Wayne North, Homestead, Richmond, New Castle, Union City, Centerville, Delta, DeKalb, Wawasee, Northridge, Central Noble, Angola, Northfield, Kokomo, Huntington North, Carroll (Allen County) and Marion.
Of those teams, Stookey lists DeKalb, Northrop, Carroll, Norwell, Northfield, Richmond, Northrigde, Kokomo and his Warriors as having the best chance to advance to the state meet.
He lists DeKalb and Northrop as the strongest teams.
"To me, there's probably eight teams that are fighting for the last three places," Stookey said. "Norwell lost to Northrop by one point (at sectional). They still have to be considered one of the teams with a better chance."
The Warriors advanced to the semistate by finishing second to DeKalb at the Elkhart Regional. Of the eight teams Stookey lists as contenders, three of them come from Wawasee's regional.
In advancing to the regional - after winning the sectionals last year and not getting out of the regional - Wawasee's top five runners finished between sixth-place and 31st-place.
Flaco Perales, normally Wawasee's No. 2 runner, finished sixth with a time of 16:48, while senior Rob Chalfant, normally Wawasee's No. 1 runner, ran through a sickness to finish seventh in a time of 16:48. The Warriors also got key finishes from Ryan Stichter (16th, 17:32), Luke Stoffel (26th, 17:45) and Curtis Farrell (31st, 18:00).
While Chalfant, who competed in last year's state meet as an individual, ran injured at the beginning of the season and sick last week, Stookey says the Warriors are as healthy as they've been.
"Physically, we're probably about as healthy as we've been in a while," Stookey said. "Rob is a real competitor, and he knows he has to be in the top 15. He was at state last year, and he knows it would be more fun if the whole team was there with him."
Chalfant ran a personal best time of 15:45 at the Manchester Invitational Sept. 30.
Saturday's boys race will begin at 11:30 a.m. The girls race will begin at 11 a.m.
MANCHESTER BOYS CROSS COUNTRY SEMISTATE
When - Saturday, boys race begins at 11:30 a.m.
Where - Manchester High School
Who - Fort Wayne Northrop, Norwell, Bellmont, Fort Wayne North, Homestead, Richmond, New Castle, Union City, Centerville, Delta, DeKalb, Wawasee, Northridge, Central Noble, Angola, Northfield, Kokomo, Huntington North, Carroll (Allen County), Marion
Note - The top five teams and 15 individuals advance to the state finals Nov. 4 in Bloomington.
