No. 6 Tigers like chances of advancing to state meet
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
Having already notched a sectional and regional title into its belt, the sixth-ranked Warsaw boys cross country team would like to add another one Saturday at the New Prairie Semistate. However, at the semistate, the Tigers are running into a formidable foe in No. 2 Valparaiso, which finished seventh at last year’s state meet. “Valpo is definitely the favorite,” Warsaw boys cross country coach Jim Mills said. “(Individually), one, two, three, we're probably as good, if not better, than them, but they get us on the depth. Their 4 and 5 (runners) are definitely stronger than us right now. It could be a battle, but if we beat them Saturday, I'd probably be one of the most surprised people at the meet.” Valparaiso and Warsaw actually met up on the New Prairie course on Sept. 15 for the New Prairie Invitational. In the large-school division, Valparaiso won with 49 points and Warsaw was a distant second with 104. In that race, Warsaw senior Jacob Poyner took first place in 15:35, with junior Ellis Coon finishing fifth and senior Robert Murphy 10th, while Valparaiso’s Peyton Reed was third and Taylor Bisacchi was fourth. In all, Valparaiso had five runners finish in the top 18, and it’s that depth that has Mills hesitant to say his guys will win the semistate title. “We're getting better at the 4 and 5 (runners),” Mills said about his other runners, sophomore Daniel Messenger, senior Brysten James, junior Tyler Houvener and junior Nate Haller. “We're not where we need to be. Our goal this year is to get on that podium (at state) and be one of the top five teams. We're on the edge right now and it's really up to our 4, 5 guys. Our top three guys are getting the job done.” With a top six team finish, the Tigers will be moving on to the Oct. 27 state meet at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute for the second-straight year. Manchester’s Matthew Fahs-Brown will compete in the semistate as an individual and must finish in the top 15 to advance to state. “Our first goal is just to move on,” Mills said. “There's seven or eight really good teams there (at the semistate). If they have a good day and we have a bad day, you just never know what will happen. That's why you run every race. We should be in good shape, although our No. 2, Ellis Coon, has been sick this week. We're hoping by Saturday he's feeling better, but you just can't ever let your guard down, regardless of how things look on paper.” The other ranked teams at the semistate are No. 15 Crown Point, No. 20 West Lafayette and No. 24 Hobart, but Warsaw and Valparaiso appear to be on another level. The difference is the top runners, and Warsaw is led by Poyner, who won last week’s Culver Academies Regional in 15:54, followed by Coon’s 16:00 and Murphy’s 16:01. “Jake's looking really good right now,” Mills said. “He's running strong and doesn't have any real issues to deal with. His legs are feeling good.” Outside of competition from his own teammates, other runners that may threaten Poyner are Bisacchi and Reed of Valparaiso, as well as Cooper Williams and Jake Cohen of West Lafayette. “There's probably five guys coming in Saturday who could win,” Mills said. “It's just about who's day it is and who's feeling it. I'd have to say Jake would be the favorite to win the championship. When it gets to that level, these guys are so close in terms of their abilities. All it takes is being a little off your game and someone being really on.” Having already run on the New Prairie course last month, the Tigers are pretty happy to be realigned this season. In years past, Warsaw ran in the Elkhart Central sectional and regional then moved to the New Haven Semistate, but this year, it traveled to Culver for the sectional and regional. And even though the trip is longer to New Prairie, the guys aren’t disappointed. “It's not one of the easiest courses, but we always seem to run well there,” Mills said. “The guys like the course, so we're actually pretty glad that we got realigned this year. We got sent to Culver instead of Elkhart (for the sectional and regional), then we got sent to New Prairie instead of New Haven. Our guys just hate that New Haven course (at IPFW). I can't say we've had a good race there over the years. The guys like New Prairie, so hopefully that will lend itself to us having a good race.” And with a good race, they’ll be back at state, even though their mentality will be a little different this time around. “Last year, (semistate) was one of those meets where our goal was just to get to the state (meet), and we did,” Mills said. “We knew we were not nearly a good enough team to get on that podium (at state). We finished right where we were rated about all season (in 15th). We did not run a great race that day, but we were happy. This year, going in our expectations are a lot higher. Being ranked in the top six, I don't think is something the guys pay a lot of attention to. Provided we get out Saturday, I don't think it's going to be any big deal, as far as having an effect on our guys because they've been there now.”
