TERRE HAUTE – The Warsaw boys and girls cross country teams both competed in Saturday’s state finals in Terre Haute, and the atmosphere around them was much different following their respective races. Hoping for a top-five finish, the sixth-ranked Warsaw boys team was ecstatic, while the 16th-ranked girls finished 19th with defending state champion Ashley Erba having to settle for second individually. Entering as the favorite, Erba knew she would have some stiff competition in Mishawaka sophomore Anna Rohrer, who defeated her at this year’s New Prairie Invitational and held the state record time of 17:03.96. In Saturday’s 5K race, Erba, Rohrer and West Lafayette senior Bobbie Burgess separated themselves in from the pack, until Erba and Rohrer pulled away. Down the stretch Rohrer found another gear, leaving Erba behind to win in a new LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course record of 17:13.2. The state finals record had been 18:05.6, which Erba set last year. This year, five different girls ran faster than that, as Erba’s 17:29.2 was good for second, followed by Burgess’s 17:51.6, Columbus North junior Mackenzie Caldwell’s 17:55.8 and Eastern senior Bethany Neeley’s 18:04.2. “It didn't go as well as we had hoped,” Warsaw girls cross country coach Scott Erba said about his team, which finished 19th. “We're still looking at a state runner-up finish for Ashley. That's a great finish, but not where she wanted to be. We're still looking at a time she ran today that was 35-40 seconds faster than she was last year. That shows great improvement.” After the race, the Providence College-bound Erba, who received the mental attitude award, and her father/coach got together for a talk away everyone else. “She was upset things didn't go as she planned and she didn't feel like she wanted to feel at the end of the race,” Erba said. “There's just the initial sting. You learn from those and move on. “As Ashley gets to the different levels, in the spring and going into the summer, she's going to see better and better runners,” he added. “I think it's one of those things of setting high goals and attaining them. If something doesn't work out, then find out why it didn't work out.” The boys team also set a high goal, and did attain it. Going into the state meet, the guys felt if they all had good runs, they could finish in the top five as a team, and that definitely happened as three individuals finished in the top 15. While Barr-Reeve senior Connor Sorrells was winning in a time of 15:21.3, Warsaw senior Jacob Poyner was sixth (15:37.0), junior Ellis Coon was eighth (15:41.2) and senior Robert Murphy crossed the finish line in 14th (15:43.6). Carmel won the boys title with 93 points, followed by Carroll’s 116, Valparaiso’s 149, Warsaw’s 157 and Hamilton Southeastern’s 182 rounded out the top five. “To watch our program progress with the numbers and to see us jump up from 15th (at last year’s state meet) to fourth,” Warsaw boys cross country coach Jim Mills said. “I couldn't be happier for these guys.” Last year’s berth in the state finals was just the second time the program had reached that level, and it used it more as a learning experience than anything else. “You make your first trip and you're kind of just feeling your way through it,” Mills said. “You could see (Friday) what a difference there was. We came out here on the course and they were just having fun. You could just see the energy. It was a different team.” The team is led by Poyner, who redeemed his first appearance at state, when he finished 61st as a junior in a time of 16:30.0. “I think it was a God thing,” Poyner said about his improvement. “I know a lot of people say that, but I really think it was. I felt confident going into this. It was just a blessing and a lot of fun. “Last year, I was emotionally wacked out,” he added. “My iron levels were low. I was burning out. I came into it out of control and I fell apart. I feel like I've grown a lot in the span of one year.” And Poyner wasn’t the only one to show improvement, as Coon finished 96th last year and Murphy was 102nd, but now all three are all-state performers. Following last year’s cross country, as well as the track season, the three trained together, and pushed each other all year. In the end, that paid off as they finished within seven seconds of each other at state. “Being able to race with them is amazing,” Coon said. “I always get reminded at the end of the race by Robert about where he was, because it's just something he always tells me. It's just something he does. It's always great to at least be able to see Jacob and have Robert right with me.” The pack of them running together has gone on all season, and continued into the final meet of the season. “I saw them ahead of me, so that really helped me push,” Murphy said. Mills and his coaching staff had wanted to get the three in the top 25, but as the meet approached, the expectations rose a bit. “Of the three, Robert Murphy was just forgotten,” Mills said. “There wasn't anybody talking about Robert anywhere at this meet. We thought, 'Well, today he's going to show them.' He did.” Coupled with the top three, senior Brysten James was 86th (16:40.6) and sophomore Daniel Messenger finished 100th (16:47.9), helping the Tigers get the points needed for the top five finish, while sophomore Michael Compton was 160th (17:37.8) and freshman Owen Glogovsky was 163rd (17:40.4). “I think we did (as well as we could),” Coon said. “Daniel wasn't as happy as he wanted to be, but he did really good. The LaVern Gibson course is so tough, so to be able to approach your (personal record) within 10 seconds is a feat in itself. I consider it a PR. I think we all did as well as we should have.” And with the race being the last for Poyner, he didn’t want to leave any “what ifs’ on the course. “Unless you win, you always finish a race thinking, 'Oh, if I could have just put a little more into that,’” he said. “I remember thinking in the straight away, 'This is my last year here. I have to go now.' Kyle Eller from Lowell shot past me, and I was like, 'OK, that's it. No one else.'” Along with it being the last race for Poyner, Mills is also saying good-bye to Murphy and James. “Not having them around will be different,” he said. “I've lost lots of seniors over the years, but losing Brysten, Robert and Jake, it will be tough to replace them. But we have a good base. We have Ellis back to lead the charge and another potential state champion. Hopefully the other guys will feed off that.” Along with the girls team losing Ashley Erba, it also loses Sarah Ray, who finished 33rd in 19:05.0, Emily Stouder (185th, 21:59.7) and Tayler Mylin (187th, 22:09.6), but returns freshman Hannah Dawson (140th, 20:51.3), freshman Emma Hayward (169th, 21:24.5), junior Madeline Hooks (171st, 21:25.2), “For a lot of them, they felt strong and good running (the course),” Erba said of his team, which just had Ashley run the course last year. “They were a little amazed at how quick the race was. They were out near where they needed to be and found themselves looking at a lot of people ahead of them. That's the way it is, because you're getting faster and faster runners at the different levels of the state tournament. For building for next year, because we have a lot of girls returning, those who ran today, and those who didn't, learned what it takes to compete at a high, state level.”
IHSAA CROSS COUNTRY STATE FINALS Boys Team Scores – Carmel 93, Carroll 116 (Allen), Valparaiso 149, Warsaw 157, Hamilton Southeastern 182, Columbus North 187, Westfield 198, Terre Haute South 210, Cathedral 223, Lawrence Central 295, Northridge 333, Bloomington South 353, Franklin Central 391, FW Bishop Dwenger 405, Goshen 411, Lowell 427, West Lafayette 430, Mishawaka 443, Hobart 456, Bedford North Lawrence 465, McCutcheon 487, Homestead 502, Evansville North 524, Bloomington North 565 Top 15 – 1. Connor Sorrells (Barr-Reeve) 15:21.3, 2. Zachery Panning (Concordia) 15:26.5, 3. Troy Reeder (Hamilton SE) 15:28.8, 4. Jackson Bertoli (TH South) 15:34.2, 5. Kyle Eller (Lowell) 15:35.2, 6. Jacob Poyner (Warsaw) 15:37.0, 7. Matt Dorsey (Lawrence Central) 15:39.7, 8. Ellis Coon (Warsaw) 15:41.2, 9. Kyle DuVall (Westfield) 15:41.8, 10. James Huffman (North Central) 15:42.3, 11. Alec Kostelnik (Morgan Twp) 15:42.5, 12. Jonathan Reynolds (North Harrison) 15:43.1, 13. Jonathan Harper (Carroll) 15:43.2, 14. Robert Murphy (Warsaw) 15:43.6, 15. Ari Coulopoulos (Valparaiso) 15:45.4 Warsaw – 6. Poyner 15:37.0, 8. Coon 15:41.2, 14. Murphy 15:43.6, 86. Brysten James 16:40.6, 100. Daniel Messenger 16:47.9, 160. Michael Compton 17:37.8. 163. Owen Glogovsky 17:40.4
Girls Team Scores – Carmel 66, West Lafayette 147, Columbus North 158, Franklin Central 160, Hamilton Southeastern 173, Carroll (Allen) 174, Eastern (Greentown) 206, Northridge 228, Fishers 300, Westfield 320, Avon 337, Terre Haute North 359, Bloomington South 388, FW Concordia 390, Valparaiso 405, Chesterton 407, Homestead 408, Penn 413, Warsaw 420, Huntington North 422, Portage 455, Terre Haute South 542, Bloomington North 639, Evansville Reitz Memorial 691 Top 15 – 1. Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka) 17:13.2*, 2. Ashley Erba (Warsaw) 17:29.2, 3. Bobbie Burgess (West Lafayette) 17:51.6, 4. Mackenzie Caldwell (Columbus North) 17:55.8, 5. Bethany Neeley (Eastern) 18:04.2, 6. Anna Aldrich (Fremont) 18:29.6, 7. Sarah Billingsley (Oldenburg Academy) 18:21.9, 8. Kendra Foley (Noblesville) 18:25.4, 9. Abigail Hostetler (Fremont) 18:29.6, 10. Rachel Nichwitz (Hamilton SE) 18:29.9, 11. Amanda Farrough (SB Clay) 18:30.09, 12. Gina Genco (Carmel) 18:31.3, 13. Rachael Sollman (Columbus North) 18:31.8, 14. Jessica King (Hamilton SE) 18:35.3, 15. Emma MacAnally (Cathedral) 18:35.6 Warsaw – 2. Erba 17:29.2, 33. Sarah Ray 19:05.0, 140. Hannah Dawson 20:51.3, 169. Emma Hayward 21:24.5, 171. Madeline Hooks 21:25.2, 185. Emily Stouder 21:59.7, 187. Tayler Mylin 22:09.6 * – Course Record
