Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BLOOMINGTON - In the late 1980s and early '90s, the Chicago Bulls just couldn't get over the hump vs. the Detroit Pistons in the NBA playoffs.
The hardest thing to do was get past the obstacle the first time. After all, as the old saying goes, there's a first time for everything.
For the Chi-town crew, the first time led to six world championships in a span of eight years.
For the Warsaw girls cross country team, Wawasee junior Rob Chalfant and Triton sophomore Nate Gephart, that first time was Saturday when they ran in the state finals on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.
None of the aforementioned won a state championship, but there's another adage or cliche« that says experience is the greatest teacher, and one that says success breeds success.
"There's no substitute for experience," said Warsaw coach Paul Sibray of the Tigers' first state finals appearance in school history. "Hopefully next year Melonie Albert will run up to full par. And we have a couple of other runners who could help. The girls know they will have to run more miles over the summer and have better workouts."
But the important thing was getting there the first time.
The Tigers finished 13th out of 20 teams with a score of 323. Valparaiso won the team championship with a score of 46. Lawrence North (91), West Noble (166), Carmel (181) and New Albany (190) rounded out the front five.
Junior Hillary Barlow was the first Tiger to cross the finish line: 56th with a time of 15:40. Summer Boyd (60th, 15:44), Jennifer Finch (91st, 16:06), Rachel Rondeau (102nd, 16:14), Amy Robertson (141st, 16:48), Melonie Albert (152nd, 17:08) and Cassie Noble (164th, 18:30) followed in the 167-person race.
Wheeler's Michelle DeLaVina won the individual championship with a time of 14:06.
What the Tigers have in common with the Bulls is the fact that Warsaw returns all but one runner who competed Saturday. Boyd is the lone senior.
"If the cards fall into place," Sibray answered when asked if he saw a repeat trip to the state finals. "Summer will leave a gap. I think we can attract some others. Hopefully our success will get some other girls out."
Also vying for a return trip will be Chalfant and Gephart, who competed as individuals Saturday.
Thursday Chalfant, a 16-year-old junior, said his goal was to finish in the top 25. A top 25 finish is considered All-State. He crossed the line in 41st-place with a time of 16:43.
"Obviously it would have been great to have a top 25 finish and be considered All-State," said Warrior coach Dave Stookey. "It's not an excuse but he's not a warm-weather runner. By the time the race started it was warm. He learned a lot in terms of what he needs to do. I think overall we were really pleased. He beat 130 other runners. I know 41st doesn't sound that great to others, but there were some runners that were considered strong that finished behind him."
Gephart, a 15-year-old sophomore, finished 64th in the 171-person race with a time of 16:55.
Franklin Central's Aaron Fisher repeated as individual champion with his time of 15:34.
Portage won the team championship with a score of 74. Franklin Central (150), Penn (183), Bloomington North (185) and Carmel (189) rounded out the top five.
Much like Sibray, Stookey spoke of how success can breed success.
"We wished we could of got more down there to see everything," said Stookey. "You just can't tell people what that's like. The guys who ran in the semistate last year couldn't believe how big a step up it was from the regional. Hopefully this will carry over and get some others down there."
