Hosting Wawasee in a Northern Lakes Conference dual meet Tuesday, the Warsaw cross country teams weren’t too threatened. Improving to 5-0 in the NLC, the 21st-ranked Warsaw boys team defeated the Wawasee Warriors (3-2 NLC) by a score of 19-41, while the Lady Tigers (4-1 NLC) downed the Lady Warriors (3-2 NLC) by a 20-37 count. In the boys race, Warsaw senior Ellis Coon breezed, winning in 16:13.8, a time that afforded him the ability to pump his arms to get the crowd to make some noise as he came down the stretch. Coon’s performance was a welcomed one after he sat out Saturday’s New Prairie Invitational. According to Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills, Saturday’s absence was only because he wasn’t feeling 100 percent, not because of any lingering effects from an injured foot that caused him to miss the majority of the 2013 track season. “These kids at an elite level, they feel everything about their bodies,” Mills said about Coon, who finished eighth at last year’s state meet. “If there’s one thing that doesn’t feel right, they start to worry that it’s going to lead to something bigger. As coaches, we have to decide if it’s really that important to run New Prairie or is it really that important to run a dual?” Coon’s choice to sit out the large New Prairie Invitational may have also been to be at full strength going into this Saturday’s Culver Academies Invitational, a meet Wawasee will also be competing in. “Ellis will get the challenge he’s been looking forward to all year,” Mills said about the meet in Culver. Last year’s state meet runner-up Zachery Panning, a senior out of Fort Wayne Concordia, will be at the Culver meet, as well as Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit junior Zack Snider, who finished 16th at state. “There’s probably 12 of the top 14 teams in the state there,” Mills said. “Snider from Brebeuf will probably run in the elite class, even though his team will be in the lower class, because you can run one individual in the top race. I’d be surprised if he wasn’t there. Panning was second in the state last year, and Ellis came out here today and hammered the first mile, just to get a feel of what it’s going to be like Saturday. Panning, he goes out and runs a 4:45 first mile, then just keeps going. There’ll be plenty of competition for Ellis Saturday.” While Coon was running by himself, teammate Tyler Houvener was second (16:29.8) and Owen Glogovsky finished third (16:32.5). Wawasee’s Adam Doll (16:37.5) and Zach Cockrill (16:44.6) then finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Warsaw’s Jonathon Beres (17:05.05), Nick Bergen (17:07.1) and Daniel Messenger (17:14.1) were sixth through eighth, respectively. In past years, the Warsaw girls team had an elite runner at a meet, but 2011 state champion Ashley Erba is now running for the Providence Friars. A year ago, Erba finished second at the state meet, while the graduated Sarah Ray was 33rd, wrapping up her one-and-only cross country season. Without Erba or Ray, Warsaw’s been led by freshman Allison Miller, who again won Tuesday, crossing the finish line in 19:20.8. Behind Miller was Brooke Rhodes (19:53.1) in second and Hannah Dawson (20:05.5) in third, both of Warsaw. “We knew coming in, not having Ashley, not having Sarah or one of those front runners we’ve had for four years, that we’d really have to work on getting packed up,” Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba said. “Tonight was a great night of that. Our fifth through 10th runners were within a few seconds of each other, and that’s what we want to have happen.” The Warsaw and Wawasee girls teams will also be at Saturday’s Culver Academies Invitational, but instead of going for a team victory, Erba says his team is more focused on racking up NLC wins. “We’ve been looking at the bigger meets as a way to just get bigger-meet experience, not necessarily trying to kill it,” he said. “We’ve been focusing more on running well on the Tuesday nights, because one of the girls’ goals has been to win the NLC. The way we’re set up right now, we need to do well in dual meets to have a chance.” To have a chance to accomplish that goal, the Lady Tigers will need to defeat Concord and Plymouth at Tuesday’s three-team meet at Ox Bow Park, then knock off 16th-ranked Northridge at the Oct. 5 NLC Meet to earn at least a share of the conference crown. “I have no problem going into the NLC Meet at 6-1, hopefully, and have a sort of winner-takes-all situation,” Erba said. Wawasee was led Tuesday by junior Bre Robinson (20:23.2), who finished fourth, with Bridgette Yoder (20:43.6), Molly Swartz (20:57.1) and Courtney Linnemeier (21:00.3) finishing sixth through eighth, respectively. Robinson’s been known for her dominance in the pool, recording four top-three finishes at the state meet in her first two seasons at Wawasee High School. Now she’s also become the leader on the cross country team. “She works hard and doesn’t like to lose,” first-year Wawasee boys and girls coach Doug Slabaugh said. “That transfers well from the pool over to the course and track.” The two losses at Warsaw weren’t necessarily what Slabaugh wanted, but he did like the experience it gave his teams. “I thought our guys had a decent night,” Slabaugh said. “We went out and put ourselves in a group with the Warsaw guys. Hats off to them. They’re an awesome team – very well-coached. They went out and executed well, but I was happy with a lot of our guys. “I think it was a good learning experience for such a young team,” he added about the girls. “They got a good, competitive, pressure meet.” BOYS WARSAW 19, WAWASEE 41 Top 5 – 1. Ellis Coon (War) 16:13.8, 2. Tyler Houvener (War) 16:29.8, 3. Owen Glogovsky 16:32.5, 4. Adam Doll (Waw) 16:37.5, 5. Zach Cockrill (Waw) 16:44.6 Warsaw – 1. Coon 16:13.8, 2. Houvener 16:29.8, 3. Glogovsky 16:32.5, 6. Jonathon Beres 17:05.0, 7. Nick Bergen 17:07.1, 8. Daniel Messenger 17:14.1, 10. Avery Torres 17:31.7, 13. Jacob Deboest 17:38.8, 16. Ryan Goon 17:49.6, 17. Nick Adams 18:00.4, 20. Aaron Haller 18:32.3, 21. Jacob Adley 18:33.4, 22. Rozen Kunkle 18:59.1, 25. Ethan Cook 19:04.2, 26. Zach Taylor 19:06.7, 27. Shane Powers 19:08.5, 28. Nathan Miller 19:17.1, 29. Curtis Rider 19:26.9, 30. Trent Shepherd 19:29.2, 33. Trent Thompson 19:33.8, 35. Evan Hansen 19:56.5, 38. Connor Hershberger 20:10.3, 39. Eric Jagger 20:12.3, 40. Colton Andrews 20:20.3, 41. Griffin Roark 20:22.0, 43. Michael Blue 21:26.9, 44. Nicolas Hawn 21:36.3, 45. Mac Pelo 21:44.3, 47. Caleb Remocaldo 24:14.8, 48. Luke Junker 24:35.4 Wawasee – 4. Doll 16:37.5, 5. Cockrill 16:44.6, 9. Austin Yoder 17:18.3, 11. Austin Krizman 17:35.5, 12. Jaxon Bame 17:36.7, 14. Bailey Yoder 17:42.6, 15. Troy Carolus 17:46.6, 18. Jacob Tucco 18:00.7, 19. Sam Griner 18:19.5, 23. Joey Bornman 18:59.6, 24. Erik Diaz 19:00.4, 31. Adam Baker 19:30.0, 32. Marcos Mejia 19:31.3, 34. Stori Bright 19:46.3, 36. Chuck Impey 19:58.3, 37. Logan Brugh 19:58.8, 42. Ben Slabaugh 21:13.8, 46. Allen Miller 21:45.5 NLC Records: Warsaw 5-0, Wawasee 3-2
