Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Three area schools got a glance at their cross country sectional as Warsaw, Wawasee and NorthWood competed in the NLC championship meet this weekend.
Most of the same teams will compete Saturday in the Goshen Sectional.
Going into the meet, three teams (Wawasee, Warsaw and Goshen) were tied with one loss each in NLC competition. After the race, Wawasee claimed the 1998 NLC season championship crown.
Wawasee finished just four points ahead of Goshen to take first place. Warsaw finished fourth and NorthWood placed seventh overall.
"Today, several teams were separated by just a few points," said Dave Stookey, Wawasee boys head coach. "We'll be running against a lot of the same teams so the sectional should be just as competitive."
"I'm happy with our effort today and this year," said Warsaw boys cross country coach Jeff Grose. "Our guys put in a great performance today, but the other teams put in great performances as well."
"Our overall performance was not what we were planning," said NorthWood's boys coach Mark Mikel. "Our number five runner had the flu all week. Our number one, Aaron Hoover, did not have a bad day, but it was not what we were hoping for.
"We looked a little flat, especially at the end of the race," said Mikel. "We'll work on that this weekend and early in the week to see what we can do to improve. We might have just tapered a little too much this week."
"There is no clear-cut favorite next week," said Stookey. "In this sectional, the team with the strongest pack will come out on top."
Six area runners finished in the top 10 to earn positions on the All-NLC team.
Rob Chalfant of Wawasee led the area runners and placed second, while his teammate Jeff Moerchen finished fourth overall. Justin Rice led the Warsaw team, finishing sixth overall, and Wawasee's Jerid Stoffel crossed the line seventh.
Northwood's Aaron Hoover led the Panthers by finishing eighth, and his teammate Mark Davidhizar earned the final spot on the All-NLC team, finishing tenth.
"I couldn't ask any more of this team," said Stookey. "These are not the most talented runners, but this group of kids comes out and gives 110 percent every day."
On the girls side, Warsaw finished second, NorthWood placed third and Wawasee came in fifth overall.
"In the sectional, we get almost the same teams," said Warsaw coach and NLC Coach of the Year Paul Sibray. "Finishing second here gives us a good chance to get out of sectionals and move on to regionals."
The NorthWood girls finished with their highest spot in history.
"The girls ran well today," said NorthWood coach Kirt Hunsberger. "I'm proud of them."
Four area runners placed in the top 10 and earned spots on the all NLC team.
Warsaw's Summer Boyd led the pack and placed first individually overall. Sandy Cort of NorthWood crossed the finish line second, and Wawasee's Stephanie Huffman placed seventh.
Hillary Barlow placed 10th for Warsaw to fill the last All-NLC team position.
No matter where they finished in the pack, all of the area coaches have set their sights to placing in the top five next week at the sectional competition. The top five teams advance to the regional competition.
"The girls have worked hard all year, now we are working on mental aspects," said Sibray. "In cross country, there are lots of points to work on, we plan to stress those this week and hopefully we will have good results."
"This has been a long season," said Hunsberger. "We've been in a lot of races. This week we will work on getting the kids healthy, both mentally and physically. Rest is the best way to do that."
"We'll work on some pretty hard intervals on Monday and Tuesday," said Mikel. "Then we'll try to get the guys rested."
"Plymouth finished ahead of us, but they are not here next week," said Grose. "Some other good teams are coming, but hopefully we can finish as one of the top five teams and qualify for regionals the next week."
"Next week, people will turn it up another notch," said Stookey. "If they don't, they'll be sitting on the sidelines the following week."
Team Scores (Boys): 1. Wawasee, 61; 2. Goshen, 65; 3. Plymouth, 95; 4. Warsaw, 106; 5. Northridge, 108; 6. Concord, 118; 7. NorthWood, 126.
Top finishers: 1. Andrew McKalips, Goshen; 2. Rob Chalfant, Wawasee; 3. Jon McKalips, Goshen; 4. Jeff Moerchen, Wawasee; 5. J.D. Myers, Concord; 6. Justin Rice, Warsaw; 7. Jerid Stoffel, Wawasee; 8. Aaron Hoover, NorthWood; 9. Michael Kariger, Plymouth; 10. Mark Davidhizar, NorthWood; 15. Don Kennedy, Warsaw; 16. Pete Melendez, Wawasee; 21. Chris Gackenheimer, Warsaw; 23. Jason Meyers, NorthWood; 31. Adam Conley, Warsaw; 32. Curt Farrell, Wawasee; 33. David Robertson, Warsaw; 36. Jason Sibray, Warsaw; 37. Jacob Sweatland, Warsaw; 38. Andy Rummel, NorthWood; 39. Dustin Young, Wawasee; 41. Curtis Shoemaker, Wawasee; 47. Jon Lechlitner, NorthWood; 48. Eric Shepherd, NorthWood; 49 . Matt Miller, NorthWood.
Team Scores (Girls): 1. Northridge, 48; 2. Warsaw, 69; 3. NorthWood 74; 4. Goshen, 81; 5. Wawasee,120; 6. Concord, 133; 7. Plymouth, 170.
Top finishers: 1. Summer Boyd, Warsaw; 2. Sany Cort, NorthWood; 3. Betsy App, Northridge; 4. Josie Canton, Goshen; 5. Joni Sheldon, Goshen; 6. Tara Jutunen, Northridge; 7. Stephanie Huffman, Wawasee; 8. Monica Spangle, Northridge; 9. Kristen Miller, Goshen; 10. Hillary Barlow, Warsaw; 11. Angie Callander, NorthWood; 12. Heidi Schneider, NorthWood; 13. Megan Hoffman, Wawasee; 16. Jennifer Finch, Warsaw; 18. Melonie Albert, Warsaw; 19. Nina Bearss, NorthWood; 24. Amy Robertson, Warsaw; 26. Katie McCauley, Wawasee; 28. Abbie Simmons, Warsaw; 30. Kim Yoder, NorthWood; 34. Annie Zell, NorthWood; 35. Teri Schuler, NorthWood; 36. Nickie Sauer, NorthWood; 37. Krista Bastul, Wawasee; 41. Brenda Wong, Wawasee; 42. Mandie Sawyer, Wawasee; 44. Kim Love, Warsaw; 45. Leslie Hawkins, NorthWood; 46. Steph Carner, NorthWood; 49. Laura Lundin, Wawasee; 51. Kim Fluke, Warsaw; 52. Julie Blakeslee, Wawasee; 54. Alisha Henderson, Wawasee; 55. Christy Bassford, Warsaw; 59. Rebecca Harman, Warsaw; 61. Linda Winston, Warsaw; 62. Ashley Hummel, NorthWood; 65. Dineh Mumma, Wawasee; 67. Sylvie Marandet, Warsaw; 68. Leann Davidhizar, NorthWood; 70. Heidi Bowers, Warsaw; 72. Jenny Ellison, Warsaw; 73. Rachel Turskey, Warsaw; 74. Rachel Siesennop, Warsaw; 75. Julie Wilhite, Warsaw; 76. Katie Hake, Warsaw.
