Wawasee’s Zach Cockrill speeds through the course at the New Haven Cross Country Semi-state Saturday afternoon. Cockrill finished just one place out of qualification for the state finals, while Wawasee’s team placed 12th overall. (Photos by Mike Deak)

FORT WAYNE – The numbers were there during the week, it was just a matter of application. At Saturday’s New Haven Cross Country Semi-state, the Wawasee boys cross country team needed to make the math work.

The addition of the five numbers Wawasee presented among the field of 20 teams did not equal six, which was the team placing needed to reach the state finals next weekend. Wawasee’s number was 12, where its place was not among those with the golden ticket after racing The Plex’s 5,000-meter course. A total of 252 was much higher than the talented Warrior team had expected to score, well short of the 169 from South Adams in sixth place.

Wawasee head coach Doug Slabaugh wasn’t too disappointed with the standing, all things considered.

“I’m very, very proud of these guys,” Slabaugh said. “One of our big goals was to get to this meet. They stayed focused and kept grinding it out through training and that heavy part of the year where we had a lot of meets and kids were getting tired. I’m very proud and honored to have such a good group of guys. You can tell they put the effort out there, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Warriors looked as though it had a chance, where a group of nine evenly-matched teams all coagulated its runners into a huge cluster as the course unfolded. Zach Cockrill and Adam Doll were running near the front, and the pack of three through five in green and gold were keeping pace with one another. But as has happened too often with the Warriors, the pack dissolved and the frontrunners fell back just enough to make a difference.

Check out the video of the boys runners starting the semi-state race here.

Doll, who was within earshot of the leaders midway through the race, dropped back to 27th overall at 16:43 while Cockrill, who was poised to take a crack at state from the start, saw his ticket evaporate in heartbreaking fashion as he was beat to the finish line by Bremen’s Kris Wickens. The kick to the paint by Wickens at 16:37.46 beat a weary Cockrill’s 16:38.69. Wickens would land in 10th place among individuals, the final advancing spot for state while Cockrill became the best of the rest.

“He is finally coming around, believing in himself that he can run cross country and not just track,” Slabaugh said of Cockrill, who is a 800-meter runner in the spring. “He is a very talented kid, and he should be back and ready to go next year.”

Wawasee’s pack had Austin Yoder finish at 17:04 and 57th overall, but then saw Jacob Tucco come in next at 17:33, 44 places back. Bailey Yoder (17:53), Jaxon Bame (18:03) and Austin Krizman (18:07) rounded out the boys from Syracuse.

Fort Wayne Concordia’s Zachary Panning continued his quest to contend for a state title with a time of 15:19, defending his semi-state crown and winning the race by 34 seconds over Brayden Law of Homestead. Fort Wayne Carroll won its third semi-state title and defended the crown with 71 points, landing all seven of its runners in the top 37 overall.

Northridge, the Elkhart Central sectional and regional champion, were second at 116 led by Blake O’Dell’s 16:04 and tiny South Adams punched its ticket to Terre Haute with 26-point margin over Panning’s Cadet team.

The top six teams and 10 individuals not on an advancing team will run at the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals next Saturday at the LaVern Gibson course in Terre Haute.

New Haven Boys Cross Country Semi-state, The Plex in Fort Wayne

1. Fort Wayne Carroll 71
2. Northridge 116
3. Fort Wayne Dwenger 142
4. South Bend Riley 149
5. Homestead 160
6. South Adams 169
7. Fort Wayne Concordia 195
8. Huntington North 211
9. Penn 220
10. Mt. Vernon (Fortville) 223
11. West Noble 227
12. Wawasee 252
13. Goshen 264
14. Oak Hill 394
15. Bellmont 397
16. Pendleton Heights 417
17. Norwell 444
18. Wapahani 519
19. Yorktown 531
20. Wes-Del 546