By TIM CREASON
NEW CARLISLE – Is the glass half full, or half-empty?

In the case of the Warsaw girls cross country team, it’s about 7/8 of the way to the top.

The Tiger girls will be making their sixth consecutive trip to the IHSAA state finals next weekend. They are reaching a peak and will be seeking the first Top 10 finish in school history.

But they won’t be going as semistate champs. And that’s something they really wanted to accomplish.

“We wanted to win. It’s a little disappointing that we didn’t do it,” said Warsaw coach Matt Campbell following a third-place finish at Saturday’s New Prairie semistate.

“But you have to keep the big picture in mind. We’re going back to state. I thought the girls ran well and I’m proud of them.”

A brilliant fourth-place finish by junior Mia Beckham, coupled with a 23-24 scored by Allison Miller and Charlene Orr, made it look like the No. 10-ranked Tigers might pull out the win.

But No. 11 Valparaiso was at its best on this day, placing two runners among the top six and scoring 112 points for the win.

No. 16 Lowell snuck in for second at 124, while Warsaw had 130.

West Lafayette scored 133 in fourth, as only 21 points separated the top four teams in an extremely close contest.

“We have to get five girls quicker on the same day,” said Campbell. “We have to get them ready to do that next week.”

Beckham hung with a lead pack of eight runners that surged back and forth through most of Saturday’s 5,000-meter race. Nobody would – or more accurately, could – take control.

As the leaders reached the homestretch, Lowell sophomore Jordyn Boyer made her move, sprinting around the last turn and into the finish chute with an 18 minute, 27.6 second victory.

Lake Central’s Sarah Hunsley (18:30.7) sprinted to second, while Beckham passed LaPorte’s Shelby Riehle just before the finish to claim fourth in 18:38.3.

“I tried to use (Agony Hill) to my advantage,” said Beckham, who ran her best race of the season, by far. “I tried to pick up the pace at the 4K but not tire myself. Then, when we got around to 400 (meters) to go, I knew I only had 60 seconds of pain. I gave it everything I had.”

Close behind, an aggressive start by Miller took its toll on the final stretch, but along came Orr, and the two senior leaders pushed each other to the finish line.

Miller clocked 19:32.7 in 25th place, while Orr clocked 19:33.4 in 26th.

“I wanted to be comfortable and confident and just go,” said Miller, who described her season as ‘kind of rocky.’

“I feel like I can get off this plateau,” she said. “I can feel it coming.”

Angie Sanchez-Vijil came home 37th in 19:55.1, giving Warsaw four girls under the 20-minute barrier. Then Anna Craig came in 55th, just over at 20:09.1.

Megan Metzger’s 86th and an 11th-place finish by Emma Bohnenkamper rounded out the Tiger scoring.

Warsaw’s girls have qualified for the state cross country finals seven times in their history, with the team’s first appearance in 1999.  The Tigers’ best finish was 11th in 2011.

Could this team break new ground?

“I hope we can finish top 10,” said Campbell. “It’s nice that we’ve got a low stick in Mia, if she runs well again. If we can get a pack of four cranking under 19:40, we can give ourselves a chance.”

The IHSAA Cross Country State Finals in Terre Haute begin at 1 p.m. next Saturday.

IHSAA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY SEMISTATE
At New Carlisle

TEAM SCORES: Valparaiso 112, Lowell 124, Warsaw 130, West Lafayette 133, LaPorte 157, Lake Central 195, Portage 205, Benton Central 213, Crown Point 217, Munster 288, Chesterton 312, Twin Lakes 345, Manchester 347, Rensselaer Central 349, Hobart 375, Harrison (Lafayette) 389, Lewis Cass 395, Maconaquah 415, McCutcheon 429, Western 447.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Jordyn Boyer (Lowell) 18:27.6. 2, Sarah Hunsley (Lake Central) 18:30.7. 3, Ava Gilliana (Valparaiso) 18:33.4. 4, Mia Beckham (Warsaw) 18:38.3.  5, Shelby Riehle (LaPorte) 18:38.8.  6, Logan Ferngren (Valparaiso) 18:40.3.  7, Hannah Wylie (Crown Pt) 18:46.1.  8, Miah Martin (Lewis Cass) 18:53.7.  9, Catherine Cavinder (Kankakee Valley) 18:57.9.  10, Kelsie Wuethrich (Rensselaer Central) 18:59.1.  11, Trinity Austin (Griffith) 19:01.9.  12, Maddie Russin (Crown Pt) 19:02.3.  13, Maggie Gutwein (Twin Lakes) 19:06.4.  14, Isabel Weise (Benton Central) 19:06.9.  15, Alison Ball (Portage) 19:10.6.  16, Annalise James (Lowell) 19:14.1.  17, Brooke Hayden (Lowell) 19:14.6.  18, Raecee Bedke (Manchester) 19:18.5.  19, Caroline Jordan (West Lafayette) 19:20.3.  20, Alexis Jackson (Lewis Cass) 19:22.1. 21, Julia Arnold (Valparaiso) 19:22.3.  22, Kaylee Galvan (Munster) 19:28.2.  23, Mary Schultz (West Lafayette) 19:29.3.  24, Isabella Garcia (West Lafayette) 19:32.1.  25, Allison Miller (Warsaw) 19:32.7.

NOTE: Top six teams advance to IHSAA state finals in Terre Haute on Saturday, Oct. 29.  Also advancing are the top 10 individuals who are not members of a qualifying team.