Spencer Hare was sectional runner-up in leading his Wawasee team to a third-place finish Saturday.

GOSHEN – Chad Hoffert admits that he believes his Wawasee boys cross country team peaked too soon last season.

The Warriors, a lesson learned, are hitting their stride at just the right time this postseason.

Wawasee got an exceptional effort Saturday from all seven of its runner to nab a third-place finish in the Elkhart Sectional contested under gorgeous conditions at Ox Bow Park.

The Warriors, who just missed a regional berth last year with a sixth-place finish, will return to Ox Bow next Saturday for the Elkhart Regional. The top five teams in the regional then move on to the New Haven Semistate on Oct. 22.

Northridge claimed the team title with a score of 69 to earn its second straight sectional crown with Concord close behind at 76. The Warriors, who were fourth at the NLC Meet last weekend, scored 84 for their third place finish. Goshen and Elkhart Christian Academy took fourth and fifth place honors with scores of 95 and 154 respectively to claim the final two regional qualifying spots among the 10-team sectional field.

Hoffert saw his squad absolutely rise to the challenge, led by Spencer Hare. The sophomore hit the finish line second in the 73-runner field, clocking in at 16:35.15.

Fairfield senior Landon Miller earned the individual sectional crown with a winning time of 16:28.65.

“Last year was my first year here coaching and I learned some things,” said Hoffert. “We peaked too early. This year, we have been talking since July and August about peaking come October. The guys have really bought in and done everything that they need to for that to happen. I couldn’t be more proud of them today.

“We knew that if we ran the way that we can that we would be from third to fifth today. It was very competitive.”

All seven of the Warriors in the lineup on Saturday set a personal best time for the Ox Bow Park course, according to Hoffert, and five of the seven set a lifetime best time in an outstanding series of performances.

Luke Griner was seventh overall in the sectional.

“We’ve worked really hard on three areas; the physical, the mental and other things like sleep and nutrition,” said Hoffert. “We’ve talked to the guys about giving themselves the best chance for success in all three areas. It’s been a process, but the little things matter and they have bought into that and it showed today.”

Hare, who was seventh overall in the NLC Meet last weekend at Ox Bow, was stellar Saturday to lead the Warrior pack.

Sophomore Luke Griner was the second Wawasee harrier to hit the finish line as he was seventh overall in a time of 16:54.21.

Sophomore Braxton Alexander, running his first varsity race of the season, gave the Warriors a big boost. Alexander was 23rd overall in a time of 17:27.47. Alexander was academically ineligible until last week when Hoffert had him run in the junior varsity race at the NLC Meet, where he placed second overall.

“Braxton has been training with us all season and I told him that he had a chance to be an important part of the team this year if he took care of the things that he needed to,” Hoffert remarked. “He did that and now he’s back. He’s a part of this team and was a boost to us today.”

Senior Sam Griner was 24th overall in a time of 17:29.97 and sophomore Ben Hoffert was 28th in 17:57.31 to complete the scoring for the Warriors. Freshmen Thomas Conley and Isiah Faurote were 44th and 52nd overall respectively in times of 18:43,.18 and 19:07.91 to round out the Wawasee lineup.

NorthWood was sixth in the final team standings Saturday with a final score of 157. Elkhart Memorial was seventh at 161, followed by Fairfield (187), Elkhart Central (206) and Jimtown (251).

Northridge senior Hunter Moore was third behind Miller and Hare in a time of 16:37.05. ECA senior Garrett Mckee was fourth in 16:49.02, followed by Goshen junior Jason Barahona (16:51.89), Northridge sophomore Noah Detwiler (16:52.02), Luke Griner, NorthWood senior Emanuel Olvera (16:54.59), Concord sophomore Luke Shoemaker (16:58.12) and ECA junior Trevor Miller (17:00.27) to round out the top 10 individuals.

Thomas Conley of the Warriors.

Fairfield senior Landon Miller was sectional champion.