Tigers Crossing Into Thinner Air
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
NEW CARLISLE – As good as Warsaw has been in the first two rounds the past decade, it’s run into trouble in reaching the cross country state finals. The northern cross country semi-states are this weekend and both Warsaw programs will be active on the other side of the time zone at the New Prairie Semi-state.
It’s been a while since Warsaw’s boys have broken through the New Prairie gauntlet. While Warsaw has been a sectional and regional champion ten years running, the Tigers haven’t advanced to the state finals as a group since 2013. A large part of that drought has been the competition at New Prairie, which brings in the elite from the Region as well as Lafayette.
Three ranked teams will be among the boys lot – Crown Point (18), Chesterton (20) and Lake Central (24). The boys race will also see teams from perennial contenders in Lafayette Harrison, Valparaiso and West Lafayette, which will make it that much harder for Warsaw to grab a ticket for its first state berth in seven years.
Warsaw’s core of Jacob Kissling, Tanner Stiver, Sam Lechlitner and Harrison Phipps have been solid in the postseason. Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills is more concerned with who can provide the fifth position, which has been a somewhat revolving door.
“Our guys have been very consistent all season,” Mills stated. “Currently we are physically healthy so knock on wood ready to run Saturday. Tanner had a great race Saturday so that being only his second race in over a month, big for the team. What is most important Saturday is our number five runner. Luke Nier has been off a little the past two weeks so we need him back on track. Garrett Hall has stepped up in the five spot and dropped 10-15 seconds over the past two weeks which has been huge.”
The Warsaw girls reached the state finals in 2018, and have a solid chance to get back to Terre Haute if it races the way it did in the sectional and regional. Being pushed to the limit by Culver Academy, the Tigers and Eagles were separated by a sixth-woman score at the sectional and one point at the regional. But with four ranked teams in the field – Chesterton (8), Lake Central (21), Wheeler (23) and Seeger (24) plus a host of historically solid programs like Valparaiso, West Lafayette, Crown Point and Portage, it’s going to take a bigger effort for the Lady Tigers to break through.
Wini Barnett again has been the frontrunner for the Lady Tigers, but she has a lot of friends with her. Ava Knight and Regan Brouwer have been right behind Barnett on a regular basis, and the emergence of Erika Bugg and Elizabeth Vander Bie, along with Adree Beckham, have put Warsaw in position to compete each day out.
“Wini is performing at levels she did last year,” said Warsaw girls coach Jason Fleming. “With the shortened preseason we are just seeing her begin to reach her peaks. I think what is more evident is that others are stepping up to help further up the line. We told the girls early in the season we would need to close the gaps between runners. I think this is what we are starting to see. Each runner is understanding, whether first or seventh on the team, everyone contributes to the team goals. This is amazing to see. Knowing you have an impact on the outcome helps drive each individual effort.”
Also on the card to compete at New Prairie are Jocelynn Faulkner of Triton and Matthew Howes of Tippecanoe Valley, both qualifying from the Logansport regional. Racing starts at 11:30 EST, with the top six teams and 10 individual from non-advancing teams earning berths to the cross country state finals.