Wawasee senior Sarah Harden looks to point her Lady Warrior cross country teammates in the right direction. (Photo by Mike Deak)

SYRACUSE – Much was not added to the trophy case in terms of actual hardware, but the girls cross country team at Wawasee had one of its finest seasons in 2013.

Wawasee did win one title last season, the Marion Invite in which the Wawasee boys team was also crowned as champions, but more importantly, the Lady Warriors made moves in the postseason. Despite not winning a sectional or regional title, Wawasee advanced to the semi-state with a team that had not one senior on its active roster.

A second-place finish at the sectional and third-place total at the regional put Wawasee in the New Haven Semi-state, where the ladies bowed out of the state tournament.

Wawasee had not showed as well as it did in 2013 since the 1982 season where the Lady Warriors finished seventh in the state in its last undefeated dual season.

“It had been about 30 years since we were in a semi-state, so I would say the girls had a pretty good season,” Wawasee head coach Doug Slabaugh said. “That was a very good learning experience for them to run at that level. We really got to see where our team was at.”

Given early August returns, Wawasee looks poised to make another run. Despite not having a full commit as of the first week of camp from its top runner in 2013, senior Bre Robinson, adding Robinson would only bolster Wawasee’s already deep roster.

Courtney Linnemeier returns for a final crack as a senior, having anchored the roster for now her fourth year. Classmate Sarah Harden, according to Slabaugh, made the biggest improvement from last season and has been hanging with Linnemeier near the top of training runs. Adding in components of sophomores Bridgette Yoder and Delaine Bame, both with a year of varsity service as sophomores, and Wawasee could be loaded up front.

“Sarah has really been dedicated,” Slabaugh said. “Even when she wasn’t here for workouts, she was running on her own. She is challenging right now, and her pace and endurance have been great. A lot of our kids just need to shake off a little rust, but we should be fine.”

Others Slabaugh pointed to whom could impact included senior Megan Rhodes, sophomores Molly Swartz and Elizabeth Zorn and incoming freshmen Yanelly Pizana and Aubrey Kuhn, both of which had outstanding cross country careers in middle school.

Wawasee will have two home meets in 2014. The first will be hosting rival Warsaw on Sept. 16 and perennial Elkhart sectional juggernauts Northridge will join Concord for a visit to assistant coach Dave Stookey’s honorary course Sept. 30. The season opens Tuesday when Wawasee, Fairfield and NorthWood all travel to Bremen for a quad.

Business As Usual For Tigers

About the only thing that changes for Warsaw girls cross country this fall is the head coach. While Scott Erba takes a temporary leave to focus on his own kids in college athletics, Matt Campbell steps in and will continue to guide a very balanced ship.

Warsaw reached the state meet last fall, placing 21st after winning sectional and regional titles at Culver. What should bode well for Warsaw is the experienced gained for a team that returns most of its core runners from the state tournament.

Three juniors and two sophomores should have Warsaw primed for another state run. Led by juniors Hannah Dawson, Emma Hayward and Brooke Rhodes along with sophomores Allison Miller and Northridge transfer Anna Craig, Warsaw is loaded once again.  Campbell also pointed to a mix of seniors Hannah Thompson and Emma Lemon, junior Claire Kehler and sophomores Charlene Orr, Lauren Orr and Mallory Hooks to potentially crack the top seven and produce.

Miller should lead the group after runner-up finishes at the Northern Lakes Conference and sectional meets while Dawson and Rhodes took huge steps forward, giving Warsaw a two-three-four finish at the sectional last fall.

“The key to this season is remaining healthy, being selfless and staying hungry,” Campbell said. “One of the main emphases being preached this season: every individual counts.

“If any team wants to experience success on the big stage, each individual must do their part to achieve that goal.”

Warsaw opens its campaign Aug. 23 at the Huntington North Invitational.

Triton On The Mend

Coach Wes Rettinger has some work to do to fill heavy graduation losses for the Triton girls cross country program. Losing four of the top five from last year’s unit, the Lady Trojans bring back just senior Makayla Musilli to the fold.

Junior Lexi Miller missed her sophomore season due to injury but had a strong freshman campaign, according to Rettinger. Sophomore Aimee Gladieux will be counted on to also step in. Freshman Baylee McIntire could also impact the starting five right away.

“Our girls team has changed a lot since last year,” Rettinger offered. “We have five to seven girls right now. We have a couple girls waiting on clearance from injuries, so I’m still optimistic about our team for this year. We just might not be all put together for a couple more weeks.”

Trojan cross opens Aug. 28 at Knox.

Whitko Numbers An Issue

The Lady Wildcats are also looking at a numbers crunch, with just six on the active roster as of Aug. 11 according to head coach Mark Rickerd. Four of the six, however, are returning.

Seniors Courtney Edwards and Michelle Kelsey lead the returners as does junior Brigit Nemitz, who had a strong track campaign as a sophomore and was also an All-Three Rivers Conference cross country competitor. Current sophomore Hanna Yohe also returns and rounding out the list are freshmen Angelica Moyer and Taylor Reiff.

“I’m doing everything I can to bolster and expand this roster so I’m hoping and expecting to be better at the end of the season that at the start of the season,” Rickerd said.

The Lady Wildcats begin its calendar Aug. 21 at home against Rochester.

Valley A Year Older, Wiser

Tippecanoe Valley finished well behind the pack at the 2013 Culver Academy Sectional, but four of the five runners from the sectional squad return, as does a little help.

The lone senior on the roster, Courtney Burns, moves in from Triton and brings her cross country experience to coach Mike Inglehearn’s program. Joining the fray are junior twins Brooklyn and Breelyn Conley as well as sophomores Tori Miller, Sierra Rudd and Jenna Schultz. Sophomores Alixe Durkes, Abbi Miller and junior Karly Kitch make up the remainder of the team.

Valley begins its 2014 campaign Aug. 21 at Goshen.