Wawasee's Griner Qualifies For State XC MeetFORT WAYNE – Wawasee junior Luke Griner qualified for the state meet in Terre Haute by finishing 12th in the New Haven cross country semistate race Saturday on the IPFW campus.
Griner completed the course in 16:20.
The Warriors finished 12th of 20 in the team standings. Michael Hammer was 65th in 17:31, Braxton Alexander 66th in 17:33, Thomas Conley 98th in 18:02, Jace Alexander 103rd in 18:10, Bennett Hoffert 114th in 18:31 and Spencer Hare was 129th in 19:17.
“It was a great year for the Wawasee Warriors,” coach Chad Hoffert said. “We advanced to semistate for the first time since 2002-2003, and I’m very proud of these guys.”
The Warriors have no seniors on the varsity roster that competed in Saturday’s race.
Junior McKenzie Smith was the lone semistate qualifier for the Lady Warriors. she finished 88th in 20:59.
“(Saturday) wasn’t the sharpest day for Kenzie,” coach Doug Slabaugh said. “It was great for her to get back to semistate.
“Our goal is to get a competitive bunch that are hungry and want (to run well) next season.”
Griner will run in the state championship race at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, in the Wabash Valley Sports Center in Terre Haute, at 1 p.m. Saturday.
