The Wabash High School boys cross country team ran full strength at the Taylor Invite Saturday.
This was the first time this season that all available runners donned the orange “W” in the same race. The Apaches used ideal late August conditions, excellent competition, and a great course to post spectacular early season performances in route to a 5th place team finish. Perineal powerhouse and mega school Homestead won the race. Yorktown came in 2nd, Zionsville 3rd, and Western 4th. There were a total of 20 schools competing.
Individually the trio of Caidan Burchett, Ezra Church, and Isaiah Cordes placed in the top 20 of the race. Caidan led the way coming in 8th with a time of 16:06, Ezra was not far behind in 12th with a time of 16:10, and Isaiah ran valiantly coming in 18th with a time of 16:21. Kamden Oswalt continued his excellent Sophomore season coming in 38th. His time of 16:58 was almost 30 seconds faster than the previous week. Matthew Niles also improved from the previous week’s race posting a 19:04, over 1:20 better. Maverick Sommers came in 166th with a tremendous effort. Freshman Landen Fisher ran a much improved race from the week before posting a 20:40. Kalib Mabery coming off a recent sickness ran to his best effort clocking a similar time as the previous week – 22:15. There were 288 runners in the race.
The Wabash Middle School boys cross country team raced to a 3rd place finish Saturday at the Taylor Invite. Jeffery Small and Kedryn Evenson led the way coming in 5th and 7th. Easton Cantrell came in 24th with a sensational new PR of 12:04. Demetri Shull raced to a 29th place finish followed by Phoenix Brown and Macklin Denney in 45th and 46th. Alex Perkins came in 63rd, Lukas Rojas 69th, Joey Worley 78th, Aiden Young 87th, Finn Fairchild 114th, Isaac Mattern 121st, and Barrett Benzinger 122nd.
The Wabash High School Girls Cross Country team ran an outstanding race Saturday morning at Taylor University! From the start, the Lady Apaches attacked the course with confidence. The girls came out fast through the opening mile, setting a strong tone for the race. By the second mile, they dug deep and held their pace, pushing through the toughest stretch of the course while gaining ground on the competition. In the final mile, they showed their trademark grit — kicking hard and closing strong to finish with determination and pride.
It was an amazing team effort, with every runner giving her best and pushing each other to the finish.
First for the team was Mia Fairchild. Mia crossed the line in a season PR time of 21:42 taking 47th place. Flying in close behind was Mya Golliher coming in with a career PR time of 21:53. Golliher snagged 51st place. Next for the team was Mallory Tart, with a career PR time of 22:21 in 62nd place. Next up was Haylee Friend, running her race in a season PR time of 23:43. Friend was able to place 86th overall. Rounding out the Lady Apaches was Emma Cantrell with a time of 27:11, only 9 seconds from her PR and taking 143rd place.
The Wabash Middle School Girls Cross Country team showed tremendous effort Saturday morning at Taylor University! From the start, the Lady Apaches pushed hard and stayed together, setting a fast pace early. Through the second half of the race, they dug deep, encouraging one another and holding strong against tough competition. In the final stretch, they showed true determination, sprinting to the finish and leaving it all out on the course. It was a great team performance and a strong step forward in their season.
We also had a school record broken! Teresina Cordes, an 8th grader, broke her record setting time of 11:12 (set in 2024) by running an 11:11. Cordes’s response to breaking the record, “I’m not done yet,” after giving encouragement to her teammates as they finished.
Coming in first for the running Apache crew was
8th grader Teresina Cordes, placing 2nd overall and running a career PR and school record time of 11:11. Second for the team was 8th grader, Sutton Stoffel, running in with a career PR time of 12:40 and placing 12th overall. Up next in her racing debut was, 7th grader, AdaLynn (Grace) Jones with a time of 13:22 and taking 28th place. Next into the shoot was 8th grader, Briar Stoffel, running in with a time of 15:03 and taking 59th place. Coming in next was our 5th grader, Eva Sommers, with a time of 15:40 and placing 67th as an individual. Next for the Apaches was a 5th grader, Ruby Cantrell, running in a career PR time of 16:04 and placing 79th. Next up was 6th grader, Braelyn Kelly, with a time of 16:21 and placing 91st over all. Following Kelly was a 7th grader, Alexis Lynn with a time of 17:02. Lynn placed 102nd overall. Running into the shoot next was another 5th grader, Rory Edwards, with a career PR time of 19:07 and finishing in 116th place. Next in was Adelyn Edwards, a 7th grader, running a season PR time of 20:06 and taking 120th place. Round out the Apaches was Harper Ellet, a 7th grader, finishing her race in season PR time of 21:44 and placed 123rd overall. There were 124 runners in the race.
