Wabash High School

The Wabash Apaches girls cross country team laced up on Saturday morning and took on the rugged hills of Brown County at the annual Eagle Classic. Running in the highly competitive Division A race, the Lady Apaches faced off against some of the top small-school programs in the state. From the starting gun, Wabash stayed composed in a crowded field. As a team, they surged early and maintained position in the pack, setting the tone for their race as a unit. Coming into the second mile, the girls used the rolling terrain to steadily pass competitors over the second half of the course. The true highlight of the morning came in the way the Apaches closed the final mile. Several runners turned in their strongest finishes of the season, powering through the course’s final curve and finding one last gear down the homestretch. As a team, they were able to pull out a 4th place finish in their division. First for the team was Mya Golliher coming in with a career PR time of 20:58. Golliher snagged 5th place, earning some hardware. The next Apache into the shoot was Mia Fairchild. Mia crossed the line in a time of 22:19 taking 19th place. Fairchild also ribboned for being in the top 25. Next up was Mallory Tart, with a time of 22:50 in 26th place despite having a gnarly fall on the course. Pushing into the finish was Haylee Friend, running her race in with a time of 25:06. Friend was able to place 59th overall after following in Tart’s footsteps and taking a spill in the woods. Completing the team score with a fight to the end time was Emma Cantrell with a time of 26:11, and placing 70th overall. In their division, there were 94 runners. However, as the race was combined with the AA Division, there were 299 runners in the race. The meet proved valuable as a mid-season checkpoint. The Apaches gained a clearer sense of where they stack up and what adjustments to make as the championship portion of the season approaches. Saturday’s showing in Brown County confirmed what the team already believed: they have the depth, determination, and work ethic to keep improving and peak when it matters most. Next up, the Lady Apaches will race next Saturday at West Noble.