West Noble junior Graysen Ruch is headed back to Terre Haute. Ruch earned his second consecutive trip to the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals with a 28th-place finish at Saturday’s Manchester Regional. He covered the 5,000-meter course in 16:33.14, securing a spot among the top 15 individuals from non-advancing teams. Daniel Trinklein also represented West Noble in the boys race, closing his season with a time of 18:05.44 to finish 149th in the 245-runner field. In the girls competition, West Noble finished 12th among 24 teams with 337 points. The Lady Chargers averaged 20:37.76 for their five scoring runners and finished just seven points behind 11th-place Bluffton. Karla Dominguez led West Noble with a 31st-place finish in 19:18.69. Dominguez narrowly missed advancing to state, finishing 17th among runners from non-qualifying teams—just two places outside the individual cutoff. Victoria Mendoza was the Lady Chargers’ second finisher, placing 77th in 20:32.80. Lynden Chordas followed in 88th at 20:51.33, while Sara Aguilar finished 111th in 21:11.08 and Monet Bieberich placed 115th in 21:14.88 to complete West Noble’s scoring. Margarita Marin finished 121st in 21:24.07, and Jacqueline Silva rounded out the regional lineup in 147th at 21:45.38. Homestead captured the girls regional championship with 65 points, while Fort Wayne Carroll won the boys title with 29. The regional brought the Lady Chargers’ outstanding season to a close, following NECC regular-season and conference meet championships and a sectional runner-up finish. Ruch will carry West Noble’s season forward when he returns to the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute for the state finals. Congratulations to all of the Chargers on a tremendous season, and good luck at state, Graysen! Much of the article was contributed by Mike Deak