Lady Tigers Top NLC Foes On XC Senior NightWarsaw found strength in the pack Tuesday.
The Warsaw girls cross country team didn’t have the fastest runner, but ran in clusters to defeat Northern Lakes Conference foes Elkhart Memorial and Northridge Tuesday on senior night.
“We are a workhorse kind of team,” said Warsaw girl coach Jason Fleming. “We don’t have those front runners that are flying off the front end. We get it done as a team.”
The Lady Tigers topped Memorial 23-37 and Northridge 24-35.
The Tigers’ boys team split the meet, defeating Northridge 19-41 and falling 22-35 to Memorial.
Memorial’s Morgan Dyer steamrolled the competition in the girls race, finishing almost 34 seconds ahead of Warsaw freshman Wini Barnett’s runner-up time of 19:32.8.
However, Warsaw took five of the top 10 overall spots to win the meet.
Adree Beckham placed third (20:12), Ava Knight was eighth (21:16), Remi Beckham finished ninth (21:24) and Megan Dawson was 10th (21:27).
“We had a plan, and we had different groups of girls set for different tempos at different aspects of the race,” Fleming said. “Those girls knew who they were, and they knew where they needed to be at each (kilometer). They knew who from the opposing teams that they needed to focus on, not by name but by number.”
Warsaw’s Zeb Hernandez finished first overall (16:39) in the boys race, but it was Memorial’s turn to be strong in numbers.
The Chargers put five runners across the finish line in the first nine slots.
Warsaw’s Tanner Stiver was seventh (17:11), while Sam Lechlitner placed eighth (17:19), Jacob Kissling was 11th (17:46), and Jack Horoho finished 12th (17:51).
Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills noted his team’s youth as a factor in the loss to Memorial.
He said Stiver and Lechlitner are still in the process of reaching their potentials.
“(Tanner’s) a 16-minute runner, Sam’s a 16-minute runner,” Mills said. “They’re still just figuring it out, We’ve got time for them to do it.”
The Tigers finished 6-1 in the Northern Lakes Conference, while the Lady Tigers posted a 7-0 conference record.
Fleming complimented his seniors with helping the underclassmen.
“They have been very gracious to offer pointers (at) courses that the younger kids don’t know, even at times when they may not be in front of those girls,” Fleming said. “They are still cheering those girls and pushing that as a team mentality.”
Mills had the utmost praise for seniors Horoho and Anthony Bass.
“They are half of why we’re running as well as we are,” Mills said. “They’re two of the best seniors I’ve ever had.”
(Girls)
Team Scores – Warsaw 23, Elkhart Memorial 37; Warsaw 24, Northridge 35; Elkhart Memorial 26, Northridge 30
