Warsaw XC Teams Extend Sectional Title StreaksCULVER – Neither Mother Nature nor the competition was able to keep Warsaw’s boys and girls cross country teams from extending their cross country sectional championship streaks Saturday.
Running on a wet, sloppy 5K course on the scenic Culver Academies campus, both the Tigers and Lady Tigers won their eighth straight titles in dominating fashion.
Warsaw’s girls squad had all five of its scoring runners finish in the top 10 and its entire seven-runner lineup in the top 22 of the 59-person race, as the Lady Tigers won with 34 points.
Culver Academies was a distant second in the eight-team girls standings with 68 points, while Rochester and Manchester were third and fourth, respectively, with 70 and 71 points.
The top five teams and the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team qualified for the regional, which will be at Culver Academies Saturday morning.
Plymouth finished fifth with 132 points and got the last girls regional berth, while North Miami (175), Caston (194) and Tippecanoe Valley (200) finished sixth, seventh and eighth.
“We were pleased with how we performed,” said first-year Warsaw girls coach Jason Fleming. “With conditions the way they were, to have so many (runners) up front was encouraging.”
On the boys side, Warsaw saw all five of its scoring runners finish in the top 13, its sixth runner 17th and its seventh runner 36th.
The Tigers won the team title with 36 points, followed in the top five by Plymouth (60), Caston (88), Rochester (99) and Culver Academies (137).
Manchester finished sixth in the boys team standings with 154 points, while Valley (171), Triton (171) and Argos (240) rounded out the field.
“It was a soggy course, for sure,” said longtime Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills. “We ran OK as a team. We sat Jacob Kissling out because of a little hip problem, and Zeb (Hernandez) threw up several times before the race and had missed school Monday.
“We weren’t running on all cylinders. We’re still having hard workouts, which will continue all week before we cut down the semistate week. All in all, this team has performed consistently all year given this is a young team still trying to close gaps. We expect another good performance Saturday.”
Caston senior Mitchell Rans won the boys race in a time of 16:47, finishing 36 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Enrique Salazar of Plymouth.
Hernandez was on Salazar’s heels and was followed in fourth and fifth by teammates Sam Lechlitner (17:34) and Tanner Stiver (17:51).
Warsaw’s fourth and fifth runners – Jack Horoho (18:17) and Harrison Phipps (18:29) – finished 11th and 13th, respectively.
Though they didn’t advance as a team, the Manchester Squires saw three runners advance from the boys race as individuals.
Carter Bedke (18:30) finished 14th, while Wilson Nettleton (19:40) and Reece Adamiec (19:49) were 33rd and 34th respectively.
Tippecanoe Valley’s Matthew Howes finished ninth in a time of 18:07 to advance individually, and will be joined at the regional by teammate Mitch Smith (22nd, 19:07).
Triton’s boys team saw two runners advance – Russell Reichard (25th, 19:18) and Brandon Kitch (29th, 19:25).
Rochester junior Mallory Hiatt won the girls race in a time of 19:29, crossing the line 26 seconds ahead of runner-up Alexis Allen of Culver Academies.
Warsaw’s five scoring runners came in as two small groups.
Sophomore Adree Beckham (20:20) was third, while sophomore Wini Barnett (20:27) was fourth.
Senior Angie Sanchez-Vigil (21:16), freshman Ava Knight (21:40) and junior Amslie Howett (21:41) finished eighth, ninth and 10th.
Senior Remi Beckham (19th, 22:31) and junior Alexandra Hermann (22nd, 22:43) rounded out the Lady Tigers’ seven-person lineup.
“We just hope the team runs well, and if that means winning, then that is an added bonus,” said Fleming. “Our goal is to qualify for the New Prairie Semistate, and with a quality run continue to advance. We take it one week at a time.”
Torina Runkel led the Manchester Lady Squires with a seventh-place time of 21:03, while teammates Jaelyn Webb (21:55), Halle Briner (22:03) and Kambree Cashdollar (22:14) finished 12th, 13th and 16th.
Katie Barker (22:52) was Manchester’s fifth scoring runner, finishing 23rd.
The Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings advanced three runners as individuals – Valeria Jimenez (32nd, 23:41), Haley Hoover (35th, 24:13) and Ava Craig (44th, 25:06).
The Triton Lady Trojans had just three girls in the race, and none of them qualified for the regional.
Briana Wilhite (25:37) finished 46th for Triton, while Makenna May (26:32) was 50th and Anela Hill (26:38) was 52nd.
CULVER ACADEMIES SECTIONAL
Note – top five teams and top 10 individuals not on an advancing team qualify for Culver Academies Regional on Oct. 13.
(Girls)
Team Scores – Warsaw 34, Culver Academies 68, Rochester 70, Manchester 71, Plymouth 132, North Miami 175, Caston 194, Tippecanoe Valley 200
Manchester – 7. Torina Runkel 21:03, 12. Jaelyn Webb 21:55, 12. Halle Briner 22:03, 16. Kambree Cashdollar 22:14, 23. Katie Barker 22:52, 33. Maddy Evans 23:45, 38. Sydney Diefenbaugh 24:20
T. Valley – 32. Valeria Jimenez 23:41, 35. Haley Hoover 24:13, 44. Ava Craig 25:06, 47. Lorena Santiago 25:42, 53. Lauren Sponseller 27:00, 56. Hannah Lowman 28:13
Triton – 46. Briana Wilhite 46 25:37, 50. Makenna May 26:32, 52. Anela Hill 26:38
(Boys)
Team Scores – Warsaw 36, Plymouth 60, Caston 88, Rochester 99, Culver Academies 137, Manchester 154, Tippecanoe Valley 171, Triton 171, Argos 240
Individual Winner – Mitchell Rans (Caston) 16:47
Warsaw – 3. Zeb Hernandez 17:24, 4. Sam Lechlitner 17:34, 5. Tanner Stiver 17:51, 11. Jack Horoho 18:17, 13. Harrison Phipps 18:29, 17. Fernando Niebbia 18:48, 36. Anthony Bass 19:54
Manchester – 14. Carter Bedke 18:30, 33. Wilson Nettleton 19:40, 34. Reece Adamiec 19:49, 40. Ethan Davis 20:19, 41. Cade Jones 20:19, 46. Raice Martin 21:17, 58. Kaden Dillon 22:39
T. Valley – 9. Matthew Howes 18:07, 22. Mitch Smith 19:07, 45. Justin Peconga 21:04, 50. Jace Holloway 21:44, 51. Chase Miller 21:47, 59. Elijah Holder 22:54, 62. Evan Lowman 24:10
