GOSHEN - Hungry for success at the regional level of the state tournament, Jim Mills and his Warsaw's boys cross country team got a taste of it Saturday at Ox Bow Park.

Led by senior Ryan Holbrook's 12th-place individual finish, the Tigers cooked up a fifth-place team finish at the Elkhart Regional and advanced to Satuday's New Haven Semistate at IPFW.

Mills couldn't remember the last time a Warsaw boys team advanced from the regional, he certainly knows now.

"It doesn't matter if we made it by one point or a hundred points, we made it out," Mills said. "I don't have any idea the last time Warsaw made it out, but the last three or four years we've bombed out as a team. We came up here without three of our top seven runners and made it to the semistate. I'm very proud of these guys."

Warsaw last advanced to the semistate in 1990 with a runner-up finish in the regional. The Tigers then placed fourth at the semistate and advanced to the state meet, the one and only time Warsaw's boys team has made it to state.

The top five teams and the top 15 individuals advance to Saturday's semistate.

Much like they did Tuesday at the sectional, the Northridge Raiders dominated the team competition, scoring 49 points to win the regional championship.

West Noble was second with 80 points, followed by Elkhart Memorial (101), East Noble (114), Warsaw (151), DeKalb (170), Wawasee (171), Garrett (182), Angola (199) and Goshen (201).

Holbrook, who finished fourth at the sectional, finished 12th Saturday in a time of 16:52.

"He leads by example," Mills said of Holbrook, one of only two Tiger seniors in action Saturday. "He's just on a mission every week. He didn't have his A game today, but he leads in practice, at the meets, and hey, he's eighth in the senior class."

Other Tiger finishers Saturday included freshman Matt Campbell in 33rd place (17:39), senior Jacob Gall 38th (17:46), junior Jeremy Blackburn 40th (17:47), sophomore Kyle McNulty (17:54), freshman Alf Eherenman 64th (18:45) and sophomore Ryan Walker 71st (19:19).

Due to injuries or various reasons, Warsaw was without the services of sophomore Baxter Burnworth, junior David Compson and senior Peter Mansfield.

"Now we've gotten over the stumbling block," Mills said. "Now that the kids have a taste of it, they're going to be hungry for more of it."

While Wawasee didn't advance as a team, the Warriors will be represented at the semistate by senior Luke Stoffel.

Stoffel, who won the indivdiual sectional championship on Tuesday, finished sixth at the regional Saturday with a time of 16:40.

Other Warrior finishers included John Adams in 20th place (17:17), David Slabaugh 50th (18:03), Matt Dunithan 55th (18:11), Brian Stutzman 60th (18:33), Ryan Dunithan 62nd (18:41) and Jay Buyer 66th (18:51).

Much like its boys team, Wawasee's girls team was led by a brilliant individual effort but didn't advance as a team.

Junior Rachel Stichter, backing up her three consecutive Northern Lakes Conference titles and three straight sectional championships, won her third straight regional championship with a time of 14:23.

Stichter finished 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Leslee Getts of DeKalb.

"When I asked her after the race how she felt, she said 'not good', but that's just the way Rachel is," said Wawasee coach Grace Stichter, Rachel's aunt. "Rachel is worried her times aren't improving, but she's right where she needs to be."

As a team, the Warriors finished sixth with 181 points.

Other Warrior girls finishers included Ashlee Pollen in 30th place (16:54), Havilah Rensberger 34th (17:03), Meghan Lantz 59th (18:17), Brooke Mark 63rd (18:56) and Jessica Lundgren 67th (19:27).

Northridge won the girls team title as well, with all five of its scoring runners finishing in the top 13, with 38 points.

DeKalb, which had all five of its scoring runners in the top 14, finished a close second with 43 points.

Goshen was third with 112 points, followed by Angola (114), East Noble (118), Wawasee (181), Prairie Heights (203), Elkhart Central (206), Garrett (235) and Concord (241).

ELKHART CROSS COUNTRY REGIONAL

BOYS

Team Scores - Northridge 49, West Noble 80, Elkhart Memorial 101, East Noble 114, Warsaw 151, DeKalb 170, Wawasee 171, Garrett 182, Angola 199, Goshen 201

Top 15 Individuals - 1. Alan Hiner (Fremont) 15:59, 2. Braxton Fritz (NR), 3. Ken Collins (NR), 4. Joel Liechty (EN), 5. Randy Placencia (Gar), 6. Luke Stoffel (Waw), 7. Corey Koch (Lakeland), 8. Bobby Jacobs (WN), 9. David Sabo (NR), 10. Mark Stahl (DeK), 11. Jaurice Dye (EM), 12. Ryan Holbrook (War), 13. Noel Campos (WN), 14. Elias Rojas (WN), 15. Tony Wagner (Ang)

Warsaw Finishers - 12. Ryan Holbrook 16:52, 33. Matt Campbell 17:39, 38. Jacob Gall 17:46, 40. Jeremy Blackburn 17:46, 46. Kyle McNulty 17:54, 64. Alf Eherenman 18:45, 71. Ryan Walker 19:19

Wawasee Finishers - 6. Luke Stoffel 16:40, 20. John Adams 17:17, 50. David Slabaugh 18:03, 55. Matt Dunithan 18:11, 60. Brian Stutzman 18:33, 62. Ryan Dunithan 18:41, 66. Jay Buyer 18:51

GIRLS

Team Scores - Northridge 38, DeKalb 43, Goshen 112, Angola 114, East Noble 118, Wawasee 181, Prairie Heights 203, Elkhart Central 206, Garrett 235, Concord 241

Top 15 Individuals - 1. Rachel Stichter (Waw) 14:23, 2. Leslee Getts (DeK), 3. Megan Jackson (NR), 4. Aimee Gingerich (NR), 5. Theresa Schamberger (EN), 6. Jaime Boswell (DeK), 7. Emily Cochard (EN), 8. Stephanie Swendsen (NR), 9. Alisha Getts (DeK), 10. Jessie LaFree (NR), 11. Mozetta Thiel (Ang), 12. Valerie Hardesty (DeK), 13. Vanessa Lantzer (NR), 14. Anne Iddins (DeK), 15. Jamie Kruis (NR)

Wawasee Finishers - 1. Rachel Stichter 14:23, 30. Ashlee Pollen 16:54, 34. Havilah Rensberger 17:03, 59. Meghan Lantz 18:17, 63. Brooke Mark 18:56, 67. Jessica Lundgren 19:27

Note - Top 15 individuals and top five teams advance to Saturday's semistate at IPFW in Fort Wayne [[In-content Ad]]