Warsaw Sweeps NLC Cross Country Titles; Wawasee Fourth
October 3, 2016 at 5:05 p.m.
Warsaw Sweeps NLC Cross Country Titles; Wawasee Fourth
By Mark [email protected]
The Lady Tigers were paced by four top-10 finishers; Mia Beckham won in 19:30 and Allison Miller was less than a step behind. Charlene Orr was fifth, and Angie Sanchez-Vijil was eighth. Megan Metzger rounded out the scoring with a 14th place finish, giving Warsaw 30 points and easily outdistancing runnerup Northridge with 52 points.
Warsaw also got a 1-2 finish in the boys race from Zeb Hernandez and Lucas Howett. Xavi Ramierz was sixth, Nathaniel Gottschalk was 13th and Taylor Mills finished 23rd, giving the Tigers 45 points, six fewer than perennial NLC power Northridge. The Tigers and Raiders tied for the conference title when Saturday’s results were combined with standings from the regular season.
“I’d describe it as ‘winning ugly,’” said Tiger boys head coach Jim Mills. “We had some really good races, but towards the end of the race we had to step it up a notch, because we were getting beat about halfway through. This team loves to do that to us for some reason.”
Mills recalled a time where Northridge was far and above everyone else in the conference, and how times have changed in recent years.
“There was a time when there was no point in us even taking the starting line,” he said. “We were beat before the gun went off. Over the last couple of years we’ve pretty much dominated. This year we picked the day we ran against (the Raiders) to run our worst race of the year, and we tied; they got the win when it went to their sixth runner. That was the first time they’d beaten us in quite some time. So it was an interesting Saturday to say the least.”
For Wawasee, fourth-place finishes were about what their coaches expected from their runners. In the boys race, the Warriors got top-10 finishes from Luke Griner and Spencer Hare, who took fifth and seventh, respectively. Sam Griner was 21st, Ben Hoffert was 35th, and freshman Thomas Conley set a personal record in taking 44th. Wawasee’s 112 points were six lower than fifth-place Goshen.
“Luke and Spencer both ran really well up front; they were up there with the lead group the whole race,” Wawasee boys coach Chad Hoffert said. “Our number five man, (freshman) Thomas Conley ran his best race of the year, and that was a big boost for us.”
Elizabeth?Zorn just missed the top 10, finishing 11th in 20:25, with Mckenzie Smith about 10 second behind and taking 12th. Lila Gregory was 24th, Aubrey Kuhn 25th and Valeria Pizana 29th, and the Lady Warriors team score of 101 was 16 points better than fifth-place NorthWood. Lady Warrior head coach Doug Slabaugh had a lot of respect for the three teams ahead of his, and was pleased with how Wawasee performed in the race.
“Hats off to the three teams that finished in front. Wawasee could be a podium team at state, Northridge is Northridge and Concord had a good day,” he said. “I’m happy with fourth place.
“(Zorn) has missed a few meets due to injury, so hopefully she’ll get back from it. Mckenzie has been up there, and both of them share out team’s top time this year. Hopefully they can continue to challenge each other as they move on.”
Next up is Saturday’s sectional races, with Wawasee returning to Ox Bow and Warsaw running at the Culver Academies Sectional.
NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE
CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
GIRLS RESULTS
Team Standings – 1. Warsaw 30, 2. Northridge 52, 3. Concord 72, 4. Wawasee 101, 54. NorthWood 117, 6. Goshen 169, 7. Elkhart Memorial 174, 8. Plymouth 227.
Warsaw – 1. Mia Beckham 19:30.7, 2. Allison Miller 19:30.86, 5. Charlene Orr 19:52.54, 8. Angie Sanchez-Vijil 20:13.12, 14. Megan Metzger 20:38.74; 21. Lauren Orr 21:21.87, 52, Anna Craig 25:46.01.
Wawasee – 11. Elizabeth Zorn 20:25.94, 12. Mckenzie Smith 20:35.88, 24. Lila Gregory 21:49.86, 25. Aubrey Kuhn 21:52.04, 29. Valeria Pizana 22:02.73, 35. Bailey Schroeder 22:36.30, 38. Katie Haines 22:49.72.
Junior Varsity Results
Warsaw – 1. Carmen Yoder 20:32, 3. Remi Beckham 21:07, 4. Mallory Hooks 21:38, 5. Megan Dawson 21:54, 6. Amanda Hermann 22:00, 9. Sierra Palmer 22:21, 10. Amslie Howett 22:23.
Wawasee – 23. Reagan Atwood 23:59, 35. Kaia Manning 24:59, 47. Kayanna Clevenger 25:30, 50. Evelin Romo 25:36, 54. Yanelly Pizana 25:46, 66. Shelby Adams 26:46, 80. Tamara Bruder 27:51.
BOYS RESULTS
Team Standings – 1. Warsaw 45, 2. Northridge 51, 3. Concord 84, 4. Wawasee 112, 5. Goshen 118, 6. Plymouth 149, 7. NorthWood 159, 8. Elkhart Memorial 199.
Warsaw – 1. Zeb Hernandez 16:21.94; 2. Lucas Howett 16:42.27, 6. Xavi Ramirez 16:55.66, 13. Nathaniel Gottschalk 17:19.31, 23. Taylor Mills 17:46.95, 28. Justin Fleming 18:10.18, 29. Ridley Lemon 18:14.75.
Wawasee – 5. Luke Griner 16:54.84, 7. Spencer Hare 16:56.40, 21. Sam Griner 17:44.93, 35. Bennett Hoffert 18:33.15, 44. Thomas Conley 18:56.18, 51. Isiah Faurote 19:26.89, 56. Brandon Kidd 20:07.71.
Junior Varsity Results
Warsaw – 9. Hunter Metzger 18:40, 13. Gary Keyes 18:55, 14. Anthony Bass 18:56, 17. Eric Williamson 19:04, 20. Nick Bazzoni 19:07, 25. Ryan Bonebrake 19:15, 33. Luke Howard 19:33.
Wawasee – 2. Braxton Alexander 18:01, 62. Benson Yoder 20:43, 68. Michael Drabenstott 21:04, 85. Clay Kelsheimer 21:58.
The Lady Tigers were paced by four top-10 finishers; Mia Beckham won in 19:30 and Allison Miller was less than a step behind. Charlene Orr was fifth, and Angie Sanchez-Vijil was eighth. Megan Metzger rounded out the scoring with a 14th place finish, giving Warsaw 30 points and easily outdistancing runnerup Northridge with 52 points.
Warsaw also got a 1-2 finish in the boys race from Zeb Hernandez and Lucas Howett. Xavi Ramierz was sixth, Nathaniel Gottschalk was 13th and Taylor Mills finished 23rd, giving the Tigers 45 points, six fewer than perennial NLC power Northridge. The Tigers and Raiders tied for the conference title when Saturday’s results were combined with standings from the regular season.
“I’d describe it as ‘winning ugly,’” said Tiger boys head coach Jim Mills. “We had some really good races, but towards the end of the race we had to step it up a notch, because we were getting beat about halfway through. This team loves to do that to us for some reason.”
Mills recalled a time where Northridge was far and above everyone else in the conference, and how times have changed in recent years.
“There was a time when there was no point in us even taking the starting line,” he said. “We were beat before the gun went off. Over the last couple of years we’ve pretty much dominated. This year we picked the day we ran against (the Raiders) to run our worst race of the year, and we tied; they got the win when it went to their sixth runner. That was the first time they’d beaten us in quite some time. So it was an interesting Saturday to say the least.”
For Wawasee, fourth-place finishes were about what their coaches expected from their runners. In the boys race, the Warriors got top-10 finishes from Luke Griner and Spencer Hare, who took fifth and seventh, respectively. Sam Griner was 21st, Ben Hoffert was 35th, and freshman Thomas Conley set a personal record in taking 44th. Wawasee’s 112 points were six lower than fifth-place Goshen.
“Luke and Spencer both ran really well up front; they were up there with the lead group the whole race,” Wawasee boys coach Chad Hoffert said. “Our number five man, (freshman) Thomas Conley ran his best race of the year, and that was a big boost for us.”
Elizabeth?Zorn just missed the top 10, finishing 11th in 20:25, with Mckenzie Smith about 10 second behind and taking 12th. Lila Gregory was 24th, Aubrey Kuhn 25th and Valeria Pizana 29th, and the Lady Warriors team score of 101 was 16 points better than fifth-place NorthWood. Lady Warrior head coach Doug Slabaugh had a lot of respect for the three teams ahead of his, and was pleased with how Wawasee performed in the race.
“Hats off to the three teams that finished in front. Wawasee could be a podium team at state, Northridge is Northridge and Concord had a good day,” he said. “I’m happy with fourth place.
“(Zorn) has missed a few meets due to injury, so hopefully she’ll get back from it. Mckenzie has been up there, and both of them share out team’s top time this year. Hopefully they can continue to challenge each other as they move on.”
Next up is Saturday’s sectional races, with Wawasee returning to Ox Bow and Warsaw running at the Culver Academies Sectional.
NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE
CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
GIRLS RESULTS
Team Standings – 1. Warsaw 30, 2. Northridge 52, 3. Concord 72, 4. Wawasee 101, 54. NorthWood 117, 6. Goshen 169, 7. Elkhart Memorial 174, 8. Plymouth 227.
Warsaw – 1. Mia Beckham 19:30.7, 2. Allison Miller 19:30.86, 5. Charlene Orr 19:52.54, 8. Angie Sanchez-Vijil 20:13.12, 14. Megan Metzger 20:38.74; 21. Lauren Orr 21:21.87, 52, Anna Craig 25:46.01.
Wawasee – 11. Elizabeth Zorn 20:25.94, 12. Mckenzie Smith 20:35.88, 24. Lila Gregory 21:49.86, 25. Aubrey Kuhn 21:52.04, 29. Valeria Pizana 22:02.73, 35. Bailey Schroeder 22:36.30, 38. Katie Haines 22:49.72.
Junior Varsity Results
Warsaw – 1. Carmen Yoder 20:32, 3. Remi Beckham 21:07, 4. Mallory Hooks 21:38, 5. Megan Dawson 21:54, 6. Amanda Hermann 22:00, 9. Sierra Palmer 22:21, 10. Amslie Howett 22:23.
Wawasee – 23. Reagan Atwood 23:59, 35. Kaia Manning 24:59, 47. Kayanna Clevenger 25:30, 50. Evelin Romo 25:36, 54. Yanelly Pizana 25:46, 66. Shelby Adams 26:46, 80. Tamara Bruder 27:51.
BOYS RESULTS
Team Standings – 1. Warsaw 45, 2. Northridge 51, 3. Concord 84, 4. Wawasee 112, 5. Goshen 118, 6. Plymouth 149, 7. NorthWood 159, 8. Elkhart Memorial 199.
Warsaw – 1. Zeb Hernandez 16:21.94; 2. Lucas Howett 16:42.27, 6. Xavi Ramirez 16:55.66, 13. Nathaniel Gottschalk 17:19.31, 23. Taylor Mills 17:46.95, 28. Justin Fleming 18:10.18, 29. Ridley Lemon 18:14.75.
Wawasee – 5. Luke Griner 16:54.84, 7. Spencer Hare 16:56.40, 21. Sam Griner 17:44.93, 35. Bennett Hoffert 18:33.15, 44. Thomas Conley 18:56.18, 51. Isiah Faurote 19:26.89, 56. Brandon Kidd 20:07.71.
Junior Varsity Results
Warsaw – 9. Hunter Metzger 18:40, 13. Gary Keyes 18:55, 14. Anthony Bass 18:56, 17. Eric Williamson 19:04, 20. Nick Bazzoni 19:07, 25. Ryan Bonebrake 19:15, 33. Luke Howard 19:33.
Wawasee – 2. Braxton Alexander 18:01, 62. Benson Yoder 20:43, 68. Michael Drabenstott 21:04, 85. Clay Kelsheimer 21:58.
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