DUNLAP – Running against competitors from both the Northern Lakes Conference and Northern Indiana Conference, admitted Warsaw senior Ellis Coon, changed the dynamics of Saturday morning’s 5K race at Ox Bow Park. It didn’t, however, change the outcome for Coon, who crossed the line first in a time of 16:12.63 and led the 13th-ranked Tigers to a third-straight outright NLC title. Because of a scheduling error, both conferences ran their varsity boys race at the same time, though they were scored seperately. The varsity girls events were run seperately. “It wasn’t something I was expecting,” Coon said when asked about running against the NIC competitors as well. “It definitely changed the dynamics of the race. The guy from South Bend Riley and the guy from (South Bend) Adams were the ones setting the pace. It wasn’t just us and Northridge out front.” Coon made his move late in the race, though, and was the class of the field. In a unique way, he won two conference titles. And his teammates weren’t far behind, as the 13th-ranked Tigers had all five of their scoring runners finish in the top 11 of the NLC race. It allowed Warsaw to win the team title with 32 points, followed by 10th-ranked Northridge in second with 46 points. Goshen’s boys team finished a distant third with 78 points, followed by Wawasee (94), Elkhart Memorial (130), NorthWood (143), Plymouth (188) and Concord (209). Owen Glogovsky finished fifth (16:48.14), while teammates Tyler Houvener (6th, 16:49.39), Nick Bergen (9th, 16:58.85) and Daniel Messenger (11th, 17:04.03) rounded out Warsaw’s pack of scoring runners. “The guys came to race today,” said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills, whose team has won 21-straight regular season NLC races. “The guys have been in a funk...not real bad, but they came to race today.” Northridge had the second- and third-place individuals in the boys race with Blake O’Dell and Conner Sandt, but the Raiders’ other three scoring runners finished eighth, 12th and 21st. In winning their previous two outright conference titles, the Tigers had the services of All-State runners Jake Poyner and Robert Murphy. Poyner is now running at Wake Forest University, while Murphy is running at Vincennes University. Led by Coon, who finished eighth in the state meet last year, the Tigers didn’t skip a beat. “I told the kids in the summer that they could be as good as they were last year,” said Mills. “We’re different, we’re thin, but we’re still pretty good.” Senior Adam Doll led the Wawasee Warriors with a fourth-place time of 16:46.56, while teammate Zach Cockrill was 10th in a time of 17:01.71. In the girls event, the unranked Warsaw Lady Tigers tied No. 12 Northridge with 45 team points. The Lady Raiders, however, took home the trophy based on a sixth-runner tiebreaker. Northridge’s Carly Spirito finished 23rd, while Warsaw’s Claire Kehler was 24th. Just like the NLC boys race, the girls event was a two-horse show. “Northridge has been at the top of the conference for 25 years,” said Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba. “They have a great program and tradition. I think we’re still in the infancy of challenging them every year, but we’re getting there. Northridge is the type of program we strive to be.” Elkhart Memorial’s Sierra Moore won the girls 5K event in 19:09.42. The next five girls to finish wore either orange and black for Warsaw or green and yellow for Northridge. For Warsaw, freshman Allison Miller was second in a time of 19:37.72, while sophomore Hannah Dawson (20:06.88) was fourth, sophomore Brooke Rhodes (20:16.28) was sixth, senior Madeline Hooks (21:16.51) was 16th and senior Alethia Burritt (21:20.87) was 17th. Northridge’s five scoring runners finished third, fifth, 11th, 12th and 14th. “Our top three runners were a freshman, sophomore and sophomore,” said Erba. “That bodes well for our future.” The Wawasee Lady Warriors finished third as a team with 87 points, followed by Plymouth (111), Concord (118), Goshen (144), Memorial (150) and NorthWood (204). Wawasee was led by the ninth-place time of junior Bre Robinson (20:35.11) and the 10th-place time of freshman Bridgette Yoder (20:46.04).
NLC Cross Country Championships Ox Bow Park (5K) (BOYS) Team Scores – Warsaw 32, Northridge 46, Goshen 78, Wawasee 94, Elkhart Memorial 130, NorthWood 143, Plymouth 188, Concord 209
