Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - The sun came out and the rains went away, but Warsaw's boys and girls cross country teams couldn't weather the strongest storm that came through town Tuesday afternoon.
Hosting Northern Lakes Conference foe Northridge at Grace College's Miller Field, the Tigers were little competition for the Raiders and fell 15-50 in both races.
In the girls race, Northridge, ranked No. 1 in the state in the latest coaches' poll, claimed the top 10 spots and had 17 of its 20 runners in the top 20.
"Going into the race, I told the girls to run for themselves, run for personal bests," said Warsaw girls coach Jerry Gackenheimer. "We wanted to compete. I told them if they could race with someone, try and pass them. We wanted to work on our racing and run in a pack. We wanted to keep a pack in the middle, which they did."
Northridge's Megan Jackson won the 4,000-meter race in a time of 15:20, followed by nine of her teammates.
Lindsay Houvener crossed the line first for the Tigers, finishing in an 11th-place time of 16:54. Megan DeRenzo was second for Warsaw in an 18th-place time of 18:09.
The rest of Warsaw's top five runners included Jenny Rietman in 21st (18:26), Laura McNulty in 22nd (18:28) and Emily Tuggle in 23rd (18:46).
"Northridge doesn't have just one or two runners," said Gackenheimer. "They had 10 girls in before our first. They have what it takes to get to state. They have a frontrunner in Megan Jackson and then others that fill in."
Northridge's Aimee Gingerich was second in a time of 15:42, followed in the top five by teammates Jesse Lafree (15:43), Katy Ritchie (15:59) and Lynn Pezzonite (16:09).
The loss dropped Warsaw's girls team to 1-2 in NLC competition.
Like its girls team, Northridge tallied a perfect score in the boys race as well, claiming the top seven spots, though only the top five count toward the team score.
Braxton Fritz won the 5,000-meter race in a time of 16:29 for the 12th-ranked Raiders, followed in the top five by teammates Ken Collins (16:42), Ladd Mercer (17:16), Andy Williams (17:26) and Loren Spirito (17:39).
"We had a hard practice last night (Monday)," said Tiger boys coach Jim Mills, whose team fell to 2-1 in the NLC. "We knew coming in we weren't going to win, but I'm still disappointed. Every year Northridge comes over and skunks us. We've got guys that can run in the top seven, we just didn't get it done. There seems to be a dead spot in our races. I don't know what it is. It's frustrating to watch. I watch this team in practice, and it's a different team when they run the races."
Kyle McNulty led the Tigers with an eighth-place time of 18:03, while Matt Campbell was ninth in a time of 18:07.
The rest of Warsaw's top five included Baxter Burnworth in a 10th-place time of 18:11, Jeremy Blackburn in an 11th-place time of 18:24 and Steve Robinson in a 12th-place time of 18:28.
Both the Warsaw boys and girls teams are in action again Saturday in the New Prairie Invitational, and then return to Miller Field Tuesday for senior night against NLC foes Elkhart Memorial and Goshen.
GIRLS - NO. 1 NORTHRIDGE 15, WARSAW 50
Race winner - Megan Jackson (NR) 15:20
Warsaw finishers - 11. Lindsay Houvener 16:54, 18. Megan DeRenzo 18:09, 21. Jenny Rietman 18:26, 22. Laura McNulty 18:28, 23. Emily Tuggle 18:46, 24. Ashley Henry 18:46, 25. Lisa Gill 19:08, 26. Katie Furnivall 19:14, 27. Brittany Garver 19:19, 28. Ericka Kurosky 19:27, 29. Elise Smolen 19:33, 30. Hope Lauster 20:20, 32. Alysia Yero 20:54, 33. Johanna Gymrek 21:12, 34. Christy Lawton 21:35, 35. Heather Sowers 21:51, 36. Melody Lawton 22:12, 37. Alli Finch 24:17, 38. Alex Shoemaker-Furnivall 26:15, 39. Julie Scheets 27:48, 40. Whitney Ousley 27:49
BOYS - NO. 12 NORTHRIDGE 15, WARSAW 50
Race winner - Braxton Fritz 16:29
Warsaw finishers - 8. Kyle McNulty 18:03, 9. Matt Campbell 18:07, 10. Baxter Burnworth 18:11, 11. Jeremy Blackburn 18:24, 12. Steve Robinson 18:28, 13. Nathan Wentz 18:32, 15. Alf Eherenman 18:41, 17. Willie Olds 18:56, 20. John Tabor 19:35, 21. Adam Gall 20:07, 22. Alex Kurosky 20:08, 23. David Compson 20:16, 25. Ryan Lursen 21:07, 27. Trevor Bradley 21:48, 28. Preston Moudy 23:41
