WINONA LAKE - Warsaw Community High School's cross country program hosted the Tiger Invitational at Grace College's Miller Field Tuesday, with the Warsaw boys finishing second and the girls placing third in the seven-team race.
In the girls race, Warsaw's Erica Ridderman won the 4,000-meter race in a time 21:06. The talented Tiger junior crossed the finish line 31 seconds ahead of runner-up Laken Lefever of Columbia City.Scoring 31 points to win the team championship - as scores are based on the top five finishers for each team - Columbia City turned in finishes of second, fifth, sixth, eighth and tenth.
Huntington North, led by the third-place finish of Alison Spahr (21:38) and the fourth-place effort of Natalie Spahr (21:42), finished second in the team standings with 43 points.
Warsaw's girls team finished third with 81 points, followed by NorthWood (95), Peru (152), Northfield (156) and Tippecanoe Valley.
Tippecanoe Valley's girls squad didn't post a team score, as the Vikings had just two runners in the girls race.
For Valley, Molly Wright finished 13th in a time of 23:14, while Allison Thacker crossed the line 52nd in a time of 28:39.
Warsaw's other four finishers in the five-person team score included Ashley Henry (12th, 22:41), Lauren Smolen (21st, 24:12), Katie McNulty (24th, 24:29) and Hilary Shepherd (28th, 25:38).
In the boys race, Huntington North, led by the second-place finish of Ross Ochs (16:55) won the team championship with 45 points.
En route to the win, Huntington North's five scoring finishes also included efforts of fifth, 11th, 13th, 14th and 22nd.
The host Tigers finished second with 56 points, followed by NorthWood (93), Peru (123), Northfield (125), Columbia City (126) and Tippecanoe Valley (137).
Columbia City's Harrison Fausey won the 5,000-meter boys race in a time of 16:50.
Cody Goshert led the Warsaw boys team with a fourth-place time of 17:36.
The Tigers' other four scoring runners were Brian Donovan (8th, 17:55), Nathan West (9th, 17:57), Jeremiah Stichter (15th, 18:40) and Jordon Scroggs (20th, 19:07).
Alex Weaver led Valley's boys team with a 12th-place time of 18:18.
TIGER INVITATIONAL
BOYS
Team scores - Huntington North 45, Warsaw 56, NorthWood 93, Peru 123, Northfield 125, Columbia City 126, Tippecanoe Valley 137
Warsaw finishers - 4. Cody Goshert 17:36, 8. Brian Donovan 17:55, 9. Nathan West 17:57, 15. Jeremiah Stichter 18:49, 20. Jordon Scroggs 19:07, 21. John Tabor 19:15, 24. Kyle Stamm 19:31, 28. Marcos Aguirre 19:46, 31. Adam Gall 19:54, 32. Logan Brock 20:03, 33. Ryan Connors 20:04, 38. Trevor Hanson 20:27, 51. Spencer Swanson 21:26, 53. Thomas Murphy 21:30, 55. Matt Stamm 21:47, 66. Trevor Callahan 22:44, 73. Nick Sparkman 23:44, 79. Lawney Francis 24:43, 80. Kyle Millbern 24:47
Valley finishers - 12. Alex Weaver 18:18, 26. Todd Whetstone 19:35, 30. Cody Kaiser 19:50, 43. Gunnar Kaiser 20:38, 47. Robert Biting 20:58, 61. Jesse Manns 22:01, 74. Michael Ingelhearn 23:51, 81. Thomas Gast 24:58
GIRLS
Team scores - Columbia City 31, Huntington North 43, Warsaw 81, NorthWood 95, Peru 152, Northfield 156, Tippecanoe Valley (no team score)
