CULVER – A steady rain fell on fans and participants Tuesday evening during the awards ceremony following the boys and girls cross country sectionals at Culver Academies. It wasn’t enough, however, to put a damper on what the Warsaw Tigers and Lady Tigers did, as they continued to reign supreme in postseason action. The top five teams, as well as the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for Saturday’s regional at Culver Academies. Not only did the Tigers and Lady Tigers advance, they flat out dominated the competition, as they each cruised to their third-straight sectional title. In the 68-competitor boys race, the No. 13 Tigers had five of the top six finishers, winning the team title with 19 points. The host Eagles were a distant second with 80 points, followed by Rochester (90), Triton (110), Plymouth (128), Tippecanoe Valley (168), Caston (189), Manchester (190), North Miami (206) and Culver Community (259) “It’s been 15 years of hard work by the coaches and the kids we’ve had to get to this level,” said veteran Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills, whose team entered the state tournament on the heels of winning its third-straight Northern Lakes Conference championship. “We’re going to do our best to stay at the top.” Warsaw senior Ellis Coon won the 5K boys race in a time of 16:28, sophomore teammate Owen Glogovsky (16:48) was third, senior Tyler Houvener (17:08) was fourth, junior Nick Bergen (17:21) finished fifth and sophomore Jonathan Beres (17:34) finished sixth. “Our guys did great tonight,” said Coon, who finished eighth in last year’s state finals. “We’re blessed to have guys who want to work hard and continue the success of the program. We have supremely talented and dedicated guys on this team.” Also for Warsaw’s boys team, senior Ryan Goon (18:14) finished 18th, while senior Aaron Haller (18:39) finished 27th. “We wanted to go out and stay together for a while tonight,” said Mills. “We’re trying to rest, but also stay sharp too. We learned about four years ago that we were tapering off. We need to keep the intensity up. It keeps the guys sharper.” Senior Bryce Wanemacher led the fourth-place and regional-qualifying Triton Trojans with a 15th-place time of 18:09. Other scoring runners for the Trojans included junior Derek Johnston (19th, 18:15), junior Landon Kaufman (22nd, 18:22), freshman Cordell Sherow (23rd, 18:24) and freshman Bailey Watkins (31st, 18:53). The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings didn’t advance as a team, but did have three runners qualify individually for Saturday’s regional. Senior Brandon Maull finished 11th in a time of 17:49 and will be joined by sophomore Jesse Floor (26th, 18:27) and freshman Tom Solano (39th, 19:49). The Manchester Squires qualified two runners for the regional, as senior Matthew Fahs-Brown finished second in a time of 16:44 and sophomore Skyler Burke was 30th in 18:49. Lakeland Christian Academy had one runner in the boys race, sophomore Alex Plastow, who finished 56th in a time of 21:20. In the 59-competitor 5K girls race, the 25th-ranked Lady Tigers had three of the top four runners and won the team title with 30 points. Culver Academies finished a distant second with 60 points, followed by Plymouth (71), Rochester (82), Triton (170), Manchester (173), North Miami (175) and Tippecanoe Valley (210). “There’s a sense of pride in winning the sectional, no matter what sectional you’re in,” said Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba. “We got over the hump against Northridge a couple years ago (at Ox Bow Park) and that was a big thing. Then we came here last year and won back-to-back, now we’ve won three in a row and started a streak.” Freshman Allison Miller led the way for the Lady Tigers, finishing second in a time of 19:32. Rochester senior Anna Bearss, who ran at Warsaw as a freshman and sophomore, won the girls race in 18:56. “Allison ran a smooth, smart race,” said Erba. “In the next week and half, though, she’ll have to get used to pack running, especially at the semistate. She hasn’t had to do a lot of pack running this year.” Warsaw sophomore Brooke Rhodes finished third in a time of 19;55, while sophomore Hannah Dawson was fourth in 20:04, sophomore Emma Hayward (20:44) was 11th, senior Madeline Hooks (20:56) finished 12th, senior Alethia Burritt (21:07) finished 15th and sophomore Claire Kehler (21:09) finished 16th. The fifth-place and regional qualifying Triton Lady Trojans were led by the 36th-place time of senior Alexandra Kann (23:52). The Lady Trojans were the epitome of pack running, as senior Taylor Hatfield (24:11) was 38th, junior Courtney Burns (24:17) was 39th, senior Kayleigh Craig (24:22) was 40th, freshman Aimee Gladieux (24:26) was 41st and freshman Michaela Best (24:59) was 46th. The Manchester Lady Squires, who missed a regional berth by a mere three points, qualified two individuals for Saturday’s race. Freshman Clara Burdette finished 22nd in a time of 22:09, while sophomore Trista Hill was 29th in 22:51. Tippecanoe Valley sophomore Brooklyn Conley qualified for the regional with a 31st-place time of 23:13. Lakeland Christian Academy’s lone runner in the girls race, senior Hannah Remington, qualified for the regional with a 28th-place time of 22:41. Saturday’s regional gets underway with the boys race at 10:30 a.m., followed by the girls race shortly after 11 a.m.
CMA SECTIONAL (Boys) Team Scores – Warsaw 19, Culver Academies 80, Rochester 90, Triton 110, Plymouth 128, Tippecanoe Valley 168, Caston 189, Manchester 190, North Miami 206, Culver Community 259
T. Valley – 11. Brandon Maull 17:49, 26. Jesse Floor 18:27, 39. Tom Solano 19:49, 41. Noah Clampitt 20:00, 51. Mark Hicks 20:50, 52. Tyler Ross 20:57, 58. Jared Mikel 21:29
Manchester – 30. Skyler Burke 16:44, 47. Andrew Longanecker 20:27, 49. Tristan Fields 20:40, 63. James Curtis 22:01, 67. Jeremy Herrmann 22:57
LCA – 56. Alex Plastow 21:20
(GIRLS) Team Scores – Warsaw 30, Culver Academies 60, Plymouth 71, Rochester 82, Triton 170, Manchester 173, North Miami 175, Tippecanoe Valley 210
Top 10 individuals – 1. Anna Bearss (Roch) 18:56, 2. Allison Miller (War) 19:32, 3. Brooke Rhodes (War) 19:55, 4. Hannah Dawson (War) 20:04, 5. Abby Patrick (Ply) 20:13, 6. Hannah Bugeln (Cul Acad) 20:27, 7. Adrianna Dague (Cas) 20:31, 8. Libby Read (Ply) 20:41, 9. Sarah Burch (Roch) 20:42, 10. Sydney Wolff (Cul Acad) 20:44
Other Warsaw runners – 11. Emma Hayward 20:44, 12. Madeline Hooks 20:56, 15. Alethia Burritt 21:07, 16. Claire Kehler 21:09
Triton – 36. Alexandra Kann 23:52, 38. Taylor Hatfield 24:11, 39. Courtney Burns 24:17, 40. Kayleigh Craig 24:22, 41. Aimee Gladieux 24:46, 46. Michaela Best 24:59
Manchester – 22. Clara Burdette 22:09, 29. Trista Hill 22:51, 47. Lindsey Dierks 25:09, 48. Natasha Niccum 25:22, 49. Alexis Wagoner 25:26, 50. Liza Airgood 25:31, 53. Alexis Vernon 25:58
T. Valley – 31. Brooklyn Conley 23:13, 42. Sierra Rudd 24:48, 54. Jenna Schultz 26:34, 55. Brynda Krueger 27:16, 58. Tori Miller 30:11
