NAPPANEE – As his Warsaw boys cross country team got off the bus at Stauffer Park, coach Jim Mills’ message was simple – take care of business and go home. The sixth-ranked Tigers did exactly that, as their five scoring runners finished in the top eight and Warsaw defeated Northern Lakes Conference rivals Northridge and NorthWood. Warsaw beat the 13th-ranked Northridge Raiders 22-36 and the host NorthWood Panthers 15-50. Northridge defeated NorthWood 15-46. A team blessed with tremendous individual talent and plenty of depth, the Tigers finished the regular season portion of their schedule with a 7-0 record, while the Raiders are 6-1. The two state-ranked teams will battle again Saturday at Ox Bow Park in the conference meet at 11 a.m. “Everybody knows Northridge is a good team,” said Mills. “I told the guys when we got off the bus that we’re here to take care of business and then go home. Today was about sending a message. The next time we run against Northridge, we don’t want them to get the idea that they can beat us.” If the idea was to send a message, it was certainly loud and clear. Warsaw’s Jake Poyner finished first in a new course-record time of 16:25. Runner-up and teammate Robert Murphy was four seconds back. Northridge’s first runner to cross the line was third-place finisher James Bradberry (16:33). Other Tigers who figured into the team score included Ellis Coon (4th, 16:40), Brysten James (7th, 17:12) and Daniel Messenger (8th, 17:20). “We wanted to seal the deal tonight,” Poyner said when asked about finishing 7-0 in NLC dual meets. “It doesn’t matter who Northridge has, they’re always good and they’re always out to beat us.” Warsaw took the top two spots in the girls 5K race as well, but wasn’t as fortunate in the team scores. Despite defending state champion Ashley Erba winning in a course record-time of 18:35, Sarah Ray finishing second in 19:35 and Hannah Thompson crossing the line fifth in 20:19, No. 9 Northridge beat No. 15 Warsaw 28-30. Warsaw defeated NorthWood 15-49, while Northridge topped NorthWood 15-50. “We knew it was going to be close,” said Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba. “Northridge is deeper, and it paid off for them. We were close. We’re right there. We have the components to be a championship team. This should give us encouragement for Saturday’s conference meet.” The NLC Meet is slated to start at 10:30 a.m. In Tuesday’s meet in Nappanee, the Lady Tigers’ five scoring runners finished first, second, fifth, 10th and 12th. Northidge had girls finish third, fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth. While Warsaw was out front with Erba and Ray, Northridge won with depth. “I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but I’m not disappointed in the girls,” said Scott Erba. “Today was good for us. We can learn a lot from this.” With the pair of wins Tuesday, the Lady Raiders improved to 7-0 in the NLC, while the Lady Tigers fell to 6-1.
(BOYS) WARSAW 22, NORTHRIDGE 36; WARSAW 15, NORTHWOOD 50; NORTHRIDGE 15, NORTHWOOD 46 Winner – Jake Poyner (Warsaw) 16:25 Warsaw (top 15 runners) – 1. Jake Poyner 16:25, 2. Robert Murphy 16:29, 4. Ellis Coon 16:40, 7. Brysten James 17:12, 8. Daniel Messenger 17:20, 9. Owen Glogovsky 17:24, 11. Michael Compton 17:30, 13. Aaron Haller 17:35, 14. Tyler Houvener 17:36, 17. Ryan Goon 18:24, 18. Matt Anthony 18:25, 19. Brandon Lee 18:35, 21. Jacob DeBoest 18:47, 22. Nick Bergen 18:48, 23. Cam Hoskins 18:48
