CULVER – A change of scenery didn’t hurt Warsaw’s boys and girls cross country teams at all. Realignment by the IHSAA moved the Tigers and Lady Tigers from the Elkhart Central Sectional at Ox Bow Park, where they competed for years, to the Culver Academies Sectional. New sectional. Same result as last year. Both Warsaw teams were able to repeat as sectional champions Tuesday, each winning the third sectional title in their respective program’s history, and will vie for a regional crown Saturday morning on the same course. The sixth-ranked Tigers had all five of its scoring runners finish in the top eight, as they scored 27 points and easily outdistanced themselves from the field. Rochester finished second with 53 points, followed by Culver Military Academy (88), Triton (122), Plymouth (135), Manchester (172), Tippecanoe Valley (203), Culver Community (216), Caston (218) and North Miami (245). The top five teams and top 15 individuals advanced to Saturday’s regional. The girls 5K is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., followed by the boys race at 11:15. Making the Warsaw boys’ domination even more impressive was that the Tigers were the class of the field even without senior Jake Poyner. Poyner, who won the sectional last year at Ox Bow Park, opted to rest for the regional. “It’s nice to not run your top guy and still win the way we did,” said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills. “Jake thought taking the day off would be a good thing. That was fine with me.” Robert Murphy led the Tigers with a second-place time of 16:36, while Ellis Coon was fourth (16:50), Brysten James sixth (16:57), Michael Compton seventh (17:02) and Daniel Messenger eighth (17:09) in the 68-person field. “They hung back today,” said Mills. “We didn’t meet our goal today. We wanted to try and get everybody in the 16:40s.” Mills’ team is blessed with an abundance of individual talent and plenty of depth. The veteran coach said it’s sometimes hard to get his guys excited for certain events. “The kids know the scoop,” said Mills. “You can rah-rah all you want, but it’s hard to get motivated for certain meets. It’ll be a different mentality when we get to the semistate.” Trenton Stackhouse led the Triton boys to a fourth-place finish with his 18th-place time of 18:15. Trenton Cooper was 23rd (18:45), while Landon Kaufman (18:56), Bryce Wanemacher (19:07) and Derek Johnston (19:08) finished 26th, 27th and 28th, respectively. The only other local boy that advanced to the regional was Manchester’s Matthew Fahs-Brown, who finished third in a time of 16:42. Brandon Maull was Valley’s top finisher in the boys race, crossing the line in a 25th-place time of 18:56. Alex Plastow was Lakeland Christian Academy’s only competitor in the boys race and finished 50th in 20:35. In the girls race, Warsaw and Triton were the only local teams to advance to the regional. No area competitors advanced as individuals. The 15th-ranked Lady Tigers, led by senior Ashley Erba’s new sectional record-time of 17:29, won the team title with 42 points. Rochester finished second with 56 points, followed by Plymouth (59), Culver Girls Academy (76), Triton (150), Manchester (180), Tippecanoe Valley (193) and North Miami (219). Erba’s new record topped the previous mark of 18:32 set by CGA’s Waverly Neer in 2010. Erba’s time would have allowed her to finish 11th in the boys race and advance to the regional. Other scoring runners for the Lady Tigers included Sarah Ray (3rd, 18:56), Emma Hayward (9th, 20:43), Madeline Hooks (14th, 20:57) and Brooke Rhodes (15th, 21:18). “We switched our lineup a little today,” said Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba. “The sectional is always a slower race, and it was encouraging to see so many girls close to their best times.” Ray was just one second behind runner-up Anna Bearss of Rochester. Bearss, a junior, ran for the Lady Tigers before transferring. She finished 23rd at the state meet last year while wearing orange and black. “Sarah is doing a great job,” said Scott Erba. “She’s gaining a lot of confidence. She was right there with Anna, who had a really good finish in the state finals last year.” Alexandra Kann led Triton’s girls team with an 11th-place time of 20:55. Kelsi Muster was Manchester’s top girl with a 25th-place time of 22:15. Brittany Childers led Tippecanoe Valley with a 39th-place effort of 24:04. And Hannah Remington was LCA’s top girls finisher with a 26th-place time of 22:17. CULVER ACADEMY SECTIONAL Note – top 5 teams and top 15 individuals advance to Saturday's CMA Regional (Girls) Team scores – Warsaw 42, Rochester 56, Plymouth 59, Culver Girls Academy 76, Triton 150, Manchester 180, Tippecanoe Valley 193, North Miami 219 Top 15 individuals – 1. Ashley Erba (War) 17:29, 2. Anna Bearss (Roch) 18:55, 3. Sarah Ray (War) 18:56, 4. Anna Meyer (Roch) 19:39, 5. Libby Read (Ply) 20:28, 6. Meagan Fisher (Ply) 20:35, 7. Samantha Ruppert (Roch) 20:39, 8. Olivia Martinez (CGA) 20:42, 9. Emma Hayward (War) 20:43, 10. Hannah Buggelin (CGA) 20:46, 11. Alexandra Kann (Tri) 20:55, 12. Sarah Jamieson (CGA) 20:56, 13. Abby Patrick (Ply) 20:56, 14. Madeline Hooks (War) 20:57, 15. Brooke Rhodes (War) 21:18 Other Warsaw runners – 17. Hannah Thompson 21:32, 18. Tennie Worrell 21:36 Other Triton runners – 23. Alexis Miller 22:00, 36. Kayleigh Craig 23:41, 40.. Taylor Hatfield 24:10, 53. Autumn Kann 26:44, 56. Brooklyn Beatty 28:35 Manchester – 25. Kelsi Custer 22:15, 29. Trista Hill 22:30, 46. Natasha Niccum 25:14, 47. Alexis Vernon 25:52, 48. Liza Airgood 25:57, 51. Molly Woods 26:17, 55. Lindsey Diercks 27:31 T. Valley – 39. Brittany Childers 24:04, 42. Brooklyn Conle 24:50, 43. Emily Childers 24:55, 44. Karly Kitch 24:55, 45. Breelyn Conley 24:56, 49. Kayla Long 25:59, 52. Robyn Erklin 26:17 LCA – 26. Hannah Remington 22:17, 35. Emilee Catron 23:40, 60. Gabby catron 30:54 (Boys) Team scores – Warsaw 27, Rochester 53, Culver Military Academy 88, Triton 122, Plymouth 155, Manchester 172, Tippecanoe Valley 203, Culver 216, Caston 218, North Miami 245 Top 15 individuals – Leopoldo Burguete (CMA) 16:29, 2. Robert Murphy (War) 16:36, 3. Matthew Fahs-Brown (Manch) 16:42, 4. Ellis Coon (War) 16:50, 5. Alex Gudeman (Roch) 16:52, 6. Brysten James (War) 16:57, 7. Michael Compton (War) 17:02, 8. Daniel Messenger (War) 17:09, 9. Jeff Ferrell (Roch) 17:09, 10. Seth Cousins (Cas) 17:22, 11. Brandon Rife (Roch) 17:32, 12. Owen Glogovsky (War) 17:34, 13. Matt Hayes (Roch) 17:38, 14. Landrum Neer (CMA) 17:41, 15. Tyler Byerline (Roch) 17:50 Other Warsaw runners – Ryan Goon 17:55 Triton – 18. Trenton Stackhouse 18:15, 23. Trenton Cooper 18:45, 26. Landon Kaufman 18:56, 27. Bryce Wanemacher 19:07, 28. Derek Johnston 19:08 Other Manchester runners – 31. Jstin Heeter 19:23, 35. Arren Reust 19:42, 38. Andrew Longanecker 19:55, 66. Brock Pepper 22:44, 67. Jeremy Herrmann 22:45, 68. Dallas Fields 23:16 T. Valley – 25. Brandon Maull 18:56, 40. Maverick Wagley 19:57, 43. Adam Solano 20:05, 45. Jesse Floor 20:08, 51. Tyler Ross 20:42, 59. Devin Childers 21:05, Noah Clampitt 21:41 LCA – 50. Alex Plastow 20:35
