Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE - Looking for some momentum to build on, Warsaw boys cross country coach Jim Mills and his Tigers found it Monday.
Led by a third-place finish from Matt Campbell and a fifth-place effort from Baxter Burnworth, the Tigers won the seven-team Warsaw Invitational at Grace College's Miller Field.
"We wanted to run better than Saturday," said Mills, referring to the Baron Classic. It was our first meet and we always run horrible there. Hopefully, this will be a good booster. We've got a long way to go, we're not really in great shape right now, but this is something we can build on."
A total of 75 runners finished Monday's 5,000-meter boys race.
The Tigers had seven finishers in the top 20, giving them a five-man team score of 48.
"We had seven guys in the top 20," said Mills. "It's been a long time since we've had that many good finishes."
Marion finished runner-up to the Tigers with 61 points, followed by Columbia City (65), Peru (106), NorthWood (131), Northfield (138) and Tippecanoe Valley (188).
Marion's Alex Wimsatt won the 5,000-meter race in a time of 17:09, 22 seconds ahead of runner-up finisher Cody Siblyk from Peru.
Campbell led the Tigers with a third-place finish in a time of 17:35, while Burnworth was fifth in a time of 17:42.
Other runners that were part of Warsaw's five-man score included Kyle McNulty (10th, 18:03), Alf Eherenman (14th, 18:17) and John Tabor (16th, 18:28).
Freshman Alex Weaver led Tippecanoe Valley with a 25th-place finish in a time of 19:01, while junior Allen Burkett finished 45th for the Vikings in a time of 20:13.
In the 4,000-meter girls race, the host Tigers had three finishers in the top five, but the distance between Warsaw's third runner and fourth left them with a runner-up team finish instead of a team championship.
"We had two packs," said Tiger girls coach Jerry Gackenheimer. "We had a pack up front, and they were there the entire race. And we had a second group that was tight the entire race. What we have to do now is narrow the gap between the packs."
Freshman Erica Ridderman led the Tigers with a third-place finish in a time of 17:17. She was followed by senior teammate Julie Seiss, who traded volleyball this season for cross country. Seiss finished fourth in a time of 17:19, while junior Lindsay Houvener was fifth in a time of 17:21.
A standout athlete in both basketball and track, Seiss has made an immediate contribution to the Tigers' cross country team.
"Julie is such a hard worker," said Gackenheimer. "She doesn't like to get beat. She always works hard, and that can be contagious."
The fourth Warsaw girls runner to cross the line was junior Laura McNulty, who finished 21st in a time of 18:46. Junior Emily Tuggle was 23rd in a time of 18:55.
Columbia City won the team championship with a five-person score of 46, while Warsaw finished second with 56 points.
Columbia City's top five finishers crossed the line second, sixth, seventh, ninth and 24th out of 72 girls.
Northfield finished third in the team standings with 69 points, followed by Marion (72), NorthWood (105) and Peru (160).
Tippecanoe Valley competed in the girls race but had just two finishers.
Junior Janelle Doody finished 35th in a time of 20:01, while senior Sarah Craig finished 41st in a time of 20:30.
2005 WARSAW INVITATIONAL
BOYS
Team scores - Warsaw 48, Marion 61, Columbia City 65, Peru 106, NorthWood 131, Northfield 138, Tippecanoe Valley 188
Warsaw finishers - 3. Matt Campbell 17:35, 5. Baxter Burnworth 17:42, 10. Kyle McNulty 18:03, 14. Alf Eherenman 18:17, 16. John Tabor 18:28, 18. Steve Robinson 18:36, 20. Cody Goshert 18:44, 34. Nathan Wentz 19:31, 36. Alex Kurosky 19:36, 38. Brian Donovan 19:54, 41. Ryan Walker 20:03, 46. Adam Galle 20:36, 52. Ryan Lursen 20:36, 60. Kyle Stamm 22:05, 64. Trevor Bradley 22:52, 67. Trevor Hanson 23:23
Valley finishers - 25. Alex Weaver 19:01, 45. Allen Burkett 20:13, 55. Todd Whetstone 21:30, 69. Robert Bitting 23:48, 71. Jerrod Hartzler 25:47
GIRLS
Team scores - Columbia City 46, Warsaw 56, Northfield 69, Marion 72, NorthWood 105, Peru 160
Warsaw finishers - 3. Erica Ridderman 17:17, 4. Julie Seiss 17:19, 5. Lindsay Houvener 17:21, 21. Lauren McNulty 18:46, 23. Emily Tuggle 18:55, 29. Isabell Olivo 19:49, 30. Brittany Garver 19:49, 31. Sarah Espinosa 19:53, 33. Ashley Henry 19:59, 37. Nicole Kuhn 20:05, 38. Shelby Warner 20:14, 45. Jaylynn Haughee 20:48, 46. Erica Kurosky 20:51, 50. Elise Smolen 21:16, 52. Hope Lauster 21:29, 60. Melody Lawton 23:32, 61. Karrie Burch 23:36, 62. Johanna Gymrek 23:39, 63. Allison Finch 23:47, 68. Alex Furnival 25:27, 70. Whitney Ousley 26:30
Valley finishers - 35. Janelle Doody 20:01, Sarah Craig 20:30
