FORT WAYNE — Placing five runners in the top nine, the 15th-ranked Warsaw girls cross country team didn't get much resistance in winning its third-straight Fort Wayne Bruin Invitational title Saturday. Warsaw ran away with the title with 30 points, putting plenty of distance between itself and second-place Homestead, which finished with 66 points. “It was about going out and getting the best time they could,” Warsaw assistant coach Michael Jennys said about the simple strategy for the meet. “There wasn't a lot of competition here today. We wanted to run with people that we could and then just try to stick together and run as fast as we could.” DeKalb's Tyler Schwartz was the overall winner with a time of 19:03.3, followed by Leo's Lindsey Marriott (19.10.7), but then Warsaw dominated, led by Allison Miller's third-place time of 19:29.5. Along with Miller, Warsaw's Hannah Dawson was fifth (19:42.1), with Anna Craig in sixth (19:51.8), Emma Hayward in seventh (19:55.1) and Brooke Rhodes in ninth (20:09.2), rounding out the scoring times. Also for the Warsaw varsity, Mia Beckham placed 12th (20:41.8) and Claire Kehler was 18th (21:14.5). “Four of our runners broke 20 (minutes), which is really exciting,” Jennys, who was filling in for head coach Matt Campbell, said. “We only had one over 21, so we're still really low, time-wise.” While Campbell was away for personal reasons, his team was experiencing its first meet in cold temperatures, but it didn't phase the girls much. “It's always tough to do your first race in the cold, because you have to warm up more and it's difficult to figure out, 'What do I do? When do I do it?,'" Jennys said. “The nice thing is the cooler weather is better for the body and it's easier to run faster. I think we saw that with them all running a little faster today.” Times may have also been faster based on the absence of hills on the Northrop High School campus. “It's nice, because its a flat course,” Jennys said. “Last week (at the Marion Invitational at Indiana Wesleyan) it was really hilly and that's difficult to get faster times. This is nice, because it gives you a feel for how fast they are just raw.” Warsaw gets back into Northern Lakes Conference competition Tuesday, looking to move to 3-0 when it visits Wawasee.
F.W. NORTHROP BRUIN INVITATIONAL Team Scores – 1. Warsaw 30, 2. Homestead 66, 3. DeKalb 86, 4. F.W. Concordia 116, 5. F.W. North 152, 6. Leo 156, 7. Westview 169, 8. East Noble 219, 9. F.W. Northrop 220, 10. F.W. Blackhawk 276, 11. Heritage 311. Top 10 – 1. Tyler Schwartz (DeKalb) 19:03.3, 2. Lindsey Marriott (Leo) 19:10.7, 3. Allison Miller (Warsaw), 5. Hannah Dawson (Warsaw) 19:42.1, 6. Anna Craig (Warsaw) 19:51.8, 7. Emma Hayward (Warsaw) 19:55.1, 8. Lauren Beckmann (DeKalb) 20:00.7, 9. Brooke Rhodes (Warsaw) 20:09.2, 10. Nicole Wilson (F.W. Wayne) 20:12. Warsaw – 3. Allison Miller 19:29.5, 5. Hannah Dawson 19:42.1, 6. Anna Craig 19:51.8, 7. Emma Hayward 19:55.1, 9. Brooke Rhodes 20:09.2, 12. Mia Beckham 20:41.8, 18. Claire Kehler 21:14.5. JV – 1. Warsaw 15, 2. Homestead 46, 3. DeKalb 97, 4. Leo 99. Warsaw JV – 1. Charlene Orr 21:06.0, 2. Lauren Orr 21:07.9, 3. Hannah Thompson 22:12.4, 4. Emma Lemon 22:17.7, 5. Kendra Paton 22:19.9, 8. Mallory Hooks 22:43.0, 9. Liza Lewis 23:00.7, Meredith Phipps 23:22.7, Taylor Strickler 24:14.0, Sierra Palmer 24:40.5, Jemina Fugate 25:15.8, Daisie Poe 25:18.8, Shyanne McFadden 25:25.6, Katie Newland 26:03.4, Courtney Sainer 26:08.3, Susana Pizano 26:38.2, Alexis Winters 27:05.9, Aubrey Doyle 27:24.9, Emma Lehman 28:02.9, Kaitlynn Still 28:17.7, Amber Hagan 28:20.7, Maddy Cardwell 30:45.8, Emily Shepherd 30:47.5.
