WINONA LAKE – On senior night, Warsaw’s boys and girls cross country teams were certainly led by a pair of experienced runners. Hosting Northern Lakes Conference opponents Goshen and Plymouth, the fifth-ranked Tigers and 12th-ranked Lady Tigers scored easy wins at Grace College’s Miller Field. Defending state champion Ashley Erba won the girls 5K race in a new course-record time of 17:27, beating the mark she set Aug. 28 by 37 seconds and leading Warsaw to a 15-49 win over the Plymouth Lady Pilgrims and an 18-42 win over the Goshen Lady Redskins. Goshen beat Plymouth 23-34. Erba has set a new course record in each meet she has competed in this season. “I know Ashley wanted to set a record tonight that would stand for a long, long time,” said Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba. “She ran a very controlled race.” In all, the Lady Tigers had eight runners with personal-record times, as the team improved to 4-0. Warsaw’s girls squad claimed five of the top six spots in the three-team meet. Sarah Ray finished second in a time of 19:08, while Madeline Hooks (20:53), Hannah Dawson (21:02) and Emmay Hayward (21:03) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. “We ran OK on Saturday (at the Bruin Invitational in Fort Wayne),” said Scott Erba. “We had a different strategy tonight. We wanted to focus on the middle mile. The girls did that, and we had some good times.” In the boys race, Warsaw senior Jacob Poyner won in a time of 15:59, as the Tigers claimed seven of the top eight individual spots. “We’re not going to be able to replace Jake,” Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills said of his standout senior. “He’s one of a kind. He does all the extra things, he warms up longer, he cools down longer. He does all the little things. Hopefully our younger kids are learning from him. I think he sent a message tonight.” Poyner’s victory helped the Tigers beat Plymouth 15-50 and Goshen 19-44. Goshen’s Luke Kauffman finished second individually, 28 seconds behind Poyner, and led his team to a 15-50 win over Plymouth. “We had a Pow Wow Monday night,” said Mills. “I thought we were getting complacent and that our big three (Poyner, Ellis Coon and Robert Murphy) were carrying us. I think the guys took that to heart, and we saw a lot of good times tonight.” Coon finished third in a time of 16:41, while Ismael Calderon (16:47) was fourth, Murphy (16:52) was fifth, Tyler Houvener (16:54) was sixth, Brysten James (16:57) was seventh and Cam Hoskins (17:19) finished eighth. Like the girls team, Warsaw’s boys squad is also 4-0 in NLC action. Both the Tigers and Lady Tigers will be in action Saturday at the New Prairie Invitational and then back in conference competition Tuesday at Wawasee.
