A handful of Warsaw runners lead the pack at the Culver Academies Regional Saturday. The No. 13 Tigers dominated the field to claim their second straight regional championship (Photos by Scott Davidson)

CULVER – Warsaw boys cross country coach Jim Mills talked the talk to his team at practice Friday.

The talented Tigers then went out and walked the walk Saturday.

It was all about championships for No. 13 Warsaw in another dominating performance at the Culver Academies Regional.

Senior star Ellis Coon claimed the individual regional title in a winning effort of 16:17.

The Tigers, as a team, placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 10 to earn their second straight regional championship and third all-time.

Warsaw posted a team score of 20, far ahead of the 78 put up by runner-up Western. Kokomo was third, Rochester fourth and Winamac fifth to earn semi state qualifying berths.

Mills admitted that he had a few choice words for his team on Friday.

“I got on them pretty good and just thought that I needed to be the old coach Mills,” said the veteran Warsaw mentor. “I felt like we had some things that needed to be addressed.

“We need to get the ball on a roll for the next couple of weeks. Today was the day for that and they responded.  This was important for us to get in a good race and we did.

“The guys ran great today. Our top five were all in the 16’s on a course that was soft. We wanted them closer together today than on Tuesday (in their sectional title at Culver) and they did that.”

Sophomore Owen Glogovsky was fourth overall at the regional for champion Warsaw.

The Tigers, who will compete at the New Prairie Semistate next Saturday, have not missed a beat this fall. That’s despite the loss of All-State runners Jake Poyner and Robert Murphy, along with solid Brysten James, from last year’s team that placed a program best fourth at the State Finals. The team also had a couple  of runners decide not to come out this season.

“I’ve had confidence in these guys all season,” said Mills. “People thought we would have a down year with the guys we lost. I thought we could be as good, or about as good, as last year. The guys have done a great job.”

The trio of Coon, Owen Glogovsky and Daniel Messenger are the returnees from last year’s State Finals group for the Tigers.

Coon, who was second at the regional in 2012 to teammate Poyner, ran another solid, smart race. He used his trademark strong finish to top runner-up Robert Duke of Eastern by five seconds.

“Ellis just did what he needed to again today,” Mills said. “He ran smart. He can put the hammer down when he needs to. The elite runners only have so many great races in them. You have to pick and choose your spots. Ellis just needs to keep on doing what he’s doing. I know in the last 200 meters of a race that I wouldn’t bet against Ellis against anyone.”

Coon, who has committed to Temple, downplayed the fact that he was clearly the best runner in the regional field.

“I didn’t really feel like the huge favorite today,” said Coon. “I’ve done nothing outstanding since Marion (the Marion Invitational back on Sept. 7 when he set a school record by running a 15:21).

“The coolest part of today for me was that as a team I love the fact that we had five guys up front at the mile. The goal next week is for the team to get to State. I would love to be the semi state champion, but I want the team to be at State again.”

The Tigers were outstanding across the board Saturday. Sophomore Owen Glogovsky was fourth overall in a time of 16:33. Senior Tyler Houvener placed sixth in a time of 16:48, followed by junior Daniel Messenger in seventh (16:50) and junior Nick Bergen in ninth (16:53) to complete the team scoring.

Sophomore Jonathan Beres, who placed 17th overall in a time of 17:16, definitely impressed his coach.

“Jonathan had a great race today,” Mills said. “He didn’t run for us last year and today he’s at 17:16 in the regional.”

Freshman Trenton Day completed the Warsaw lineup Saturday as he was 50th overall in a time of 18:16.

Freshman Cordell Sherow led Triton to a ninth-place finish. Shaw was 32nd overall in a time of 17:50 as the Trojans posted a team score of 201.

Junior Derek Johnston, senior Bryce Wanemacher, junior Landon Kaufman and freshman Bailey Watkins completed the top five for Triton. Johnston was 33rd in a time of 17:51, with Wanemacher 54th (18:22), Kaufman 62nd (18:40) and Watkins 66th (18:58). Senior Junki Park was 88th in 21:27 for the Trojans.

Tippecanoe Valley had a trio of team members qualify to compete Saturday. Senior Brandon Maull finished in 47th place overall in 18:11. Sophomore Jesse Floor was 49th (18:13) and freshman Tom Solano 81st (19:57) for the Vikings.

Junior Nick Bergen helped his Warsaw squad dominate the Culver Academies Regional Saturday.