The Wawasee middle school girls varsity cross country team gets ready to run at the West Noble Middle School Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning. From left to right are Lila Gregory, Katie Haines, Carmen Yoder, McKenzie Smith and Caitlin Wortinger. (Photos provided)

LIGONIER – The Wawasee middle school cross country teams found themselves racing familiar foes at the West Noble Middle School Cross Country Invitational Saturday morning.

The Wawasee girls team took second place behind champion Maple Creek, which ran away from the 31-team field to win with just 31 points. Wawasee provided the nearest competition finishing with 105 points. Carmen Yoder led the Warriors, crossing the finish line in seventh place. Rounding out the scoring for Wawasee were McKenzie Smith in 20th place, Katie Haines 22nd, Lila Gregory 26th and Valeria Pizana 30th.

The Wawasee boys team again found themselves battling Westview and Maple Creek Middle Schools for top honors. Westview won the team title with 35 points, with Wawasee falling back to third with 108 points. Luke Griner paced the Warriors with a seventh place finish. He was followed by Braxton Alexander ninth, Bennett Hoffert 11th, Spencer Hare 27th and Cameron Rager 54th.

Top Wawasee finisher in the Girls Reserve Race was Autumn Turner. Ethan Carey was the top finisher in the Boys Reserve Race.

Wawasee will head to Central Noble Thursday, September 25, for a dual meet. Saturday Sept. 27, the teams will join the Wawasee High School teams at the Culver Military Invitational.