By TIM CREASON

NEW CARLISLE – Warsaw’s front four runners can compete with about any girls cross country team in the state.

Now, if coach Matt Campbell can get the Tiger 5-6-7 to run with his front four, this could end up as one of those special seasons.

Easy to say, isn’t it?

“Right now, we’re searching,” said Campbell after the No. 8-ranked Tiger girls finished second to No. 4 Penn in the Girls Class AAA (large school) race at Saturday’s huge New Prairie Invitational.

“We’ve got five different girls who are all about the same,” said Campbell. “We just have to hope somebody evolves. In practice, they’re showing they can do it.  But they’ve got to get out here and do it on the course.”

In one of Indiana’s largest high school athletic events, junior Mia Beckham led Warsaw with a seventh-place individual finish, clocking 19:11.5 on New Prairie’s famed 5,000-meter course.

The race was close and it was intense, with Penn showing its closing strength over the final mile. There were seven Top 20-ranked teams in the field.

No. 11 Valparaiso and No. 18 Lake Central were third and fourth, respectively, while defending champ LaPorte surprisingly slipped to fifth.

Heavy rains had drenched the area overnight, turning parts of the course into a muddy mess and guaranteeing  times wouldn’t be fast.

Lowell’s Jordyn Boyer, a sophomore, won the individual title in 18:27.9.

Midway through the race, spotters counted Warsaw with a slight lead, but Penn outran everybody over the final mile.

Warsaw’s powerful senior trio of Allison Miller, Anna Craig and Charlene Orr placed 15^th, 19^th and 31^st respectively, a good pack finish.

However, 15 more runners passed before Warsaw’s Emma Bohnenkamper (46^th) and Angie Sanchez-Vijil (52^nd) came in, allowing the Lady Kingsmen to slip past.

“We wanted to come out and compete with Penn, and obviously, Valpo’s somebody we have to compete with in our semistate. We look at this like a semistate preview,” said Campbell.

“I’m content with today, but our eyes are down the road,” he said.

Warsaw sophomore Zeb Hernandez was the star of Boys Class AAA, outsprinting Lowell’s Alec Fleming and Chesterton’s Jakob Kintzele down the homestretch between several thousand cheering fans.

Hernandez won the race in a swift 15:51.2, five steps ahead of Fleming (15:55.2). That duo will likely square off again at the New Prairie semistate in October.

As a team, Warsaw’s boys finished sixth with 231 points.

Meanwhile, tiny Westview had jaws a-dropping.  The small-school Warriors, enrollment 417, asked to compete in the large school class. They placed three runners among the top 10 and scored 117 points to edge No. 4 Lowell (119) for the championship.

Lucas Howett finished 21^st for Warsaw, clocking 16:43.9.  Xavi Ramirez was 40^th, Taylor Mills 72^nd, and Nathaniel Gottschalk 97 th  to close out the Tiger scoring.

In Boys Class A (small schools), Triton finished 15^th with 385 points.  Bailey Watkins placed 24^th to lead the Trojans, clocking 18:22.2, while Russell Reichard was 29^th.

Triton’s girls were sixth in Class A. Freshman Whytnie Miller was 22^nd in 22:16.6. Baylee McIntire was 31^st.

 

NEW PRAIRIE CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL

At New Carlisle

GIRLS CLASS A (Small schools)

TEAM SCORES: Morgan Twp. 42, Westview 142, Clinton Prairie 151, Kouts153, Hebron 165, Triton 188, Beecher (Ill.) 211 Caston 239, Whiting 245, Bridgman (Mich.) 274, West Central 288, Rossville 293, Pioneer 311, LaCrosse 350, North Judson 359, River Forest 404, Buchanan (Mich.) 415, Tri-County 451, Carroll (Flora) 486, Eastern-Greentown 511, South Central (LaPorte) 568, Michigan City Marquette 599. These teams incomplete: Boone Grove, Culver Community, Faith Christian Academy, Lafayette Central Catholic, LaVille, New Buffalo (Mich.) North Miami, North Newton, North White, Oregon-Davis, River Valley (Mich.), Washington Twp., Westville, Winamac.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Claire Collins (Winamac) 20:07.4; 2, Justene Charlesworth (LaCrosse) 20:18.7; 3, Miriam Walker (Lafayette Central Catholic) 20:30.6; 4, Hailey Janssen (Beecher, Ill.) 20:33.1; 5, Adrianna Dague (Caston) 20:36.4; 6, Nicky Scher (North Miami) 20:37.6; 7, Rebekah Lloyd (Clinton Prairie) 20:40.9; 8, Kiersten Duzan (Morgan Township) 20:55.5; 9, Hailey Haveck (Morgan Township) 21:22.5; 10, Gracie Abbett (Morgan Township) 21:28.5; 11, Holly Kuebler (Kouts) 21:28.5; 12, Jessie Rieth (River Valley, Mich.) 21:34.8; 13, Jewel Helmuth (Westview) 21:39.1; 14, Sam Kohlheim (Westview) 21:42.8; 15, Mackenzie Adams (Faith Christian) 21:43.7; 16, Mariah Haveck (Morgan Township) 21:50.7; 17, Camille Wuethrich (West Central) 21:55.7; 18, Megan Teitge (Morgan Township) 22:00.2; 19, McKenna Palmer (Kouts) 22:01.5; 20, Blake Bailey (Winamac) 22:03.6; 21, Ivy Allen (North Newton) 22:06.9; 22, Whytnie Miller (Triton) 22:16.6; 23, Elena Lendermon (Faith Christian) 22:31.4; 24, Audrey Wuethrich (West Central) 22:37.3; 25, Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette Central Catholic) 22:45.2.

GIRLS CLASS AA (Medium-size schools)

TEAM SCORES: Benton Central 87, Rensselaer Central 165, Kankakee Valley 200, Western 202, Twin Lakes 209, Fort Wayne Concordia  219, Bellmont 234, Manchester 235, New Prairie 237, Bremen 245, Rochester 257, Mishawaka Marian 263, Maconaquah 278, Northwestern 283, Culver Girls Academy 299, Fremont 408, Angola 426, Hanover Central 444, Wheeler 512, Griffith 530, Hammond Bishop Noll 618, South Bend St. Joseph’s 656, Jimtown 692, Andrean 693, Knox 706, Tippecanoe Valley 715, Bowman Academy 806. These teams incomplete: Calumet, John Glenn, Hammond Gavit, Peru, South Bend Washington.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Rae Bedke (Manchester) 18:56.1; 2, Maggie Gutwein (Twin Lakes) 18:59.2; 3, Cara Hasser (Benton Central) 19:10.0; 4, Hannah Martin (FW Concordia) 19:26.9; 5, Catherine Cavinder (Kankakee Valley) 19:46.5; 6, Kelsie Wuethrich (Rensselaer Central) 19:51.8; 7, Riley Welch (Fremont) 20:19.8; 8, Trinity Austin (Griffith) 20:20.1; 9, Isabel Weise (Benton Central) 20:23.8; 10, Morgan Fleming (Rensselear Central) 20:28.2; 11, Angela Gonzalez (Hanover Central) 20:30.0; 12, Mary Terhune (Culver Girls Academy) 20:44.5; 13, Mackenzie Neher (Bellmont) 20:51.1; 14, Kelsey Tyler (Rochester) 20:52.4; 15, Emily Fuelling (Bellmont) 20:53.0; 16, Allysa Fanning (Twin Lakes) 20:54.1; 17, Natalie Nicholson (Western) 20:55.1; 18, Kate White (Maconaquah) 20:59.2; 19, Hayley Musser (Benton Central) 21:00.7; 20, Casey Lechner (Northwestern) 21:02.8; 21, Marissa Rivera (Culver Girls Academy) 21:04.4; 22, Jordyn Bloode (New Prairie) 21:06.2; 23, Samantha Biernat (Angola) 21:08.5; 24, Madison Winegardner (Maconaquah) 21:08.5; 25, Payton Williams (Benton Central) 21:20.8.

GIRLS CLASS AAA (Large schools)

TEAM SCORES: Penn 91, Warsaw 118, Valparaiso 130, Lake Central 134, LaPorte 168, Lowell 206, West Lafayette 211, Crown Point 217, Northridge 245, Portage 263, Munster 267, Concord 307, East Noble 322, Chesterton 364, Highland 368, Harrison (Lafayette) 475, Hobart 521, South Bend Adams 544, Mishawaka 548, McCutcheon 549, South Bend Riley 623, Logansport 640, Elkhart Central 660, Lafayette Jeff 671, Elkhart Memorial 675, Mount Notre Dame (Ohio) 687, Michigan City 742, South Bend Clay 931. These teams incomplete: Fort Wayne Wayne, Merrillville.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Jordyn Boyer (Lowell) 18:27.9; 2, Sarah Hunsley (Lake Central) 18:38.1; 3, Ava Gilliana (Valparaiso) 18:46.0; 4, Shelby Riehle (LaPorte) 18:50.1; 5, Lauren Frank (Penn) 18:51.4; 6, Kayla McCulloch (East Noble) 19:04.8; 7, Mia Beckham (Warsaw) 19:11.5; 8, Logan Ferngren (Valparaiso) 19:14.3; 9, Hannah Wylie (Crown Point) 19:27.5; 10, Emma Jankowski (Penn) 19:40.5; 11, Ellie Jankowski (Penn) 19:42.2; 12, Jenna Miller (Northridge) 19:42.2; 13, Olivia Smolinske (East Noble) 19:42.7; 14, Brisa Bohling (Munster) 19:43.5; 15, Allison Miller (Warsaw) 19:47.1; 16, Annalise James (Lowell) 19:50.1; 17, Gabrielle DeVries (Lake Central) 19:50.8; 18, Mary Schultz (West Lafayette) 19:52.0; 19, Anna Craig (Warsaw) 19:52.5; 20, Julia Arnold (Valparaiso) 19:53.2; 21, Kaylee Galvan (Munster) 19:54.0; 22, Alison Ball (Portage) 19:54.7; 23, Hannah Roth (Lake Central) 19:55.7; 24, Ally Smith (Concord) 19:55.8; 25, Brendea McNeal (Merrillville) 19:58.6.

BOYS CLASS A (Small schools)

TEAM SCORES: Morgan Township 35, South Central (LaPorte) 128, Kouts 132, Clinton Prairie 195, North Newton 197, Faith Christian Academy 227, Hebron 239, Bridgman (Mich.) 256, Rossville 261, Winamac 261, Manchester 275, Washington Twp. 289, Pioneer 356, North Judson 360, Triton 386, Beecher (Ill.) 421, LaCrosse 455, West Central 493, Michigan City Marquette 527, North Miami 536, Carroll (Flora) 539, Whiting 560, River Forest 598, Tri-County 622, Boone Grove 652, River Valley (Mich.) 668, Eastern-Greentown 705, Oregon-Davis 803. These teams incomplete: Buchanan (Mich.), Caston, Culver Community, Lafayette Central Catholic, LaVille, New Buffalo (Mich.), Niles Brandywine (Mich.), North White, Westville.

Top 25 Finishers: 1, Trevor Braden (Morgan Twp) 16:40.9; 2, Brian Njuguna (Bridgman, Mich.) 16:49.1; 3, Luke Lemmons (Morgan Twp.) 17:09.7; 4, Jacob Kessler (No Newton) 17:13.2; 5, Cameron Chapman (Morgan Twp.) 17:19.7; 6, Logan Tabor (So Central) 17:22.8; 7, Kole Hanke (Bridgman, Mich.) 17:36.8; 8, Jay Heinold (Kouts) 17:37.2; 9, Jacob Hamilton (Clinton Prairie) 17:38.1; 10, Parker DePalma (New Buffalo, Mich.) 17:40.4; 11, Odin Bules (So Central) 17:46.1; 12, Zack Titus (Washington Twp) 17:48.2; 13, Casey Abbett (Morgan Twp.) 17:50.3; 14, Parker Nuest (Hebron) 17:53.7; 15, J.L. Venice (Morgan Twp.) 17:53.8; 16, Adam Swanson (Beecher, Ill.) 17:55.7; 17, Grant Clark (Rossville) 17:56.4; 18, Braden Tankersley (Winamac) 17:58.8; 19, Dakota Dick (Kouts) 18:05.2; 20, Michael Beckner (Winamac) 18:06.6; 21, Connor Nuest (Hebron) 18:12.4; 22, Sam Ecenbarger (Clinton Prairie) 18:17.2; 23, Matt Williams (Pioneer) 18:21.0; 24, Chase Jefferson (Kouts) 18:21.5; 25, Bailey Watkins (Triton) 18:22.2.

BOYS CLASS AA (Medium-size schools)

TEAM SCORES: Fort Wayne Concordia  23, Bellmont 100, Culver Military Academy 138, South Bend St. Joseph’s 152, New Prairie 177, Hanover Central 218, Wheeler 228, Fremont 249, Twin Lakes 310, Western 317, Bremen 358, Rochester 405, Highland 407, Maconaquah 448, Angola 465, Mishawaka Marian 500, Jimtown 501, Calumet 521, South Bend Washington 526, Benton Central 529, Griffith 549, Andrean 601, Rensselaer 605, Hammond Bishop Noll, 613, Peru 644, Knox 676, John Glenn 687, Hammond Gavit 708, Northwestern 729, Tippecanoe Valley 769.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Noah Steffen (FW Concordia) 16:16.0; 2, Reece Gibson (FW Concordia) 16:40.1; 3, Josh Everetts (Western) 16:44.0; 4, Kevin Paszko (Hanover Central) 16:49.9; 5, Alex Amaro (FW Concordia) 16:51.0; 6, Zachary Dunlap (Culver Military Academy) 16:59.8; 7, Matthew Ruppert (FW Concordia) 17:00.0; 8, Nathaniel Witmer (FW Concordia) 17:11.9; 9, Sam Bradley (Angola) 17:13.7; 10, Drake Kropf (FW Concordia) 17:21.1; 11, Jacob Corbett (New Prairie) 17:24.8; 12, Justin Gephart (Bellmont) 17:31.0; 13, Jarrod Michael (New Prairie) 17:33.1; 14, Cooper Wall (Fremont) 17:34.0; 15, Saul Garcia (SB St. Joseph) 17:34.2; 16, Kyle Lawson (Bellmont) 17:34.2; 17, Aiden Hostetler (Wheeler) 17:41.0; 18, Andy Powers (SB St. Joseph) 17:42.3; 19, Carson Ross (Bellmont) 17:43.9; 20, Bill Powers (SB St. Joseph) 17:45.6; 21, Shane Pursch (Culver Academies) 17:52.6; 22, Jacob Corral (Bellmont) 17:53.4; 23, David Konter (SB Washington) 17:54.9; 24, Tyler Dietzel (Maconaquah) 18:02.1; 25, Ethan Collins (Hanover Central) 18:03.7.

BOYS CLASS AAA (Large schools)

TEAM SCORES: Westview 117, Lowell 119, Valparaiso 156, West Lafayette 186, Portage 210, Warsaw 231, LaPorte 243, Chesterton 257, Penn 269, McCutcheon 269, Lake Central 279, Northridge 287, Michigan City 319, Fountain Central 333, Crown Point 350, Concord 414, Harrison (Lafayette) 458, Kankakee Valley 466, Munster 468, Mishawaka 503, Hobart 577, Lafayette Jeff 621, East Noble 672, South Bend Adams 688, South Bend Riley 703, Logansport 709, Merrillville 728, Elkhart Memorial 729, Elkhart Central 736. These teams incomplete: Caston, Fort Wayne Wayne, Martinsville, South Bend Clay.

TOP 25 FINISHERS: 1, Zeb Hernandez (Warsaw) 15:51.2; 2, Alec Fleming (Lowell) 15:55.2; 3, Jakob Kintzele (Chesterton) 15:56.1; 4, Matthew Yoder (Westview) 16:00.4; 5, Mitchell Rans (Caston) 16:06.0; 6, Bryon Berg (Michigan City) 16:19.4; 7, Derek Miller (Westview) 16:24.7; 8, David Czerwonky (West Lafayette) 16:25.2; 9, Will Persin (McCutcheon) 16:26.9; 10, Kent Yoder (Westview) 16:27.2; 11, Andrew Smenyak (Chesterton) 16:27.8; 12, Antonio Chapa (Portage) 16:29.2; 13, Hunter Boyer (Lowell) 16:29.5; 14, Jonathan Harley (Penn) 16:33.2; 15, Peyton Riehle (LaPorte) 16:33.8; 16, Thomas Rohr (Rochester) 16:34.6; 17, Dillon Quinones (Portage) 16:36.3; 18, Joey Copeland (Lake Central) 16:38.2; 19, Trevor Conley (Kankakee Valley) 16:39.1; 20, Carlos Martinez (Valparaiso) 16:39.6; 21, Collin Huber (Valparaiso) 16:39.8; 22, Richmond Stoltzfus (Westview) 16:41.6; 23, Lucas Howett (Warsaw) 16:43.9; 24, Corbin Alexander (LaPorte) 16:44.8; 25, Mitch Polaski (Lake Central) 16:46.4.

BOYS FRESHMAN-SOPHOMORE

TEAM SCORES: Valparaiso 67, Crown Point 72, Lake Central 131, West Lafayette 169, Westview 184, Chesterton 204, South Bend Riley 223, Penn 232, Northridge 249, LaPorte 255, Mishawaka 262, Angola 291, Portage 336, Warsaw 356, McCutcheon 366, New Prairie 438, Lowell 443, Concord 494, South Bend St. Joseph’s 590, Elkhart Memorial 598, Lafayette Central Catholic 621, Lafayette Jefferson 676, Hobart 683, Culver Military Academy 754, Fort Wayne Wayne 755, Wheeler 767, Jimtown 801, Merrillville 829, Hebron 879.  These teams incomplete: Benton Central, Bremen, Kankakee Valley, LaCrosse, Martinsville, Rochester, Rossvillle, South Bend Clay, Washington Twp., Western.

TOP 20 FINISHERS: 1, Geno Christofanelli (Crown Point) 16:59.0; 2, Josiah Mortorff (Angola) 17:13.2; 3, Soloman Barkett (West Lafayette) 17:33.7; 4, Jonathan Groom (Mishawaka) 17:37.6; 5, Isaac Beatty (Lake Central) 17:40.5; 6, Jared Chapin (South Bend Riley) 17:47.2; 7, Joe Angert (Valparaiso) 17:50.0; 8, Carter Delworth (West Lafayette) 17:51.2; 9, Drew Holok (Crown Point) 17:52.0; 10, Martin Miller (Westview) 17:54.0; 11, Jack Acton (Valparaiso) 17:54.4; 12, Isaac Baker (South Bend Riley) 17:55.9; 13, Luke Borror (Westview) 17:58.7; 14, Bobby Woodburn (Valparaiso) 17:59.0; 15, Josh Chen (Lake Central) 18:01.6; 16, Joey Roytan (Valparaiso) 18:03.0; 17, Nick Sergeant (Penn) 18:11.0; 18, Chris Todd (Crown Point) 18:14.8; 19, Tommy Cavanaugh (Valparaiso) 18:14.9; 20, Dylan Woodrick (Crown Point) 18:16.5.