Cross country results: Sept. 25
Warsaw girls finish fourth at 39th annual Culver Academies Cross Country Invitational
Lady Tiger runners traveled to Culver for the annual cross country invitational on Saturday. In the Varsity Open Division, the Tigers packed together to place third in a field of 22 teams. Warsaw executed the team plan from the start with the main group moving out of the box quickly to position themselves in the top quarter of all runners. The girls were able to continue the upward move as the race progressed.
“It was truly a team effort today,” stated coach Jason Fleming. “I was able to see our runners on the course at several different spots, and they worked very well together to move up the line.”
“I was at the 1k and the 4k today, and I couldn’t believe how well the girls worked together in a big race, added coach Nate HowettThey were able to move as one unit to pressure the front runners. It was what we have been working on all year. All of them did their job for the team.”
This was evident at the end of the race when six individual Tigers placed in the top 30 overall runners. Josefina Rastrelli crossed the line first for the Tigers in a time of 19:10.1, which was good enough for a third place overall finish. Five Tigers crossed in a span of 16 seconds to finish the scoring effort for the team. Ava Knight was 23rd in 20:33.4, Elizabeth Vander Bie 26th in 20:38.1, Regan Brouwer 27th in 20:43.8, Wini Barnett 29th in 20:45.5 and Mikayla Mimnaugh 30th in a finish of 20:49.0.
Amanda Lusinde crossed the line for a 20:59.5 in 39th place. Sophomore Marissa Howett posted a season’s best time of 21:07.4 good enough for a 45th finish. Senior Macelyn Marcuccilli stopped the clock in a time of 22:02.5 (79th) followed closely by sophomore Isabelle Hermann (87th) at 22:13.2.
The next contest for the Lady Tigers will be at Ox Bow Pack for the NLC Championships Oct. 2.
Tiger boys finish seventh at Culver
On the boys side, Warsaw finished seventh as a team.
Senior Luke Nier led the Tigers, placing 27th with a time of 16:51. He was followed by classmate Harrison Phipps in 32nd with a time of 16:57. Junior Garrett Hall was 40th in 17:11. Fourth place for the Tigers was Tyler Swartz, 63rd, 17:43 and fifth was freshman Alex Schrock, 70th at 7:51.
Sixth and seventh for the boys was Junior Ryun Hoffert, 73rd, 17:56 and Sophomore Andrew Potter, 77th, 18:00.
Mason High School (Ohio) placed first as a team with a score of 24 points followed by Lyons Township High School (Illinois) with 65 points and Neqeua Valley High School (Illinois) was third scoring 90 points. Warsaw finished two places ahead of Lake Central High School, a team they will compete against in the New Prairie Semi State.
Three of the first five runners to cross the finish line for Warsaw ran personal best times today.
“Even though it was a wet slow course, we continue to improve,” stated head coach Jim Mills. “We are closing into a team that deserves to compete in the state meet. If our team understands that and continues to work hard, we will be in Terre Haute in five weeks.”
Wawasee, NorthWood and Valley run in New Haven Invite
On a muddy and sloppy course that included a small, knee-deep stream running across it, the NorthWood Girls cross country team placed fourth out of 21 teams in the AA Division of the 2021 New Haven Classic. The meet is run at Huntington University’s home course where the IHSAA will hold the Semi State meet in one month.
NorthWood’s Kaitlin Burden placed second overall with Emilie Allen 12th. For Wawasee, Lily Tyler ended her run in 22:49, good enough for 32nd overall. Tippecanoe Valley did not provide girls results.
On the boys side, Wawasee’s best finisher was Camden Powell in 52nd, finishing in 18:55. Neither NorthWood nor Tippecanoe Valley provided boys results.