Warsaw’s boys cross country team poses for a team picture after winning its seventh straight regional title in Culver Saturday. (Photo provided)

CULVER — Eventually the championships will dry up. Nothing lasts forever after all, even Warsaw cross country’s impressive title streaks.

But not today. Today they celebrate the addition of even more hardware to their crowded trophy cases.

Coming off eighth straight sectional championships for both squads, the Tigers and the Lady Tigers extended their regional title streaks Saturday, the girls claiming a sixth straight such title, and the boys clinching their seventh straight championship at the Culver Academies Regional.

“It’s always fun. I guess when we have our string broken it’ll be pretty disappointing, so we’ll appreciate them while we get them,” said Warsaw boys coach Jim Mills.

The Tigers were even better than they were at the previous weekend’s sectional, putting up a score of 39 ahead of runner-up Plymouth’s 73. Culver Military Academy finished third with 103 points, Caston was fourth with a 109 score, and Rochester earned the last of five team berths to the New Prairie Semi-State with a 128-point score.

Zeb Hernandez shaved more than half a minute of his sectional time with a 16:45.2 for second place behind Caston’s Mitchell Rans and his 16:13.4 stop. Sam Lechlitner finished third behind Hernandez with a time of 17:10.1, while Jacob Kissling was seventh in a time of 17:25.4, Jack Horoho was 15th in 17:47.6, Tanner Stiver finished 17th with a 17:51.5 time despite a nagging foot injury, and Fernando Niebbia was 34th in 18:32.1.

“The course was a soggy, muddy mess. They must have had an awful lot of rain there. Our guys actually ran pretty good times considering the course,” said Mills.

Manchester’s Carter Bedke advanced individually with a 17:44.5 stop, good enough for 14th place overall and one of the 10 semi-state berths reserved for runners from non-advancing teams. Tippecanoe Valley’s Matthew Howes also advanced with an 18th-place finish in 17:53.3.

Triton’s Russell Reichard closed the year in 48th place in 19:03.5, while Manchester’s Reece Adamiec placed 54th in 19:15.2, Valley’s Mitch Smith was 60th in 19:26.9, and Triton’s Brandon Kitch finished 63rd in 19:32.

Warsaw’s girls cross country team is all smiles after winning a sixth consecutive regional championship. (Photo provided)

The Lady Tigers placed three in the top 10 of their race, Wini Barnett finishing second in 19:39.1, Adree Beckham clocking 19:46.5 for third place, and Remi Beckham finishing sixth place in 20:07.9. The senior Beckham sister’s performance was particularly impressive as she shaved well over two minutes off her sectional time.

“It was definitely a turnaround from last week, which we knew she’s capable of doing,” said Warsaw girls coach Jason Fleming. “I’m glad we decided to put her in the lineup this week and give her that confidence boost going into the semi-state, especially for a senior. We really like the leadership that our seniors provide for us.”

Fellow senior Angie Sanchez-Vijil finished just outside the top 10 in 11th place in a time of 20:24.9, and Amslie Howett was 23rd in 21:24.1 to round out Warsaw’s top five.

“I’m liking how competitive they are,” said Fleming. “They set their sights on runners in front of them. I know some of our girls closed out today’s race and took a couple more spots moving forward. They are conscious of where they can make attacks and fending off people from trying to overtake from behind. Overall I was very pleased.”

Manchester’s girls also advanced to the New Prairie race in third place with a score of 98, just one point behind runner-up Culver Girls Academy. Rochester was fourth with a 108 score, and Western was fifth with 138 points.

Pacing the Lady Squires was Torina Runkel in 10th place with a time of 20:22.2. Halle Briner was 14th in 20:43.6, Kambree Cashdollar placed 22nd in 21:21.5, Jaelyn Webb finished 27th in 21:35.5, and Katie Barger placed 36th in 21:57.3.

Meanwhile in the girls’ run, Tippecanoe Valley’s Valeria Jimenez finished out her junior season in 57th place with a 22:45.2 time, and teammate Haley Hoover closed out her high school career in 82nd place with a time of 25:02 flat.

The New Prairie Semi-State is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Central Time next Saturday.

ELKHART CENTRAL REGIONAL

Wawasee’s boys and girls teams both closed out their team seasons at the Elkhart Central Regional Saturday, but both squads advanced individuals to next weekend’s New Haven Semi-State.

The Warriors finished sixth with a score of 150, one spot away from a team semi-state berth behind Elkhart Central’s 126 score and the last team ticket out. Elkhart Memorial topped the boys standings with a score of 71, South Bend Riley was second with an 80-point score, Penn was third with 86 points, and Goshen finished fourth with a score of 91 in a tight race among the top five teams.

Spencer Hare and Michael Hammer both earned semi-state berths finishing in the top 10 among individuals from non-advancing teams at OxBow Park. Hare placed sixth overall with a 16:32.57 time, while Hammer finished in 26th place with a 17:17.31 stop.

Luke Griner finished 42nd in 17:39.97, Thomas Conley was 46th in 17:46.4, and Jace Alexander finished in 17:47 flat for 47th place overall to complete the Warriors’ team score.

NorthWood’s top two also advanced as Tyler Evers ran a 17:11.5 for 22nd place individually, and teammate Sam Schlatter was close behind in 25th place with a 17:16.94 stop. Garrett Myers placed 40th in 17:34.96, Brady Hunsberger was 63rd in 18:20.04, and Stephen Schmidt and Eric Hochstetler finished 72nd and 73rd, respectively, with times of 18:29.96 and 18:30.64.

On the girls’ side, meanwhile, Wawasee put up a score of 183 to finish in seventh place in the team standings. Penn won the meet with a dominant 39-point tally, followed by Mishawaka’s 55, then Memorial’s 104, Northridge’s 120, and host Elkhart Central punched the last team ticket out to semi-state with a 124 score.

While the Lady Warriors missed out on a team berth, senior McKenzie Smith ran a season-best 19:57.84 time to finish ninth overall and grab just the second individual spot out to New Haven.

“Awesome race from Kenzie. Really strong and aggressive,” said Wawasee girls coach Doug Slabaugh.

Lily Tyler ran a personal-best 21:22.92 to place 36th overall in a strong finish to her season. Bailey Mayhew was 57th in 21:42.93, Emma Ebright placed 57th in 21:52.34, and Ella Beezley finished in 61st with a time of 21:54.72, a minute better than her previous personal best.

“We beat the teams we needed to, just couldn’t get the others. Fun team to work with this season,” Slabaugh said. “Kenzie has to come out to fight next week and leave it all out there.”

NorthWood’s Whitney Wolfe also made the individual cut out with a 25th-place finish and time of 20:56.37. Teammate Hannah Brubaker placed 48th in a time of 21:37.37, Megan Miller was 59th in 21:53.57, and Laura Schrock was 71st in 22:18.62 after all advanced individually from the Elkhart Central Regional last weekend.

The New Haven Semi-State takes place at The Plex at Purdue Fort Wayne at 1 p.m. next Saturday.