Wawasee’s Zack Cockrill won the boys race Tuesday night against Memorial and host Plymouth. (File photo by Mike Deak)

PLYMOUTH – Wawasee rebounded after suffering its first losses of the year to sweep past Plymouth and Memorial in both boys and girls cross country Tuesday. The Warriors took three of the top four spots in the boys race to score a 17-44 win over the hosts and 22-33 win over the Chargers. Memorial held its ground in defeating Plymouth 19-41. The Lady Warriors were equal to the task in beating both opposing clubs with matching 23-32 scores. Memorial edged Plymouth 27-28.

Zack Cockrill had himself a great race, winning the boys parade with a run of 17:27, besting teammate Adam Doll by four seconds. Spencer Dibley of Memorial was third at 17:44 and Warrior Austin Yoder was five seconds behind Dibley’s pace. Kennedy Schneider led Plymouth with a sixth-place time of 18:01.

Completing Wawasee’s scoring runners were Jaxon Bame in eighth place at 18:16 and Austin Krizman in ninth place at 18:22.

“Tonight the guys had a good night,” started Wawasee head coach Doug Slabaugh. “We wanted to run as a pack and we did that. Times were slower because of a tough course. Sam Griner had a great race and stepped in tonight to be our sixth man (18:52). I’m happy with tonight, but we have to get back to our training.”

Brooke Moore continued her outstanding fall for Memorial, winning the girls race with a time of 20:02. Bre Robinson of Wawasee was second overall at 20:46 and teammate Bridgette Yoder was fourth at 21:13, a few paces behind Plymouth’s Abby Patrick in third at 20:51. Molly Swartz was sixth at 21:40, Courtney Linnemeier eighth at 21:56 and Delanie Bame 11th at 22:20, giving Wawasee its five scorers and just enough leeway to clear both opponents to grab the pair of Northern Lakes Conference wins.

“Tonight was a very smart, tactical race by our girls,” Slabaugh said. “We went out smart and finished great. I scored the race before the second mile and we were losing to both teams. Our girls stayed focused and phased well. I am very proud of every girl, this was an important night for us.”

Wawasee’s boys and girls team are both 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the NLC. Each team will get a huge test next Tuesday as Warsaw will host the duals.