Wini Barnett runs in the Warsaw Invitational earlier this season. Barnett led Warsaw’s girls in 43rd place at the IWU-Marion Invitational Saturday. (File photo by James Costello)

IWU-MARION INVITATIONAL

Warsaw’s boys cross country team placed eighth with a 232 score at the IWU-Marion High School Invitational Saturday, while the Lady Tigers finished 12th in their race with a score of 325.

Zeb Hernandez paced the Tigers in 16:43 for 17th place. Sam Lechlitener was 32nd in 17:03, Tanner Stiver was 56th in 17:26, Jacob Kissling was 72nd in 17:43, and Fernando Niebbia clocked 17:56 for 84th as all of Warsaw’s top five broke 18 minutes.

The Lady Tigers were paced by Wini Barnett with a 20:23 time for 43rd in the elite field of runners. Adree Beckham was 63rd in 20:53, Megan Dawson was 78th in 21:13, Amslie Howett was 81st in 21:18, and Alex Hermann was 89th in 21:31 to round out the team scoring.

The Lady Tigers also competed in the Freshman/Sophomore JV race placing third with Ava Knight, Macelyn Marcuccilli and Mariana Malagon leading the way. In the junior/ senior JV race the Lady Tigers posted a second place finish with Taylor Gunter, Hanna Bloemendaal and Ashlyn Hepler taking top spots for the team.

Warsaw will be back in action Tuesday when they meet Concord and NorthWood in Northern Lakes Conferece action at Ox Bow Park starting at 5:30 p.m.

MANCHESTER INVITATIONAL
Manchester hosted its cross country invitational Saturday.

The Lady Squires finished third with a score of 117 behind champion Concordia Lutheran’s 83 and Culver Girls Academy’s 107. Tippecanoe Valley placed 16th with a score of 440, and Whitko was 18th with a 498 score.

Leading Manchester’s girls was Torina Runkel in 12th place with a 21:22.9 stop. Jaelyn Webb finished 15th in 21:31.1, Kambree Cashdollar was 27th in 22:11.1, Katie Barker placed 30th in a time of 22:33.3, and Halle Briner was 33rd in 22:33.3.

Valeria Jimenez paced the Lady Vikings in 64th place with a 23:30.7 time. Haley Hoover was 86th in 25:13.2, Lorena Santiago was 93rd in 25:51.7, Ava Craig finished in 25:53.6 for 93rd, and Lauren Sponseller was 94th in 28:00.9.

Lily Spurlin led Whitko in 23:00.7 for 49th place. Amanda Leppek was 105th in 28:20.4, Amaya Norman was 109th in 29:47.9, Elizabeth Foutz was 117th in 32:56.5, and Laura Jackson was 118th in 34:57.4.

The Squires placed 10th in the boys meet with a 331 score, while Tippecanoe Valley was 18th with a score of 474, and Whitko finished 23rd with a 652. Concordia Lutheran won the boys race with a dominant score of 36.

Manchester was paced by Carter Bedke in 18:35.1, good enough for 36th place. Wilson Nettleton finished 54th in 19:23.8, Ethan Davis was 72nd in 20:05.9, Raice Martin was 80th in 20:07.4, and Reece Adamiec was 93rd in 20:20.4.

Matthew Howes was 43rd in 18:50.4 for Valley. Mitchell Smith was 62nd in 19:40.8, Chase Miller was 118th in 21:59 flat, Justin Peconga clocked 21:59.7 for 119th, and Jace Holloway was 132nd in 21:26.9.

For Whitko’s boys, Zack Freel finished 95th in 20:37.7, Jacob Porter was 113th in 21:34.3, Jayden Stratton was 141st in 23:34.4, Gavyn Alexander finished in 26:39.2 for 151st place, and Ethan Joseph was 152nd in 228:09.

Samuel Turner finished in 22:59.9 as Lakeland Christian’s lone runner.

Wawasee Middle School finished third in the boys junior high meet with a score of 93 behind Rochester’s 79 and Westview’s 39, meanwhile. Manchester was sixth with a 142 score, and Valley was ninth in the race with a 211.

Josiah Boyer finished in 11:29.0 for 10th place, Nate Kryder was 114th in 11:36.5, Dominic Speybroeck was 17th in 11:43.6, Isaac Winters was 23rd in 11:59.7, and Tommy Brunner was 29th in a time of 12:12.7 for the Warriors.

Raven King turned in an 11:25.1 stop for ninth place for Manchester Junior High. Cristian Hernandez-Beck was 13th in 11:34.2, Kyler Dale was 26th in 12:07.5, Lane Stetzel was 44th in 12:56.7, and Caleb Smith placed 50th in 13:30.9.

Leading Valley’s middle school was Nolan Cumberland in 27th with a 12:09.4 time. Cooper Walls placed 40th in 12:40.5, Evan Myers was 41st in 12:43.3, Gerardo Fernandez was 51st in 13:36.6, and Hunter Craft finished 52nd in 13:39.9.

Jude Hall clocked 13:02.8, and Josiah Miller turned in a 15:04.3 stop for LCA.

Manchester was third in the girls’ junior high meet with a score of 80. Leo won the title with a 58, just one point ahead of Rochester. Tippecanoe Valley was sixth with a 156 score, and Wawasee placed ninth with a 231.

Josie Briner clocked 12:13.3 to lead the Lady Squires in second place overall. Jaci Naragon was eighth in 12:41.7, Jordyn Gephart was 18th in 13:15.2, Ayla Cashdollar was 27th in 13:27.9, and Olivia Dale was 29th in 14:00.3.

Valley’s Chesnee Miller won the race in 12:07.1. Ella Myers was 35th in 14:06.4, Lorna Apt was 39th in 14:14.2, Corinna Stiles was 40th in 14:15.6, and Molly Moriarty was 41st in 14:21.5.

Trinity LaJoice led Wawasee in 34th with a time of 14:04.6, Sydnee Keith was 43rd in 14:38.1, Ella Yarger was 48th in 14:58.3, Karissa Bosenberg finished in 52nd in 15:26.1, and Allison Clark was 54th in 15:49.4.