The Warsaw Lady Tigers cross country team pulled off an extraordinary victory over their rival Goshen in a nail-biting 3-point triumph at the NLC Championship Meet held at Ox Bow Park. With a final score of 47 points to Goshen's 50, the Tigers secured a share of the NLC overall team championship.

The day was marked by exceptional performances from Warsaw's front runners, supported by strong finishes from the rest of the lineup, which made all the difference in this thrilling contest. Junior Sammi Rastrelli led the charge with an impressive 11-second personal record (PR), finishing 2nd overall and first for the Tigers with a time of 19:07.4. Senior Ella Laput followed closely, achieving a blazing 41-second PR to secure 5th place overall at 19:18.0. Junior Eden Metz came through with a season-best (SB) time of 20:06.2, passing two Goshen runners to take 8th place and the Tigers' third spot. Senior Bryce Eherenman battled to nearly match her PR, finishing in 15th place with a time of 20:47.7 as the team's fourth runner. Junior Hannah Fisher sealed the Tigers' victory by clocking a 35-second PR at 20:53.3, rounding out the team's scoring in 17th place overall.

The Tigers' depth was on full display, with senior Annie Parker earning a PR of 21:13.2 for 22nd place and sophomore Stephanie Malagon clocking in at 21:57.9. In the JV race, the Tigers dominated by taking six of the top ten spots and winning with an impressive score of 23 points over the second-place team's 57 points. Freshman Kyla Transparenti led the JV team with a 2nd place finish at 21:43.3, followed by sophomore Matilda Granger, who clocked a PR at 21:50.9 for 3rd place. Senior Kaelyn Stoffel finished 5th overall, with junior Airyana Bradley close behind in 6th, and freshman Aubrey Bricker rounding out the top ten in 7th place.

Coach Eric Linn praised his team's effort, stating, "This was a total team effort today. The girls knew what they needed to do and came ready to run. Each runner rose to the occasion to fight for every spot. It was exciting to watch."

The Lady Tigers now head into the postseason with a week off to prepare for the IHSAA Sectionals on October 19th at Manchester High School.

Full Girls Results:

https://www.tfrrs.org/results/xc/24648/NLC_Championship

Meanwhile the boys capped off their NLC season as runners-up, finishing behind the dominant Northridge Raiders with a score of 27-57. Despite the loss, the Tigers had several notable individual performances. Junior Jackson Gackenheimer led the team with a strong 3rd place finish, clocking in at 15:58.1. Following him were Senior Tyler Mimnaugh in 7th place (16:24.0), Senior Rick Orr in 12th (16:36.3), Senior Noah McPhail in 14th (16:45.9), Senior Alex Schrock in 21st (17:17.6), Senior Clark Meridew in 23rd (17:20.8), and Senior Mattias Niebbia in 38th (17:55.9).
 
Coach Campbell reflected on the race, praising Northridge's effort while assessing his team's performance.
"Northridge came out firing and never let up. It was one of the best team performances I've seen from the Raiders; they competed like it was a championship race. Five of their top seven runners set huge personal records. Unfortunately, none of our varsity runners could hit a personal best today. We looked flat. Despite weeks of solid training, for whatever reason, we weren't prepared to race hard today. Halfway through the race, we liked our position, but several of our guys started to fall back, running 45-60 seconds slower in the second half. It's a tough learning moment but also a great lesson as we head into the postseason. The boys have been preparing for October all season, and now we have two more weeks of training to gear up for the upcoming championship races.  We will bounce back."
 
Junior Varsity Wins NLC Title
On the Junior Varsity side, the Warsaw boys claimed the NLC Championship, defeating Northridge with a close score of 36-47.

Fourteen Tigers set new personal records, making it a great day for the program. Sophomore Jaxon Lehman led the JV team, finishing 3rd in 18:11.2. Sophomore Nolan Stump followed closely behind in 5th place (18:19.5), with Junior Sam Allebach in 7th (18:37.1), Sophomore Owen Meerzo in 10th (18:44.6), Sophomore Jack Boggs in 11th (18:44.6), Sophomore Alex Hoover in 12th (18:46.0), and Freshman Keenan Lyions in 14th (19:13.6).
 
Coach Campbell expressed pride in the JV team's accomplishments:  

"Sometimes when the Varsity race doesn't go as hoped, you lose sight of the positives elsewhere. This was a huge win for our rising Varsity and JV guys, and winning the JV NLC Championship was a fantastic achievement. The best part is that all these runners return next year. It's great to see them get a taste of success. Lehman, in particular, had a challenging season dealing with breathing issues, so for him to put it all together in the biggest race of the year was really rewarding. We're thrilled for him."
 
With the regular season now concluded, Warsaw's roster size will reduce from 43 runners to 16 for next weekend's Delta Invite and then down to 10-12 for the remainder of the postseason. Coach Campbell also took a moment to acknowledge the contributions of the senior members whose seasons ended Saturday: Michael Manes, Hayden Dirck, Nando Malagon, Isaac Price, and Tyrus Ouimet.  "They've given so much to the program, and they will be missed."

The following athletes set new personal records:
Jaxon Lehman
Caleb Poorman
Alton McMullen
Sam Klein
Alberto Ochoa
Ben Mort
Federico Presteguin
Owen Aukeman
Collin Long
Moses Hackenberg
Ben Harlan
Hudsen Dirck