Both the Warsaw girls and boys cross country teams went 6-1 in the second round of the NLC's regular season.
For the boys, Warsaw lost to Northridge 25-33. The girls lost to Goshen 26-30.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
BOYS TEAM SCORES
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
GIRLS RACE RECAP
The Warsaw Lady Tigers battled fiercely in a nail-biting race, finishing a close second to Goshen with a final score of 30-26. After tonight's second round of NLC Conference duals, the Tigers now hold an impressive 12-2 record in the conference standings. Leading the charge once again was Sammi Rastrelli, finishing in 19:48.01, followed by Ella Laput at 20:23.8, Eden Metz with a 20:48.99, Hannah Fisher crossing the line at 21:29.71, and Bryce Eherenman rounding out the top five at 21:48.07.
Coach Dannemiller commented on the team's performance, saying, "I'm incredibly proud of the way our girls responded tonight. They were poised, focused, and met every challenge head-on. Despite the tough competition and conditions, they showed tremendous resilience and gave their all. Each and every athlete pushed themselves to the limit, racing not just for themselves but for the team. This was a close contest, and I couldn't ask for a better effort."
With tonight's finish, the Lady Tigers sit solidly in second place, trailing only Goshen as they head into the NLC Conference Championships at Ox Bow Park on October 5th. The team's determination and grit have set the stage for an exciting finale to the season.
BOYS RACE RECAP
The Warsaw Boys Cross Country team wrapped up the NLC regular season with a 12-2 record, giving them the chance to share the NLC Championship title with Northridge on October 5th. Leading the way for the Tigers was Junior Jackson Gackenheimer, finishing in 1st place with a time of 15:53.19. He was followed by Senior Tyler Mimnaugh in 3rd place (16:14.81), Senior Noah McPhail in 9th place (16:45.57), Senior Rick Orr in 16th (17:00.54), Senior Alex Schrock in 20th (17:22.91), Senior Clark Meridew in 24th (17:30.90), and Junior Sam Allebach in 31st (17:44.44).
Head Coach Matt Campbell reflected on the team's performance, saying, "Well... we are a Saturday team. I didn't have the boys prepared to race, and it showed. That's on me. Half of our Varsity roster was on, and the rest were slightly off compared to a week ago. With the Raiders, we don't have room for error. For whatever reason, we run significantly better on the weekend. That said, we aren't going to lose any sleep over losing the regular-season duals. We are excited we still have a shot at the NLC title in a few weeks at the NLC Championships."
Campbell was impressed with Gackenheimer's performance, who earned his first individual win. "Jackson picked up his first individual win of the season and will get that same opportunity this weekend at Flashrock. He's been stacking some good weeks of training and starting to adapt to a higher training volume. We love where he is right now; his confidence is building. A confident Gack is hard to beat."
Senior Tyler Mimnaugh also earned praise from Campbell: "Mimnaugh continued to impress us with his consistency and ran one of the fastest course times by a WCHS runner. He battled and competed up front to the finish, nearly taking 2nd place." One of the standout performances of the evening came from Senior Noah McPhail, who set a new personal record and finished 9th. Campbell noted, "A heck of a night for Noah. He's a very talented runner, just starting to get into shape. I was impressed that he stayed with three of the Raider's top boys, who have run significantly faster than him in Track. With his Top 9 finish, we have five Tigers capable of being in the Top 10 at the NLC Championships on the right day. We are a much different team when our Top 5 are on."
In addition to the veterans, Junior Sam Allebach and Sophomore Nolan Stump delivered strong performances, running 7th and 8th for the Tigers. "Sam is our top 400-meter runner and 300-meter hurdler in track, and this is his first year of High School XC. Nolan's first love is wrestling, and without a doubt, he's going to be one of the dudes this winter. He's also one of our top returning pole vaulters. If you run XC, wrestle, and pole vault, you must have a little crazy in you. With a Senior-heavy roster up front, these two will likely be in our Top 5 next year. They've only been running for two months, and to run 17:40s off the limited training they've had is encouraging. They've thrown themselves into the mix for a Top 7 spot, joining Seniors Mattias Niebba and Micah Zaugg."
10 New Personal Records:
Noah McPhail
Nolan Stump
Ben Mort
Diego Moyotl
Cole Parrott
Collin Long
Moses Hackenberg
Caleb Josey
Jitheash Sivakumar Nithyanandhi
Kevin Gough
3 Season Best:
Alberto Ochoa
Isaac Price
Tyrus Ouimet
