By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

DOWAGIAC – The Dowagiac boys’ cross country team may have won the battle, but it lost the war.

The Chieftains’ Kasey Proshwitz was the overall winner Tuesday afternoon, however, Dowagiac was defeated by visiting Three Rivers 23-38.

The Chieftains took two of the top five positions in the boys’ race, but could not overcome the numbers that the Wildcats threw at them.

“Our boys did well on top, but again need to close the gap between our top two and the rest of the team,” Dowagiac coach Ken Jordan said.

In the girls’ race, Three Rivers swept the top five spots to earn a 15-50 victory.

Proshwitz ran an 18:31, while the Chieftains’ Chris Gantt finished fourth with a 19:23.
Juan Meza was 12th (21:41) for the Chieftains, with Jason Turner finishing 16th  (23:11), Ryan Daly 17th (23:16) and Brandon Wilson 19th (24:14).

Three Rivers’ Morgan Stuut was the girls’ winner as she ran a time of 20:33.

Dowagiac’s top finisher was Leanna Allen, who finished ninth with a time of 25:58.

Samantha Mathews was 16th (28:33), Kelsey Cleveland 17th, (28:34), Kayla Yakim 18th (28:38) and Amanda Hassle 10th (28:55)

Caitlin Shurte finished 21st (29:15), Kristina Bunn 24th (29:45), Rebecca Luth 25th (31:15), Marissa Tidey 26th (31:31), Corinne Kasper 29th (32:46), Savanna Lemon 31st (34:18), Allison Hassle 32nd (34:23) and Sarah Hassle 33rd (34:25).

“Our girls were more competitive with several improved times. We need to continue to work hard,” Jordan said.

Dowagiac will now compete in the Bangor Invitational on Saturday.

Boys’ results
Three Rivers 23, Dowagiac 38
Top 10
1. Kasey Proshwitz (D) 18:31; 2. Jeremy Horton (TR) 18:52; 3. Connor Sampson (TR) 19:09; 4. Chris Gantt (D) 19:23; 5. Josh White (TR) 19:45; 6. Andrew Whitmyer (TR) 19:55; 7. Matt Morrill (TR) 20:11; 8. Derek Tula (TR) 20:27; 9. Victor Gonzalez (TR) 20:32; 10. Zach Rose (TR) 20:33.

Girls’ results
Three Rivers 15, Dowagiac 50
Top 10
1. Morgan Stuut (TR) 20:33; 2. Jesse Hanstine (TR) 23:23; 3. April Castle (TR) 23:47; 4. Kayla Barton (TR) 24:07; 5. Vonda Allen (TR) 24:08; 6. Megan Walther (TR) 25:30; 7. Elisa Yorge (TR) 25:49; 8. Emily Rathburn (TR) 25:51; 9. Leanna Allen (D) 25:58; 10. Alyona Springer (TR) 27:08.