St. Joseph just missed out on winning a Michigan state cross country championship last season.

The Bears looked primed for another run at the title as they opened the season with a win at the 10th Annual Viking Stampede at Dowagiac Middle School Saturday.

Even though the handful of Indiana schools that compete annually in the event have a couple more weeks under their belts, St. Joseph was able to hold off Northridge to win the boys team championship.

St. Joseph finished with 55 points, while Northridge was second with 58. LaPorte, Mishawaka and Penn rounded out the top five with 62, 92 and 112 points respectively.

Host Niles finished ninth with 289 points.

Mishawaka’s Jordan Annis was the overall winner with a time of 15:57.

The Vikings’ top finisher was Gaberial Trujillo, who finished 63rd with a time of 19:27. Rounding out the top five runners for Niles were Ryan Roberts (19:54), Dan Sierra (20:28), Sean Morgan (21:06) and Charles Leonard 21:23.

“We are young, inexperienced and have a long way to go,” Niles coach Tony Todd said. “They have improved their scrimmage time so I am very happy with that. One of my guys is a first year guy. Gaberial Trijillo showed a lot of promise. His times are pretty competitive.

“Other than that, we have a long way to go to be competitive. Right now we’re not really competitive, but we can get there by the end of the year.”

Northridge did captured the girls championship as it easily outdistanced runner-up Mishawaka 37-66.

LaPorte was third (78), Penn fourth (88) and St. Joseph fifth (98). Niles finished eight with 250 points.

Anna Rohrer of Mishawaka, who captured the 5K championship at Steve’s Run in July, finished first with a time of 17:46. Penn’s Maddie Woods was second in 18:33.

Niles’ top finisher was Bridgett Carpenter, who was 71st in a time of 23:45. Abby Gaines was right behind her in 72nd with a clocking of 23:47.

Rounding out the top five for the Vikings were Libby Hein (24:17), Taylor Hess (25:21) and Courtney Antrapp (25:30).

First-year Niles girls coach Jami Foster echoed the sentiments of Todd.

“We have an inexperienced team with a lot of new girls,” she said. “But from our scrimmage the other day and our original 3.1-mile times, the girls dropped their times significantly today. Some by two or three minutes. So that was really good.

“Abby Gaines was right behind Bridgett who is my No. 1 runner so that was a good sign. Those two should be very competitive with each other which will improve their times. Abby ran really well today. Libby Hein ran a real nice race too.”

 

Viking Stampede

At Dowagiac Middle School

Boys team scores

St. Joseph 55, Northridge 58, LaPorte 62, Mishawaka 92, Penn 112, Fairfield 153, Michigan City 170, Lakeshore 209, Niles 289

 

Individual Top 10

1. Jordan Annis (Mishawaka) 15:57; 2. Blake O’Dell (Northridge)16:00; 3. Anthoney Didion (LaPorte)16:04; 4. James Bradberry (Northridge) 16:06; 5. Nathan Gerick (LaPorte) 16:10; 6. Ryan Leahy (St. Joseph) 16:21; 7. Austin Ganger (Mishawaka) 16:27; 8. Charles Felton (St. Joseph) 16:28; 9. Patrick Wanger (Mishawaka) 16:34; 10. Jacob Frost (Northridge) 16:35

 

Niles finishers

63. Gaberial Trujillo 19:27; 79. Ryan Roberts 19:54; 89. Dan Sierra 20:28.35; 107. Sean Morgan 21:06; 114. Charles Leonard 21:23; 120. Casey Burandt 21:52.56; 139. Jake Brentlinger 23:58; 140. Stringray Jaynes 24:00; 144. Chris Ahlgrim 23:05; 145. Lane Wells 25:11; 146. Brendon Meek 25:11; 150. Michale Baumgartner 26:03

 

Girls team scores

Northridge 37, Mishawaka 66, LaPorte 78, Penn 88, St. Joseph 98, Fairfield 138, Lakeshore 217, Niles 250, Michigan City 299

 

Individual Top 10

1. Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka) 17:46; 2. Maddie Woods (Penn) 18:33; 3. Elena Lancioni (LaPorte) 18:56; 4. Jennifer Schrock (Northridge) 19:30; 5. Oliva Golden (Northridge) 19:46; 6. Nikki Willem (Northridge) 19:53; 7. Jessie Armstrong (St. Joseph) 20:13; 8. Kailee Schoof (LaPorte) 20:15; 9. Kristin Cave (LaPorte) 20:16; 10. Mackenzie Gray (Northridge) 20:19

 

Niles finishers

71. Bridgett Carpenter 23:45; 72. Abby Gaines 23:47; 80. Libby Hein 24:17; 92. Taylor Hess 25:21; 93. Courtney Antrapp 25:30; 98. Sasha Zider 26:03; 99. Kylee Meyer 26:05; 103. Meygan Rudlaff 26:42; 106. Natalie Swailes 27:01; 129. Larkin Cary 31:30; 130. Talia Gentry 31:31; Madelyn Holtgren 34:13