By Staff
Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrop and Marshall took home the team championships from Saturday's Viking Stampede cross country meet held at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac.
The Northrop boys won the team trophy with a score of 25. Northrop's top five runners all finished in the top seven.
Portage Northern's Kyle Mena was the overall male winner with his time of 16:21. Teammate Don Letts finished second overall with a time of 16:24. Northern finished second in the team standings with a score of 44.
Niles finished fifth out of the 11 boys teams in the meet. George Nelson paced the Vikings by finishing 29th overall with a time of 18:43. Charles Nelson finished 31st at 18:46. Trevor Taylor finished 33rd with a time of 18:59. Logan Todd finished 36th with his time of 19:08 and Austin Neilson finished 38th at 19:14.
Other finishers for Niles included Steve Scally in 51st place with a time of 19:59, Nick Schuck in 65th place with a time of 20:58, Andrew Karsten in 77th place with a time of 21:47 and Dan Geiger in 93rd place with a time of 22:50.
On the girls side, Marshall won the team title with a score of 37. The Redskins had three runners in the top 10 with Beverly Twiss leading the way with her runner-up finish in a time of 20:44.
Erin Hingsbury from Fort Wayne Northrop was the overall female winner with a time of 19:55. Northrop finished second with a team score of 48.
Niles finished seventh out of the 11 teams. Kaylee Bonner paced the Lady Vikings as she finished 45th overall with a time of 26:46. Amanda Baxter finished 46th at 26:50 and Elle Glueckert finished 48th with a time of 27:05. Whitney Shearer finished 54th with a time of 28:00 and Melissa Wuthnow finished 64th in a time of 29:07.
Other finishers for the Niles girls included Meghen Flynn in 80th place with a time of 34:40 and Sarah Barth in 84th place with a time of 38:45.
The Niles cross country teams return to action Tuesday at the South Haven Invitational which begins at 4:30 p.m.
Team scores: Fort Wayne Northrop 25, Portage Northern 47, Mishawaka 82, Marshall 155, Niles 166, Three Rivers 208, South Haven 220, Dowagiac 291, Hartford 351, Battle Creek Central 417, Lansing Everett (DNF).
Top 15
1. Kyle Mena (Portage Northern) 16:21, 2. Don Letts (Portage Northern) 16:24; 3. Brennon Plotner (FW Northrop) 16:27; 4. Chris Gaffer (FW Northrop) 16:51, 5. Tim Quandt (FW Northrop) 16:57; 6. Corey Gaffer (FW Northrop) 17:08; 7. Bobby Moldovan (FW Northrop) 17:33; 8. Kevin Olson (Portage Northern) 17:37; 9. Justin Kowalski (Mishawaka) 17:40; 10. Jordan Pluver (FW Northrop) 17:42.59; 11. Calon Naragon (Mishawaka) 17:42.88; 12. Matt Jeter (FW Northrop) 17:47; 13. Nick Dillman (Marshall) 17:51; 14. Brandon Walter (FW Northrop) 17:55; 15. Corey Naragon (Mishawaka) 17:57.
Girls
Team scores: Marshall 39, Fort Wayne Northrop 50, Portage Northern 51, Three Rivers 117, Dowagiac 234, Hartford 237, Niles 257, Battle Creek Central 258, Lansing Everett 318, Mishawaka (DNF), South Haven (DNF).
Top 15
1. Erin Kingsbury (FW Northrop) 19:55; 2. Beverly Twiss (Marshall) 20:44; 3. Chelsea Thompson (Portage Northern) 20:46; 4. Megan Fitzpatrick (Marshall) 20:54; 5. Abby Woodard (Marshall) 21:12; 6. Kierston Alexander (FW Northrop) 21:12; 7. Kara Goodrich (Portage Northern) 21:18; 8. Brittany Herron (FW Northrop) 21:33; 9. Jackie Green (Portage Northern) 22:11; 10. Kaitlin Boester (FW Northrop) 22:23; 11. Lisa Meints (Three Rivers) 22:25; 12. Amber Murphy (Marshall) 22:48; 13. Hilary Bronson (Portage Northern) 22:49; 14. Vanessa Miller (Mishawaka) 22:50; 15. Ashley Young (Mishawaka) 23:01.