CULVER – The Warsaw girls cross country team competed in the Elite Division at the Culver Academies Invitational Saturday.

Elite would be the best word to describe the performance of the Tigers too.

Allison Miller turned in an outstanding individual effort to lead Warsaw in the state’s biggest and best invitational. The 33rd running of the event featured a total of about 4,000 high school and middle school runners competing in 12 races.

Coach Matt Campbell’s young and talented team placed sixth in the Elite Divisiion, which featured 12 of the top 25 teams in the state.

No. 1 Carmel dominated the division by winning the team title with a score of 26.

No. 5 Carroll took runner-up honors with a score of 112. No. 6 Penn was third at 114, followed by No. 4 Columbus North (121) and No. 2 Mason (Ohio) (147) to round out the top five.

The Tigers were sixth with a team score of 179. No. 3 West Lafaeyette was seventh (180), followed by No. 19 Northridge (279), No. 21 Cathedral (280) and No. 12 Lake Central (302) to complete the top 10 teams.

Miller, the top runner on a deep and strong lineup, had a tremendous effort. The sophomore placed 12th overall in a time of 18:57, which was a personal best by 18 seconds.

Junior Hannah Dawson was the second Tiger to hit the finish line as she was 38th in a time of 19:54. Junior Emma Hayward was right behind in 39th place in 19:54. Junior Brooke Rhodes was 43rd in 20:05 and sophomore Anna Craig 47th in 20:07 to complete the scoring top five for the Tigers.

Freshman Mia Beckham was 58th overall for Warsaw in a time of 20:24. Sophomore Charlene Orr was 69th in 20:33, followed by junior Claire Kehler in 70th (20:33), sophomore Lauren Orr in 86th (20:46) and senior Hannah Thompson in 121st (21:39).

Penn standout Maddie Woods won the individual title in the Elite Division race in a top time of 18:14.

Kendra Paton was the top finisher for the Tiger contingent competing in the Reserve race as she placed 78th in a time of 22:43. Liza Lewis was 102nd in 23:24, followed by Meredith Phipps in 116th (23:41), Michaela Roark in 119th (23:44) and Jemina Fugate in 162nd (24:19).

Also competing for Warsaw in the Reserve race were Sierra Palmer (24:46), Courtney Sainder (24:59), Daisie Poe (25:03), Shyanne McFadden (26:04), Claire Rich (26:28), Amber Hagan (28:07), Kaitlyn Still (28:17), Alexis Winters (28:26), Susana Pizano (28:53), Emma Lehman (29:52) and Natalie Nichols (31:08).

The Warsaw ladies will look to finish the Northern Lakes Conference regular season undefeated on Tuesday evening. The Tigers, who are 5-0 in NLC competition, will face league foes Goshen and Elkhart Memorial at Shanklin Park in Goshen at 5:30 p.m. The host Goshen girls squad is 4-1 in NLC action this fall.

The Tigers will then compete in the NLC Meet on Saturday at Ox Bow Park.