Bowling Green’s Sam Sutton picked the perfect time for her first varsity cross-country win.

The sophomore runner claimed victory in front of the home folks, taking the individual crown in the Purple Striders Invitational at Kereiakes Park on Saturday.

Sutton finished with a time of 20:52.63, edging South Warren senior Caroline Haas who finished second with a time of 21:06.00.

“I just paced behind Caroline and hoped I could stay with her,” Sutton said. “I just thought I could go faster and went.”

Haas said it was a tough day.

“The hills seemed harder today than usual,” Haas said. “It did not click. I haven’t ran the time I ran today since seventh grade, so it’s really disappointing.”

South Warren was able to celebrate a team title with Haas one of four Spartans to finish in the top 10. Haylee White (22:02.42), Isabelle Graves (22:08.97) and Lucy Knutson (22:09.61) finished seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.

The Spartans finished with 40 team points, while runner-up Greenwood – led by Kelsey Dinning’s 13th-place finish – was second with 79 points. Bowling Green finished third with 79 points. 

On the boys’ side, Madisonville-North Hopkins cruised to the team title with 32 points, led by individual winner Christian Parker (17:13.08).

Logan County was second with 32 points, while Bowling Green (142 points) was third, and South Warren (159 points) was fourth.

South Warren had a trio of runners finish in the top 10. Junior Matt Wininger was seventh with a time of 18:12.22. Junior Carter Chavira finished ninth with a time of 18:14.62, while sophomore Kyle Woodward placed 10th with a time of 18:26.21.