To run or not to run.

That was a question facing Northridge freshman Corinne Cominator as late as Monday evening before Tuesday’s high school girls cross country sectional at Ox Bow County Park.

The youngster made the decision to run and her Raiders teammates and coach Ryan McClane are glad she did.

Cominator was Northridge’s sixth runner, but ended up being the most important as she broke the tie with Warsaw, giving Northridge its 19th straight sectional title.

Northridge and Warsaw both finished with scores of 41. Cominator placed 21st in 21:19 for the 5,000 meters, compared to Warsaw senior Amber Plummer who was 27th in 21:26.

“Corinne had not run in about four weeks due to a stress fracture in her left leg,” McClane said. “We talked about whether or not she should run and I left the decision up to her. She made the decision thinking about her teammates. I wasn’t sure what she was going to be able to do. The goal was for her to break 22:00.

“In my 12 years coaching at Northridge this is the closest any team has ever been to us. I’m thankful for the win. I don’t ever remember having to go to the tie-breaker before.”

Fairfield finished third with a 77 tally, followed by Goshen 160, Concord 165, NorthWood 172, Elkhart Memorial 181, Wawasee 196, Elkhart Central 230 and Bethany Christian 236. Elkhart Christian didn’t have a complete team.

The top five teams and 15 leading individuals advance to the regional Saturday at Ox Bow. The girls race will follow the boys’ which begins at 9 a.m.

Warsaw freshman sensation Ashley Erba was the individual winner in 18:41.

“Erba is an incredible runner,” McClane said. “No one has pushed her all season. I think she has a real chance to win state.”

Northridge senior Allie Pladson was third (19:19), junior Skylair Hilton fourth (19:27), freshman Jennifer Schrock ninth (20:24), junior Autumn Elliott 12th (20:33) and freshman Maddie Royce 13th (20:39).

“We ran better than we did at the Northern Lakes Conference meet,” McClane said. “The bad thing for us is that Warsaw saw in the conference meet what they have to do to beat us. They have to put their pack ahead of our fifth runner.”

Fairfield was led by senior Diamond Setterberg who placed seventh in 19:54.

“Diamond would tell you she did not run her best,” Fairfield coach Kirt Hunsberger said. “But she was our leader and that is what we need from her.

“Third feels good. We got beat by a couple good teams. We did not have a very good Northeast Corner Conference meet and we talked about showing how we were a better team.”

Junior Desiree Maran placed 11th (20:33) to pace the Goshen Redskins.

“We are excited to be running on Saturday,” first-year Goshen coach Maggie Young said. “We are pumped up about that. When I scored the meet out I figured fourth was probably the highest place we could get.

“We have had a lot of girls out sick. I called our No. 5 runner (sophomore Megan Sherck 53rd in 23:13) this afternoon during her class at 2:30 and asked her if she wanted to run. She stepped it up.”

Concord was paced by senior Abigail Riley who was 22nd in 21:20.

Local individuals advancing to regional are Bethany junior Ali Hochstetler (fifth in 19:39), NorthWood sophomore Cynthia Medina (eighth in 20:07) and NorthWood junior Lindsey Roe (10th in 20:27).

Summary

Northridge (41) — 3, Allie Pladson 19:19; 4, Skylair Hilton 19:27; 9, Jennifer Schrock 20:24; 12, Autumn Elliott 20:33; 13, Maddie Royce 20:39. Also: 21, Corinne Cominator 21:19; 50, Leah Riffell 23:01.

Warsaw (41) — 1, Ashley Erba 18:41; 2, Cendall Ogle 19:11; 6, Brooke Kline 19:49; 14, Lilly Fleming 20:41; 18, Creigh Ogle 21:01. Also: 27, Amber Plummer 21:26; 28, Bethany Plummer 21:29.

Fairfield (77) — 7, Diamond Setterberg 19:54; 15, Lauren Waltman 20:45; 16, Miranda Boyts 20:45; 19, Emily Meranda 21:02; 20, Becca Kropf 21:16. Also: 34, Sarah Grosse 21:48; 39, Shleby Goudy 22:17.

Goshen (160) — 11, Desiree Maran 20:33; 17, Juni Schirch 20:45; 38, Jessica Wynn 22:14; 41, Meghan Neff 22:25; 53, Megan Sherck 23:13. Also: 59, Addie Picking 23:32; 69, Morgan Short 24:29.

Concord (165) — 22, Abigail Riley 21:20; 26, Miranda Good 21:26; 31, Lindsay Ogle 21:35; 37, Laura Housman 22:13; 49, Ana Laura Schroeder 22:56. Also: 62, Sarah Clark 23:53; 64, Casey Cartwright 24:00.

NorthWood (172) — 8, Cynthia Medina 20:07; 10, Lindsey Roe 20:27; 35, Karlie Kratzchmar 21:58; 58, Layla Rhodes 23:29; 61, Emily Wenger 23:51. Also: 67, Brittani Grove 24:24; 74, Cassandra Griffin 26:07.

Elkhart Memorial (181) — 30, Lauren Burket 21:34; 33, Anna Walterhouse 21:45; 36, Michele Corpe 22:05; 40, Morgan Severid 22:18; 42, Maria Paez 22:25. Also: 48, Melissa Peterson 22:54; 56, Julie Erwin 23:21.

Wawasee (196) — 23, Stephanie Rhodes 21:21; 29, Ellie Gilbert 21:30; 44, Sarah Jones 22:28; 45, Brittany Robinson 22:39; 55, Nicole Rhodes 23:15. Also: 57, Cassidy Parker 23:23; 60, Tessa Riley 23:36.

Elkhart Central (230) — 25, Chelsea Gray 21:24; 43, Gabrielle Moreno 22:27; 46, Kari Huang 22:49; 51, Marina Filer 23:03; 66, Abby Dibley 24:22. Also: 68, Anna Jacobson 24:27; 73, Elizabeth Dibley 24:59;

Bethany (236) — 5, Ali Hochstetler 19:39; 32, Jenae Hershberger 21:43; 54, Eva Lapp 23:14; 72, Lauren Hooley 24:38; 77, Leanna Hochstetler 28:36.

Jimtown (256) — 24, Sarah DeShone 21:21; 47, Sarah Miller 22:50; 52, Emma Stahl 23:10; 65, Alayna Wagnerowski 24:16; 70, Ashley Chancello 24:54. Also: 75, Kaylie Garrrett 26:22; 76, Justie Newland 27:08;

Elkhart Christian (incomplete) — 63, Kaylie Colon 23:56; 71, Elizabeth Swart 24:59; 78, Lindey Chupp 31:32