Cross Country
Warsaw at Valley Cross Kickoff
It was a fantastic showing for both the Warsaw boys and girls cross country teams at the Valley Cross Kickoff in Terre Haute Saturday morning. The boys earned a third place finish out of 39 teams while the girls finished fourth and boasted the races’ individual champion.
Sophomore Jackson Gackenheimer led the Tigers with a ninth place finish on the boys side. Ten spots behind him was junior Tyler Mimnaugh. Senior Tyler Swartz also earned a top-30 finish. For the girls, senior Joey Rastrelli showed off why she is considered to be one of the top runners in the state with a first place finish and a time of 18:36. Two other Lady Tigers finished in the top 40, with sophomores Sammi Rastrelli taking 20th place and Eden Metz finishing 38th.
Warsaw will compete at the Larry James Invite next Saturday.
Volleyball
Warsaw/Hamilton Southeastern at McCutcheon
The Warsaw Lady Tiger volleyball team opened up its season with some steep competition, taking on defending 4A state champion Hamilton Southeastern and fellow regional finalist McCutcheon Saturday afternoon. The Lady Tigers dropped both contests and began the season with an 0-2 record.
Taking on the defending champs, Warsaw started off strong in the first set but ended up falling just short in a 20-25 loss. Hamilton Southeastern would win the next two sets as well, handing the Lady Tigers an 0-3 (20-25, 17-25, 12-25) loss.
Warsaw fared a bit better in its second match against McCutcheon, winning the first game against the host school 25-22. It would be the lone win for Warsaw on the day, as the Mavericks would take the next three games 25-21, 25-16 and 25-18 to win the match 3-1.
Melaina Hawblitzel led Warsaw with 19 kills on the day. Maggie Hollon had 16. Libero Ellie Hepler had 29 kills across the two games. Kenzie Chivington had 16 assists in game two.
The Lady Tigers remain on the road for their next contest, a Tuesday night match at Fort Wayne Concordia.
Tippecanoe Valley at Argos
Tippecanoe Valley began its 2023 campaign with a win on Saturday afternoon, defeating Argos 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-12) to begin the season with a 1-0 record.
The Lady Vikings are back in action Tuesday night at home against Wawasee for the Times-Union Game of the Night. Coverage will be provided in Wednesday’s paper.
Fort Wayne Bishop Leurs at Manchester
Manchester started off its 2023 season with a win on Saturday, coming back after dropping the first set to defeat Fort Wayne Bishop Leurs 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 26-24) to improve to 1-0 on the young season.
McKelvey Espeset was incredibly busy at the front of the net, leading her team in kills with 10 and blocks with four. Peyton Ream was very busy setting up her teammates, finishing the game with 33 assists. Elizabeth Renz had four serving aces.
The Lady Squires will look to make it two wins in a row Tuesday night on the road at Peru.
Lakeland Christian at Peru Invitational
The Lakeland Christian volleyball team had its hands full on Saturday, playing four matches at the Peru Invitational, going 1-3 in the process.
The Lady Cougars losses came at the hands of North Miami, Huntington North and host school Peru. Lakeland Christian earned a 2-0 victory over Blackford in its first match of the day for its lone win.
The Lady Cougars are back in action Tuesday evening against fellow area school Whitko.
Boys Soccer
Warsaw at Carroll
With eyes set on another great season on the pitch, the Warsaw Tigers boys soccer team began the 2023 season with a 1-0 road victory over Carroll on Saturday. The Tigers are now 1-0 this fall.
The game’s lone goal came off the boot of Noah Van Puffelen, who figures to have another huge year for Warsaw. The opportunity was created by the effort of Matt Marsh. Goalies Rual Carbajal and Finley Bailey combined for the shut out.
The Tigers play their first home game Tuesday evening against Argos.