A Look Back At Some Things I Covered This Year

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.


Part of the holiday season, at least for me, is spent reflecting on the events of the past year. It occurred to me we offer a top-10 news stories of the year, and so I thought I’d offer up the Top 10 sporting events I covered from 2015. Granted, this will be a somewhat restricted list, as it won’t always have the most positive outcome for the local team, but that’s OK.
Here’s a look back at some things I covered this year.
10. Triton winning the baseball sectional title over South Central. Exciting baseball games take many forms, and while neither team was perfect, both teams played well enough to win. Triton found a way to take advantage of a Satellite mistake, and win the sectional game late.
9. Wawasee’s softball game at NorthWood. This game was memorable for a hitter being called out for throwing her bat. We tell players from the earliest stages that it could happen, but in 40-plus years of diamond observations I’d never witnessed the call made. It cost the Lady Warriors a three-run homer and ultimately ended it’s undefeated Northern Lakes Conference season. Wawasee did go on to claim the conference title.
8. Whitko’s football win over Tippecanoe Valley Sept. 18 was memorable for the weather. The game was delayed about two hours due to strong thunderstorms that postponed most of the games in the area. Once it got cranked up again, the second half took maybe 35 minutes.
7. Wawasee’s Darrian
Rosenberry rendering aid to an injured opponent in a girls soccer match with Hamilton. Sportsmanship at its finest.
6. The Tippecanoe Valley at Manchester boys basketball game Jan. 30. The game wasn’t the memorable part for me as much as it was for Chainey Zolman, who had moved from Valley to Manchester before the season. There was concern about unruly behavior in the days leading to the game, but for the most part both sides handled themselves well.
5. Warsaw’s Jake Mangas hit a shot with two seconds left in overtime to beat Carroll 48-47 on Feb. 27 in the final home game of the year for the Tigers. As my esteemed colleague Roger Grossman pointed out, those kind of game stories write themselves. It was a great way to send the seniors out.
4. The girls soccer sectional final  between Warsaw and Culver Academies in Plymouth. Over the last 10 years or so I’ve learned quite a lot about soccer, and this postseason game had a ton of excitement. Warsaw scored early to take the lead, and the Lady Eagles came back twice to tie it. The game was decided with penalty kicks, and didn’t go the Lady Tigers’ way, but it was quite a match and a privilege to witness it.
I’m giving the final three spots to the 3A sectional, regional and semistate rounds of the girls basketball tournament. There were plenty of memorable moments in the Wawasee sectional; the cheer blocks from NorthWood and Wawasee supporting each other, the knee injury to Whitko’s Brianna Cumberland, and the double-overtime game Valley won over NorthWood stand out, but the list goes on and on.
The Bellmont regional in Decatur had plenty of drama, as Tippecanoe Valley won a pair of overtime games over Muncie Central and Norwell to advance to semistate.
And anyone who was in attendance at the semistate games in the Tiger Den will long remember the huge crowd that watched a trio of Three Rivers Conference teams battle for a trip to Indy. The Den was filled to the rafters as Wabash lost the 2A game and Valley pulled away late from arguably its biggest rival, Rochester, to punch its ticket to Indy.
The Lady Vikings have the talent to make a deep run in the 2016 tournament, but it’s hard to imagine duplicating the magic of winning three postseason games in overtime on the way to Indianapolis.
So there you have it. I’m certain there are moments I missed, but there are just so many to choose from.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for reading our descriptions and accounts. Merry Christmas from Howe In The World![[In-content Ad]]

Part of the holiday season, at least for me, is spent reflecting on the events of the past year. It occurred to me we offer a top-10 news stories of the year, and so I thought I’d offer up the Top 10 sporting events I covered from 2015. Granted, this will be a somewhat restricted list, as it won’t always have the most positive outcome for the local team, but that’s OK.
Here’s a look back at some things I covered this year.
10. Triton winning the baseball sectional title over South Central. Exciting baseball games take many forms, and while neither team was perfect, both teams played well enough to win. Triton found a way to take advantage of a Satellite mistake, and win the sectional game late.
9. Wawasee’s softball game at NorthWood. This game was memorable for a hitter being called out for throwing her bat. We tell players from the earliest stages that it could happen, but in 40-plus years of diamond observations I’d never witnessed the call made. It cost the Lady Warriors a three-run homer and ultimately ended it’s undefeated Northern Lakes Conference season. Wawasee did go on to claim the conference title.
8. Whitko’s football win over Tippecanoe Valley Sept. 18 was memorable for the weather. The game was delayed about two hours due to strong thunderstorms that postponed most of the games in the area. Once it got cranked up again, the second half took maybe 35 minutes.
7. Wawasee’s Darrian
Rosenberry rendering aid to an injured opponent in a girls soccer match with Hamilton. Sportsmanship at its finest.
6. The Tippecanoe Valley at Manchester boys basketball game Jan. 30. The game wasn’t the memorable part for me as much as it was for Chainey Zolman, who had moved from Valley to Manchester before the season. There was concern about unruly behavior in the days leading to the game, but for the most part both sides handled themselves well.
5. Warsaw’s Jake Mangas hit a shot with two seconds left in overtime to beat Carroll 48-47 on Feb. 27 in the final home game of the year for the Tigers. As my esteemed colleague Roger Grossman pointed out, those kind of game stories write themselves. It was a great way to send the seniors out.
4. The girls soccer sectional final  between Warsaw and Culver Academies in Plymouth. Over the last 10 years or so I’ve learned quite a lot about soccer, and this postseason game had a ton of excitement. Warsaw scored early to take the lead, and the Lady Eagles came back twice to tie it. The game was decided with penalty kicks, and didn’t go the Lady Tigers’ way, but it was quite a match and a privilege to witness it.
I’m giving the final three spots to the 3A sectional, regional and semistate rounds of the girls basketball tournament. There were plenty of memorable moments in the Wawasee sectional; the cheer blocks from NorthWood and Wawasee supporting each other, the knee injury to Whitko’s Brianna Cumberland, and the double-overtime game Valley won over NorthWood stand out, but the list goes on and on.
The Bellmont regional in Decatur had plenty of drama, as Tippecanoe Valley won a pair of overtime games over Muncie Central and Norwell to advance to semistate.
And anyone who was in attendance at the semistate games in the Tiger Den will long remember the huge crowd that watched a trio of Three Rivers Conference teams battle for a trip to Indy. The Den was filled to the rafters as Wabash lost the 2A game and Valley pulled away late from arguably its biggest rival, Rochester, to punch its ticket to Indy.
The Lady Vikings have the talent to make a deep run in the 2016 tournament, but it’s hard to imagine duplicating the magic of winning three postseason games in overtime on the way to Indianapolis.
So there you have it. I’m certain there are moments I missed, but there are just so many to choose from.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for reading our descriptions and accounts. Merry Christmas from Howe In The World![[In-content Ad]]
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092

e-Edition


e-edition

Sign up


for our email newsletters

Weekly Top Stories

Sign up to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every Sunday

Daily Updates & Breaking News Alerts

Sign up to get our daily updates and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox daily

Latest Stories


Public Occurrences 05.14.25
County Jail Bookings The following people were arrested and booked into the Kosciusko County Jail:

Fat & Skinny Tire Festival’s 20th Year Feels Surreal To Co-Founder
WINONA LAKE - For Fat & Skinny Tire Fest co-founder and co-director Greg Demopoulos, the fact that this weekend is the 20th year for the three-day bicycling event is surreal.

Nappanee Man Injured In Turkey Hunting Accident In Fulton County
A Nappanee man was injured in a turkey hunting accident Saturday in Fulton County.

Breakfast Optimist Club Car Show Is Sunday
Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club is hosting the 15th Annual City of Lakes Car Show on Sunday, May 18 from noon to 5 p.m. in downtown Warsaw at the courthouse square.

Huntington Teen Arrested On Rape, Child Molesting Charges
A Huntington teen was arrested after allegedly forcing a minor under 14 to have sex.