Northridge, Warsaw Track Teams Chase Sectional Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Northridge, Warsaw. Warsaw, Northridge.
The girls track and field teams square off again at today's Warsaw Sectional. So far, Warsaw has one win, and Northridge has one win.
Warsaw hosted and beat Northridge 62-61 in an April dual meet. The teams met again last week at Northridge in the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament. Neither team won the meet, but Northridge was second with 134 points, while Warsaw was third with 101. Plymouth won with 137 points.
Warsaw finished 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the NLC, while Northridge was 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the NLC.
Ten other teams -ÊBethany Christian, Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fairfield, Goshen, Howe Military, Jimtown, NorthWood and Wawasee - will compete at the Warsaw Sectional. But unless a team comes out of nowhere, based on the regular season, only Northridge and Warsaw have a shot at the team title.
That's the way the coaches see it.
"Looking at the seeds," Warsaw coach Paul Boyd said, "it will be us and Northridge again. If our girls step up, we should be able to beat them again."
"Well, I'm not gonna rule out Elkhart Memorial," Northridge coach Sam Miller said. "They have a decent team. But it looks like it will be us and Warsaw."
Warsaw won last year's Warsaw Sectional, the Tigers' first sectional title since 1992. Elkhart Central took second and Northridge third.
The sectional may have an edge to it. Warsaw's 62-61 home win was controversial as Miller believed Cassie Bjurstrom beat Warsaw's Claire Beckett in the 200 and that the timekeeper made an error.
Officially, Beckett won the race with a time of 27.78 seconds to Bjurstrom's 27.85. Even Boyd agreed with Miller - he had Bjurstrom timed faster - but the times stood, and Warsaw won the meet by one point.
"Northridge," Boyd said, "will be out to prove something."
Miller downplayed, at least publicly, the effect that meet will have on the sectional.
"No, we're not focusing on that," he said. "Besides, we can't control how well Warsaw or others are gonna compete."
At last week's NLC Tournament, Northridge won six of 15 events. Bjurstrom played a big part, as she took first in the 200 (26.47 seconds), 100 (12.85 seconds) and long jump (16 feet, 1-3/4 inches).
Teammate Natalie Ewing won two events, the 3200 (11:37) and 1600 (5:15.84).
The Raiders also had four second places and four third places.
Warsaw had one first place at the NLC Tournament. Warsaw's Ashley Kitchens, Amy Robertson, Kim Love and Beckett won the 400 relay with a time of 51.65 seconds. The Tigers had four second places and three third places.
Hillary Barlow, Kim Kurosky and Beckett lead Warsaw. Beckett took second to Bjurstrom in the 200 at the NLC Tournament. Barlow's nemesis is Ewing. Barlow finished nine seconds behind her in the 3200 for second place and eight seconds behind her in the 1600 for third place. Kurosky took second in the high jump.
Northridge has the sprinter in Bjurstrom and the distance runner in Ewing.
"We seem to be getting faster now," Miller said, "and in big meets, we have athletes capable of winning events."
What concerns Miller are field events. Northridge scored no points in the high jump and discus at the NLC Tournament.
"We've struggled to score in field events," he said. "We have to score some points in the field events if we want to win the team title."
Boyd hopes Warsaw can make up ground on Northridge in field events, but the Tigers scored only two points in the discus and one in the shot put at the NLC meet.
"I wasn't happy with our throwers at the NLC, and they were upset themselves," he said. "They didn't throw what they had been all season. Even our long jumpers [with five points] were down."
"In field events, we're stronger than Northridge, and I hope they can give us a push. Our distance girls are giving everything they can. We have asked a lot from our sprinters all year. We will need them to come up big if we hope to win."
Warsaw Sectional
5:30 p.m. today at Fisher Field
Competing teams -ÊBethany Christian, Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fairfield, Goshen, Howe Military, Jimtown, Northridge, NorthWood, Warsaw, Wawasee
Rochester Sectional
Four local teams -ÊManchester, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton and Whitko -Êcompete at Tuesday's Rochester Sectional.
Tippecanoe Valley is coming off its first-place finish in Friday's Three Rivers Conference Tournament.
Lynette Wilcox led the way for Valley, winning the long jump (15-4) and 200 (27.42 seconds). Helping her were Amber Drudge, who won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet; Laura Lash, who took second in the 1600 and 3200 and third in the 800; and Sarah Kindig, who took second in the long jump. Valley also took seconds in the 400, 1600 and 3200 relays.
Manchester finished fourth in the eight-team TRC meet. Key athletes for Manchester include Tina French and Ann Harms. French won the 100 (13.49 seconds) and took second in the 200 (28.31 seconds). Harms won the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.68 seconds. Manchester also won the 400 relay with a time of 53.25 seconds.
Whitko's top performances were turned in by Miranda Wilkinson, who took third in the 100, and Ashley Dilling, who took third in the 300 hurdles.
Rochester Sectional
5:30 p.m. today
Competing teams -ÊArgos, Caston, Culver Community, Culver Girls Academy, Manchester, Northfield, Oregon-Davis, Plymouth, Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Whitko [[In-content Ad]]
Northridge, Warsaw. Warsaw, Northridge.
The girls track and field teams square off again at today's Warsaw Sectional. So far, Warsaw has one win, and Northridge has one win.
Warsaw hosted and beat Northridge 62-61 in an April dual meet. The teams met again last week at Northridge in the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament. Neither team won the meet, but Northridge was second with 134 points, while Warsaw was third with 101. Plymouth won with 137 points.
Warsaw finished 7-4 overall and 5-1 in the NLC, while Northridge was 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the NLC.
Ten other teams -ÊBethany Christian, Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fairfield, Goshen, Howe Military, Jimtown, NorthWood and Wawasee - will compete at the Warsaw Sectional. But unless a team comes out of nowhere, based on the regular season, only Northridge and Warsaw have a shot at the team title.
That's the way the coaches see it.
"Looking at the seeds," Warsaw coach Paul Boyd said, "it will be us and Northridge again. If our girls step up, we should be able to beat them again."
"Well, I'm not gonna rule out Elkhart Memorial," Northridge coach Sam Miller said. "They have a decent team. But it looks like it will be us and Warsaw."
Warsaw won last year's Warsaw Sectional, the Tigers' first sectional title since 1992. Elkhart Central took second and Northridge third.
The sectional may have an edge to it. Warsaw's 62-61 home win was controversial as Miller believed Cassie Bjurstrom beat Warsaw's Claire Beckett in the 200 and that the timekeeper made an error.
Officially, Beckett won the race with a time of 27.78 seconds to Bjurstrom's 27.85. Even Boyd agreed with Miller - he had Bjurstrom timed faster - but the times stood, and Warsaw won the meet by one point.
"Northridge," Boyd said, "will be out to prove something."
Miller downplayed, at least publicly, the effect that meet will have on the sectional.
"No, we're not focusing on that," he said. "Besides, we can't control how well Warsaw or others are gonna compete."
At last week's NLC Tournament, Northridge won six of 15 events. Bjurstrom played a big part, as she took first in the 200 (26.47 seconds), 100 (12.85 seconds) and long jump (16 feet, 1-3/4 inches).
Teammate Natalie Ewing won two events, the 3200 (11:37) and 1600 (5:15.84).
The Raiders also had four second places and four third places.
Warsaw had one first place at the NLC Tournament. Warsaw's Ashley Kitchens, Amy Robertson, Kim Love and Beckett won the 400 relay with a time of 51.65 seconds. The Tigers had four second places and three third places.
Hillary Barlow, Kim Kurosky and Beckett lead Warsaw. Beckett took second to Bjurstrom in the 200 at the NLC Tournament. Barlow's nemesis is Ewing. Barlow finished nine seconds behind her in the 3200 for second place and eight seconds behind her in the 1600 for third place. Kurosky took second in the high jump.
Northridge has the sprinter in Bjurstrom and the distance runner in Ewing.
"We seem to be getting faster now," Miller said, "and in big meets, we have athletes capable of winning events."
What concerns Miller are field events. Northridge scored no points in the high jump and discus at the NLC Tournament.
"We've struggled to score in field events," he said. "We have to score some points in the field events if we want to win the team title."
Boyd hopes Warsaw can make up ground on Northridge in field events, but the Tigers scored only two points in the discus and one in the shot put at the NLC meet.
"I wasn't happy with our throwers at the NLC, and they were upset themselves," he said. "They didn't throw what they had been all season. Even our long jumpers [with five points] were down."
"In field events, we're stronger than Northridge, and I hope they can give us a push. Our distance girls are giving everything they can. We have asked a lot from our sprinters all year. We will need them to come up big if we hope to win."
Warsaw Sectional
5:30 p.m. today at Fisher Field
Competing teams -ÊBethany Christian, Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fairfield, Goshen, Howe Military, Jimtown, Northridge, NorthWood, Warsaw, Wawasee
Rochester Sectional
Four local teams -ÊManchester, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton and Whitko -Êcompete at Tuesday's Rochester Sectional.
Tippecanoe Valley is coming off its first-place finish in Friday's Three Rivers Conference Tournament.
Lynette Wilcox led the way for Valley, winning the long jump (15-4) and 200 (27.42 seconds). Helping her were Amber Drudge, who won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet; Laura Lash, who took second in the 1600 and 3200 and third in the 800; and Sarah Kindig, who took second in the long jump. Valley also took seconds in the 400, 1600 and 3200 relays.
Manchester finished fourth in the eight-team TRC meet. Key athletes for Manchester include Tina French and Ann Harms. French won the 100 (13.49 seconds) and took second in the 200 (28.31 seconds). Harms won the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.68 seconds. Manchester also won the 400 relay with a time of 53.25 seconds.
Whitko's top performances were turned in by Miranda Wilkinson, who took third in the 100, and Ashley Dilling, who took third in the 300 hurdles.
Rochester Sectional
5:30 p.m. today
Competing teams -ÊArgos, Caston, Culver Community, Culver Girls Academy, Manchester, Northfield, Oregon-Davis, Plymouth, Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Whitko [[In-content Ad]]