Warrior Boys Track Team Downs Warsaw, Remains Undefeated
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE - Thinking back together, Wawasee boys track coaches Scott Lancaster and Dave Stookey couldn't remember exactly the last time the Warriors beat rival Warsaw.
It doesn't matter now, and it's safe to say they won't soon forget topping the Tigers Tuesday evening, something they said hasn't been done since sometime in the 1980s.
Improving their overall record to 5-0 and their Northern Lakes Conference mark to 2-0, the host Warriors won the three-way meet with 80 points. Warsaw was second with 58 points and Northridge a distant third with 29 points.
"I guess the biggest thing is that we took another step," said Lancaster, in his third year with the Warriors. "We had some opportunities to score points and the kids capitalized. It's very exciting to beat Warsaw, but even more exciting that we took another step. We're getting better each week."
A year ago, the Warriors were on Warsaw's heels but shot themselves in the foot as they come up short time after time in the field events.
Tuesday evening the Warriors put together the total pacakage, coming away with 11 first-place finishes in 16 events.
"Last year we couldn't buy points in the field events," Lancaster said. "This year we're doing much better."
Wawasee swept the top three spots in the high jump, with junior Alex Similton clearing 5-foot-10 for first place. Teammates Ben Champoux and Guy Simmons took second and third.
In the discus, Wawasee took second, third and fourth with Tim Popenfoose, Nate Lundy and Rob McKibbin.
In the shot put, Wawasee took first and third with Drew Evans and Creighton Kaiser.
As Lancaster put it, Tuesday's long-awaited win over rival Warsaw was a "total team effort."
"This is big as far as our confidence goes," Lancaster said. "The major thing is that Warsaw is a quality program year in and year out. This says a lot about what we're doing here."
Though Wawasee was certainly impressive as a team, it was Warrior junior Anthony Argentino that stole the show individually.
Despite fighting sickness all day, Argentino won three events, and did so in very impressive fashion.
He took first in 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.2 seconds, a time that Lancaster said was the fastest in the state so far.
Argentino backed that up by breaking the school record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 38.4 seconds, beating Warsaw speedster and second-place finisher Cory Hill by 2.1 seconds.
Argentino also took first in the long jump with a leap of 22-9.
"He stepped it up, and he was sick," Lancaster said of Argentino. "He wanted to do the best he could. That characterizes a lot of guys on this team."
Lancaster claimed Argentino's time of 38.4 seconds in the 300 hurdles was the second-fastest time in the state thus far.
Other Warriors to take individual first-place finishes included Grant Gibson (pole vault), Ryan Stichter (1600), Eric Gingerich (800) and Luke Stoffel (3200).
Wawasee won both the 200 and 1600 relay events, the latter of the two coming on a gutty come-from-behind effort by Nik Conley on the anchor leg of the meet's final event.
Junior Thomas Balestri accounted for two of Warsaw's four first-place finishes, winning both the 100 (11.7 seconds) and 200 (23.2 seconds).
Balestri also ran the first leg of the 400 relay, teaming up with Nate Miller, Hill and Joel Popenfoose to win in a time of 44.8 seconds.
Warsaw's other first-place effort came from junior Austin Caudill, who won the discus with a toss of 138-6 1/2. Caudill finished second in the shot put with an effort of 43-5.
"I think it's cliche, but he stepped up tonight," said Warsaw throwing coach David Bailey, a former Tiger thrower himself who took over for long-time assistant Garry Fribley. "He came through. He's been struggling but we keep improving every week. That's our goal as a team, to keep improving."
Warsaw is 1-1 in the NLC, while Northridge fell to 0-2 in the conference.
The Tigers will be in action again Thursday at Columbia City, while Wawasee competes Saturday in the North Side Relays.
WAWASEE 80, WARSAW 58, NORTHRIDGE 29
3200 relay - 1. Wawasee (Ryan Stichter, Luke Stoffel, David Slabaugh, Eric Gingerich) 8:25, 2. Northridge
110 hurdles - 1. Anthony Argentino (Wawa) :14.2, 2. Corey Hill (War), 3. Brandon Stogsdill (War)
100 - 1. Thomas Balestri (War) :11.7, 2. Joel Popenfoose (War), 3. Josiah Boomershine (NR)
High Jump - 1. Alex Similton (Wawa) 5-10, 2. Ben Champoux (Wawa), 3. Guy Simmons (Wawa)
Pole Vault - 1. Grant Gibson (Wawa) 12-0, 2. Phil Anuta (War), 3. Scott Sands (War)
Discus - 1. Austin Caudill (War) 138-6 1/2, 2. Tim Popenfoose (Wawa), 3. Nate Lundy (Wawa)
1600 - 1. Stichter (Wawa) 4:45, 2. Stoffel (Wawa), 3. Ryan Holbrook (War)
400 relay - 1. Warsaw (Balestri, Nate Miller, Hill, Popenfoose) :44.8, 2. Northridge
400 - 1. Jason Young (NR) :51.9, 2. Tony Castillo (War), 3. Slabaugh (Wawa)
300 hurdles - 1. Argentino (Wawa) :38.4, 2. Hill (War), 3. Stogsdill (War)
Long Jump - 1. Argentino (Wawa) 22-9, 2. Miller (War), 3. Gingerich (Wawa)
800 - 1. Gingerich (Wawa) 2:06.6, 2. David Sabo (NR), 3. Stichter (Wawa)
Shot Put - 1. Drew Evans (Wawa) 44-7 1/4, 2. Caudill (War), 3. Creighton Kaiser (Waw)
200 - 1. Balestri (War) :23.2, 2. Young (NR), 3. Boomershine (NR)
3200 - 1. Stoffel (Wawa) 10:40.4, 2. Ken Collins (NR), 3. Braxton Frite (NR)
1600 relay - 1. Wawasee (Tom Brown, Gingerich, Slabaugh, Nik Conley), 2. Warsaw
JV - WAWASEE 69, WARSAW 68, NORTRHIDGE 29
(Listed are first-place finishers)
3200 relay - Warsaw (Bob Kommerowski, Alex Tidball, Ryan Walker, Justin Schroeder) 9:35.6
110 hurdles - Brent Lamb (Wawa) :17.3
100 - Tyler Colt (War) :12.4
High Jump - Jason Young (NR) 5-6
Discus - Nick Hanlin (Wawa) 124-0 1/2
1600 - Andy Williams (NR) 5:18
400 relay - Warsaw (Tyler Hamman, Colt, Adam Suchecki, Nate Abbitt) :47.1
Pole Vault - Ron Powell (NR) 9-0
400 - Justin Williams (NR) :56.8
300 hurdles - Lamb (Wawa) :46.0
Long Jump - Michael Kerby (Wawa) 20-3
800 - David Compson (War) 2:20.5
3200 - Jacob Gall (War)
200 - Ben Champoux (Wawa) :25.2
Shot Put - Jason Smith (Wawa) 38-2 1/4
1600 relay - Wawasee (Stichter, Brandon Vale, Michael Conrad, Popenfoose) 3:43.0 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE - Thinking back together, Wawasee boys track coaches Scott Lancaster and Dave Stookey couldn't remember exactly the last time the Warriors beat rival Warsaw.
It doesn't matter now, and it's safe to say they won't soon forget topping the Tigers Tuesday evening, something they said hasn't been done since sometime in the 1980s.
Improving their overall record to 5-0 and their Northern Lakes Conference mark to 2-0, the host Warriors won the three-way meet with 80 points. Warsaw was second with 58 points and Northridge a distant third with 29 points.
"I guess the biggest thing is that we took another step," said Lancaster, in his third year with the Warriors. "We had some opportunities to score points and the kids capitalized. It's very exciting to beat Warsaw, but even more exciting that we took another step. We're getting better each week."
A year ago, the Warriors were on Warsaw's heels but shot themselves in the foot as they come up short time after time in the field events.
Tuesday evening the Warriors put together the total pacakage, coming away with 11 first-place finishes in 16 events.
"Last year we couldn't buy points in the field events," Lancaster said. "This year we're doing much better."
Wawasee swept the top three spots in the high jump, with junior Alex Similton clearing 5-foot-10 for first place. Teammates Ben Champoux and Guy Simmons took second and third.
In the discus, Wawasee took second, third and fourth with Tim Popenfoose, Nate Lundy and Rob McKibbin.
In the shot put, Wawasee took first and third with Drew Evans and Creighton Kaiser.
As Lancaster put it, Tuesday's long-awaited win over rival Warsaw was a "total team effort."
"This is big as far as our confidence goes," Lancaster said. "The major thing is that Warsaw is a quality program year in and year out. This says a lot about what we're doing here."
Though Wawasee was certainly impressive as a team, it was Warrior junior Anthony Argentino that stole the show individually.
Despite fighting sickness all day, Argentino won three events, and did so in very impressive fashion.
He took first in 110 high hurdles with a time of 14.2 seconds, a time that Lancaster said was the fastest in the state so far.
Argentino backed that up by breaking the school record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 38.4 seconds, beating Warsaw speedster and second-place finisher Cory Hill by 2.1 seconds.
Argentino also took first in the long jump with a leap of 22-9.
"He stepped it up, and he was sick," Lancaster said of Argentino. "He wanted to do the best he could. That characterizes a lot of guys on this team."
Lancaster claimed Argentino's time of 38.4 seconds in the 300 hurdles was the second-fastest time in the state thus far.
Other Warriors to take individual first-place finishes included Grant Gibson (pole vault), Ryan Stichter (1600), Eric Gingerich (800) and Luke Stoffel (3200).
Wawasee won both the 200 and 1600 relay events, the latter of the two coming on a gutty come-from-behind effort by Nik Conley on the anchor leg of the meet's final event.
Junior Thomas Balestri accounted for two of Warsaw's four first-place finishes, winning both the 100 (11.7 seconds) and 200 (23.2 seconds).
Balestri also ran the first leg of the 400 relay, teaming up with Nate Miller, Hill and Joel Popenfoose to win in a time of 44.8 seconds.
Warsaw's other first-place effort came from junior Austin Caudill, who won the discus with a toss of 138-6 1/2. Caudill finished second in the shot put with an effort of 43-5.
"I think it's cliche, but he stepped up tonight," said Warsaw throwing coach David Bailey, a former Tiger thrower himself who took over for long-time assistant Garry Fribley. "He came through. He's been struggling but we keep improving every week. That's our goal as a team, to keep improving."
Warsaw is 1-1 in the NLC, while Northridge fell to 0-2 in the conference.
The Tigers will be in action again Thursday at Columbia City, while Wawasee competes Saturday in the North Side Relays.
WAWASEE 80, WARSAW 58, NORTHRIDGE 29
3200 relay - 1. Wawasee (Ryan Stichter, Luke Stoffel, David Slabaugh, Eric Gingerich) 8:25, 2. Northridge
110 hurdles - 1. Anthony Argentino (Wawa) :14.2, 2. Corey Hill (War), 3. Brandon Stogsdill (War)
100 - 1. Thomas Balestri (War) :11.7, 2. Joel Popenfoose (War), 3. Josiah Boomershine (NR)
High Jump - 1. Alex Similton (Wawa) 5-10, 2. Ben Champoux (Wawa), 3. Guy Simmons (Wawa)
Pole Vault - 1. Grant Gibson (Wawa) 12-0, 2. Phil Anuta (War), 3. Scott Sands (War)
Discus - 1. Austin Caudill (War) 138-6 1/2, 2. Tim Popenfoose (Wawa), 3. Nate Lundy (Wawa)
1600 - 1. Stichter (Wawa) 4:45, 2. Stoffel (Wawa), 3. Ryan Holbrook (War)
400 relay - 1. Warsaw (Balestri, Nate Miller, Hill, Popenfoose) :44.8, 2. Northridge
400 - 1. Jason Young (NR) :51.9, 2. Tony Castillo (War), 3. Slabaugh (Wawa)
300 hurdles - 1. Argentino (Wawa) :38.4, 2. Hill (War), 3. Stogsdill (War)
Long Jump - 1. Argentino (Wawa) 22-9, 2. Miller (War), 3. Gingerich (Wawa)
800 - 1. Gingerich (Wawa) 2:06.6, 2. David Sabo (NR), 3. Stichter (Wawa)
Shot Put - 1. Drew Evans (Wawa) 44-7 1/4, 2. Caudill (War), 3. Creighton Kaiser (Waw)
200 - 1. Balestri (War) :23.2, 2. Young (NR), 3. Boomershine (NR)
3200 - 1. Stoffel (Wawa) 10:40.4, 2. Ken Collins (NR), 3. Braxton Frite (NR)
1600 relay - 1. Wawasee (Tom Brown, Gingerich, Slabaugh, Nik Conley), 2. Warsaw
JV - WAWASEE 69, WARSAW 68, NORTRHIDGE 29
(Listed are first-place finishers)
3200 relay - Warsaw (Bob Kommerowski, Alex Tidball, Ryan Walker, Justin Schroeder) 9:35.6
110 hurdles - Brent Lamb (Wawa) :17.3
100 - Tyler Colt (War) :12.4
High Jump - Jason Young (NR) 5-6
Discus - Nick Hanlin (Wawa) 124-0 1/2
1600 - Andy Williams (NR) 5:18
400 relay - Warsaw (Tyler Hamman, Colt, Adam Suchecki, Nate Abbitt) :47.1
Pole Vault - Ron Powell (NR) 9-0
400 - Justin Williams (NR) :56.8
300 hurdles - Lamb (Wawa) :46.0
Long Jump - Michael Kerby (Wawa) 20-3
800 - David Compson (War) 2:20.5
3200 - Jacob Gall (War)
200 - Ben Champoux (Wawa) :25.2
Shot Put - Jason Smith (Wawa) 38-2 1/4
1600 relay - Wawasee (Stichter, Brandon Vale, Michael Conrad, Popenfoose) 3:43.0 [[In-content Ad]]