Warriors Champs Again
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The shushing sounds that urged everyone to be quiet came from several girls huddled together at the finish line on the oval track at Fisher Field.
The girls comprised the Wawasee Warrior track team, and more than anything else, they did not want to hear their team name called over the public address system.
The announcer was reading the track and field sectional team places from worst to first. When he got to the second-place team, the shushes grew louder. They waited.
The Warriors heard the one word they wanted to hear: Northridge. That left first all to them, and before they were even announced, the cheers erupted.
For the third year in a row, the Wawasee Warriors won the Warsaw Sectional. They finished with 93.5 points. Northridge, a team with a 10-0 record, pulled in second with 91.5. Warsaw placed last in the 10-team meet with 19.5 points.
One week ago, the Warriors competed in the Northern Lakes Conference meet and finished second with 101 points. The team that finished first? Northridge, which had 112 points.
The Warrior first places in Tuesday's sectional meet were the same as a week ago. So how did Wawasee win?
Coaches like to talk about "the little things." Wawasee came through with those "little things" at the sectional.
The top six places were scored in the NLC meet. The top eight places were scored at the sectional meet.
The Warriors made those seventh and eighth places count. Those little places added up, as the Warriors racked up nine combined seventh and eighth places.
"Going to eight places helped us," Wawasee coach Lisa Dilbone said. "Nine seventh- and eighth-place finishes, that's a lot of points."
Last week no Warrior placed in the shot put or discus. Last night Heather Long placed in the discus, and Sharada Nethaway and Long placed in the shot put.
Two unseeded Warriors - Angie Beer and Katie Brown - placed fifth and seventh in the long jump. Alexis Culver surprised by placing seventh in the 100 hurdles. Alison Morgan shocked with her eighth-place finish in the mile.
"It was the little places that counted - placing in the discus, placing two places in the shot put," Dilbone said. "We had been struggling all year to place in those events.
"Those little places here and there - the fifths, sixths, sevenths and eighths - were key. That's where it's at."
The Warrior standbys came through as always. Mandy McGuire won the high jump. Alysha Aalbregtse won the 100 hurdles. Aubrey Coy did not win the two-mile run like she usually does, but no matter. Teammate Alisha Henderson also ran in the two-mile race, and she placed first. Coy settled for second.
Wawasee's two-mile relay team of Kassie Biddle, Katie McCauley, Coy and Henderson also placed first.
The performance by Henderson and Coy in the 3,200, the next-to-last event, sent the Warriors on their way to the win.
"Just before they ran the 3,200, when they announced the score, we were ahead by seven points," Dilbone said. "Then we knew we had a shot."
After much celebration, the Warriors again huddled together with Dilbone looking on. They crouched, forming a tight circle that slowly began to turn as they shouted left, right.
"That started four years ago," Dilbone said. "They call it 'The Winner's Circle.' They all get in a circle, sit down and start walking. It's kind of their victory lap."
A victory lap that Dilbone was glad she got to see. They hoisted Coy and others in the air, paraded them around on their shoulders. They had a team prayer.
Dilbone stood back, taking it all in from a distance.
"We had not come in saying we would win this thing," she said. "We came in hoping we would place high.
"I'm so proud of them. I cried. This is my first year as head coach ... knowing we got second at conference and now getting first in an even bigger meet, it was exciting. I have to give credit to the kids."
The Warriors try to capture their third straight Bremen Regional team title next week.
WARSAW SECTIONAL
1. Wawasee 93.5, 2. Northridge 91.5, 3. Elkhart Central 79, 4. Concord 72, 5. NorthWood 68.5, 6. Elkhart Memorial 53, 7. Goshen 48, 8. Fairfield 38, 9. Jimtown 22, 10. Warsaw 19.5
Top 8 results
(Top four in each event advance to Bremen Regional)
100 - 1. Lakesha Washington (EM) :12.95, 2. Crystal Cohen (EC) :13.18, 3. Kelli Andrews (NW) :13.29, 4. Kristen Becker (EC) :13.51, 5. Shaunte Calhoun (J) :13.74, 6. Katie App (NR) :13.76, 7. Nikki Kellie (C) :13.80, 8. Lindsay Carlin (NW) :13.86
100 hurdles - 1. Alysha Aalbregtse (WAW) :15.98, 2. Jamie Marshall (CON) :16.07, 3. Grace Bonewitz (NW) :16.19, 4. Kelly Miller (GOS) :16.49, 5. Andrea Hostetler (F) :16.59, 6. Crystal Key (C) :16.74, 7. Alexis Culver (WAW) :17.14, 8. Jennifer Anderson (NW) :17.16
1,600 - 1. Kelli Lipps (EC) 5:30.72, 2. Alisha Henderson (WAW) 5:39.51, 3. Alison Garcia (G) 5:41.04, 4. Valerie Taft (NR) 5:42.89, 5. Kari Hemund (EM) 5:46.84, 6. Rachel Hrynewycz (G) 5:49.33, 7. Tara Juntunen (NR) 5:55.28, 8. Alison Morgan (WAW) 5:56.84
200 - 1. Crystal Cohen (EC) :26.41, 2. Kelli Andrews (NW) :26.86, 3. Lakesha Washington (EM) :27.13, 4. Kristen Becker (EC) :27.41, 5. Mandi Hutchison (NR) :27.73, 6. Amanda Boothe (NW) :28.26, 7. Bobbi Wildman (WAR) :28.86, 8. Tanya Bragg (C) :29.03
400 - 1. Stacey Peterson (C) 1:00.14, 2. Lindsay Wolfe (J) 1:02.29, 3. Danielle Charette (NR) 1:02.42, 4. Jessica Veenstra (EM) 1:02.68, 5. Santina Cerame (NW) 1:02.97, 6. Danielle Blea (NR) 1:03.34, 7. Kim Reuter (WAW) 1:03.39, 8. Lisa Fisher (G) 1:03.74
300 low hurdles - 1. Erin Payne (NR) :46.43, 2. Alyha Aalbregtse (WAW) :47.05, 3. Andrea Hostetler (F) :47.15, 4. Jamie Marshall (C) :48.40, 5. Crystal Key (C) :49.81, 6. Kelly Miller (G) :49.91, 7. Grace Bonewitz (NW) :50.51, 8. Erica Haws (NR) :50.58
800 - 1. Renee Schlabach (F) 2:24.49, 2. Stacey Peterson (C) 2:28.22, 3. Alison McNulty (EC) 2:30.09, 4. Katie McCauley (WAW) 2:32.24, 5. Summer Boyd (WAR) 2:34.24, 6. Erin Toth (NR) 2:34.51, 7. Kassie Biddle (WAW) 2:39.75, 8. Alysia Burnett (G) 2:39.95
3,200 - 1. Alisha Henderson (WAW) 11:46.61, 2. Brooke Tobias (NW) 11:48.90, 3. Aubrey Coy (WAW) 11:49.15, 4. Kelli Lipps (EC) 11:53.14, 5. Monica Spangle (NR) 11:56.24, 6. Valerie Taft (NR) 12:22.01, 7. Emily Mitchell (C) 12:25.09, 8. Lynnete Lockwitz (EM) 12:41.52
Long jump - 1. Latt Bounmythavong (NW) 15-11 3/4, 2. Shaunte Calhoun (J) 15-9 3/4, 3. Jessica Theis (G) 15-9 1/2, 4. Jessica Veenstra (EM) 15-9 1/2, 5. Angie Beer (WAW) 15-5 1/2, 6. Betsy App (NR) 14-10 1/4, 7. Katie Brown (WAW) 14-8 3/4, 8. Jessica Zaugg (WAR) 14-5
High jump - 1. Mandy McGuire (WAW) 5-2, 2. Erin Payne (NR) 5-1, 3. Michelle Stichter (NW) 5-0, 4. Leah Hoover (EM) 4-10, 5. Timi Wegmiller (NW) 4-8, 5. Mariah Weslls (C) 4-8, 5. Nerecia Taylor (WAR) 4-8, 5. Liz Homan (C) 4-8, 5. Staci Weisser (WAW) 4-8, 5. Erica Lee (NR) 4-8
Discus - 1. Amy Rogers (NR) 123-5, 2. Megan McCrory (EM) 117-4, 3. Lisa Teitsma (C) 113-7, 4. Rene Adkins (G) 112-9, 5. Caitlin Artley (EC) 108-4, 6. Christina Anderson (WAR) 101-2, 7. Heather Long (WAW) 100-4, 8. Adria Almager (NW) 98-7
Shot put - 1. Lisa Teitsma (C) 35-7, 2. Rene Adkins (G) 34-5, 3. Amy Rogers (NR) 34-4, 4. Andraya Good (F) 33-1, 5. Star Barnes (C) 33, 6. Sharada Nethaway (WAW) 31-8, 7. Jessi Longlieliere (J) 31-2, 8. Heather Long (WAW) 30-11
3,200 relay - 1. Wawasee (Aubrey Coy, Kassie Biddle, Katie McCauley, Alisha Henderson) 10:16.07, 2. Elkhart Central 10:22.79, 3. Northridge 10:26.43, 4. Goshen 10:37.28, 5. Concord 10:56.34, 6. Fairfield 11:17.39, 7. Warsaw (Rachel Cullison, Julie Wilhite, Summer Boyd, Jodi Wildman) 11:21.08, 8. Jimtown 11:41.91
400 relay - 1. Elkhart Central (Kristen Becker, Alicia Miller, Crystal Cohen, Tasha Kyle) :49.79, 2. NorthWood :51.01, 3. Elkhart Memorial :51.02, 4. Northridge :51.72, 5. Warsaw (Kathryn Masur, Rebecca Harman, Bobbi Wildman, Nicole DeRenzo) :52.67, 6. Goshen :53.34, 7. Wawasee (Katie Brown, Angie Beer, Lydia Carpenter, Stefanie Tarner) :53.84, 8. Jimtown :56.38
1,600 relay - 1. Fairfield (Andrea Hostetler, Renee Schlabach, Crystal Baumgartner, Melissa Miller) 4:09.24, 2. Elkhart Central, 3. Northridge, 4. Concord, 5. Wawasee (Alysha Aalbregtse, Alexis Culver, Kim Reuter, Staci Weisser) 4:17.78, 6. Elkhart Memorial 4:19.49, 7. Goshen 4:26.43, 8. NorthWood 4:29.94 [[In-content Ad]]
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The shushing sounds that urged everyone to be quiet came from several girls huddled together at the finish line on the oval track at Fisher Field.
The girls comprised the Wawasee Warrior track team, and more than anything else, they did not want to hear their team name called over the public address system.
The announcer was reading the track and field sectional team places from worst to first. When he got to the second-place team, the shushes grew louder. They waited.
The Warriors heard the one word they wanted to hear: Northridge. That left first all to them, and before they were even announced, the cheers erupted.
For the third year in a row, the Wawasee Warriors won the Warsaw Sectional. They finished with 93.5 points. Northridge, a team with a 10-0 record, pulled in second with 91.5. Warsaw placed last in the 10-team meet with 19.5 points.
One week ago, the Warriors competed in the Northern Lakes Conference meet and finished second with 101 points. The team that finished first? Northridge, which had 112 points.
The Warrior first places in Tuesday's sectional meet were the same as a week ago. So how did Wawasee win?
Coaches like to talk about "the little things." Wawasee came through with those "little things" at the sectional.
The top six places were scored in the NLC meet. The top eight places were scored at the sectional meet.
The Warriors made those seventh and eighth places count. Those little places added up, as the Warriors racked up nine combined seventh and eighth places.
"Going to eight places helped us," Wawasee coach Lisa Dilbone said. "Nine seventh- and eighth-place finishes, that's a lot of points."
Last week no Warrior placed in the shot put or discus. Last night Heather Long placed in the discus, and Sharada Nethaway and Long placed in the shot put.
Two unseeded Warriors - Angie Beer and Katie Brown - placed fifth and seventh in the long jump. Alexis Culver surprised by placing seventh in the 100 hurdles. Alison Morgan shocked with her eighth-place finish in the mile.
"It was the little places that counted - placing in the discus, placing two places in the shot put," Dilbone said. "We had been struggling all year to place in those events.
"Those little places here and there - the fifths, sixths, sevenths and eighths - were key. That's where it's at."
The Warrior standbys came through as always. Mandy McGuire won the high jump. Alysha Aalbregtse won the 100 hurdles. Aubrey Coy did not win the two-mile run like she usually does, but no matter. Teammate Alisha Henderson also ran in the two-mile race, and she placed first. Coy settled for second.
Wawasee's two-mile relay team of Kassie Biddle, Katie McCauley, Coy and Henderson also placed first.
The performance by Henderson and Coy in the 3,200, the next-to-last event, sent the Warriors on their way to the win.
"Just before they ran the 3,200, when they announced the score, we were ahead by seven points," Dilbone said. "Then we knew we had a shot."
After much celebration, the Warriors again huddled together with Dilbone looking on. They crouched, forming a tight circle that slowly began to turn as they shouted left, right.
"That started four years ago," Dilbone said. "They call it 'The Winner's Circle.' They all get in a circle, sit down and start walking. It's kind of their victory lap."
A victory lap that Dilbone was glad she got to see. They hoisted Coy and others in the air, paraded them around on their shoulders. They had a team prayer.
Dilbone stood back, taking it all in from a distance.
"We had not come in saying we would win this thing," she said. "We came in hoping we would place high.
"I'm so proud of them. I cried. This is my first year as head coach ... knowing we got second at conference and now getting first in an even bigger meet, it was exciting. I have to give credit to the kids."
The Warriors try to capture their third straight Bremen Regional team title next week.
WARSAW SECTIONAL
1. Wawasee 93.5, 2. Northridge 91.5, 3. Elkhart Central 79, 4. Concord 72, 5. NorthWood 68.5, 6. Elkhart Memorial 53, 7. Goshen 48, 8. Fairfield 38, 9. Jimtown 22, 10. Warsaw 19.5
Top 8 results
(Top four in each event advance to Bremen Regional)
100 - 1. Lakesha Washington (EM) :12.95, 2. Crystal Cohen (EC) :13.18, 3. Kelli Andrews (NW) :13.29, 4. Kristen Becker (EC) :13.51, 5. Shaunte Calhoun (J) :13.74, 6. Katie App (NR) :13.76, 7. Nikki Kellie (C) :13.80, 8. Lindsay Carlin (NW) :13.86
100 hurdles - 1. Alysha Aalbregtse (WAW) :15.98, 2. Jamie Marshall (CON) :16.07, 3. Grace Bonewitz (NW) :16.19, 4. Kelly Miller (GOS) :16.49, 5. Andrea Hostetler (F) :16.59, 6. Crystal Key (C) :16.74, 7. Alexis Culver (WAW) :17.14, 8. Jennifer Anderson (NW) :17.16
1,600 - 1. Kelli Lipps (EC) 5:30.72, 2. Alisha Henderson (WAW) 5:39.51, 3. Alison Garcia (G) 5:41.04, 4. Valerie Taft (NR) 5:42.89, 5. Kari Hemund (EM) 5:46.84, 6. Rachel Hrynewycz (G) 5:49.33, 7. Tara Juntunen (NR) 5:55.28, 8. Alison Morgan (WAW) 5:56.84
200 - 1. Crystal Cohen (EC) :26.41, 2. Kelli Andrews (NW) :26.86, 3. Lakesha Washington (EM) :27.13, 4. Kristen Becker (EC) :27.41, 5. Mandi Hutchison (NR) :27.73, 6. Amanda Boothe (NW) :28.26, 7. Bobbi Wildman (WAR) :28.86, 8. Tanya Bragg (C) :29.03
400 - 1. Stacey Peterson (C) 1:00.14, 2. Lindsay Wolfe (J) 1:02.29, 3. Danielle Charette (NR) 1:02.42, 4. Jessica Veenstra (EM) 1:02.68, 5. Santina Cerame (NW) 1:02.97, 6. Danielle Blea (NR) 1:03.34, 7. Kim Reuter (WAW) 1:03.39, 8. Lisa Fisher (G) 1:03.74
300 low hurdles - 1. Erin Payne (NR) :46.43, 2. Alyha Aalbregtse (WAW) :47.05, 3. Andrea Hostetler (F) :47.15, 4. Jamie Marshall (C) :48.40, 5. Crystal Key (C) :49.81, 6. Kelly Miller (G) :49.91, 7. Grace Bonewitz (NW) :50.51, 8. Erica Haws (NR) :50.58
800 - 1. Renee Schlabach (F) 2:24.49, 2. Stacey Peterson (C) 2:28.22, 3. Alison McNulty (EC) 2:30.09, 4. Katie McCauley (WAW) 2:32.24, 5. Summer Boyd (WAR) 2:34.24, 6. Erin Toth (NR) 2:34.51, 7. Kassie Biddle (WAW) 2:39.75, 8. Alysia Burnett (G) 2:39.95
3,200 - 1. Alisha Henderson (WAW) 11:46.61, 2. Brooke Tobias (NW) 11:48.90, 3. Aubrey Coy (WAW) 11:49.15, 4. Kelli Lipps (EC) 11:53.14, 5. Monica Spangle (NR) 11:56.24, 6. Valerie Taft (NR) 12:22.01, 7. Emily Mitchell (C) 12:25.09, 8. Lynnete Lockwitz (EM) 12:41.52
Long jump - 1. Latt Bounmythavong (NW) 15-11 3/4, 2. Shaunte Calhoun (J) 15-9 3/4, 3. Jessica Theis (G) 15-9 1/2, 4. Jessica Veenstra (EM) 15-9 1/2, 5. Angie Beer (WAW) 15-5 1/2, 6. Betsy App (NR) 14-10 1/4, 7. Katie Brown (WAW) 14-8 3/4, 8. Jessica Zaugg (WAR) 14-5
High jump - 1. Mandy McGuire (WAW) 5-2, 2. Erin Payne (NR) 5-1, 3. Michelle Stichter (NW) 5-0, 4. Leah Hoover (EM) 4-10, 5. Timi Wegmiller (NW) 4-8, 5. Mariah Weslls (C) 4-8, 5. Nerecia Taylor (WAR) 4-8, 5. Liz Homan (C) 4-8, 5. Staci Weisser (WAW) 4-8, 5. Erica Lee (NR) 4-8
Discus - 1. Amy Rogers (NR) 123-5, 2. Megan McCrory (EM) 117-4, 3. Lisa Teitsma (C) 113-7, 4. Rene Adkins (G) 112-9, 5. Caitlin Artley (EC) 108-4, 6. Christina Anderson (WAR) 101-2, 7. Heather Long (WAW) 100-4, 8. Adria Almager (NW) 98-7
Shot put - 1. Lisa Teitsma (C) 35-7, 2. Rene Adkins (G) 34-5, 3. Amy Rogers (NR) 34-4, 4. Andraya Good (F) 33-1, 5. Star Barnes (C) 33, 6. Sharada Nethaway (WAW) 31-8, 7. Jessi Longlieliere (J) 31-2, 8. Heather Long (WAW) 30-11
3,200 relay - 1. Wawasee (Aubrey Coy, Kassie Biddle, Katie McCauley, Alisha Henderson) 10:16.07, 2. Elkhart Central 10:22.79, 3. Northridge 10:26.43, 4. Goshen 10:37.28, 5. Concord 10:56.34, 6. Fairfield 11:17.39, 7. Warsaw (Rachel Cullison, Julie Wilhite, Summer Boyd, Jodi Wildman) 11:21.08, 8. Jimtown 11:41.91
400 relay - 1. Elkhart Central (Kristen Becker, Alicia Miller, Crystal Cohen, Tasha Kyle) :49.79, 2. NorthWood :51.01, 3. Elkhart Memorial :51.02, 4. Northridge :51.72, 5. Warsaw (Kathryn Masur, Rebecca Harman, Bobbi Wildman, Nicole DeRenzo) :52.67, 6. Goshen :53.34, 7. Wawasee (Katie Brown, Angie Beer, Lydia Carpenter, Stefanie Tarner) :53.84, 8. Jimtown :56.38
1,600 relay - 1. Fairfield (Andrea Hostetler, Renee Schlabach, Crystal Baumgartner, Melissa Miller) 4:09.24, 2. Elkhart Central, 3. Northridge, 4. Concord, 5. Wawasee (Alysha Aalbregtse, Alexis Culver, Kim Reuter, Staci Weisser) 4:17.78, 6. Elkhart Memorial 4:19.49, 7. Goshen 4:26.43, 8. NorthWood 4:29.94 [[In-content Ad]]