Warsaw Girls Earn Share Of NLC Crown
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Taking first place in eight different events, the Warsaw girls compiled 149 points, defeating regular-season conference champion Elkhart Memorial, who came in second with 134.[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw and Memorial share the NLC conference championship due to the round-robin format, which combines points from the regular season, as well as those for NLC meet placings.
"We expected to have a battle on our hands tonight with Memorial," Warsaw coach Scott Erba said. "They beat us in our dual meet, and it was a close meet. We just knew with the way they'd been competing through the year, and how they've been getting consistently better, it was going to be a great meet."
In such a tight meet, the Tigers wrapped things up in the second-to-last event when Erica Ridderman and Brooke Kline finished first and second, respectively, in the 3200.
The outcome gave Warsaw 18 points in the event, while Memorial got zero, ultimately deciding the meet.
Afterwards, Erba took time out to address the Memorial girls as they did some post-meet stretching.
"I just wanted to congratulate them on a great year," he said.
"You want to see other teams getting continually better and better - and push us," Erba added. "It's nice to be able to leave this meet saying, 'We just took this meet knowing every other team gave its best effort, and we came out on top.' That will make us better in the end."
On top of winning the 3200, Ridderman also won the 1600, which has been a common occurrence for the senior.
"She's just meant so much to us," Erba said of the senior. "She's not a vocal leader, but she's a leader in practice and a leader in how she performs. For the next 20 years, we'll be able to say, 'If you want to be great, you perform and you prepare like Erica Ridderman.'"
Along with Ridderman, Warsaw received points in various other events, all of which went towards a championship.
"We had some great performances," Erba said. "Sarah Shilling won the shot put, and Sarah Heagy, a freshman, got eighth place, picking up experience. We got third (Erica Tidwell) and sixth (Shilling) in discus, and had Ashley Wilson winning at pole vault by over a foot tonight."
The Warsaw boys team placed sixth at the meet, as first-year coach Matt Thacker still attempts to get his young team to reach its potential.
"We're excited about the future and youth, but it's about the sectional now," Thacker said. "Our times are better, but it's time to take that next step."
On the year, it's been junior Victor Sapara-Grant who's been the Warsaw boys' leading point-getter.
At the conference meet, Sapara-Grant placed second at long jump, while also taking third in the 100, sixth in the 400 and seventh in the 200.
"The way we had it set up to run tonight, was to see how he'd be able to respond," Thacker said. "The way we had it set up was tough."
"With him running the 400, and all the 100 and 200 trials, as well as six runs at the long jump, he competed and didn't quit," he added.
At the end of the night, the Wawasee boys and girls both placed last, but still had nice performances.
Warrior senior Anthony Reyes placed second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 hurdles, while senior Ashlee Ort picked up a second-place finish for the girls in the 800.
The girls will be back at the Tiger Athletic Complex Tuesday for sectionals at 5:30 p.m., but the lineup for the Tigers may be a little different.
"We're going to be switching things around, allowing some other girls to run," Erba said. "We really pushed some of our girls to the limit tonight, seeing what they could do. We'll back off a little bit next week.
"Hopefully that will get a lot of girls and some relays advanced on to the regional," he added.
Following the freshman/sophomore invitational at Huntington North Saturday, the Warsaw boys will also be in sectional action next week, travelling to Goshen for a 6 p.m. start.
BOYS
NORTHRIDGE 143, CONCORD 97, PLYMOUTH 91, ELKHART MEMORIAL 88, GOSHEN 60, WARSAW 59, NORTHWOOD 45, WAWASEE 39
(NLC Meet, Winners and Locals)
100 - 1. Johnson (NW) 11.57, 3. Sapara-Grant (War) 11.81, 6. Strahan (War) 12.05; 110 Hurdles - 1. Mack (EM) 15.16, 3. Reyes (Waw) 15.95, 6. Karczewski (War) 16.96; 200 - 1. Ivy (P) 22.58, 5. Strahan (War) 23.40, 7. Sapara-Grant (War) 23.91; 1600 - 1. Dorsey (EM) 4:21.55, 8. West (war) 4:39.32; 400 Relay - 1. Plymouth (Keyser, Smith, H. Hodges, A. Hodges) 43.66, 4. Wawasee (Patterson, Myers, Ringler, Searfoss) 45.21, 6. Warsaw (Strahan, Rooney, Fear, Anderson) 46.66; 400 - 1. Virgil (Nr) 48.82, 6. Sapara-Grant (War) 51.73; 300 Hurdles - 1. Yoder (C) 40.0, 2. Reyes (Waw) 40.93; 800 - 1. Keyser (N) 1:56.57, 8. Stichter (War) 2:03.15; 3200 - 1. Dorsey (EM) 9:43.42, 8. West (War) 10:12.18; 1600 Relay - 1. Plymouth (Kurtz, Danielson, Keyser, Ivy) 3:22.91, 4. Warsaw (Anderson, Strahan, Rheinhardt, Barber) 3:34.15, 7. Wawasee (Ruch, Davidson, Erb, Reyes) 3:41.10; High Jump - 1. Thurmond (Nr) 6-1, 2. Harman (War) 6-0, 4. Searfoss (Waw) 6-0; Pole Vault - 1. Roach (EM) 15-3*, 4. Henry (Waw) 12-6, 5. Sands (War) 12-6; Long Jump - 1. Virgil (Nr) 22-0, 2. Sapara-Grant (War) 21-10.5, 5. Searfoss (Waw) 20-6.5; Discus - 1. Hoffman (Nr) 158-11, 6. McBride (Waw) 141-11; Shot Put - 1. Himes (P) 53-2.5, 6. Allison (War) 45-9.5, 8. Gee (Waw) 44-7
* - NLC Meet Record
GIRLS
WARSAW 149, ELKHART MEMORIAL 134, GOSHEN 81, NORTHRIDGE 66, CONCORD 59, PLYMOUTH 54, NORTHWOOD 46, WAWASEE 35
(NLC Meet, Winners and Locals)
3200 Relay - 1. Warsaw (Smolen, Kline, Fleming, Ogle) 9:54.45; 100 - 1. Brooks (C) 13.22, 6. Long (War) 13.9, 7. DeLaFuente (Waw) 14.03; 100 Hurdles - 1. Reese (EM) 16.31, 5. C. Coon (War) 17.2; 200 - 1. Brooks (C) 26.45, 5. Long (War) 27.77, 6. L. Moore (War) 28.14; 1600 - 1. Ridderman (War) 5:10.59, 2. Ogle (War) 5:23.47; 400 Relay - 1. Warsaw (C. Coon, Long, Kammerer, Hickerson) 50.99, 6. Wawasee (Conard, Herdrich, Guimond, DeLaFuente) 53.72; 400 - 1. Culbreath (EM) 59.29, 3. L. Moore (War) 1:00.42, 8. Hickerson (War) 1:04.61; 300 Hurdles - 1. C. Coon (War) 47.09; 800 - 1. Ogle (War) 2:19.15, 2. Ort (Waw) 2:22.28, 4. Ridderman (War) 2:24.46; 3200 - 1. Ridderman (War) 11:51.59, 2. Kline (War) 11:57.38; 1600 Relay - 1. Elkhart Memorial (Bettis, Barnett, Culbreath, Goodman) 4:06.19, 2. Warsaw (C. Coon, Ogle, Hickerson, L. Moore) 4:06.58, 7. Wawasee (DeLaFuente, Walker, Robinson, Ort) 4:22.49; High Jump - 1. Krumweide (EM) 5-6*, 6. Sands (War) 4-8, 7. Cantu (Waw) 4-8; Pole Vault - 1. Wilson (War) 9-0, 7. Rozow (Waw) 7-6; Long Jump - 1. Krumweide (EM) 16-9.5, 3. Wildman (War) 15-5.5, 7. Ganz (Waw) 14-3.75, 8. Herdrich (Waw) 14-3.5; Discus - 1. Stephenson (EM) 117-4.5, 3. Tidwell (War) 108-1, 5. Jones (Waw) 103-9, 6. Shilling (War) 103-2.5; Shot Put - 1. Shilling (War) 36-8, 3. Jones (Waw) 33-3, 7. Kuhn (Waw) 32-7; 8. Heagy (War) 32-2.5
* - NLC Meet Record
Taking first place in eight different events, the Warsaw girls compiled 149 points, defeating regular-season conference champion Elkhart Memorial, who came in second with 134.[[In-content Ad]]Warsaw and Memorial share the NLC conference championship due to the round-robin format, which combines points from the regular season, as well as those for NLC meet placings.
"We expected to have a battle on our hands tonight with Memorial," Warsaw coach Scott Erba said. "They beat us in our dual meet, and it was a close meet. We just knew with the way they'd been competing through the year, and how they've been getting consistently better, it was going to be a great meet."
In such a tight meet, the Tigers wrapped things up in the second-to-last event when Erica Ridderman and Brooke Kline finished first and second, respectively, in the 3200.
The outcome gave Warsaw 18 points in the event, while Memorial got zero, ultimately deciding the meet.
Afterwards, Erba took time out to address the Memorial girls as they did some post-meet stretching.
"I just wanted to congratulate them on a great year," he said.
"You want to see other teams getting continually better and better - and push us," Erba added. "It's nice to be able to leave this meet saying, 'We just took this meet knowing every other team gave its best effort, and we came out on top.' That will make us better in the end."
On top of winning the 3200, Ridderman also won the 1600, which has been a common occurrence for the senior.
"She's just meant so much to us," Erba said of the senior. "She's not a vocal leader, but she's a leader in practice and a leader in how she performs. For the next 20 years, we'll be able to say, 'If you want to be great, you perform and you prepare like Erica Ridderman.'"
Along with Ridderman, Warsaw received points in various other events, all of which went towards a championship.
"We had some great performances," Erba said. "Sarah Shilling won the shot put, and Sarah Heagy, a freshman, got eighth place, picking up experience. We got third (Erica Tidwell) and sixth (Shilling) in discus, and had Ashley Wilson winning at pole vault by over a foot tonight."
The Warsaw boys team placed sixth at the meet, as first-year coach Matt Thacker still attempts to get his young team to reach its potential.
"We're excited about the future and youth, but it's about the sectional now," Thacker said. "Our times are better, but it's time to take that next step."
On the year, it's been junior Victor Sapara-Grant who's been the Warsaw boys' leading point-getter.
At the conference meet, Sapara-Grant placed second at long jump, while also taking third in the 100, sixth in the 400 and seventh in the 200.
"The way we had it set up to run tonight, was to see how he'd be able to respond," Thacker said. "The way we had it set up was tough."
"With him running the 400, and all the 100 and 200 trials, as well as six runs at the long jump, he competed and didn't quit," he added.
At the end of the night, the Wawasee boys and girls both placed last, but still had nice performances.
Warrior senior Anthony Reyes placed second in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 hurdles, while senior Ashlee Ort picked up a second-place finish for the girls in the 800.
The girls will be back at the Tiger Athletic Complex Tuesday for sectionals at 5:30 p.m., but the lineup for the Tigers may be a little different.
"We're going to be switching things around, allowing some other girls to run," Erba said. "We really pushed some of our girls to the limit tonight, seeing what they could do. We'll back off a little bit next week.
"Hopefully that will get a lot of girls and some relays advanced on to the regional," he added.
Following the freshman/sophomore invitational at Huntington North Saturday, the Warsaw boys will also be in sectional action next week, travelling to Goshen for a 6 p.m. start.
BOYS
NORTHRIDGE 143, CONCORD 97, PLYMOUTH 91, ELKHART MEMORIAL 88, GOSHEN 60, WARSAW 59, NORTHWOOD 45, WAWASEE 39
(NLC Meet, Winners and Locals)
100 - 1. Johnson (NW) 11.57, 3. Sapara-Grant (War) 11.81, 6. Strahan (War) 12.05; 110 Hurdles - 1. Mack (EM) 15.16, 3. Reyes (Waw) 15.95, 6. Karczewski (War) 16.96; 200 - 1. Ivy (P) 22.58, 5. Strahan (War) 23.40, 7. Sapara-Grant (War) 23.91; 1600 - 1. Dorsey (EM) 4:21.55, 8. West (war) 4:39.32; 400 Relay - 1. Plymouth (Keyser, Smith, H. Hodges, A. Hodges) 43.66, 4. Wawasee (Patterson, Myers, Ringler, Searfoss) 45.21, 6. Warsaw (Strahan, Rooney, Fear, Anderson) 46.66; 400 - 1. Virgil (Nr) 48.82, 6. Sapara-Grant (War) 51.73; 300 Hurdles - 1. Yoder (C) 40.0, 2. Reyes (Waw) 40.93; 800 - 1. Keyser (N) 1:56.57, 8. Stichter (War) 2:03.15; 3200 - 1. Dorsey (EM) 9:43.42, 8. West (War) 10:12.18; 1600 Relay - 1. Plymouth (Kurtz, Danielson, Keyser, Ivy) 3:22.91, 4. Warsaw (Anderson, Strahan, Rheinhardt, Barber) 3:34.15, 7. Wawasee (Ruch, Davidson, Erb, Reyes) 3:41.10; High Jump - 1. Thurmond (Nr) 6-1, 2. Harman (War) 6-0, 4. Searfoss (Waw) 6-0; Pole Vault - 1. Roach (EM) 15-3*, 4. Henry (Waw) 12-6, 5. Sands (War) 12-6; Long Jump - 1. Virgil (Nr) 22-0, 2. Sapara-Grant (War) 21-10.5, 5. Searfoss (Waw) 20-6.5; Discus - 1. Hoffman (Nr) 158-11, 6. McBride (Waw) 141-11; Shot Put - 1. Himes (P) 53-2.5, 6. Allison (War) 45-9.5, 8. Gee (Waw) 44-7
* - NLC Meet Record
GIRLS
WARSAW 149, ELKHART MEMORIAL 134, GOSHEN 81, NORTHRIDGE 66, CONCORD 59, PLYMOUTH 54, NORTHWOOD 46, WAWASEE 35
(NLC Meet, Winners and Locals)
3200 Relay - 1. Warsaw (Smolen, Kline, Fleming, Ogle) 9:54.45; 100 - 1. Brooks (C) 13.22, 6. Long (War) 13.9, 7. DeLaFuente (Waw) 14.03; 100 Hurdles - 1. Reese (EM) 16.31, 5. C. Coon (War) 17.2; 200 - 1. Brooks (C) 26.45, 5. Long (War) 27.77, 6. L. Moore (War) 28.14; 1600 - 1. Ridderman (War) 5:10.59, 2. Ogle (War) 5:23.47; 400 Relay - 1. Warsaw (C. Coon, Long, Kammerer, Hickerson) 50.99, 6. Wawasee (Conard, Herdrich, Guimond, DeLaFuente) 53.72; 400 - 1. Culbreath (EM) 59.29, 3. L. Moore (War) 1:00.42, 8. Hickerson (War) 1:04.61; 300 Hurdles - 1. C. Coon (War) 47.09; 800 - 1. Ogle (War) 2:19.15, 2. Ort (Waw) 2:22.28, 4. Ridderman (War) 2:24.46; 3200 - 1. Ridderman (War) 11:51.59, 2. Kline (War) 11:57.38; 1600 Relay - 1. Elkhart Memorial (Bettis, Barnett, Culbreath, Goodman) 4:06.19, 2. Warsaw (C. Coon, Ogle, Hickerson, L. Moore) 4:06.58, 7. Wawasee (DeLaFuente, Walker, Robinson, Ort) 4:22.49; High Jump - 1. Krumweide (EM) 5-6*, 6. Sands (War) 4-8, 7. Cantu (Waw) 4-8; Pole Vault - 1. Wilson (War) 9-0, 7. Rozow (Waw) 7-6; Long Jump - 1. Krumweide (EM) 16-9.5, 3. Wildman (War) 15-5.5, 7. Ganz (Waw) 14-3.75, 8. Herdrich (Waw) 14-3.5; Discus - 1. Stephenson (EM) 117-4.5, 3. Tidwell (War) 108-1, 5. Jones (Waw) 103-9, 6. Shilling (War) 103-2.5; Shot Put - 1. Shilling (War) 36-8, 3. Jones (Waw) 33-3, 7. Kuhn (Waw) 32-7; 8. Heagy (War) 32-2.5
* - NLC Meet Record
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