Warsaw, Triton Get Class Semistates
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
If nothing else, there is one thing for certain about the upcoming IHSAA class sports, it will add more tournament sites among area high schools.
Two area gyms, Warsaw and Triton, will be used for semistate action starting in the fall and Warsaw, Triton, NorthWood and Wawasee will be used for regional and/or sectional sites.
The assignments for the semistates for basketball and volleyball were made on Tuesday; Warsaw will host a Class 3A girls basketball semistate, while Triton will host a Class A volleyball semistate.
"There will be some good volleyball because there are some good volleyball teams up here with some of the smaller schools," Triton athletic director Mike Byron said.
Warsaw, with its capacity of 4,900 in the Tiger Den, was a perfect fit for the girls 3A semistate.
"I would imagine there will be 4,000-5,000 people coming in here," Warsaw AD Dave Fulkerson said. "Now that they are going to class, they didn't think they would have as big of crowd for 3A as they would for 4A for the girls semistate, and they felt our facility could host it with out any problem."
Despite not hosting any sectional events under the class system, Warsaw will have its hands full with two regionals and one semistate. Warsaw was chosen for the regionals primarily because of its geographical location between Elkhart and Fort Wayne schools.
"We have hosted sectionals and regionals and the North-South All-Star game, so it is something that we are capable of hosting," Fulkerson said. "We have the workers and everything in line to host. It is nice that they selected our facility."
The regional level in basketball will just be a one-game event.
Although in the smallest classification in the state, Triton's gym is among the largest of small schools in the area. Up until Warsaw built its gym seven years ago, Triton hosted that boys basketball sectional. So it is no real surprise that the Marshall County school will get to host the semistate along with a Class A girls basketball regional and Class A boys basketball sectional.
"I think it speaks highly of our facilities," Byron said. "I have thought since I came up that we have a real class act for a gym, and we have plenty of parking. It shows that we have good facilities.
"Frank DeSantis (Bremen AD) has been on a lot of those committees for recommendations and things, and I know he has talked to people and recommended us for things where we fit in," he said. "And I think that puts a lot of pride back in us."
Although not official yet, it looks as though Triton will share its sectional and regional responsibility with Culver Community, trading back and forth either every year or every two years.
"On the tail end, I thought we might not even get a sectional, but we might get some regionals because of our location right off the (U.S. 30) highway," Byron said. "Being able to get the sectional and flip-flop with Culver is a pretty nice opportunity for both of us to show off our gyms and our programs. We got about what I expected. The volleyball was a little extra added bonus."
Under the old system, only Warsaw hosted anything in the area beyond the sectional level. But with the advent of the class system, other schools get to share in the wealth and the work.
"There is a small advantage when you are playing at home, and you bring more home town fans to a tournament," Wawasee AD Mary Hurley said. "For a community, it means something too because you have more people visiting a community, and it is a chance to showcase your facilities and your town. It is a lot of fun to put one of those on, but it is also a lot of work. It is a fun atmosphere."
And some, especially Class 4A Warsaw, will host tournaments that won't even have a team of theirs if they advance that far. The Tiger Den will be used for the Class 3A girls basketball semistate.
"I think what you will see is larger schools hosting smaller class tournaments because they have the facility to house them," Hurley said.
The softball sectional and regional sights have not been announced as of yet, and Wawasee is in the running to get a sectional.
"I hope we will be considered for a softball sectional," Hurley said. "I think we have an excellent softball and baseball facility. We have made a lot of improvements. We got rained out once this year, and that is unusual. Even with heavy rain, we are able to get that diamond playable."
Area Class Sports Host Sites
Volleyball
Class A semistate - Triton High School
Class 3A regional - Wawasee High School
Girls Basketball
Class 3A semistate - Warsaw High School
Class 4A regional - Warsaw High School
Class 3A regional - NorthWood High School
Class A regional - Triton High School
Class 3A sectional - Wawasee High School
Boys Basketball
Class 3A sectional - NorthWood High School
Class 4A regional - Warsaw High School
Class A sectional - Triton High School [[In-content Ad]]
If nothing else, there is one thing for certain about the upcoming IHSAA class sports, it will add more tournament sites among area high schools.
Two area gyms, Warsaw and Triton, will be used for semistate action starting in the fall and Warsaw, Triton, NorthWood and Wawasee will be used for regional and/or sectional sites.
The assignments for the semistates for basketball and volleyball were made on Tuesday; Warsaw will host a Class 3A girls basketball semistate, while Triton will host a Class A volleyball semistate.
"There will be some good volleyball because there are some good volleyball teams up here with some of the smaller schools," Triton athletic director Mike Byron said.
Warsaw, with its capacity of 4,900 in the Tiger Den, was a perfect fit for the girls 3A semistate.
"I would imagine there will be 4,000-5,000 people coming in here," Warsaw AD Dave Fulkerson said. "Now that they are going to class, they didn't think they would have as big of crowd for 3A as they would for 4A for the girls semistate, and they felt our facility could host it with out any problem."
Despite not hosting any sectional events under the class system, Warsaw will have its hands full with two regionals and one semistate. Warsaw was chosen for the regionals primarily because of its geographical location between Elkhart and Fort Wayne schools.
"We have hosted sectionals and regionals and the North-South All-Star game, so it is something that we are capable of hosting," Fulkerson said. "We have the workers and everything in line to host. It is nice that they selected our facility."
The regional level in basketball will just be a one-game event.
Although in the smallest classification in the state, Triton's gym is among the largest of small schools in the area. Up until Warsaw built its gym seven years ago, Triton hosted that boys basketball sectional. So it is no real surprise that the Marshall County school will get to host the semistate along with a Class A girls basketball regional and Class A boys basketball sectional.
"I think it speaks highly of our facilities," Byron said. "I have thought since I came up that we have a real class act for a gym, and we have plenty of parking. It shows that we have good facilities.
"Frank DeSantis (Bremen AD) has been on a lot of those committees for recommendations and things, and I know he has talked to people and recommended us for things where we fit in," he said. "And I think that puts a lot of pride back in us."
Although not official yet, it looks as though Triton will share its sectional and regional responsibility with Culver Community, trading back and forth either every year or every two years.
"On the tail end, I thought we might not even get a sectional, but we might get some regionals because of our location right off the (U.S. 30) highway," Byron said. "Being able to get the sectional and flip-flop with Culver is a pretty nice opportunity for both of us to show off our gyms and our programs. We got about what I expected. The volleyball was a little extra added bonus."
Under the old system, only Warsaw hosted anything in the area beyond the sectional level. But with the advent of the class system, other schools get to share in the wealth and the work.
"There is a small advantage when you are playing at home, and you bring more home town fans to a tournament," Wawasee AD Mary Hurley said. "For a community, it means something too because you have more people visiting a community, and it is a chance to showcase your facilities and your town. It is a lot of fun to put one of those on, but it is also a lot of work. It is a fun atmosphere."
And some, especially Class 4A Warsaw, will host tournaments that won't even have a team of theirs if they advance that far. The Tiger Den will be used for the Class 3A girls basketball semistate.
"I think what you will see is larger schools hosting smaller class tournaments because they have the facility to house them," Hurley said.
The softball sectional and regional sights have not been announced as of yet, and Wawasee is in the running to get a sectional.
"I hope we will be considered for a softball sectional," Hurley said. "I think we have an excellent softball and baseball facility. We have made a lot of improvements. We got rained out once this year, and that is unusual. Even with heavy rain, we are able to get that diamond playable."
Area Class Sports Host Sites
Volleyball
Class A semistate - Triton High School
Class 3A regional - Wawasee High School
Girls Basketball
Class 3A semistate - Warsaw High School
Class 4A regional - Warsaw High School
Class 3A regional - NorthWood High School
Class A regional - Triton High School
Class 3A sectional - Wawasee High School
Boys Basketball
Class 3A sectional - NorthWood High School
Class 4A regional - Warsaw High School
Class A sectional - Triton High School [[In-content Ad]]