Depth Earns Tiger Boys, Girls 2023 NLC Track Titles
May 10, 2023 at 11:11 p.m.
Depth Earns Tiger Boys, Girls 2023 NLC Track Titles
By Chip Davenport-
The Tiger boys’ team scored 152 points, and the girls scored 171 points to clinch NLC titles for the second consecutive year. Complete team scores are noted within his article’s separate boys’ and girls’ recaps.
The casual observer might not have realized Tuesday night how much depth played a role in the Tigers’ victories, particularly in the boys’ and girls’ field event performances. Furthermore, each squad’s difference makers were athletes who did not win races, but – in some cases – outscored the NLC field in some events with combined finishes among second through ninth places.
The numbers were remarkable.
Warsaw’s boys earned four blue-ribbon finishes, but not a single victory on the oval. Tiger boy’s throwers earned 32 of the 73 total team’s field events points, 48% of their title-clinching total score.
Warsaw’s girls earned five first place finishes on the track, and one in the pole vault. The Lady Tigers scored 58 of their 171 total team points in field events.
A media member in the press box noted perfectly, “Warsaw racks up the points in the places the people in the stands never see.”
Additionally, Warsaw’s NLC wins were significantly fortified by another overlooked statistic.
The Lady Tigers scored 83 points among the ten events where they did not have a first-place finisher, resulting in a dominant win leaving the remaining excitement in a close battle for second place among three other schools.
Warsaw’s boys scored 89 points in the same manner the girls scored among 11 of the 12 events where they earned points. There was a similar battle for second place among the three trailing schools.
Warsaw’s distance ace, Joey Rastrelli, won the 1600-meter run in a meet record 5:00.19 in four laps, besting Tiger alum Ashley Erba’s 5:01.89 mark set in 2012.
The other NLC meet record set Tuesday night was by Wawasee’s discus thrower, and 2022 state placer Emma Yoder, whose throw of 141-03 established a new meet standard. Yoder’s throw was Wawasee’s lone blue ribbon for the meet.
Warsaw Lady Tigers Earn 17th Straight Title
The Lady Tigers 171 team points were followed by Concord (108.5, 1 first), NorthWood (106.5, 4 firsts), Northridge (105.5, 2 firsts), Wawasee (71, 1 first), Mishawaka (65 points), Plymouth (59 points, 2 firsts), and Goshen (42.5 points)
Lady Tiger winners included Rastrelli (3200m run, 11:03.5), who also anchored in the 1600-meter relay with Ali Barkey, Madison Smalley, and Mikayla Mimnaugh (4:05.51).
Barkey also captured the 400-meter dash (59.85 sec.). Camryn Burner (200m dash, 26.53 sec.), and Elliana Transparenti (pole vault, 10-09) rounded out the blue ribbons earned by Warsaw’s girls.
Second place finishers included Burner (100m dash, 12.49 sec.) who finished by the lean of the head by Plymouth freshman Alana Allen (12.45 sec.). Burner, a sophomore, will have two more seasons to pass Allen.
Other area second place finishers were:
Warsaw 3200-meter relay (Tatum Bergen, Ella Laput, Sami Rastrelli, and Mimnaugh, 9:53.74), Kaitlyn McKibbin (high jump 5-00), Anna Bazzoni (pole vault, 10-06, missed jumps tiebreaker), and Erika Bugg (long jump 16-00).
Wawasee’s Brooklyn Gibson (shot put, 37-03) was the remaining area girls’ runner-up.
Warsaw third place girls’ finishers included Eden Metz (1600m run), Smalley (400m dash), Anna Parker (300m hurdles, and leg on 400m relay with Addison Williams, Haley Rodewald, and Burner), Abbi Kohler (discus), while Wawasee’s Gibson (discus), and Kaydence Shepherd (long jump) also finished third Tuesday night.
Field Events Vault Tiger Boys To Title
Four blue ribbons, all in field events, and strong second and third place finishes helped the Tigers earn their second straight NLC trophy. Wawasee sprinters also had a strong showing Tuesday night.
Warsaw’s 152 team points were followed by Mishawaka (130, 2 firsts), Concord (129, 2 firsts), Northridge (123, 6 firsts), Goshen (55, 1 first), NorthWood (51.5), Plymouth (46.5, 1 first), and Wawasee (46).
Jordan Randle is the first Warsaw freshman to have an undefeated regular season capped off by a 6’4” jump to clinch the title for the Tigers.
It was a great day for Tiger thrower James Leiter whose double win (shot put 48-11.5), discus 154-07) gives Tiger track fans a promising future for the Warsaw sophomore.
Morgan Johnson vaulted 14-07 to round out Warsaw’s blue-ribbon efforts.
Are runners-up included Warsaw’s 3200-meter relay (Garret Hall, Rick Orr, Gabe Klein, Tyler Swartz; 8:08.12), Blake Keene (Warsaw 110m hurdles, 15.96 sec.), Tucker Curtis (Warsaw pole vault, 12-00) and the Tigers’ 1600-meter relay (Johnson, Emiliano Juarez-Torres, Nathan Dailey, Colton Martin) who were 0.26 seconds out in a thrilling finish with four-lapper champion, Concord. Morgan Johnson also earned a runner-up finish in the long jump (20-09).
Tyler Mimnaugh (Warsaw 1600m), Wawasee’s 400-meter relay (Cam Zimmerman, Bradyn Pike, Hunter Tinkey, Lucas Linder), Blake Keene (300m hurdles), Lucas Linder (100m dash, 200m dash), and Kameron Kauffman (discus, shot put).
Warsaw and Wawasee’s track squads will begin their journey to the state track meet when Warsaw hosts the girls’ sectional Tuesday, and Wawasee and Warsaw boys travel to Goshen next Thursday.
Warsaw will host the boys’ regional meet Thursday May 25.
The Tiger boys’ team scored 152 points, and the girls scored 171 points to clinch NLC titles for the second consecutive year. Complete team scores are noted within his article’s separate boys’ and girls’ recaps.
The casual observer might not have realized Tuesday night how much depth played a role in the Tigers’ victories, particularly in the boys’ and girls’ field event performances. Furthermore, each squad’s difference makers were athletes who did not win races, but – in some cases – outscored the NLC field in some events with combined finishes among second through ninth places.
The numbers were remarkable.
Warsaw’s boys earned four blue-ribbon finishes, but not a single victory on the oval. Tiger boy’s throwers earned 32 of the 73 total team’s field events points, 48% of their title-clinching total score.
Warsaw’s girls earned five first place finishes on the track, and one in the pole vault. The Lady Tigers scored 58 of their 171 total team points in field events.
A media member in the press box noted perfectly, “Warsaw racks up the points in the places the people in the stands never see.”
Additionally, Warsaw’s NLC wins were significantly fortified by another overlooked statistic.
The Lady Tigers scored 83 points among the ten events where they did not have a first-place finisher, resulting in a dominant win leaving the remaining excitement in a close battle for second place among three other schools.
Warsaw’s boys scored 89 points in the same manner the girls scored among 11 of the 12 events where they earned points. There was a similar battle for second place among the three trailing schools.
Warsaw’s distance ace, Joey Rastrelli, won the 1600-meter run in a meet record 5:00.19 in four laps, besting Tiger alum Ashley Erba’s 5:01.89 mark set in 2012.
The other NLC meet record set Tuesday night was by Wawasee’s discus thrower, and 2022 state placer Emma Yoder, whose throw of 141-03 established a new meet standard. Yoder’s throw was Wawasee’s lone blue ribbon for the meet.
Warsaw Lady Tigers Earn 17th Straight Title
The Lady Tigers 171 team points were followed by Concord (108.5, 1 first), NorthWood (106.5, 4 firsts), Northridge (105.5, 2 firsts), Wawasee (71, 1 first), Mishawaka (65 points), Plymouth (59 points, 2 firsts), and Goshen (42.5 points)
Lady Tiger winners included Rastrelli (3200m run, 11:03.5), who also anchored in the 1600-meter relay with Ali Barkey, Madison Smalley, and Mikayla Mimnaugh (4:05.51).
Barkey also captured the 400-meter dash (59.85 sec.). Camryn Burner (200m dash, 26.53 sec.), and Elliana Transparenti (pole vault, 10-09) rounded out the blue ribbons earned by Warsaw’s girls.
Second place finishers included Burner (100m dash, 12.49 sec.) who finished by the lean of the head by Plymouth freshman Alana Allen (12.45 sec.). Burner, a sophomore, will have two more seasons to pass Allen.
Other area second place finishers were:
Warsaw 3200-meter relay (Tatum Bergen, Ella Laput, Sami Rastrelli, and Mimnaugh, 9:53.74), Kaitlyn McKibbin (high jump 5-00), Anna Bazzoni (pole vault, 10-06, missed jumps tiebreaker), and Erika Bugg (long jump 16-00).
Wawasee’s Brooklyn Gibson (shot put, 37-03) was the remaining area girls’ runner-up.
Warsaw third place girls’ finishers included Eden Metz (1600m run), Smalley (400m dash), Anna Parker (300m hurdles, and leg on 400m relay with Addison Williams, Haley Rodewald, and Burner), Abbi Kohler (discus), while Wawasee’s Gibson (discus), and Kaydence Shepherd (long jump) also finished third Tuesday night.
Field Events Vault Tiger Boys To Title
Four blue ribbons, all in field events, and strong second and third place finishes helped the Tigers earn their second straight NLC trophy. Wawasee sprinters also had a strong showing Tuesday night.
Warsaw’s 152 team points were followed by Mishawaka (130, 2 firsts), Concord (129, 2 firsts), Northridge (123, 6 firsts), Goshen (55, 1 first), NorthWood (51.5), Plymouth (46.5, 1 first), and Wawasee (46).
Jordan Randle is the first Warsaw freshman to have an undefeated regular season capped off by a 6’4” jump to clinch the title for the Tigers.
It was a great day for Tiger thrower James Leiter whose double win (shot put 48-11.5), discus 154-07) gives Tiger track fans a promising future for the Warsaw sophomore.
Morgan Johnson vaulted 14-07 to round out Warsaw’s blue-ribbon efforts.
Are runners-up included Warsaw’s 3200-meter relay (Garret Hall, Rick Orr, Gabe Klein, Tyler Swartz; 8:08.12), Blake Keene (Warsaw 110m hurdles, 15.96 sec.), Tucker Curtis (Warsaw pole vault, 12-00) and the Tigers’ 1600-meter relay (Johnson, Emiliano Juarez-Torres, Nathan Dailey, Colton Martin) who were 0.26 seconds out in a thrilling finish with four-lapper champion, Concord. Morgan Johnson also earned a runner-up finish in the long jump (20-09).
Tyler Mimnaugh (Warsaw 1600m), Wawasee’s 400-meter relay (Cam Zimmerman, Bradyn Pike, Hunter Tinkey, Lucas Linder), Blake Keene (300m hurdles), Lucas Linder (100m dash, 200m dash), and Kameron Kauffman (discus, shot put).
Warsaw and Wawasee’s track squads will begin their journey to the state track meet when Warsaw hosts the girls’ sectional Tuesday, and Wawasee and Warsaw boys travel to Goshen next Thursday.
Warsaw will host the boys’ regional meet Thursday May 25.
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