Manchester Netters Squeak By Valley

MENTONE - In past years, when Manchester and Tippecanoe Valley matched up for a girls tennis match, the results were less than exciting.Manchester usually quickly disposed of the Vikings and had an easy win. Not anymore. Both programs are starting anew with first-year coaches.Rachel Temme is the new coach at Manchester, taking over for the retired Don Snell.At Valley, Jack Shambaugh and Mark Gast are splitting the duties after taking the reigns of the program from Sally O'Cock. And the results? Well, Manchester just narrowly edged Valley 3-2.For Valley, it was definitely a moral victory. "We're going to be very good," Jack Shambaugh and Mark Gast both concurred after the Vikings lost. "We lost a heartbreaker, but in years past, this wouldn't have been close," Shambaugh said.

Warriors Come Together In Win Over Manchester

NORTH MANCHESTER - Wawasee head softball coach Cory Schutz said his team's 11-1 win in six innings over host Manchester Friday afternoon was the kind of game the Warriors needed. After several tough losses with pitching and hitting woes, Friday's contest saw everything come together for the Warriors. Leadoff hitter and shortstop Rachel Canen finally saw her bat come around, going 3 for 5 with three runs and a stolen base. Those are the stats that leadoff hitters are judged by. "We've been hoping for this kind of game from Rachel.We've been expecting her to hit the ball hard, and once she does that, and gets on base, that makes us a lot better," said Schutz. Canen, who didn't play softball her junior year, may finally be coming into midseason form.

Tiger Baseball Team Back On Winning Track

SYRACUSE - It wasn't pretty, but Warsaw got back on the winning track with a 17-7 Northern Lakes Conference baseball win over host Wawasee in five innings. The Tigers looked downright lethargic at times, committing five errors, but had enough offensive pop to avoid an upset. The Tigers got things started early as they put three runs on the board in the first inning.Starting pitcher and cleanup hitter Mark Sudhoff, who struggled at the plate as of late, got things going with a two-run single. Junior first baseman Hans Sale then drove Sudhoff home with a sacrifice fly. Warsaw then put a five spot up in the second inning to extend its lead to 8-0. Sophomore catcher Braden Kline lifted a solo homerun to left field to get things started in the second.Four batters later, sophomore Derek Freds hit a towering shot to left field for a three-run homer. On the day, Warsaw's 3-4-5 hitters went a combined 9 for 11 with eight runs and eight RBI.

At Valpo, WCHS Grad Rob Kesler Bides His Time

FORT WAYNE -ÊWhen Valparaiso plays Michigan State Thursday in the opening round of the Midwest Regional, it will do so with a Warsaw Community High School connection. Rob Kesler, a 1999 WCHS graduate, is a walk-on for the Crusaders and coach Homer Drew. Just over a week ago, Kesler played in the Mid-Continent Tournament for VU at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.Playing in the Mid-Continent Tournament helped fulfill a dream of playing for a high school semistate title for the Tigers. "When the semistate was in Fort Wayne, I would go and watch Warsaw when I was little," Kesler said."It was always exciting.It's a shame we never made it when I was there to play.(This) was the next best thing." Playing for Valpo almost never happened.The 5-foot-10 guard seriously contemplated giving up basketball.How do you top playing for a great high school program? Some college opportunities would be a letdown, Kesler reasoned.

Defense, Bats Come To Life For Tigers

To borrow a slogan used by the Chicago White Sox several years ago, "these kids can play". The Warsaw Tigers youth movement propelled them to a 5-1 win over Elkhart Central in softball action Friday afternoon at the City-County Athletic Complex. Freshman pitcher Kelci Martin overcame two first-inning errors with two outs that led to an unearned run and smacked the first homerun of the season for Warsaw to help lead the Tigers. Central's Kari Bowlby reached on a fielding error by Martin with two outs in the top of the first inning.She eventually scored after Martin walked Steph Sailor, then Jessika Bickel reached on another error. "This year's team can overcome an error or two.With our pitching situation this year and the fact that we've worked on our hitting and can drive the ball, helps us overcome an error here or there," said Warsaw head coach Scott Freds.

Automakers Have Some Serious Woes

Delphi Corp.is the big automotive-related company that filed for bankruptcy this past week. Also this week, General Motors, the company that spun off Delphi in 1999, announced huge third-quarter losses. It's fascinating to me to read about these companies and how they deal with their financial woes. Take Delphi, for example. The Troy, Mich., based company employs 14,700 workers in Michigan.The Delphi plant in Kokomo employs 5,500 and one in Anderson employs 1,000. They are the nation's largest automotive parts supplier.They make everything from brakes to radios. And while the rumors were flying prior to Delphi's bankruptcy filing, the company sweetened the pot for its top executives. Prior to the filing, severance packages for Delphi's white-collar employees were capped at 12 months of pay.But voila, now Delphi's top executives are eligible for up to 18 months of pay and some of their regular bonus.

'Jittery' Squires Shut Out Valley

NORTH MANCHESTER - With only two seniors among the seven starters in the Manchester lineup on Wednesday, the Squires needed some leadership in their opener with Tippecanoe Valley. Manchester got it from No.1 singles player Kari Hostetler as the Squires dropped only one set on their way to a 5-0 victory. Hostetler, a junior, notched the first victory of the day, a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kelly Montelongo that propelled Manchester to the easy win.Surprisingly, head coach Don Snell was not enthused with his team's performance on the windy day.

Squires Fall To Wawasee Baseball Team

NORTH MANCHESTER - For the first three innings of Thursday afternoon's game between Manchester and Wawasee, the tone was set by the pitching of the Squires' Joe Egner and some clutch hitting. When Manchester head coach Jack Rupley took Egner out to save him for Saturday's doubleheader against Maconaquah, Manchester struggled both on the mound and in the field as Wawasee capitalized to gain a 12-8 win in six innings.The game was called due to darkness. Egner struck out five of the last six Warriors he faced before exiting and his team repaid him with a six-run bottom of the third.He left the game with seven strikeouts while allowing just three hits and no walks. "I thought he could improve from last year.He really came on late last year and did well.He's continued it into this season," said Manchester head coach Jack Rupley of Egner.

Warrior Softball Team Topples Triton Trojans

SYRACUSE - The Wawasee Warriors softball team's bats were quiet in the first inning.A Leigh Froebe strikeout and two soft groundouts by Megan Walker and Tarina Sorensen made for a ho-hum turn at the top of the Warriors' lineup to start the game. Then came the second inning. The Warriors more than made up for their first-inning silence with 15 runs in the second inning en route to an 18-4 win over the Triton Trojans Thursday afternoon at Wawasee High School. Ashley Holdeman, Wawasee's cleanup hitter, batted and reached safely three times in the second inning.Holdeman got things started with a shot to deep left-center field that stayed in the park but gave Holdeman a double. Angie Beer drove both Holdeman and Cheryl Thomas in with a single to make the score 2-0.In Thomas' second at-bat of the inning, the left fielder drove in two runs with a single that plated Holdeman and Megan Walker.

Capsules Previewing Area Boys & Girls Track Teams

Last-Second Tip Trips Triton At Regional

KNOX - You could talk about Triton's inside game disappearing for a quarter or about Kouts' role players coming through with big performances. But Saturday's Knox A Girls Basketball Regional that saw Kouts (17-5) beat Triton (9-15) 53-51 was about emotion. Kouts coach Susan Sanders jumping on her assistant coach, who luckily caught her.Triton coach Mark Heeter standing shellshocked on the court, hands on hips.This is what the regional was about. For 31 minutes and 59 seconds, Kouts and Triton played to a 51-51 tie.As time ran out, Kouts center Jenni Bielinski scored to give Kouts the win and its first regional title. Kouts had the ball the last 16 seconds.Erica Martin, who averages 22.2 points per game, missed a shot, turning the game into a volleyball match.Players chasing after the rebound bumped the ball up in the air.Bielinski had the luckiest bump of all -Êthe one went through the basket to give her team the win.

Grace Gearing Up For MCC

For the first time since 1992, the Grace College golf team ended the Mid-Central Conference regular season in first place.As host of the MCC conference tournament at Rozella Ford Golf Course today and Saturday, the Lancers have high hopes for extending the season past this weekend. With two all-conference golfers and the MCC coach of the year, Dr.Darrell Johnson, Grace has a great chance of doing just that.

Warriors Place 10th At State Swim Meet

INDIANAPOLIS - His head newly shorn like the swimmers he coached, Wawasee swim coach Roger Karns sat on a set of metal bleachers next to the practice/warm-up pool at the IUPUI Natatorium Saturday afternoon. Waiting. All his swimmers had finished their contests, and he was waiting to find out where his Warriors finished in the overall team competition. "I know we are somewhere between 10th and 15th," said Karns, "but we won't know until this race is finished." So he went from waiting to watching as the 400 freestyle relay began and a lightning-fast race followed. Then he went back to waiting, this time for the team results to be anounced. When the announcement was finally made, Karns and his Warriors learned they had earned the 10th-place spot in the state wih 82 total points.

Tigers Overcome Vs. Warriors

Even at full strength, Warsaw coach Troy Akers knew he would have a battle with Wawasee in the Northern Lakes Conference opener for both boys' track teams Tuesday at Fisher Field. But without two key runners, Akers was hoping for some unexpected help.He got just that from some of his younger athletes. Sophomore Jose Esquivel, along with freshmen Marvin Farmer and Aaron Chabot, came up big for the Tigers in a 77-55 win over the Warriors. Warsaw was already without the services of sprinter Derrick Duncan, who is still nursing a sore hamstring.But then, after only one race, middle distance star P.J.Wiley came up with a calf injury, putting more strain on Akers' young Tigers. It was a challenge they were up to as Esquivel won two events, Farmer led a Warsaw domination in the field events, and Chabot lifted the Tigers early.

Warrior Gymnasts Settle For Fourth Place

SYRACUSE - The Wawasee Warriors and Manchester Squires both competed in the Wawasee Gymnastics Regional on Friday night with modest results. The Warriors have won 20 sectional titles but have never won a regional championship.The Squires unexpectedly pushed Wawasee last week at the sectional competition with a second-place finish. Holding to form, Valparaiso won the regional title going away, while Wawasee took fourth and Manchester took fifth.Valparaiso gymnasts cluttered the top six in every category.Sixteen of 30 qualifiers for the state meet came from Valparaiso. Manchester opened the first rotation on the floor excercise, while Wawasee began on one of the most difficult events, the beam.Tara Wion's 8.4 for the Squires put them in fourth overall and gave her the 8th-best score in the opening rotation.Wawasee's 29.05 on the beam put them in fifth overall.The Warriors were led by Christa Olson, who scored a 7.9.

Warriors Avenge Loss, End Valley's Season

NAPPANEE - With a packed house of 3,600-plus in "The Pit" at NorthWood High School, it was Hoosier Hysteria personified as Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee locked horns for the second time this season in the second game of the 3A regional Saturday. While the Vikings got the best of their Kosciusko County foes in both teams' regular season finale, the Warriors ended Valley's tourney run with a 73-63 win. Despite a career-best performance by senior John Gibson, the Vikings couldn't overcome turnovers and foul trouble. Both teams slogged through a 32-minute contest where 51 fouls were called and 29 turnovers were committed. It was the Vikings who took advantage of the tight officiating in the early going.Gibson was 9 of 10 from the line in the first half as the senior guard took advantage of mismatches with Wawasee's Andrew Mock and a hobbled Kory Lantz, who was playing with a severe knee injury suffered in last week's sectional final.

Does Truth Matter In Politics?

We are in the midst of, without a doubt, the most negative campaign in the history of modern politics. I say modern because there used to be some pretty significant mudslinging around the turn of the century.I thought we had outgrown that, but I guess not. Both candidates have gone negative, but I see something happening in the campaign of Sen.John Kerry that is unsettling.It's his penchant to simply make stuff up.I realize that politicians on both sides of the aisle exaggerate, obfuscate and yeah, I'll say it, lie. But Kerry's campaign has become extraordinarily disingenuous.He has taken to this end-justifies-the-means campaign style and he's employing some pretty overt scare tactics.

Rugby Club Looking For Nitch

Rugby, the world's second most popular team sport behind soccer, is still a mystery to most in the United States.And of all the places for Rugby to gain steam, Warsaw is fast becoming a hot spot for this sport. Warsaw's club team, started in 2003, has grown in both competitiveness and numbers in just two short years. "The kids have done a lot of recruiting themselves," said Warsaw head coach Mark Caruso. From football players to band members, the rugby family of Warsaw is a diverse one, but all have one thing in common - a love for a sport that is often misunderstood by Americans. The sport that spawned American football is a lot like its watered-down version, and in many ways it's not. Two 15-player squads compete on a field slightly larger than that of a football field with H-shaped uprights at each end. To score, a team must physically touch the ball down in the "in goal" area for five points or kick the ball through the uprights for three points.

Wayne, Turnovers Too Much For Wildcats

SOUTH WHITLEY - In a battle of oft-beatens, it was Fort Wayne Wayne which won the turnover battle to advance in tournament play with a 72-50 win over host Whitko Wednesday night. While turnovers eventually did Whitko in, the team was able to manage early. The Wildcats overcame 12 first-half turnovers to trail by just three points, 26-23 at halftime. Whitko also withstood an early barrage by the Generals' Dennis Craig. Craig, a 6-foot-5 senior, hit two consecutive three pointers in the first quarter to extend Wayne's lead to 11-6. The athletic guard scored 10 straight points for the Generals as they began to pull away. The Wildcats combated Craig's play with a balanced effort and driving to the hoop. Whitko went to the charity stripe 14 times in the first half while connecting on nine. Nate Alspaugh scored six of his 11 points in the first half to keep the Wildcats within shouting distance.

East Beats West In All-American Game

SOUTH BEND - While Luke Zeller was the fan favorite, it was Josh McRoberts who created the most buzz.Both Indiana boys basketball standouts competed in the 2005 McDonald's All-American Boys High School Basketball Game at the Joyce Center on the campus of Notre Dame Wednesday night with McRoberts' East squad prevailing 115-110 over Zeller's West team. Zeller, who will be matriculating at Notre Dame this fall, seemed weary just four days after hitting the biggest shot in Indiana high school basketball since Bobby Plump and finished 0-2 from the field with no points and just one rebound.Zeller, a senior at Washington High School in southern Indiana, hit a half court shot to defeat Plymouth in the 3A state final Saturday. As Zeller struggled, Carmel's Josh McRoberts flourished.The Duke recruit racked up 17 points and 12 rebounds en route to MVP honors.