With Memorial Day fast approaching, it is sectional season for spring sports in Indiana. Beginning postseason play on Tuesday was girls track and field, with three local schools representing the area at Warsaw’s Fisher Field. Seven total records were set, but the end result was the same as usual: The Lady Tigers’ 112.50 points edged out Elkhart by 12.50 as the hosts claimed yet another sectional championship. 

The Do Indiana Off-Road (D.IN.O) Mountain Bike Racing series has called the Winona Lake Trails home since 2002, a full three years before partnering with the Fat & Skinny Tire festival in 2005 to make the first in a series of six races a headliner of a three-day festival that celebrates those who love to get their exercise and fun done on two wheels. 

There is a more profane term easily interchangeable with “jerk” and there is also a cute, little book titled, “No [Jerks].”

Having outscored their opponents 20-0 over the past two games, things looked to be turning around for the Warsaw baseball team. Hosting a Northridge team they defeated 11-1 in late April, the Tigers looked to keep things going. However, it was the Raiders that delivered the game’s first punch and the visitors kept their feet on the gas from there, picking up a stunning 14-0 road victory over the orange and black. 

Coming off of a much-improved second regular season for the program, the Warsaw boys volleyball team looked to pick up its first ever sectional victory on Wednesday night when traveling to Northridge to take on Elkhart. Instead, the Lions got off to a 2-0 lead before the Tigers were able to get things going, but eventually, Elkhart was able to escape with a 3-2 victory to send Warsaw home. 

The Warsaw Athletic Department will recommend Kyle Hartman as the seventh coach in the history of Lady Tiger Basketball.

The IHSAA executive board met last week, and there were two headline-making items on their agenda.

Fresh off a 28-0 victory over Argos on the road Monday, the Triton baseball team returned to Keller Field for the second leg of a home-and-home. While the score wasn’t as lopsided this time around, the Trojans still only needed five innings to dispatch of the Dragons and pick up a 13-1 victory. 

Monday night’s contest between the Manchester and Whitko baseball team was neck-and-neck for nearly the entire game, with the Squires leading 2-0 after six innings. But thanks to a massive seventh as well as a nearly perfect game from Harper Sturtsman on the mound (14 strikeouts), Manchester was able to pull away late to pick up a 10-0 win. 

After an 0-7 start to the season, the Warsaw softball team has made some big strides in recent weeks. The Lady Tigers looked to keep things going on a trip up to Goshen on Friday night to take on a RedHawk team they defeated last week. A six-run third inning set the tone and eventually carried the team over the finish line for an 8-7 win, the team’s fifth in eight tries. 

Hosting Indiana Northern State Conference leaders Knox on Thursday night, the Tippecanoe Valley softball team looked to make up some ground in the conference standings. Thanks to a fantastic outing from starter Dalynne Bussard (10 strikeouts, three hits allowed) and some timely hitting from the offense, the Lady Vikings were able to do just that, picking up a 7-2 victory.

In addition to performing at their best on the field, the court or the gym, 60 Senior Scholar Athletes from Warsaw Community High School were recognized Thursday by the Kiwanis Club of Warsaw for their excellence in the classroom.

Looking to turn the corner after three straight losses over the weekend, the Warsaw baseball team made it two wins in a row on Wednesday with a 20-5 victory on the road at Wawasee. The Tiger bats came alive in the victory, scoring runs in every single inning in what was a dominant showing that was led by a seven-RBI performance by Kael Miller.

This is one of those weeks where I could write three columns about stuff going on in sports, but I’d rather meld them all together into a single offering.

Having won four straight games heading into Monday evening’s conference clash against Peru, the Manchester baseball team found itself down 5-1 early on. The Squires never blinked, taking the lead an inning later and never surrendering it, holding on for a 9-8 win to make it five in a row. 

Plenty is happening among area high school athletics already. Moving parts include area athletes currently in college sports transferring, coaches moving to other programs or resigning, and even some high school students transferring.

The track and field season at Warsaw Community high school would feel incomplete without the annual Max Truex Invite, which took place on Friday night. With nine teams making up a competitive field, Penn ended up winning the event for the third consecutive year with a score of 110.33. The Tigers separated themselves in the final events of the night, including a record-breaking performance for Tucker Reed, to finish second with 100 points.

Having dropped its last three games, the Warsaw baseball team continued its road trip with a visit up to Middlebury to take on rival Northridge. After scoring a combined six runs over the last three games, the Tiger bats exploded in this one, putting up a crooked number in each of the first four innings en route to winning 11-1 in five innings.

The hardest season of the high school sports calendar is the spring season and it’s not even close.

Having dropped its last two Northern Lakes Conference games, the Warsaw baseball looked to get back on track against rival NorthWood on Tuesday night. Through four innings, the Tigers held a 2-1 lead and were on their way to snapping the skid, but a two-out rally in the fifth proved to be the difference, as the Panthers were able to escape with a 3-2 victory. 

For the fourth year in a row, Grace’s men’s tennis team is standing atop the Crossroads League.

I’m launching this weekend’s thoughts on the Ohio State Buckeyes popping up in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday evening. Four of the first eleven draft picks were Buckeyes. Transfers-in among those notwithstanding, the program will reload again in 2026.

Friday night felt like a whole lot of deja vu for the Triton baseball team, as just one day after securing a five-inning victory over Oregon-Davis in which the Trojans gave up no hits, the blue and gold did so again on Friday, this time at home. Picking up a 14-0 win, the Trojans extended what has been a white-hot start to the season, improving to 7-1, 6-1 in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference. 

The Warsaw Tigers men’s volleyball varsity and junior varsity teams started their matches nearly 30 minutes late due to the delayed arrival of their guests, the Westville Blackhawks, by giving their opponents an earlier departure from Everwise Court in the Tiger Den with 3-0, and 2-0 respective sweeps.

After beginning Northern Lakes Conference play with a win on Monday, the Warsaw baseball team looked to make it two in a row on Wednesday, heading to Goshen to take on the RedHawks. Instead, it was the home team that got off to a quick start and never looked back, putting up three runs or more in three separate innings to defeat the Tigers 11-1.