At Lincoln Elementary and Edgewood Middle School, Katie Furnivall was a multi-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and track.
Her father, Troy Furnivall, pointed out that she even participated in cheerleading.
Now a senior at Warsaw Community High School, there's just one sport that consumes the talented 18-year-old's time - track and field.
"I like track because it's individual but there's a team aspect to it too," said the younger Furnivall, who will be among a large group of locals that compete in tonight's Bremen Regional with the hope of advancing to the June 2 state finals at Indiana University in Bloomington. "I played other sports when I was younger, but in track it doesn't matter who you are. If you're fast you're going to be on the team. Track has always been big in my family."To say that track is a big part of the Furnivall family might be a bit of an understatement.
Track and field is to the Furnivalls what the Indianapolis 500 is to the Unsers and Andrettis.
The elder Furnivall won the state championship in the 400 in 1982 with a time of 47.83 seconds and still holds the school record in that event, a blistering time of 47.10 seconds he ran at the Keebler Invitational in Chicago when he finished fourth in the race.
After his storied prep career, he ran collegiately at Purdue University. He is now in his third year serving as an assistant for Warsaw head coach Scott Erba.
In February, he will be inducted to the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be in Indianapolis.
"In a way, it was a bit expected," the elder Furnivall said when asked about his selection in the 2008 class of the hall of fame. "But when I actually got the call, I was a bit speechless. To think of all the great people that are in the hall of fame, it's quite an honor."
Erba, a talented runner himself who is in a triathalon hall of fame in California, knows how lucky he is to have an assistant coach with Troy Furnivall's credentials.
"Having an assistant coach like Troy Furnivall is a blessing," said Erba, whose Tigers will be represented in 12 of 16 events in tonight's Bremen Regional. "He's going into the hall of fame, he knows what he's talking about. The girls respect him and they like him. He can be two kinds of a coach. He can be the consoling coach and be there for the girls, or he can be the coach that gets on you and makes you work hard. He's been around track for a long time, he knows what he's doing."
Growing up with a father who's a school record holder, state champion and Division I athlete, does the younger Furnivall feel pressure?
"I'm a Furnivall, track is a big part of my life," said Katie, who ran the anchor leg of the 1,600 relay in last Tuesday's sectional, leading a Warsaw to a sectional championship in the race and in the overall team standings. "Being a girl, though, things were a little different. We didn't compare times and stuff like that. But it's fun having my dad as a coach and knowing he's going into the hall of fame."
What does it mean to the elder Furnivall to be involved in his daughter's track career?
"It's been a blessing to be a part of Katie's track career," said Troy, whose brother, Tracy, broke his school record in the 300 hurdles, was a member of the Tigers' 1984 basketball state championship team and was later the junior varsity basketball coach. "Not just being around Katie, but being around all the girls on this team. They work very hard. They're a great group of people to be around. I've enjoyed seeing them grow as athletes and young ladies."
The Tigers, as well as athletes from area schools Manchester, Tippecanoe Valley, Triton and Wawasee will be at Bunge Field-Nierste Track at Bremen High School for tonight's regional.
The top three individuals or teams in each event, as well as those that meet the state standard time, height or distance, will advance to the June 2 state finals.
Warsaw, led by the second-seeded 1,600 relay team, will compete in 12 of 16 events.
The Tigers head into regional competition after winning their first team sectional championship since 2000.
"We took a big group of girls to the regional last year, and this year we're taking an even bigger group," said Erba. "We're in a very tough regional. We're going to go to Bremen and do our best. I told the girls they may go there and have their best meet of the season and not make it to state. That's how tough the regional is. We're going to go there and do our best, and hope we can get some girls to state."
Wawasee will be represented in seven events, while Manchester will participate in six events and Tippecanoe Valley will participate in two events.
