Four Local Schools Send Track Athletes To State

BREMEN - Seven local schools sent girls to compete in Tuesday's Bremen Track and Field Regional.

Four of them now will send girls to the state finals June 5 at IUPUI.

In a meet where 42 teams were represented, South Bend Adams ran away with the team championship with 93 points. Elkhart Central finished a distant second with 49 points.

Of local interest, NorthWood's 25 team points were good enough for eighth. Warsaw and Elkhart Memorial tied for ninth with 24 points each. Triton, Manchester, and Wawasee finished 16th, 19th and 28th, respectively.

The top three individuals or teams in each event move on to the state finals. Those who meet the state qualification standard also move on.

Warsaw advances junior Ginny Gardonio in the shot put. Her third-place throw of 36 feet, 11-1/2 inches was more than a foot better than her previous best.

"I didn't think I would be going to state," said Gardonio. "I went all out. I said I wanted to get it, and I got it."

Triton's Sisteen Christian advanced to the state finals with a second-place throw of 37-6. Mishawaka's Stefonie Sebastian, who finished seventh in the state last year, won the regional with her throw of 41-3.

Warsaw's 1,600 relay team also advances past the regional round after finishing second with a time of 4:10.49. South Bend Adams won the event with a time of 4:06.25.

"I'm very proud," said Warsaw coach Paul Boyd. "I'm proud of the school squad. Gardonio threw a foot over her record. (Kim) Kurosky did a great job in the open 800. The 400 relay team ran a 51.9 with terrible handoffs, and that event is all about handoffs. Amy Robertson got put into the 1,600 relay and hasn't run it since the South Bend Classic during the indoor season. There's some pretty quick people here."

Wawasee's Staci Weisser finished third in the high jump with a leap of 5-2. NorthWood's Michelle Stichter finished fourth but failed to advance. Pioneer's Danielle Kerr, the 1997 state champ, won the event with her leap of 5-7.

The lone state qualifier for NorthWood is senior Grace Bonewitz, who finished second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.64 seconds. Freshman LaQuesha Taylor from South Bend Adams finished first with a time of 15.59 seconds.

The June 5 state finals are set to begin at 3 p.m. with long jump and discus starting at that time. Other field events begin at 3:30 p.m. Running event trials are set to start at 4:15 p.m. with the finals getting underway at 6:15 p.m.

1999 BREMEN GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD REGIONAL

Top 10 Team scores - 1. South Bend Adams 93, 2. Elkhart Central 49, 3. South Bend Clay 38, 4. Mishawaka Marian 36, 5. Northridge 35, 6. Mishawaka 29, 7. Penn 28, 8. NorthWood 25, 9. (tie) Elkhart Memorial 24, 9. Warsaw 24.

Local teams - 16. Triton 12, 19. Wawasee 11, 28. Manchester 3.

Abbreviations (local teams) - Warsaw (Wr), Tippecanoe Valley (TV), Wawasee (Wa), Whitko (Wh), NorthWood (NW), Manchester (M), Triton (T)

100 hurdles - 1. Taylor (Adams) :15.59, 2. Bonewitz (NW), 3. Kyser (CMA)

3,200 relay - 1. Penn 9:50.1, 2. Elkhart Central, 3. S.B. Adams, 8. Warsaw, 14. Tippecanoe Valley, 15. Triton

100 - 1. Miller (EC) :12.44, 2. Hamilton (Clay), 3. Winters (Adams), 7. Onyeji (M)

1,600 - 1. Koellner (Adams) 5:13.95, 2. Harzler (Roc), 3. Lipps (EC), 11. Kreft (T), 12. Finch (Wr), 16. Miller (T)

400 relay - 1. S.B. Clay :49.39, 2. S.B. Adams, 3. Mishawaka Marian, 8. Warsaw, 10. Tippecanoe Valley, 11. Manchester

400 - 1. Miller (EC) :59.87, 2. May (Adams), 3. Elston (Clay), 13. Speicher (M), 16. Kindig (TV)

300 hurdles - 1. Taylor (Adams) :46.23, 2. Key (Con), 3. Gensinger (Glenn), 5. Yoder (NW), 8. Auker (Wa), 11. Harms (M), 13. Kuhn (T)

800 - 1. Schlabach (Fairfield) 2:18.98, 2. Taflinger (Kokomo), 3. Tschida (Adams), 4. S. Boyd (Wr), 6. Kurosky (Wr)

200 - 1. Miller (EC) :25.85, 2. Hamilton (Clay), 3. Riley (Clay), 8. Onyeji (M)

3200 - 1. Ernst (Mish) 11:09.96, 2. Ellgass (St. Joe), 3. Ewing (NR), 6. Sandy (NW), 11. Puckett (Wh), 16. Kreft (T)

1600 relay - 1. S.B. Adams 4:06.25, 2. Warsaw, 3. Penn, 13. Manchester, 14. Tippecanoe Valley

Discus - 1. Rogers (NR) 128-0.5, 2. Moore (LaVille), 3. Sebastian (Mish), 8. Feldman (T), 11. Almager (NW), 14. Rose (TV)

Shot put - 1. Sebastian (Mish) 41-3, 2. Christian (T), 3. Gardonio (Wr), 14. Duncan (NW)

High jump - 1. Kerr (Pioneer) 5-7, 2. Ewing (Roch), 3. Weisser (Wa), 4. Stichter (NW), 6. Speicher (T)

Long jump - 1. Albert (Mish. Marian) 16-4.25, 2. McAllister (EM), 3. Veenstra (EM), 5. Weisser (Wa), 14. Harms (M)

Note - The top three finishes in each event move on to the state finals. Also listed are local finishers.