The Warsaw Lady Tigers' grip on the Northern Lakes Conference doesn't seem to be loosening.
Hosting the NLC Championships at the Tigers Athletic Complex Tuesday, the Warsaw girls track and field team scored 166 points, claiming its fifth-straight conference crown after going 7-0 in the conference during the regular season."It's not rolling out of bed and scoring points," Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba said about his team defeating second-place Northridge by 70.16 points. "It's a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication by the girls, and a lot of the girls stepping up. A great example is Emily Umbaugh. Last year, she wasn't even on our conference roster, and this year, she's been our best thrower and worked herself into a conference champion. What a difference a year makes."
Umbaugh won the shot put with a distance of 35-8.25, but she wasn't Warsaw's only star.
The Lady Tigers placed first in eight different events, with senior Cendall Ogle winning the 800 (2:20.95) and 1600 (5:14.82) and being a part of the first-place 3,200 relay team with Hannah Cutshall, Brooke Kline and Lilly Fleming.
It's the second-straight year Ogle has been an NLC champion in the 800 and 3,200 relay, but the 1600 was something new for her.
Seeded fourth, Ogle made a late burst down the stretch to win the 1,600, passing freshman teammate Ashley Erba and Northridge's Skylair Hilton.
"My coaches just told me to maintain with (Hilton) and Ashley," Ogle said. "I was expecting to get a solid third, but when it got to 150 (meters), and I saw how close they were, I thought, 'Might as well kick it in and see if I had it.' And I did.'"
And that late-race kick has been a staple of Ogle's over the years.
"Usually, that's how I like to run - especially in the 800," Ogle said about laying back and then striking over the last 150 meters. "I just let the other girls go out, then just feel my way through the crowd. I know I have a pretty solid kick, so I definitely use that and rely on that."
Just last week, Ogle finished in third behind Hilton and Erba in the 1,600 during a dual meet with Northridge, finishing in a time of 5:24.27.
Trimming almost 10 seconds from her time in five days may shock most, but her coach has learned to never count out the senior.
"That's the way she's been running for four years," Erba said. "She kind of sits back and then has a great, opportunistic kick. When everyone else thinks they've got a place, she comes around."
Ogle, along with senior Corinne Coon, has never had the experience of finishing a season without an NLC championship.
"Every year, we've just had such depth on the team that we can pull together a championship team all four years I've been here," Coon said. "We are privileged to run at a school that has so many options to pick and choose from to run at a meet."
Coon defended her 300 hurdles title by finishing in 46.03 seconds, and also anchored the championship 1,600 relay, along with Leah Moore, Emily Hickerson and Madison Long.
Other Lady Tigers to win NLC championships were Moore in the 400 and Hannah Kammerer in the pole vault.
On the boys side, Concord won the meet and the conference championship, with a 136-point night, while Warsaw finished fourth with 80.5 points.
"Overall, we had some really good performances," Warsaw's boys track and field coach Matt Thacker said. "All the NLC teams performed well, and it's exciting to see the kids compete the way they did.
"We're a lot better team that we were last year," he added. "The score may not reflect that, but our competitiveness is a lot better."
The Tigers' top performance came from Cameron Fritzel, who placed second in the discus (133-5) and third in the shot put (48-8).
Warsaw's 400 relay also fared well, as Zack Rooney, Cody Anderson, Wyatt Jones and Robert Strahan placed third with a time of 44.77 seconds.
For Wawasee, Ben Klaybor scored 10 of his team's 16 points by winning the high jump, clearing 6-2.
"I knew there would be three or four jumpers that would be close," Klaybor said. "I've been praying a lot about it and I just think God helped me today."
The competition was down to Klaybor and Northridge's Connor Vanover at 6-2, where Klaybor cleared his second attempt, but Vanover did not.
With a chance to win the title if Vanover didn't clear his third attempt, Klaybor watched as the Raider leaped over the bar, moving it 6-3.
"I knew he was going to get over it," Klaybor said about Vanover's final leap at 6-2.
After neither competitor could get over 6-3, Klaybor was given the title to clearing the 6-2 bar on his second attempt.
The boys aren't in action again until the Goshen Sectional May 20, while the girls are right back in Warsaw Tuesday, with the Warsaw Sectional.
"Confidence should be pretty high with these girls," Erba said. "We keep the same teams, except we lose Plymouth, but we pick up Elkhart Central, Jimtown and Fairfield has some quality individuals and relays. From that standpoint, I feel if we do well in conference, we should do well in sectional."
Coming into the season, Ogle was hoping for the best, especially with the loss of some key competitors, such Erica Ridderman, who's running at Indiana University. After finishing the regular season at 10-1, and capping the NLC season with a 96-36 win over Northridge, it safe to say she's resting easy now.
"I really didn't know what to expect this year, because we had lost Erica, a key distance runner, and other sprinters," she said. "Ashley filled in for Erica, and what I think has really helped has been our field events. Our pole vault did really well, our long jump and our throwing. They're just doing well, and that's surprised me, personally. I knew we'd be good, but the fact that we're beating these other teams by so much is surprising."
The margin of victory may be surprising her, but the thrill of a conference championship was anything but surprising.
"I really don't know what it's like to lose in the NLC, which is really good," she said. "Our group of seniors is just a good group, because we've been able to continue the tradition."
According to Erba, that tradition begins before the girls even enter the doors at Warsaw Community High School.
"Surely I appreciate all the middle school coaches and the athletes, and what they bring," he said. "We had one of our largest freshman groups this year. It is something that, as we lost quality girls, we've got other girls from inside the program or new to the program who step up and take spots. That's what you desire."
BOYS - CONCORD 136, NORTHRIDGE 111.5, GOSHEN 95, WARSAW 80.5, PLYMOUTH 80, ELKHART MEMORIAL 73, NORTHWOOD 31, WAWASEE 16
