CHURUBUSCO — It was another ho-hum day for the Warsaw girls track and field team, winning its third-straight Turtle Town Classic Saturday in Churubusco. Racking up 141.5 points, the Warsaw Lady Tigers put plenty of distance between themselves and second-place East Noble, which scored 71.5 in the Gold Division. The Wawasee Lady Warriors also competed in the Gold Division, finishing 11th out of 12 teams with 17 points. Winning the championship, the Lady Tigers got first-place finishes from Hannah Dawson in the 800 (2:24.35), Nicole Eckert in the 300 hurdles (47.71), as well as its 4x800 relay of Claire Kehler, Alethia Burritt, Madeline Hooks and Dawson (10:13.67). But more importantly than first-place points, was Warsaw's depth, which picked up points in all but two events. “That’s why we’re winning these tournaments,” Warsaw assistant coach Nina Ferry said, as head coach Scott Erba was absent from the meet to watch his son compete in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference track meet in Defiance, Ohio. “It’s because we’re scoring in all events.” Along with Dawson winning the 800, Warsaw’s Anna Craig was second in the event. Ann Harvuot and Mariah Harter were second and third, respectively in the 100 and Harvuot also placed third in the 200. In the field events, Claire Hickerson was the runner-up in pole vault, as was Brooklyn Harrison in shot put and Samantha Alexander in long jump. Warsaw’s 4x100 relay (Harter, Samantha Alexander, Jackie Ferguson, Harvuot) and 4x400 relay (Eckert, Burritt, Craig, Dawson) each finished second. In a bit of an upset, freshman Allison Miller had some struggles in the 3200, finishing fifth with a time of 12:06.45. However, distance coach Matt Campbell credited her personal-record time of 5:22.00 in the 1600 as a contributer to the slower time in the two-mile race, which was won by East Noble’s Alexia Zawadzke in 11:43.54. “She ran a hard mile today, (getting a personal record) in that event,” he said about her third-place finish in the 1600. “Coming back and running the 3200 is tough after that.” In the Black Division, the Whitko Lady Wildcats were back to defend their championship, but came up short. Led by Danielle Pippenger’s four individual titles, the host Churubusco Lady Eagles won the Black Division title with 141 points, with Whitko placing second with 92. The Manchester Lady Squires were fifth with 51 points. “They had two individuals who got 60 points all by themselves,” Whitko coach Gary Sims said of Pippenger and Katie Monk, who won the two throwing events for Churubusco. “That’s hard to compete with. We’re young. We only have five seniors. So, we’re still trying to get that middle school mentality out of them, but they’re coming around.” Whitko's 4x100 relay of Abby Overmeyer, Elaine Warner, Reghan Craig and Kaitlyn Reed won in 52.80. Individually, the freshman Reed showed her versatility, placing third in the 100 and high jump and fifth in the shot put. “Kaitlyn is high jumping 5-4, she can throw the shot over 30 feet, she’s my No. 1 sprinter, she’s on the 4x100 team,” Sims said. “She’s outstanding.” Manchester also has a freshman who is coming on strong in Rae Bedke. After placing second in the 1600 with a school-record time of 5:22.92, Bedke won the 3200 in 12:00.13 and also anchored the second-place 4x400 relay of Heidi France, Ali Casper and Alex Shelton. “She is probably one of the most competitive people I’ve ever worked with,” Manchester coach Julie Cassell said of Bedke. “She has a desire to win. She has a tremendous work ethic and she’s really been pushing everybody.” Manchester will host Whitko and Northfield Tuesday, while the Lady Tigers are also in action Tuesday, hosting Plymouth and Elkhart Memorial.
