Warsaw junior Ashley Erba sets new records in 1600, 3200
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Because Ashley Erba, Ann Harvout and Tennie Worrell were able to distance themselves from the competition Tuesday evening, so was Warsaw’s girls track team. Warsaw’s talented trio of underclassmen played a part in seven first-place finishes, as the Lady Tigers scored 160 points and won their sixth-straight sectional championship. Northridge was a distant second with 87 points, followed in the 11-team field by Fairfield (79), Elkhart Memorial (68.5), Goshen (57), Concord (53.5), Elkhart Central (48), Wawasee (28), NorthWood (24), Jimtown (11) and Elkhart Christian Academy (8). “It is pretty amazing,” Warsaw coach Scott Erba said of his team’s sectional championship streak. “It shows the quality of talent we’ve had over the years. We have girls that want to work hard and do well at this level.” The top four individuals or teams in each event advanced to Tuesday’s regional, which will be at Warsaw this year, rather than long-time host Bremen. The Lady Tigers will be represented at the regional by 15 individuals and three relay teams. Wawasee, led by shot put champion Jordan Edington, will be represented at the regional in two individual events and one relay. Edington, a junior, won the shot put with a distance of 38 feet, while Warsaw senior Sarah Heagy finished second at 36 feet 6-3/4 inches. “She started off well, throwing 37 feet, followed by 38 feet, and that was the winner,” Wawasee coach Scott Lancaster said of Edington. “Everyone else was chasing her after that. It’s a field that doesn’t chase very well because some of the longer throwers are freshman, and they choked tonight.” Wawasee freshman Breanna Robinson advanced with a second-place time of 2:22.32 in the 800. Robinson also teamed up with Kaely Bame, Courtney Linnemeier and Jen Slabaugh to finish fourth in the 3200 in a time of 10:04.21. For the Lady Tigers, junior Ashley Erba continued her record-setting ways. The standout distance runner set new school and sectional records in both the 1600 and 3200. Her time of 4:57.54 in the 1600 broke the old mark of 5:00.37, set by Wawasee’s Rachel Stichter in 2005. Her championship time of 10:31.16 shattered Stichter’s 2005 time of 10:53.69. Erba’s 3200 time, according to her father/coach, is the best time in the state this year and the eighth-best time in state history. “I haven’t peaked yet,” said Ashley Erba. “I still want to chisel my time down. There was a time from February until about two weeks ago where I was running the same time, but I feel really good right now. I’m excited about tonight, and I think I can go faster.” Speed didn’t seem to be a problem for Harvout, a sophomore who won both the 100 and 200, as well as anchoring the winning 400 relay team. Harvout was victorious in the 100 with a time of 12.54 seconds, the 200 with a time of 26.28 seconds, and joined Regina Anderson, Mariah Harter and Brittney Rhodes to win the relay in 49.76 seconds. “Last year Ann was a wide-eyed freshman,” said Scott Erba. “She’s gotten stronger, she’s a whole different runner. Last year her success was a suprise, this year it’s expected. She really wants to run at the state meet.” Warsaw’s only other individual champion was Worrell, a freshman who won the 400 in a time of 1:00.21. Worrell also ran the anchor leg of the 1600-meter relay, joining Nicole Eckert, Jackie Ferguson and Megan Kratzsch to win in a time of 4:03.65. They beat the runner-up foursome from Fairfield by nearly four seconds. “The biggest dynamic is knowing if you’re not in the top four, your season is done,” said Scott Erba. “That was a big motivation for us, not only team-wise, but also to get another week of training and another week of competing. It gives our girls more time to reach personal goals. They want to be a regional qualifier for the first time, a regiona finalist.” Joining Heagy as second-place finishers for the Lady Tigers were Samantha Jensen (discus), Claire Hickerson (pole vault) and the 3200 relay team of Brooke Kline, Lilly Fleming, Ellie Bearss and Kristin Quick.
WARSAW SECTIONAL Note – top four individuals or teams in each event advance to Tuesday's Warsaw Regional Team scores – Warsaw 160, Northridge 87, Fairfield 79, Elkhart Memorial 68.5, Goshen 57, Concord 53.5, Elkhart Central 48, Wawasee 28, NorthWood 24, Jimtown 11, Elkhart Christian Academy 8 3200 relay – 1. Northride (Mackenzie Gray, Jennifer Schrock, Olivia Golden, Mandy Campbell) 9:40.83, 2. Warsaw 9:47.55, 3. Elkhart Memorial 10:01.43, 4. Wawasee 10:04.21, 5. Fairfield 10:06.69, 6. Goshen 10:06.42; 100H – 1. Liana Yoder (Gosh) :15.47, 2. Becca Kropf (FF) :15.60, 3. Jessica O'Connell (Con) :15.96, 4. Jackie Ferguson (War) :16.22, 5. Elise White (War) :16.84, 6. Eva Rohrer (FF) :16.95; 100 – 1. Ann Harvout (War) :12.54, 2. Jametria Culbreath (EC) :12.79, 3. Lauren Lambert (N) :13.05, 4. Meliss Dubois (Con) :13.10, 5. Regina Anderson (War) :13.23, 6. Deasaray (J) :13.25; 1600 – 1. Ashley Erba (War) 4:57*, 2. Corinne Cominator (NR) 5:06.92, 3. Sierra Moore (EM) 5:18.67, 4. Olivia Golden (NR) 5:19.57, 5. Kayla Casaletto (ECA) 5:22.84, 6. Taylor Stidham (FF) 5:42.30; 400 relay – 1. Warsaw (Regina Anderson, Mariah Harter, Brittney Rhodes, Ann Harvout) :49.76, 2. Concord :50.56, 3. Elkhart Central :50.58, 4. Fairfield :50.75, 5. Elkhart Memorial :51.72, 6. Goshen :52.04; 400 – 1. Tennie Worrell (War) 1:00.21, 2. Allison Hoefe (EM) 1:00.54, 3. Megan Kratzch (War) 1:01.31, 4. Mackenzie Gray (NR) 1:02.00, 5. Emily Beasley (FF) 1:02.16, 6. Juni Schirch (Gosh) 1:03.98; 300H – 1. Becca Kropf (FF) :44.65*, 2. Jessica O'Connell (Con) :45.24, 3. Jackie Ferguson (War) :47.19, 4. Liana Yoder (Gosh) :47.57, 5. Bekah Ross (NR) :49.36, 6. Kayla Bixler (War) :49.45; 800 – 1. Sierra Moore (EM) 2:20.94, 2. Breanna Robinson (Wawa) 2:22.32, 3. Brooke Kline (War) 2:24.19, 4. Andrienne Henke (Gosh) 2:25.99, 5. Mackenzie Stokel (EC) 2:28.34, 6. Kayla Rothi (NR) 2:29.50; 200 – 1. Ann Harvout (War) :26.28, 2. Angelica Ramon (NW) :26.68, 3. Christina Juroff (NR) :26.70, 4. Lauren Stutzman (Gosh) :27.04, 5. Mariah Harter (War) :27.53, 6. Deasaray Greer (JT) :27.27; 3200 – 1. Ashley Erba (War) 10:31.16*, 2. Corinne Cominator (NR) 11:24.98, 3. Jennifer Schrock (NR) 11:40.60, 4. Anna Bearss (War) 11:43.95, 5. Kala Casaletto (ECA) 11:50.92, 6. Amanda Dibley (EC) 12:15.32; 1600 relay – 1. Warsaw (Nicole Eckert, Jackie Ferguson, Megan Kratzsch, Tennie Worrell) 4:03.65, 2. Fairfield 4:07.36, 3. Concord 4:07.43, 4. Northridge 4:14.25, 5. Goshen 4:18.03, 6. Elkhart Central 4:23.38; High jump – 1. Lily Russo (NR) 5-2, 2. Donya McKinney (EC) 5-0, 3. Sophie Brown (FF) 5-0, 4. Michelle Detwiler (Con) 4-10, 5. Azariah Stahl 4-10, 6. Joy Moore (JT) 4-10; Long jump – 1. Melissa Dubois (Con) 17-2.5, 2. Lauren Stutzman (Gosh) 16-5.5, 3. Stephanie Bettis (EM) 16-3, 4. Rosalyn Miller (FF) 15-10.25, 5. Tailor Schultheis (EM) 15-7, 6. Lauren Lambert (NR) 15-5; Discus – 1. Mallory Conrad (EM) 122-3, 2. Samantha Jensen (War) 119-6, 3. Karla Corral (Gosh) 116-2, 4. Lauren Burish (War) 115-3, 5. Tia Garnett (EC) 101-9, 6. Cara Albert (EM) 99-5; Shot put – 1. Jordan Edington (Wawa) 38-0, 2. Sarah Heagy (War) 36-6.75, 3. Sierra Smith (FF) 36-5.75, 4. Karla Corral (Gosh) 36-2.25, 5. Madison Stewart (NR) 35-8.25, 6. Lauren Burish (War) 34-4.5; Pole vault – 1. Sophie Brown (FF) 11-6.75*, 2. Claire Hickerson (War) 11-0, 3. Melissa Berger (NW) 10-3, 4. Megan Dearlove (War) 10-0, 5. Jessica Tuttle (NW) 8-6, 6. Chelsea Bettis (EM) 8-6
