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The name of a 1980s television show starring Michael J. Fox, the story surrounding a number of locals set to compete in this weekend's track and field state finals is also family ties.
Warsaw, Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley will all be represented at IUPUI's Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, whether it be Friday night in the boys meet or Saturday in the girls meet.
For the three individual Warsaw competitors - freshman Julie Seiss, junior Kyle Boley and senior Cory Hill - the storyline is very similar as all are the youngest of three children to star at WCHS.
Seiss, who also plays volleyball and started at point guard for Will Wienhorst's fifth-ranked varsity Tiger basketball team, will compete in three events Friday.
She advanced from the Bremen Regional with a winning high jump of 5-foot-4 and a runner-up time of 2:18.88 in the 800. She also teamed up with Rachel Rondeau, Jaclyn Leininger and Claire Beckett to finished second in the 1,600 relay.
Being around track competition is nothing new for Seiss, as she grew up with older brothers Greg and Brad, former three-sport standouts for the Tigers themselves.
Brad, a 2002 graduate who holds nearly every football rushing record at Warsaw, is now playing football at Ball State University. For former track coach Troy Akers he was a standout sprinter and high jumper.
Greg, a 2000 graduate now playing football at the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, finished runner-up in the 800 at the state finals as a senior.
Their father Stan Seiss, a standout mile runner at Indiana State University who once held the indoor record and then coached Warsaw in the mid 1980s, calls Julie a combination of both her older brothers.
"Track is something she's always been around with Greg and Brad," Stan Seiss said. "When the kids were young they went to AAU and USA Track and Field meets. It's pretty amazing that she's in three events at state as a freshman. She's so competitive, she doesn't like to get beat. She'll battle to the very end."
Julie, who was jumping 5-3 in the sixth grade, set meet records this year at the South Bend Indoor Competition and the Kokomo Relays. She's won every time out this year.
"I definitely want to finish top five in the high jump," Julie said. "My best jump this year would have me seeded fourth."
Boley, whose father Tony was a track and football star for the Tigers in the 1970s and now coaches him, will compete Friday in the pole vault.
The Boley name is no stranger to state competition either. Tony competed at the track state finals, while Kyle competed at state in the pole vault a year ago and in the wrestling state finals as a freshman. Older brother Anthony, now a student at Purdue, also competed in the wrestling state finals. Rob, a 1998 WCHS grad and oldest of the three Boley brothers, compiled 120-plus wins in his prep wrestling career.
Kyle won the Goshen Sectional with a school and sectional record jump of 15-1 1/2, and then despite an injury advanced from the Fort Wayne Wayne Regional by meeting the state standard qualifying height.
Practicing at IUPUI earlier this week, Kyle cleared what would be a new school record of 15-3.
"It's nice having dad as my coach, he helps me a lot," Kyle said. "I've been getting a lot better with him as my coach. Monday I went down and cleared 15-3. I wanna go down this weekend and finish in the top five."
Said Warsaw coach David Hoffert, a former Tiger and state finalist runner himself, "Kyle has been unbelievable this year. We knew that coming in. His dad told me that when he gets on a streak watch out, and he's been right there with the best in the state this year. He's ready for the state meet, and I think he can go up to 15-6. His jump of 15-1 1/2 already has him in the top 25 in state history. That's a pretty incredible feat."
Hill, whose older brothers Jon and Ryan also advanced to the state track while wearing the orange and black, will compete Friday in the 110 hurdles.
The top three in each event advanced from the regional. So strong was the competition last Thursday at Fort Wayne, Hill finished sixth with a time of :14.66 seconds and still made the state cut time.
"It was great competition at the regional, and it'll be like that at state," said Cory, who along with his brothers and mother Maryann have won world championships in Taekwando. "I've been running against two of the best hurdlers in the nation all year."
Cory, whose mother held the New York record time of 4:20 in the mile for a number of years, is referring to Wawasee junior Anthony Argentino and Elkhart Memorial's Corey Miller.
Argentino leads a number of Wawasee runners headed to state and is seeded No. 1 in the 110 hurdles with a winning regional time of 13.81 seconds. Only two regional times in the entire state were under 14 seconds.
Argentino is also seeded third in the 300 hurdles with the school-record time of 38.11 seconds he ran at last week's regional.
Also competing for Wawasee is the regional championship team of Ryan Stichter, Flaco Perales, Eric Gingerich and David Slabaugh.
Stichter, whose younger sister Rachel will compete at state Saturday, advanced individually with a third-place finish in the 800.
Rachel, a sophomore, advanced from the Bremen Regional in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Tippecanoe Valley will be represented Saturday in the girls state meet in the 400 relay.
The all-sophomore team of Kara Kramer, Heather Rathbun and twins Amanda and Lindsay Wiley advanced after winning a unique run-off situation in a time of 51.46 seconds.
Field events start at 3 p.m. on both days, with the finals of the running events set to get underway at 6:15 p.m.
