Plymouth Wins NLC Girls Track And Field Title

MIDDLEBURY - The Northern Lakes Conference is known as one of the most competitive athletic conferences in the area, and Tuesday's NLC girls track and field tourney was no exception.

Plymouth earned top honors with 137 points, and Northridge was just three points behind with a 134. Warsaw placed third with 101 points, and NorthWood was fifth with 60. Wawasee placed seventh with 31 points.

Plymouth captured five first-place finishes, while Northridge had six. NorthWood and Warsaw each had one first.

Plymouth won the NLC title for the first time in school history. Warsaw won the title last year.

Warsaw's lone first came in the 400 relay. Ashley Kitchens, Amy Robertson, Kim Love and Claire Beckett combined for a time of 51.65 seconds, topping their nearest competitor, Plymouth, by half a second.

Carol Duncan tossed the shot put 38 feet, 1/2 inch to earn NorthWood's only first. Duncan's teammate, Natalie Nunemaker placed second with a toss of 35-11.

Wawasee's Erica Auker was on her way to a first-place finish in the 300 hurdle competition, several strides in front of her nearest competitor, when she caught her foot on the last hurdle. Auker hit the ground, and Concord's Kelly Hale passed her as she lay on the ground to get the first-place ribbon and the NLC championship title.

However, Auker was not overlooked in the end. She was voted to one of three At-Large All-Conference positions. NorthWood's Nunemaker and Warsaw's Hillary Barlow earned the other two At-Large spots.

Northridge's Cassie Bjurstrom and Plymouth's Morgan Uceny were triple winners in the meet. Bjurstrom placed first in the 100, the 200 and the long jump, while Uceny won the 400 and was a member of the 3200 relay team and the 1600 relay team.

Northridge's Natalie Ewing captured NLC honors in two events, placing first in the 3200 and 1600 runs.

Along with one first-place finish, Warsaw had three seconds, four thirds and two fourths. NorthWood had one first, one second, two thirds and two fourths, while Wawasee had four fourth-place finishes.

"I am very proud of our team," said Warsaw coach Paul Boyd. "They competed very well, and they ran good times. This meet has a very good competition level.

"I think the girls are probably upset. They are harder on themselves than anyone else is. That's a good thing, I guess it's just the competitor in them."

With the win, Plymouth won the NLC title. Warsaw and Northridge tied for second in the final standings, while NorthWood was fourth and Wawasee finished seventh.

Warsaw, NorthWood and Wawasee will be in action again when they compete in the Warsaw Sectional Tuesday.

"We will work more on our techniques, our handoffs, and our starts," said Boyd. "If we're not in shape now, we won't be ready whatever we do."

GIRLS NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE MEET

Team results - 1. Plymouth 137, 2. Northridge 134, 3. Warsaw 101, 4. Concord 61, 5. NorthWood 60, 6. Goshen 57, 7. Wawasee 31

3200 Relay -Ê1. Plymouth (Beckham, Benge, Martin, Uceny) 9:44.38; 2. Northridge; 3. Warsaw; 4. Goshen; 5. NorthWood; 6. Concord; 7. Wawasee

Discus -Ê1. J. Palmer (Ply) 122-9; 2. S. Homan (Con); 3. N. Nunemaker (NW); 4. A. Richardson (Gos); 5. R. Schlosser (Con); 6. J. VanVactor (Ply); 7. H. Walenga (War); 8. S. Bauman (Waw)

100 Hurdles -Ê1. K. Hale (Con) 15.92, new record; 2. E. Auker (Waw); 3. F. Fleischman (NR); 4. J. Jakubowicz (NR); 5. J. Russell (Gos); 6. A. Faulkner (Ply); 7. N. Latham (Gos); 8. K. Love (War)

100 -Ê1. C. Bjurstrom (NR) 12.85; 2. A. Burroughs (Ply); 3. A. Herkenroder (Con); 4. K. Love (War); 5. S. Craig (Ply); 6. P. DeWilde (NR); 7. A. Kitchens (War); 8. J. Hughes (NW)

Long Jump -Ê1. C. Bjurstrom (NR) 16-1 3/4; 2. M. Uceny (Ply); 3. K. Chamberlin (NW); 4. N. Loucks (NW); 5. M. Larimer (Gos); 6. C. Boyd (War); 7. C. Beckett (War); 8. N. Rash (Ply)

1600 -Ê1. N. Ewing (NR) 5:15.84; 2. T. Brenneman (NR); 3. H. Barlow (War); 4. C. Bowen (Con); 5. K. Beckham (Ply); 6. J. Caton (Gos); 7. J. Finch (War); 8. S. Slemp (Ply)

400 Relay -Ê1. Warsaw (A. Kitchens, A. Robertson, K. Love, C. Beckett) 51.65; 2. Plymouth; 3. Northridge; 4. Concord; 5. NorthWood; 6. Goshen; 7. Wawasee

400 -Ê1. M. Uceny (Ply) 1:00.10; 2. C. Bjurstrom (NR); 3. R. Rondeau (War); 4. J. Wehrly (War); 5. B. Winchester (Waw); 6. Z. Keyser (Gos); 7. N. Blue (NR); 8. K. Ellington (Gos)

Shot Put - 1. C. Duncan (NW) 38-1/2; 2. N. Nunemaker (NW); 3. J. Palmer (Ply); 4. D. Jones (Con); 5. F. Fleischman (NR); 6. K. Hoover (Waw); 7. J. VanVactor (Ply); 8. J. Wehrly (War)

300 Hurdles -Ê1. K. Hale (Con) 49.95; 2. J. Lewis (Ply); 3. M. Scheetz (War); 4. L. Olsen (Waw); 5. S. Stump (Ply); 6. A. Faulkner (Ply) 7. C. Boyd (War); 8. J. Russell (Gos)

800 -Ê1. T. Brenneman (NR) 2:19.82; 2. N. Ewing (NR); 3. C. Benge (Ply); 4. J. Rozelle (Gos); 5. K. Beckham (Ply); 6. K. Kurosky (War); 7. E. Minnick (Gos); 8. J. Wehrly (War)

High Jump - 1. N. Rash (Ply) 5-5; 2. K. Kurosky (War); 3. A. Faulkner (Ply); 4. C. Duncan (NW); 5. R. Schoolcraft (Gos); 6. E. Cook (War); 7. J. Kaufman (Gos); 8. L. Olsen (Waw)

200 - 1. C. Bjurstrom (NR) 26.47; 2. C. Beckett (War); 3. A. Burroughs (Ply); 4. S. Craig (Ply); 5. P. DeWilde (NR); 6. A. Herkenroder (Con); 7. K. Yoder (NW)

3200 - 1. N. Ewing (NR) 11:37; 2. H. Barlow (War); 3. K. Flemming (NR); 4. J. Caton (Gos); 5. L. Gruenwald (Gos); 6. J. Finch (War); 7. K. Huff (NW); 8. A. Howard (Ply)

1600 Relay -Ê1. Plymouth (C. Benge, S. Craig, K. Beckham, M. Uceny) 4:06.52; 2. Warsaw; 3. Northridge; 4. Wawasee; 5. Goshen; 6. NorthWood; 7. Concord