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In what has already been quite the year to remember for the numerous Warsaw athletic programs, the school was able to add another trophy to its collection on Saturday as junior Jordan Randall captured the state championship in high jump at the Boys Track and Field State Finals in Indianapolis.
Jordan’s clearing of the 7’0” bar was enough to earn him the first individual state championship for Warsaw since 1983, when Neil Fribley won in shot put.
“I was pretty confident going into things, but I knew the two guys behind me were extremely talented too, so anything could happen,” he said. “When I cleared my last jump, I was so happy because I was pretty sure it was enough for the win.”
At Jordan’s side this entire season, and his entire high school career, is his dad and coach, James. With it being clear that Jordan would be competing for state championships early in his high school career while he was still in just 8th grade, James joined the coaching staff at Warsaw his son’s freshman year.
“I spent that entire summer reading and watching videos on the sport, trying to learn how best to coach it,” James said.
It didn’t take long for him to see that something special was brewing.
“I think that winning is a skill. You have to know how to win, and Jordan definitely does,” James said. “His want to be great and the work he puts in to get there is next level. When it got down to seven feet in the finals, both he and the kid from Chesterton missed their first jump. When he got off the mat, I took one look at his face and I knew he was going to make his next jump.”
He did just that, capping off a year that saw Jordan win Indoor State, Northern Lakes Conference, Sectional, Regional, National and State titles. He cleared 6’10’ or higher at every meet this season, minus the weather-affected NLC meet. He also broke both of his previously set indoor and outdoor records.
Jordan used to play basketball and football as well, and credits those two sports for teaching him of the work ethic needed to be successful. That includes taking no days off.
“I sprint five days a week and jump the other two,” Jordan said. “When I’m jumping, I’m usually in that 6’6” to 6’8” range. Sometimes I’ll try for 6’10”.”
Jordan’s performance was just one part of what was a phenomenal day for the Tiger track and field team on Saturday, as Warsaw took fifth place for the first time since 2013. The team has finished higher just once, taking fourth in 1982. The 34 points scored by the Tigers were the most ever.
Two school records fell on Friday, with Jackson Gackenheimer finishing 6th in the 3200M with a time of 9:05.18 and the 4x800M relay team of Noah McPhail, Tyler Mimnaugh, Rick Orr and Clark Meridew taking 8th with a time of 7:51.67.
The 4x800M team of (L-R) Noah McPhail, Clark Meridew, Tyler Mimnaugh and Rick Orr stand on the podium after setting a school record in the final race of their high-school careers.
“Jackson is a guy that has put together some really good seasons for us, but just hasn't been able to find success at the state meet. For him to go out there and run one of his best races ever, it was great to see that for him,” Warsaw coach Scott Erba said. “As for the relay team, four seniors, going out there for the last time to try and do something special, and they end their careers with a school record. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
It was also a phenomenal day for the Tiger throwers, as Warsaw finished the day with three podium finishers in discus and two in shot put. Leading the way for the team was senior James Lieter, who took third in shot and fourth in discus, ending his career with a pair of top-five finishes.
“James got to state as a sophomore and had every intention of making it back in each of the next two years. An injury kind of derailed his junior season a bit, so to see him come back and finish like this is great. A guy finishing top five in two different events is as impressive of a feat as I’ve seen,” Erba said.
Fellow senior Kameron Kauffman took eighth in shot put and ninth in discus, while Ben Booren finished eighth in discus.
The senior class for Warsaw finishes their careers 31-0 in dual meets, 28-0 in the NLC and four time conference champions. As for postseason success, the group is back-to-back sectional champions and took home the school’s first regional trophy since 2016 earlier this spring.
“This really was a special group this year. There were more than a few meets that we thought were going to be close and we ended up winning by 30 points,” Erba said. “Along with the guys that went to state and scored points, we were really deep this year and have a lot of guys coming back that are hungry to find success of their own.”
