Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Times-Union Sports Writer
MENTONE - You had to feel for the athletes on Thursday at Tippecanoe Valley.
With just one loss between the two boys' and two girls' track teams competing at Tippecanoe Valley, the competition was expected to be fierce. But with the freezing cold temperatures, some events were scattered with athletes dropping out. Only one person competed in the pole vault, and others had second thoughts about being out in the weather.
The athletes had to try to stay loose as they waited for their events, but in some cases, it proved difficult. Those running the second, third and fourth legs of relay events were jumping up and down to stay warm and loose while the event was going on. You really could not blame Manchester and Valley if they would not have competed at top form.
For the most part, however, the participants blocked out the cold and focused on what needed to be done, and all four teams competed well. The Manchester boys ran to a 77-51 win, while the Valley girls moved to 3-0 with a 70-53 victory.
The Manchester boys dominated the short distances. In the 100, Rex Reimer, Michael Hendrix, and Andy Trickle took the top three spots for the Squires. After five events, Manchester led 28-9.
Valley began to close the gap, with a strong effort in the high jump. Noah Silveus leaped 5-feet-10 to take first place. His teammates, Derrick Snyder and Eric Backus followed in second and third to help the Vikings to within 11 points.
Valley continued to cut into the lead in the 400. Josh Brady, the TRC champion in that event the last two years, ran a 55.29 to place first. Charlie Wise and Silveus placed second and third for Valley to make the score 38-31, but the Vikings would get no closer.
Reimer added the 200 to his victory list with a time of 24.16, followed by Trickle. That extended the Manchester lead to 18 points.
Jeremy Stacy gave Manchester its final win of the evening in the 3200 with a time of 11:18.87, as the Squires won going away, 77-51.
The girls' match stayed tight throughout the afternoon. Manchester took a 9-5 lead after sweeping the top three spots in the 100 hurdles. Muana Timoteo ran a 17.35 to take first place. Christy Stephan and Kasie Zile grabbed second and third for the Squires.
The Squires extended the lead to 22-10 when Tara Wion won the 100 with a time of 13.87. Adaku Onyeji placed second for the Squires.
Then, Valley began to cut into the lead. Jenny Day won the 1600 in 6:12.47 to help the Vikings to get within five points. After Valley swept the high jump, led by a leap of 4-8 from Jen Sanders, Manchester led just 28-27.
Valley took a 40-33 lead after taking the top three spots in the 400. Aura Stroschein ran a 1:09.44 to beat out Tara Pratt and Stephanie Tilden.
After Manchester tied it up with a Stephen win in the 300 hurdles, the Valley girls picked up their third sweep of the day, this time in the 800. Sanders ran a 2:51.82, and Kelly Walters and Christina Van Cleane followed behind to put the Vikings ahead 50-41.
Valley extended the lead late with one last sweep of an event, the 3200. Day led the Vikings with a time of 13:06.61, while Stroschein placed second and Emily Jackson finished third as Valley won 70-53.
Both Valley teams will compete on Saturday. The undefeated girls' team will be at Northridge at 10 a.m., and the boys will be at the Fort Wayne Invitational beginning at 11 a.m. The Manchester boys (3-1) will compete in the Marion Relays at 11 a.m. The girls (1-1) will be at North Miami on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
Boys: SQUIRES 77, VIKINGS 51
Pole Vault - 1. Rhoades (M) 9-0
3200 Relay - 1. Valley (McFarlane, Whetstone, Rooney, Hileman) 9:33.93, 2. Manchester
Long Jump - 1. Reimer (M) 20-4 1/2, 2. Manns (V), 3. Trickle (M)
110 High Hurdles - 1. Iden (M) 16.11, 2. Grossman (M), 3. Carlin (V)
100 - 1. Reimer (M) 12.14, 2. Hendrix (M), 3. Trickle (M)
1600 - 1. Stacy (M) 5:11.14, 2. McFarlane (V), 3. Whetstone (V)
High Jump - 1. Silveus (V) 5-10, 2. Snider (V), 3. Backus (V)
400 Relay - 1. Manchester (Trickle, Reimer, Barrett, Hendrix) 47.06, 2. Valley
400 - 1. Brady (V) 55.29, 2. Wise (V), 3. Silveus (V)
300 Hurdles - 1. Iden (M) 40.12, 2. Grossman (M), 3. Manns (V)
800 - 1. Hileman (V) 2:15.56, 2. Walter (M), 3. Rooney (V)
200 - 1. Reimer (M) 24.16, 2. Trickle (M), 3. Brady (V)
Shot Put - 1. Sommers (M) 44-5 1/4, 2. Fox (V), 3. Carter (M)
3200 - 1. Stacy (M) 11:18.87, 2. Walters (M), 3. Whetstone (V)
Discus - 1. Karnof (M) 125-2, 2. Pettit (V), 3. Carter (M)
1600 Relay - 1. Valley (Hileman, Rongoni, Prater, Brady) 3:42.5, 2. Manchester
Girls: VALLEY 70, MANCHESTER 53
3200 Relay - 1. Valley (Walters, Sanders, Stroschein, Day) 11:46.34, 2. Manchester
100 Hurdles - 1. Timoteo (M) 17.35, 2. Stephen (M), 3. Zile (M)
Shot Put - 1. Poe (M) 31-7 1/4, 2. Parker (V), 3. Simons (V)
100 - 1. Wion (M) 13.87, 2. Onyeji (M), 3. Wilcox (V)
1600 - 1. Day (V) 6:12.47, 2. Stroschein (V), 3. Knecht (M)
400 Relay - 1. Manchester (Wion, Miller, Michel, Wion) 53.9
High Jump - 1. Sanders (V) 4-8, 2. Pratt (V), 3. Pontius (V)
Long Jump - 1. Wion (M) 15-8, 2. H. Wilcox (V), 3. S. Wilcox (V)
400 - 1. Stroschein (V) 1:09.44, 2. Pratt (V), 3. Tilden (V)
300 Hurdles - 1. Stephen (M) 53.34, 2. Markstaller (M), 3. Law (V)
800 - 1. Sanders (V) 2:51.82, 2. Walters (V), 3. Van Cleane (V)
200 - 1. Onyeji (M) 29.07, 2. H. Wilcox (V), 3. Michel (M)
3200 - 1. Day (V) 13:06.61, 2. Stroschein (V), 3. Jackson (V)
Discus - 1. Stambaugh (M) 95-11, 2. Rose (V), 3. Poe (M)
1600 Relay - 1. Valley (Pratt, Strohschein, Tilden, Walters) 4:46.06, 2. Manchester
