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Troy Akers tried to reward his track and field team by giving the guys a day off.
They told him to forget it.
Warsaw took care of Penn 76-56 on Thursday, the Tigers' last meet before spring break. Because they already have competed in three outdoor and two indoor meets before April 3, Akers was going to give them today off.
"Yeah, I wanted them to take (today) off," Akers said. "We're to the point where we need a mental break. But several kids told me they want to come in."
One thing's for sure: The Tigers showed up for their Thursday meet with Penn. Warsaw placed first in 12 of 16 events, dominating the races. They outscored Penn 19-17 in the field events and 57-39 in running events.
"Penn's a great program," Akers said. "People talk about our depth, but we want to build a program like Penn has year in and year out. They have 75 kids on their team, and people made a big deal of us having 55 this year, which is still good. When you look at Penn, that's where we want to take our program."
Warsaw junior Jon Hill helped lead the way, taking first in four events. He won the 100-meter dash (11.3 seconds), the 400 (52.6 seconds) and the 200 (22.6 seconds). He also anchored the 1,600 relay, which won with a time of 3:40.4. Jose Esquivel, David Hoffert and Greg Seiss were the other three runners who helped Warsaw to first in the 1,600 relay.
"Jon's maturing," Akers said. "I made the statement in a preseason capsule about his work habits. Since that time, I told him I don't think I've ever seen him work that hard. He's had a big week and has been a leader this week. He's rounding into form."
On Thursday, the list went on.
Matt Horn won the 110 high hurdles in 16.57 seconds. "You have to realize, that's a defensive end we've turned into a hurdler," Akers said.
And then there was Zach Sheetz winning the pole vault with a height of 11 feet. Shaun Mudd winning the high jump with a jump of 5-feet, 8-inches. Steve Fribley winning the shot put with a throw of 44-6. Jose Esquivel winning the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.8 seconds.
While Hill won four events, Akers has seen him have better times.
The guy whose times impressed Akers was Hoffert, who won the 1,600 in 4:37.1 and the 800 in 2:00.4.
"Hoffert ran outstanding," Akers said. "He's proven he's one of the best distance runners in the area. To run a two flat in the 800 with nobody around you ... he's just a guy who's not going to ever run out of gas."
The 800 was one of Warsaw's better events, period. The Tigers swept it. Justin Rice's burst of energy at the tail-end of the race allowed him to catch Penn's runner to take third. Jon Dock finished second.
Akers said he wants to model Warsaw's program after Penn's. If Thursday was any indication, the Tigers are well on their way.
