Poyner, Murphy Push Warsaw to third-straight sectional crown
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
GOSHEN – Coach Matt Thacker wanted his Warsaw boys track team to do something special at Thursday night’s Goshen Sectional. Led by senior distance runners Jake Poyner and Robert Murphy and the record-breaking 1,600 relay team, the seventh-ranked Tigers certainly did, as they ran away with their third-straight sectional title and the program’s 24th overall. “We talked about doing something special,” said Thacker, whose team won seven of the 16 events and will be represented in a total of 14 events at Thursday’s Kokomo Regional. “We’re blessed with a bunch of good kids.” The top four teams or individuals in each event advance to the regional. While winning seven events allowed Warsaw to pile up points quickly, earning 10 points per victory, the Tigers’ depth certainly made them the class of the field. Warsaw won the meet with 135 points, followed in the top five by Fairfield (81), Northridge (75), Elkhart Memorial (66.5) and Elkhart Central (59). The host Redskins were sixth with 54.5 points, while Wawasee (42), Jimtown (41), Concord (30), NorthWood (22) and Elkhart Christian rounded out the field of teams. Poyner took first in both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the Tigers. Owner of the fastest time in the state this season, Poyner won the 1,600 in a time of 4:16.79, while Murphy, owner of the state’s third-fastest time in the mile this season, was second in 4:19.06. “It’s good,” Poyner answered when asked about the Tigers being fortunate to have two championship-caliber distance runners. “We key off each other, we have been all year. We make each other better.” Poyner won the 3,200 in a time of 9:33.28, while Murphy, the state’s top seed in the 800, won the 800 in a time of 1:55.27. “They’re the heart and soul of this team,” Thacker said when asked if he could put into words what Poyner and Murphy mean to the Tigers. “Robert is the engine, and Jake is just a hard-working, very talented young man who does everything right for us, his family and the school. They’re both kids the community should be very proud of. It’s an honor to coach kids like that.” Other individual winners for Warsaw included juniors Seth Fouts and Gabe Furnivall. Fouts won the shot put with a distance of 54-6 and also advanced to the regional with a fourth-place finish in the discus. Furnivall, son of 1982 400-meter state champion Troy Furnivall, won the 400 in a time of 50.62 seconds. The younger Furnivall also teamed with seniors Wyatt Jones and Nathan Kolbe and junior Ryan Goon to win the 1,600 relay in a record-time of 3:20.85. Their time eclipsed the mark of 3:20.92 set last year by Furnivall, Goon, Jones and Spencer Rheinhardt, who is now running for Notre Dame. Warsaw’s quartet of Jones, Kolbe, Furnivall and junior Tristan McClone won the 400 relay in a time of 42.89 seconds. The Wawasee Warriors won two events and will be represented in a total of three at the Kokomo Regional. Sophomore Clayton Cook won the 110 hurdles in 15.08 seconds, while classmate Jacob Gilmer won the high jump by clearing 6-4. “I’m battling shin splints, that’s been a negative the last couple meets, but this is awesome,” said Gilmer, who beat Warsaw junior Stephen Kolbe on attempts. “I don’t even know how to describe how good this feels.” Wawasee junior Adam Doll advanced to the regional with a fourth-place finish in the 3,200. Warsaw was a heavy favorite to win the sectional championship. On paper, the favorites to capture the Kokomo Regional crown are Warsaw and the Penn Kingsmen. “It’s going to be a battle with us and Penn, and throw Kokomo in there too,” said Thacker. “Penn is a very deep team with a lot of speed, and they have strenghts where we have weaknesses, and we have strengths where they have weaknesses. It’s going to come down to who scores the most and what balances out. It’s a big meet. The bottom line is, how many kids can we get to the state meet?”
