Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SOUTH WHITLEY -ÊTim Mason, the kid with the shaved head who track coach Ron Cherry said was one of the two keys whether Whitko would win or lose Tuesday's meet with Manchester, finished his long jump, put on his Wildcat football sweatshirt and walked over to the edge of the track.
"What you get, Tim-bo?" someone asked. "Twenty-one five," he answered, a crooked grin spreading across his face. Then he thanked his grandmother, standing several feet away at the end of the dirt pit, for coming.
It was a good thing she did, because Mason put on a show - as he typically does - and won the long jump and the 100- and 200-meter dashes to help Whitko edge defending Three Rivers Conference champion Manchester 64-57 Tuesday. Northfield also competed and finished third with 43 points.
The win upped Whitko's record to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the TRC. Manchester dropped to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the TRC. This meet determined who the team to beat in the TRC is. Right now it's Whitko, at least until May 15, when the TRC Tournament will be held. Whoever wins the meet that day wins the conference.
"I've been here 14 years, and this is our best year so far," Cherry said.
This meet marked the second time in four days Whitko finished ahead of Manchester. The two teams also competed in Saturday's Goshen Relays, where Whitko scored 86 and Manchester 62.
"Our seniors pointed toward Manchester," Cherry said. "To do well at the conference and sectional meets, we know we will have to go through Manchester. Saturday at the Goshen Relays and tonight we knew Manchester was a hurdle we had to go through."
For Mason to win his events, that meant he had to go through Manchester's Rex Reimer. The two are typically the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of this track meet. But Reimer false started in the 100 and finished not second, but third, in the long jump. He took second in the 200.
"Rex has been pretty tired, but that's not an excuse," Manchester coach Ned Bowman said. "I think he just had an off day.
"This was a good meet for us, with the exception of a few things. A couple of events didn't go the way we thought they would - the 100 and 400 relay."
Indeed, in a meet decided by seven points, those two events cost the Squires. Reimer got no points in the 100, and the 400 relay team likewise was disqualified.
If Cherry thought Mason having a good meet was one key to winning, the second key was the the discus and shot put. The Wildcats did well there, with Bo Mullins and Ray Smith taking first and third in the discus. They flip-flopped in the shot put, with Smith winning and Mullins taking third.
"We scored in the areas we had to score to win," Cherry said. "If we were to win, we had to score more than their throwers and sprinters. We felt pretty confident there, because we felt we had two good throwers to their one. And Tim Mason had to beat Rex Reimer."
Mason's time of 22.6 seconds in the 200 marked the first time he broke the 23-second barrier.
Manchester competes in the Wabash County Tournament at Manchester College at 4 p.m. May 7.
Whitko hosts Churubusco at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
"We know Manchester is still there," Cherry said. "We'll see them again in a couple of weeks at the conference meet."
BOYS: WHITKO 64, MANCHESTER 57, NORTHFIELD 43
3,200 relay -Ê1. Northfield 8:55.4, 2. Whitko
long jump -Ê1. Mason (W) 21-5 3/4, 2. Brainard (N), 3. Reimer (M)
high jump -Ê1. Mohr (W) 5-8, 2. Gaerte (M), 3. Brainard (N)
pole vault -Ê1. Haupert (N) N/A, 2. Groombridge (M), 3. Rhodes (M)
110 hurdles -Ê1. Iden (M) :15.8, 2. Bueker (M), 3. Linn (W)
100 -Ê1. Mason (W) :11.3, 2. Hendrix (M), 3. Engle (W)
1,600 -Ê1. Andrews (N) 4:41.6, 2. Stacy (M), 3. Parks (N)
discus - 1. Mullins (W) 166-2, 2. Groombridge (M), 3. Smith (W)
400 relay - 1. Whitko :46.0, 2. Northfield
400 -Ê1. Bueker (M) :52.8, 2. Deckena (W), 3. Haupert (N)
300 low hurdles -Ê1. Iden (M) :40.0, 2. Gaerte (M), 3. Linn (W)
shot put -Ê1. Smith (W) 46-4, 2. Groombridge (M), 3. Mullins (W)
200 -Ê1. Mason (W) :22.6, 2. Reimer (M), 3. Engle (W)
800 - 1. Andrews (N) 2:06.10, 2. Culver (N), 3. Hull (W)
3,200 -Ê1. Andrews (N) 10:25.7, 2. Stacy (M), 3. McClure (N)
1,600 -Ê1. Manchester 3:36.6, 2. Whitko
GIRLS: WHITKO 82, MANCHESTER 37, NORTHFIELD 32
shot put -Ê1. Hull (W) 35-5, 2. Poe (M), 3. Tinkel (W)
3,200 -Ê1. Whitko 12:18.6
100 hurdles -Ê1. Hull (W) :16.6, 2. Markstahler (M), 3. Till (W)
100 - 1. Landis (W) :13.7, 2. Slusher (W), 3. Houlihan (N)
1,600 -Ê1. Cordes (N) 5:57.4, 2. Knecht (M), 3. Southworth (W)
long jump -Ê1. Landis (w) 14-7, 2. Parker (M), 3. Metzger (W)
400 relay - 1. Whitko :54.6, 2. Manchester, 3. Northfield
400 - 1. Till (W) 1:07.3, 2. Adang (W), 3. Thomas (N)
discus -Ê1. Poe (M) 102-9, 2. Stambaugh (M), 3. Tinkel (W)
300 hurdles - 1. Hull (W) :49.5, 2. Markstahler (M), 3. Rife (N)
800 -Ê1. Cordes (N) 2:36, 2. Markstahler (M), 3. Clay (N)
200 -Ê1. Slusher (W) :28.5, 2. Landis (W), 3. VanBuskirk (N)
3,200 - 1. Southworth (W) 13:56, 2. Knecht (M), 3. Adams (N)
high jump -Ê1. Thomas (N) 4-8, 2. Metzger (W), 3. Frantz (W)
1,600 relay - 1. Whitko 4:29.4, 2. Manchester, 3. Northfield
