GOSHEN – Thursday’s trip to the Maple City ended in sweet fashion for coach Matt Thacker and Warsaw’s boys track and field team. Led by first-place finishers Owen Glogovsky, Daniel Messenger and Ross Armey, the Tigers scored 93 points and held off Northridge (81) and Elkhart Central (78) to win their fifth-straight Goshen Sectional championship. NorthWood finished fourth in the final team standings with 64 points, followed in the 12-team field by Elkhart Memorial (62), Goshen (61), Wawasee (50), Fairfield (41), Concord (39), Jimtown (27.5), Columbia City (24.5) and Elkhart Christian (3). Thursday’s sectional crown came on the heels of last week’s fifth-straight Northern Lakes Conference championship. A year ago, the Tigers won the sectional title with ease, scoring 170 points to runner-up Goshen’s 83. Only one of last year’s individual sectional champions, however, competed for Warsaw Thursday – Rashaan Jackson in the long jump – and the Tigers needed some clutch performances late in the meet to bring home the hardware. They certainly got them. Armey won the 300 hurdles in 40.07 seconds. Messenger won the 800 in 1:58.02. And Glogovsky, who earlier in the meet won the 1600 in 4:29.26, finished third in the 3200 to punch his regional ticket in both events. The top three individuals in each event, as well as those who met a state standard, qualified for next week’s regional at South Bend St. Joe. The Tigers will be represented in seven events at the regional, while the Wawasee Warriors advanced in five events. Second-place finishers for Warsaw included Riley Rhoades (400), Andrew Scheidt (discus) and the 4x400 relay team of Armey, Landan Perry, Messenger and Rhoades. Dylan Childers finished third in the shot put for the Tigers with a distance of 47-11. For Wawasee, Clayton Cook was a double-winner. The speedy senior, who will play football at Ball State University, won the 110 hurdles in 14.63 seconds, and later won the 200 in 22.37 seconds. Cook also anchored the second-place 4x100 relay squad that included Tyler Courter, Cole Van Lue and Jacob Gilmer. Gilmer advanced to the regional in the high jump after finishing third Thursday, while Jonathan Walker was third in the discus competition.
