GOSHEN — The sixth-ranked Warsaw boys track and field team is getting used to tight meets with the Penn Kingsmen. After losing to Penn 67-65 during last year's dual meet, the Warsaw Tigers posted a 124-115.5 win over the Kingsmen a month later at the Max Truex Invitational before falling 83-82 at the Kokomo Regional. In the latest chapter between the budding rivalry, it was the Kingsmen once again coming out on top, winning the Class A division of Saturday's 71st running of the Goshen Relays with 84 points, followed by Warsaw's 83. “With this being our second meet, we were really looking to be in a position to compete,” Warsaw coach Matt Thacker said. “We knew with Penn, (No. 7) Carroll, Fort Wayne Wayne – we knew we were in that top four. To be fighting and clawing all the way to the end, then come up short – you can take it as discouraging, but truly, I'm not.” A year ago, Warsaw tied Carroll for the Goshen Relays title, but during a season with so many meets cancelled or postponed due to weather, the Tigers were just happy to be competing – albeit in some cold winds. “We didn't get the weather we wanted, but we're out here running and getting the meet in,” Thacker said. "You can't complain.” In the Class B division, Fairfield won its fifth-straight Goshen Relays title with 99 points, while Wawasee was fifth with 62 points and Whitko’s 41 placed it in a four-way tie for 10th place. Wawasee took first place in the 400 relay with Michael Pena, Jacob Hutchinson, J.J. Gilmer and Clayton Cook finishing in 46.13 seconds, while the foursome also finished second in the 800 relay (1:40.77). Also for the Warriors, Adam Doll, Matt Miller, Jaxon Bame and Zach Cockrill won the Distance Medley Relay (11:23.64), Doll was second in the 1600 (4:42.50), Gilmer was third in the high jump (6-1) and Cook was third in the 110 hurdles (16.41). Whitko also received a first-place finish, as Tyler Sherwin, Blake Sapp, Maley Stewart and Conner Stouder won the 800 relay (1:40.60) and the relay of Michael Carroll, Brady Herendeen, Sherwin and Stouder were second to Wawasee in the 400 relay, posting a time of 46.14, one-hundredth of a second slower than the winning time. Stouder also finished second in the 100 (11.60) and Herendeen was third in the long jump with his leap of 20-feet, 2-inches. For Warsaw, it was once again led by its distance runners, even though the Tigers were down one. During the cross country season, Warsaw senior Jacob Poyner, junior Ellis Coon and senior Robert Murphy all finished in the top 15 at the state finals – 6th, 8th and 14th, respectively. The trio will be relied upon once again on the track, although Coon is currently sidelined with an injury, but may be able to return later this week. Without Coon, Poyner and Murphy still did their thing, as Poyner won one heat of the 1600 (4:22.84), while Murphy won the other (4:20.77), garnering 10 points each for the first-place finishes. “We know what we're going to get with Jake,” Thacker said of Poyner, who'll be running at Wake Forest next year. “We know what effort we're going to get with Robert. Robert just continues to not run through walls, but just kind of blow them up. He just continues to be phenomenal.” Murphy will also be running on the collegiate level, signing on with Vincennes, although Coon's plans are still up in the air. Along with his college choice being unclear, the same can be said for what may have happened if he had been healthy enough to run at the meet. “You think about the 4x(800),” Thacker said about areas Coon may have helped out Saturday. “He could have helped us out there and possibly gotten us a first instead of second. In the (Distance Medley Relay), instead of fourth, maybe we get second or first.” Seeding may also have been a ‘what if’ question that could be asked. At the relays, multiple races are run for each event, exampled by Poyner and Murphy both getting first-place points in the 1600. In the 1600 relay, the final event of the day, Penn won its race in 3:28.96, while Warsaw's relay of Chad Goon, Gabe Furnivall, Nathan Kolbe and Ryan Goon won its in 3:26.85. Despite Warsaw being faster, it received the same amount of points as Penn. Another negative for Warsaw came in the 400 relay. In its race, Warsaw's Wyatt Jones, Kolbe, Furnivall and Tristan McClone placed second in 44.29 seconds, finishing second to Elkhart Memorial's time of 43.09. Penn then won its heat in a time of 44.51 seconds, but earned 10 points to Warsaw's eight, despite actually running a slower time. In fact, the top three finishers in Warsaw's heat were all faster than Penn. But, it's the way the meet's scored and Thacker was able to point out various aspects where points were lost. “In the long jump, we were a half-inch from getting another point,” Thacker said. “In the discus, we're a scratch away from getting a fifth place. We were real close there. “In a big meet like this, that's what happens sometimes,” he added. “We just ended up on the short end.” The Tigers' other first-place finish came in the high jump, where Stephen Kolbe cleared 6-4. Despite the close loss, Thacker wasn't displeased with his guys, who make up their Northern Lakes Conference home meet against Northridge today. “I thought our guys rose to the occasion,” he said. “They overcame adversity, overcame the weather. Sometimes, you just don't have enough points at the end.”
GOSHEN RELAYS Team Scores (Class A) – Penn 84, Warsaw 83, F.W. Wayne 67.5, Carroll 64.5, Elkhart Memorial 59, Northridge 54.5, Mishawaka 48, Goshen 47.5, F.W. North Side 44, LaPorte 34, S.B. Riley 33, S.B. Adams 32, Elkhart Central 30, Concord 23, S.B. Clay 16, S.B. Washington 10 (Winners, Local Results) Long Jump – 1. Carrington Robinson (Wayne) 22-1.5, 9. Nathan Kolbe (Warsaw) 19-7.5; High Jump – 1. Stephen Kolbe (Warsaw) 6-4; Pole Vault – 1. Josh Rheinheimer (Northridge) 13-0, 4. Jeff Coulter (Warsaw) 12-0; Discus – 1. Russell Collins (F.W. North) 144-8, 8. Andrew Schiedt (Warsaw) 130-0; Shot Put – 1. Isaiah Cook (Penn) 49-1; 3200 Relay – 1. Carroll (Eric Claxton, Will Ottenweller, Alex Hess, Jonathan Harper) 8:01.17, 2. Warsaw (Robert Murphy, Daniel Messenger, Tyler Houvener, Jacob Poyner), 8:08.80; Distance Medley Relay – 1. Carroll (Jacob Schmeling, Kevin Salter, Ross Marano, Claxton) 10:48.83, 4. Warsaw (Ismael Calderon, Ryan Goon, Houvener, Brysten James) 11:11.29; 800 Relay – 1. F.W. North (Desmond Gaston, C.J. JAckson, Alex Moses, Tyvon Kelley) 1:32.47, 4. Warsaw (Chad Goon, Ross Armey, Caleb Klusman, Tristan McClone) 1:37.71; 800 Relay – 1. Penn (Greg Higgins, Zach Oakley, Christian Hill, Tommy Grant) 1:33.28 110 Hurdles – 1. Tim Deal (Penn) 15.24, 5. Taylor Cone (Warsaw) 16.77; 400 Relay – 1. Elkhart Memorial (David Doyle, Caleb Platz, McNeal Stewart, Davontae Millsaps) 43.09, 2. Warsaw (Wyatt Jones, N. Kolbe, Gabe Furnivall, McClone) 44.29; 400 Relay – 1. Penn (Laughman, Oakley, Grant, Higgins) 44.51; 1600 – 1. Poyner (Warsaw) 4:22.84; 1600 – 1. Robert Murphy (Warsaw) 4:20.77; 800 Sprint Medley – 1. Carroll (Riley Schuette, Jimmy Crumley, Justin Tranquil, Alex Crabill) 1:38.58, 5. Warsaw (C. Goon, N. Kolbe, McClone, Michael Compton) 1:42.62; 800 Sprint Medley – 1. F.W. North (Allen Walker, Kelley, Moses, Jackson) 1:37.86; 100 – 1. Millsaps (Memorial) 11.23, 6. Jones (Warsaw) 11.81; 1600 Relay – 1. Penn (Christian Hill, Oakley, Thomas Gales, Deal) 3:28.96; 1600 Relay – 1. Warsaw (C. Goon, Furnivall, N. Kolbe, R. Goon) 3:26.85
Team Scores (Class B) – Fairfield 99, Gary West Side 88, Lakeland 66, Westview 64, Wawasee 62, Plymouth 58, West Noble 52, Prairie Heights 43, NorthWood 43, Whitko 41, East Noble 41, Columbia City 41, John Glenn 41, Culver Military Academy 37, Jimtown 34, New Prairie 32, Bremen 31, Wabash 28, Mishawaka Marian 25, Central Noble 24, Garrett 20, Fremont 13, LaVille 5 (Winners, Local Results) Long Jump – 1. Lonnie Johnson (Gary West) 21-6.5, 3. Brady Herendeen (Whitko) 20-2, 6. J.J. Gilmer (Wawasee) 19-10; High Jump – 1. Carter Gill (Jimtown) 6-3, 3. Gilmer (Wawasee) 6-1, 9. Blake Sapp (Whitko) 5-8, 13. Austin Trowbridge (Wawasee) 5-6; Pole Vault – 1. Nate Raber (Westview) 15-0; Discus – 1. Kyle Ostrander (Fairfield) 153-3, 7. Tyler Sherwin (Whitko) 133-8, 8. Ethan Brown (Wawasee) 132-0, 9. Jon Walker (Wawasee) 129-5; Shot Put – 1. Dan Samuelson (Plymouth) 52-1.5, 4. Chad Eppley (Wawasee) 48-3; 3200 Relay – 1. Glenn (Alex Crump, Cameron Mester, Nathan Palmer, Luke Runyan) 8:36.94; 3200 Relay – 1. Lakeland (Mishael Theis, Joseph Trost, Mitch Herber, Eric Herber) 8:34.94, 7. Wawasee (Joey Bornman, Adam Baker, Austin Krizman, Erick Meier) 9:32.29, 8. Whitko (Derek Miller, John Crosson, Luckson Stieglitz, Kuyler Bailey) 9:37.03; Distance Medley Relay – 1. Wawasee (Adam Doll, Matt Miller, Jaxon Bame, Zach Cockrill) 11:23.64, 11. Whitko (Stieglitz, Cole Eberly, Evan Cozad, Lane Wolf) 13:36.12; Distance Medley Relay – 1. Lakeland (E. Herber, M. Herber, Theis, Trost) 11:29.98; 800 Relay – 1. Fairfield (Brett Baumgartner, Dillon Lockwood, Kegan Showalter, Alex Mast) 1:33.61; 800 Relay – 1. Westview (Lindon McDonald, Jarret Slabach, Raber, Nic Raber, Max Laughlin) 1:34.15, 8. Wawasee (Miller, Kevin Carpenter, Tyler Morgan, Chris Pezan) 1:46.78; 800 Relay – 1. Whitko (Sherwin, Sapp, Maley Stewart, Conner Stouder) 1:40.60 110 Hurdles – 1. Cameron Kistle (Fairfield) 15.88, 3. Clayton Cook (Wawasee) 16.41; 400 Relay – 1. East Noble (Kyle Mundon, Brandon Mable, Eric Butler, Walker Boyles) 45.68; 400 Relay – 1. Gary West (Jonvae Johnson, L. Johnson, Darnell Jones, Carlton Sims) 43.92; 400 Relay – 1. Wawasee (Michael Pena, Jacob Hutchinson, Gilmer, Cook) 46.13, 2. Whitko (Michael Carroll, Herendeen, Sherwin, Stouder) 46.14; 1600 – 1. Wes Hibbard (CMA) 4:49.26; 1600 – 1. Brandon Arnold (West Noble) 4:38.42, 5. Bailey (Whitko) 4:55.67; 1600 – 1. Ryan Smith (Central Noble) 4:41.78, 2. Doll (Wawasee) 4:42.50, 11. Crosson (Whitko) 5:17.38; 800 Sprint Medley – 1. West Noble (Kam Bontrager, Erik Mawhorter, Logan Heintzelman, Jonathan Moreno) 1:44.33, 7. Whitko (Carroll, Herendeen, Sherwin, Sapp) 1:54.05; 800 Sprint Medley – 1. Fairfield (Mitch DeWitt, Cameron Kitson, Dillon Lockwood, Mast) 1:40.07, 2. Wawasee (Pena, Hutchinson, Cook, Gilmer) 1:40.77; 800 Sprint Medley – 1. Gary West (Jones, William Wadley, Darius Barnes, Khari Daniel) 1:40.31; 100 – 1. Jonvae Russell (Gary West) 11.38, 2. Stouder (Whitko) 11.60, 7. Cook (Wawasee) 13.35; 1600 Relay – 1. Columbia City (Andrew McFarland, Trent Hinen, David Fulk, Seth Kissinger) 3:45.42; 1600 Relay – 1. Fairfield (A.J. Mast, Showalter, Alex Mast, Baumgartner) 3:37.42; 1600 Relay – 1. Gary West (Jare Glover, Deronte Buggs, Carlton Sims, J. Johnson) 3:27.72
