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Scott Erba said he didn't care about the team scores.
If his Warsaw girls track team accomplished his goals at Tuesday evening's Warsaw Sectional, he said the points would take care of themselves.
He was right.
The host Tigers finished second in the sectional at the Tiger Athletic Complex with 97 points, six points behind sectional champion Elkhart Central.
Erba's goal was to advance all three Tiger relay teams and a number of individuals to Tuesday's Bremen Regional.
Mission accomplished.
"Going into tonight, I did not care about the scores," said Erba. "We wanted to advance all three relay teams and as many girls as we could. If we did that, the scores would take care of themselves. To be that close (to winning the sectional) makes me feel good."
Elkhart Memorial finished third with 92 points, while Northridge (85), Wawasee (83), Concord (56), Goshen (40), Jimtown (37), NorthWood (17) and Fairfield (10) rounded out the 10-team field.
Tuesday's runner-up finish was the Tigers' best finish in the sectional since 2001 when they finished second to Northridge. Warsaw's girls team last won a sectional in 2000.
The Tigers were ever-so-close Tuesday.
So close in fact, Elkhart Central's coach acted surprised when Warsaw was read as the runner-up finish and his Blue Blazers the sectional champion. He and an assitant coach then had to round up their team, which was already on the bus ready to leave, to accept the trophy.
The top four individuals or relay teams, as well as those making a set time, height or distance, qualify for Tuesday's Bremen Regional.
Led by four first-place finishes, the Tigers advanced to the regional in nine of 16 events.
Junior Karrie Burch finished first in the 100 with a time of 12.78 seconds, while sophomore teammate Mercedes Plummer was third in a time of 13.02 seconds. Wawasee senior Jessie Spearman seperated the Tiger teammates, finishing second with a time of 12.89 seconds.
The trio of sprinters also took the top three spots in the 200, with Spearman winning in a time of 26.21 seconds. Plummer was second while Burch finished third.
Plummer and Burch also teammed with Tiffany Shepherd and Rachel Voorhorst to win the 400 relay in a time of 49.98 seconds.
"Our sprint group is really good right now," said Erba.
Other sectional champions for Warsaw include senior Julie Seiss, who won the 800 with a time of 2:18.23, and the 1600 relay team of Lauren Pridgen, Kim Clay, Katie Furnivall and Seiss.
The Tiger foursome won with a time of 4:02.78.
Wawasee's only other first-place finish came from Jessie Wolf, who won the high jump competition with a height of 5-2.
In all, Warsaw had four first-place finishers, one runner-up finisher, five third-place finishers and a fourth-place finisher that qualified for the regional.
Wawasee had two firsts, two seconds, two thirds and a fourth-place finish.
Team scores - Elkhart Central (EC) 103, Warsaw (War) 93), Elkhart Memorial (EM) 92, Northridge (NR) 85, Wawasee (Wawa) 83, Concord (C) 56, Goshen (G) 40, Jimtown (J) 37, NorthWood (NW) 17, Fairfield (FF) 10
Note - the top four individuals or relay teams in each event, as well as those who met a set time or distance, advance to Tuesday's Bremen Regional.
3200 relay - 1. Northridge (Lantzer, Pezzanite, Lafree, Miller) 9:48.40, 2. Concord 10:11.51, 3. Warsaw 10:14.74, 4. Elkhart Central 10:19.78, 5. Elkhart Memorial 10:22.89, 6. Goshen 10:38.69
100 - 1. Burch (War) :12.78, 2. J. Spearman (Wawa) :12.89, 3. Plummer (War) :13.02, 4. Sanders (EC) :13.04, 5. Rensberger (Wawa) :13.33, 6. Pettis (EC) :13.58
100 hurdles - 1. Jackson (EM) :15.61, 2. Kizinski (EC) :15.73, 3. Helm (C) :16.19, 4. Smith (EC) :16.73, 5. Knafel (Wawa) :17.36, 6. Kammerer (War) :17.82
200 - 1. J. Spearman (Wawa) :26.21, 2. Plummer (War) :26.25, 3. Burch (War) :26.47, 4. Sanders (EC) :27.25, 5. Bumpus (J) :27.40, 6. Rensberger (Wawa) :27.99
1600 - 1. Jackson (NR) 5:06.34, 2. Gingerich (NR) 5:08.67, 3. Ridderman (War) 5:26.50, 4. Scott (C) 5:27.16, 5. Pacz (EM) 5:31.16, 6. Hollinger-Janzen (G) 5:48.02
400 relay - 1. Warsaw (Shepherd, Voorhorst, Plummer, Burch) :49.98, 2. Elkhart Central :50.53, 3. Wawasee :50.99, 4. Elkhart Memorial :51.35, 5. Northridge :53.20, 6. Concord :53.49
400 - 1. Lewis (EM) 1:00.24, 2. Stevens (G) 1:01.32, 3. Calhoun (C) 1:01.92, 4. Pridgen (War) 1:01.94, 5. Mark (Wawa) 1:02.58, 6. Carr (EC) 1:03.39
300 hurdles - 1. Aikin (EC) :46.25, 2. Knafel (Wawa) :48.02, 3. Campbell (NR) :48.61, 4. Jackson (EM) :48.70, 5. Clay (War) :48.97, 6. Dumas (EM) :50.28
800 - 1. Seiss (War) 2:18.23, 2. Miller (NR) 2:24.38, 3. Pezzanite (NR) 2:25.09, 4. Sorg (G) 2:26.37, 5. Pollen (Wawa) 2:28.34, 6. Cors (EM) 2:31.39
3200 - 1. Miller (NR) 11:30.53, 2. Swendsen (NR) 11:32.37, 3. Dean (J) 11:54.06, 4. Walterhouse (EM) 12:19.62, 5. Smith (C) 12:30.61, 6. Hollinger-Janzen (G) 12:31.82
1600 relay - 1. Warsaw (Pridgen, Clay, Furnivall, Seiss) 4:02.78, 2. Elkhart Central 4:04.20, 3. Wawasee 4:12.25, 4. Elkhart Memorial 4:13.54, 5. Goshen 4:13.95, 6. Concord 4:20.79
Long jump - 1. Aikin (EC) 16-11, 2. Calhoun (C) 16-10.25, 3. Jackson (EM) 16-3, 4. Krumwiede (EM) 15-11.75, 5. Voorhorst (War) 15-10.25, 6. Emanuel (G) 15-4.75
High jump - 1. Wolf (Wawa) 5-2, 2. Goward (J) 5-1, 3. Herschberger (FF) 5-1, 4. Krumwiede (EM) 5-0, 5. Silasa (EC) 5-0, 6. K. Spearman (Wawa) 5-0
Discus - 1. Neufeldt (J) 106-7.75, 2. Klapp (EC) 105-3.5, 3. Davis (War) 102-11.25, 4. Fick (Wawa) 102-1, 5. Watson (EM) 98-9, 6. Ward-Burke (EC) 96-10.25
Shot put - 1. Peoples (EM) 37-2, 2. Jackson (C) 35-11, 3. Klapp (EC) 34-5.25, 4. Fick (Wawa) 33-11, 5. Derr (NR) 33-10, 6. Ward-Burke (EC) 33-7
Pole vault - 1. Fritschi (NR) 10-0, 2. Steiner (NW) 10-0, 3. Sullivan (EC) 8-6, 4. Wagner (J), 5. Campbell (G) 8-6, 6. Pinion (FF) 8-0
