BREMEN - On a day when temperatures soared above 90 degrees, Warsaw's 3,200 relay team turned the heat up even more.
In the first event of Tuesday's girls track regional at Bremen High School, the foursome of freshman Ashley Erba, sophomores Brooke Kline and Lilly Fleming and senior Cendall Ogle ran a winning time of 9:27.40.Their time not only beat the second-place team from Mishawaka by 11 seconds, but also beat the previous Warsaw Community High School record by six seconds.
The previous school record of 9:33.60 was set in 2008 by Courtnie Lyke, Ashley Henry, Ogle and Erica Ridderman.
"Ashley led off with a great leg, and each girl ran their best split of the year," said Warsaw coach Scott Erba, whose foursome beat the runner-up team from Mishawaka by almost a straightaway. "It all added up to a school record. It's exciting for the girls to have that confidence, and to come in here and each run two great laps."
The top three individuals or relay teams, as well as those who met a state standard time or distance, advance to the June 4 state finals at Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex at Indiana University in Bloomington.
The Lady Tigers, who finished fourth as a team with 49 points, will be represented at the state finals by three indviduals and two relay teams.
"We came in ready to go and had some good performances," said Erba. "We had good performances out of a lot girls, others were just better than us in some events. But the 4x800 team set a school record and won the regional, the 4x400 team ran their best race of the year and is going to state, and we have three individuals going to state. We're pretty excited about the group we have going to state."
The Lady Tigers' 1,600 relay team of junior Leah Moore, freshman Kristen Quick, junior Madison Long and senior Corinne Coon finished third in a time of 4:02.37.
Individually, Ogle finished second in the 800 in a time of 2:18.02, while Moore was third in the 400 with a time of 1:00.34 and Coon finished third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.14 seconds.
"Cendall Ogle had a great night," said Erba. "I like her as our anchor in the 4x800. If it's a close race, and we have Cendall Ogle, I like our chances. She also ran a good 800 and finished second. The girl from Bremen set a school record, but Cendall was able to make a move and get around her. She showed heart and because of it is going to state."
Bremen's Hope Jordan set a school record in the 800 with her fourth-place time of 2:19.89. Ogle passed Hope on the last lap, and then was able to get around Mishawaka's Ashley Name, who finished third in a time of 2:18.66.
In the team standings, Penn scored 71 points and won the Bremen Regional for the third consecutive year, while South Bend St. Joe was second with 56 points and South Bend Adams finished third with 55 points.
Warsaw and South Bend Washington rounded out the top five teams with 49 and 48 points, respectively.
Tuesday's regional featured 39 schools and 300-plus competitors.
Wawasee scored six points as a team, while Manchester finished the evening with one point.
Tippecanoe Valley and Triton were also represented at the regional but didn't score any points.
Wawasee's effort was highlighted by sixth-place finishes from senior Stephanie Kuhn (shot put) and sophomore Mallory Rondeau (800).
Manchester's top performer was junior Andrea Sharfman, who finished eighth in the 1,600.
Team Scores - Penn 71, South Bend St. Joseph's 56, South Bend Adams 55, Warsaw 49, South Bend Washington 48, Eastern (Greentown) 40.5, Elkhart Central 31.5, Culver Academies 30, Concord 28, Goshen 27.5, Northridge 26, Mishawaka 25, Fairfield 25, Bremen 22, Kokomo 17, Cass 13, Northwestern 11.5, South Bend Riley 11, Jimtown 8, Wawasee 6, Oak Hill 4, Culver Community 4, LaVille 3, Plymouth 2, NorthWood 2, Elkhart Memorial 2, Maconquah 2, Logansport 2, Western 1, Manchester 1.
(Top 3 Advance To State, Winners and Local Results)
