The Warsaw boys track and field team was two tenths of a second from having a state champion Saturday night in Bloomington. At the state finals, on the campus of Indiana University, Warsaw senior Spencer Rheinhardt held a large lead in the 800 with just 200 meters remaining. Rheinhardt made the last turn with an advantage, but Pike senior Gary Austin found another gear as well, caught Rheinhardt with 50 meters remaining and edged him at the finish line. After looking at the digital photo finish, Austin crossed the line in 1:52.17, while Rheinhardt was clocked at 1:52.32, which was a new Warsaw school record. “His effort was outstanding,” Warsaw coach Matt Thacker said via cell phone after returning home Sunday afternoon. “He had a (personal record) and set a school record at the same time. It was a great night for him.” Austin entered the race as the top seed at 1:53.29, while Rheinhardt was third at 1:55.07, but both ran well below those times, with Rheinhardt cutting nearly three seconds off his regional time. “He had a good lead, but Austin is a heck of an athlete,” Thacker said. “We knew he’d have a heck of a kick. Spencer tried to fight him as best he could and had him right down to the wire. To finish like that, it’s tough, but he battled.” The runner-up finish earned Rheinhardt an all-state honor, and he wasn’t the only Warsaw Tiger to do so. Any competitor who finishes in the top nine at the state meet receives all-state recognition, which is what sophomore Stephen Kolbe did in the high jump, finishing sixth, and sophomore Ellis Coon was ninth in the 1600. The all-state honor is the second for Kolbe, as he cleared 6-foot-6 and finished ninth at the meet as a freshman. This season, Kolbe’s height was down, finishing in a five-way tie for sixth place at 6-4. “Stephen was kinda frustrated with his jumps, but to go from ninth place (as a freshman) to tying for sixth as a sophomore — that’s a big jump,” Thacker said. On the year, Coon’s been as consistent as any Tiger. During the postseason, Coon won the Northern Lakes Conference title with a time of 4:23.66, finished third at the Goshen Sectional in 4:22.32 and won the Kokomo Regional by running the exact same time as he did the previous week. At the state meet, Coon actually cut nine seconds off his time, finishing ninth in 4:13.72. “He’s definitely not going to be under the radar next year,” Thacker said of Coon. “That’s for sure. He definitely played that role very well this year and did a good of keeping his times down, keeping his confidence up, believing in himself. It’s good to see that happen.” Coon’s teammate, junior Jacob Poyner, was a known name this season and worked his way up to fourth place in the 1600, before falling back to 10th in 4:14.37. “I couldn’t be happier for the guys that placed and I’m also happy for the guys who competed at the state meet,” said Thacker. “We got some great experience for our younger guys. To have two 1600 runners come back (next year), who are under 4:15, is pretty impressive. We’re excited about that.” Also for Warsaw, junior Wyatt Jones finished 19th in the 400 (50.96), but suffered an injury, which kept him from running in the 1600 relay. Sophomore Gabe Furnivall filled in for Jones in the relay, joining Rheinhardt, sophomore Chad Goon and sophomore Ryan Goon in a 12th-place finish with a time of 3:21.97. Warsaw also had its 400 relay of senior Zach Rooney, junior Nathan Kolbe, Furnivall and sophomore Tristan McClone at the meet, but a bad exchange left the relay with a DNF in the results. In all, seventh-ranked Warsaw scored 11 points at the meet, eight from Rheinhardt, two from Stephen Kolbe and one from Coon, helping the squad tie for 19th place. Top-ranked Lawrence Central won with 78. Of Warsaw’s state contestants, only Rheinhardt and Rooney will graduate, leaving plenty of talent returning for 2013. “Next year, we’ll no longer be young,” Thacker said. “We’ll definitely know who we are with the successes we’ve had these past two years. It will definitely be exciting.”
