Furnivall anchors 4x400 relay, lifting Tigers to 77-76 win over Penn Kingsmen
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
SOUTH BEND – Warsaw’s boys track and field team certainly saved its best for last Thursday night at South Bend St. Joe High School. And with a regional championship on the line, the Tigers scored their only victory of the meet in the final event, as speedy senior Gabe Furnivall’s anchor leg of the 4x400 led them to a thrilling 77-76 win over the Penn Kingsmen. Furnivall, he with the state championship bloodlines, took the baton with the lead and battled back and forth with Penn senior Tim Deal before pulling away late. Warsaw’s foursome of seniors Chad Goon, Ryan Goon and Furnivall and sophomore Landan Perry shaved four seconds off their best time of the season and won the event in 3:20.56. Penn’s quartet of seniors Christian Wittendorf, Thomas Gales, Zachary Oakley and Deal finished second in 3:21.17. Furnivall’s kick down the backstretch was just enough to give the Tigers their third regional championship in four years. “I knew if the guys gave me the baton with the lead that I’d bring it home, and I did,” said Furnivall, the son of 1982 400-meter state champion Troy Furnivall. “This is what we’ve been working for all year. I told myself to just run my race.” Warsaw coach Matt Thacker called Furnivall the “heart and soul” of the Tigers. “That race shows exactly the kind of competitor Gabe is,” said Thacker. “He does whatever it takes to help the team win. Deal is a great runner, he’s going to Purdue. Gabe showed a lot of heart.” There were 33 schools that scored at least one point in Thursday’s regional, which in previous years has been hosted by Kokomo High School. Mishawaka finished third with 51 points, followed in the top 10 by South Bend Adams (46), Kokomo (38), Western (26), Northridge (24), Wawasee (24), South Bend Washington (22) and Elkhart Memorial 21. Manchester finished 30th with two points, which came from Colin McNeeley’s seventh-place finish in the 200. Triton and Tippecanoe Valley were represented in the meet but did not score any points in the finals. Valley’s evening was highlighted by its 4x100 relay team of Nolan Sponseller, Neil Clampitt, Brandon Murphy and Michael Thacker, who combined to set a new school record of 45.03 seconds. While each school represented had reason to cheer, as there were blistering times in the races and great heights and distances in the field events, the night truly belonged to the Tigers and Kingsmen. And based on the past few years, it shouldn’t have been a surprise it would come down to Warsaw and Penn. The Kingsmen beat the Tigers 83-82 in the 2012 regional, while Warsaw edged Penn 76-73 last year. “We love competing against Penn,” said Thacker. “Penn is a great team and we have a lot of respect for them. We’ve been competing against them all year...the first meet of the season, the Goshen Relays, the Max Truex, and here tonight. If we had to lose, I’d want to lose to them. They’re a class act and a great group of guys.” The top three individuals or teams in each of the 16 events, as well as those that met a standard time, height or distance, advanced to the state meet at Indiana University on June 7. Warsaw will be represented in seven events at the state meet. The 4x800 relay team of Ismael Calderon, Nick Bergen, Daniel Messenger and Tyler Houvener finished second in a time of 8:01.81, cutting 10 seconds off their previous best time. Michael Miller finished third in the 100-meter dash in 10.98 seconds and will be joined in Bloomington by teammate Tristan McClone, who finished fourth in 11.09 seconds but met the state standard. Others advancing from individual events for Warsaw included Ellis Coon in the 1600 (2nd, 4:19.76), Furnivall in the 400 (3rd, 49.77) and Stephen Kolbe in the high jump (3rd, 6-4 3/4). The 4x100 relay team of Tanner Balazs, McClone, Furnivall and Miller finished fourth in 42.76 seconds and got a call from the state and will compete in Bloomington. For Wawasee, Clayton Cook advanced to state after he finished second in the 110 hurdles in 14.98 seconds. Jacob Gilmer finished second for the Warriors in the high jump at 6-4 3/4. The most outstanding performer of the meet was South Bend Adams’ Shaq Vann, who won the 100 in 10.85 seconds, won the 200 in 21.86 seconds and anchored the winning 4x100 relay team, which crossed the line in 42.51 seconds. NOTE – Top 3 teams or individuals in each event, as well as those that met a standard time, height or distance, advance to the state meet on June 7 at Indiana University. TEAM SCORES – WARSAW 77, PENN 76, MISHAWAKA 51, SOUTH BEND ADAMS 46, KOKOMO 38, WESTERN 26, NORTHRIDGE 24, WAWASEE 24, SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON 22, ELKHART MEMORIAL 21; ELKHART CENTRAL 20, SOUTH BEND RILEY 20; GOSHEN 18, FAIRFIELD 15, BREMEN 14, SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 14; GLENN 13, MACONAQUAH 12, NORTHWESTERN 12, LOGANSPORT 11, CULVER ACADEMY 10, NORTHWOOD 9, EASTERN OF GREENTOWN 9; MARIAN 8, CONCORD 7, PLYMOUTH 6, CASS 6, NORTH MIAMI 4, ROCHESTER 4, PIONEER 2, TIPTON 2, MANCHESTER 2, JIMTOWN 1. 4x800 relay: 1. Penn (Jon Koellner, Tyler Krathwohl, Christian Wittendorf, Thomas Gales) 7:59.04; 2. Warsaw (Ismael Calderon, Nicholas Bergen, Daniel Messenger, Tyler Houvener) 8:01.81; 3. Western (Jacob Bradshaw, Auston Davenport, Matt Grider, Josh Everetts) 8:05.45; 4. Goshen (Ricardo Castillo, Andrew Pillow, Colton Potter, Gerardo Abad) 8:06.19; 5. Northridge (Jailyn Rolle, Conner Sandt, Blake O’Dell, Neel Patel) 8:11.31; 6. Kokomo (Jadyn Whitehead, Jordan Fivecoate, Colten Pearce, Ethan Sharp) 8:17.74; 7. St. Joseph (Matt Morris, Jacob Klaybor, Max Otiato, Grayson Radvansky) 8:22.51; 8. Fairfield (Trever Yoder, Adrian Torres, Alex Oberlin, Nathan Miller) 8:29.47. 110 hurdles: 1. Cameron Kitson (Fairfield) 14.72; 2. Clayton Cook (Wawasee) 14.98; 3. Troy Bradley (Mishawaka) 15.26; 4. Steven Johnson (Elkhart Memorial) 15.36; 5. Jordan Nix (Kokomo) 15.54; 6. Donald Swanson (Washington) 15.71; 7. Austin Healey (Northridge) 16.12; 8. Timothy Clark (Mishawaka) 16.75. 100: 1. Shaq Vann (Adams) 10.85; 2. Deon Whitherspoon (Washington) 10.92; 3. Michael Miller (Warsaw) 10.98; 4. Tristan McClone (Warsaw) 11.09 (STANDARD); 5. William Porter (Eastern of Greentown) 11.14 (STANDARD); 6. Prince Gee (Adams) 11.17; 7. Michael Hartman (Plymouth) 11.21; 8. Daniel Campbell (Riley) 11.22. 1600: 1. Jeremy Breedlove (Kokomo) 4:15.19; 2. Ellis Coon (Warsaw) 4:19.76; 3. Blake Kramer (Elkhart Memorial) 4:20.10; 4. Lucas Runyan (Glenn) 4:22.24; 5. Wesley Meyer (Rochester) 4:28.97; 6. Robert Duke (Eastern of Greentown) 4:31.74; 7. Taylor Neff (Penn) 4:37.82; 8. Clayton Thornton (Bremen) 4:38.74. 4x100 relay: 1. Adams (Joel Nyirongo, Prince Gee, Brian Otieno, Shaq Vann) 42.51; 2. Washington (Torreq Rice, Denottus Crumbley, Anthony Brazier, Deonne Whitherspoon) 42.58; 3. Mishawaka (David Carlos, Cameron Thomas, Tanner Bradley, Kylan McCullough) 42.73; 4. Warsaw (Tanner Balazs, Tristan McClone, Gabriel Furnivall, Michael Miller) 42.76; 5. Kokomo (Hanif Burnett, Jordan Nix, Jordan Rawlins, Andrecus Eddington) 43.13; 6. Concord (Tevin Williams, Darrell Bean, Ramon Johnson, Jerrell Pointdexter) 43.67; 7. Western (Christian Glenn, Cameron Dessing, Braedon Cannon, Zach Shahan) 43.98; 8. Penn (Austin Laughman, Kyle Kreiger, Nathan Ohlson, Gregory Higgins) 44.03. 400: 1. Thomas Capers (Riley) 48.65; 2. Sam Lacher (Bremen) 49.00; 3. Gabriel Furnivall (Warsaw) 49.77; 4. Zach Oakley (Penn) 50.16; 5. Darnell Bean (Concord) 50.37; 6. Aaron Hensley-Miller (Mishawaka) 50.93; 7. Sam Byler (Goshen) 50.97; 8. Owen Munson (Northwestern) 51.63. 300 hurdles: 1. Tim Deal (Penn) 38.27; 2. Max Weaver (Penn) 40.18; 3. David Carlos (Mishawaka) 40.37; 4. Dylan Campbell (Warsaw) 40.53; 5. Ross Armey (Warsaw) 40.80; 6. Diante Swanson (Washington) 41.66; 7. Chase Bess (Tipton) 41.86; 8. A.J. Styers (Plymouth) 41.98. 800: 1. Blake Kramer (Elkhart Memorial) 1:55.72; 2. Thomas Gales (Penn) 1:56.42; 3. Alex Calisto (Logansport) 1:56.72; 4. Zach Cockrill (Wawasee) 1:57.35; 5. Nicholas Skwarcan (NorthWood) 2:00.37; 6. Landrum Neer (Culver Academy) 2:01.53; 7. Steven Siade (Riley) 2:02.39; 8. Ethan Sharp (Kokomo) 2:03.05. 200: 1. Shaq Vann (Adams) 21.86; 2. K.J. Walton (Maconaquah) 22.41; 3. Cameron Oden (Northwestern) 22.51; 4. Prince Gee (Adams) 22.54; 5. Sam Lacher (Bremen) 22.55; 6. Michael Miller (Warsaw) 22.70; 7. Colin McNeeley (Manchester) 22.89; 8. Samuel Byler (Goshen) 23.23. 3200: 1. Jeremy Breedlove (Kokomo) 9:38.89; 2. Andy Timmons (Adams) 9:42.28; 3. Matt Grider (Western) 9:46.83; 4. Blake O'Dell (Northridge) 9:48.57; 5. Jacob Turner (St. Joe) 9:49.26; 6. Alejandro Tumoine Villalobos (Culver Academy) 9:51.11; 7. Gerardo Abad (Goshen) 9:53.00; 8. Travis Kulczar (Riley) 9:59.73. 4x400 relay: 1. Warsaw (Landan Perry, Chad Goon, Ryan Goon, Gabriel Furnivall) 3:20.56; 2. Penn (Tim Deal, Christian Wittendorf, Thomas Gales, Zach Oakley) 3:21.17; 3. Mishawaka (Cameron Thomas, Robert Lambert, David Carlos, Aaron Hensley-Miller) 3:23.62; 4. NorthWood (Bailey Gessinger, Reid Yoder, Nicholas Skwarcan, Matthew Proncho) 3:25.37; 5. Maconaquah (Cody Hicks, Luke Hann, Daltyn Childers, K.J. Walton) 3:26.25; 6. Plymouth (Mason Reed, Taylor Fulton, Jack Barron, A.J. Styers) 3:26.56; 7. Eastern of Greentown (William Porter, Riley Haupert, Robert Duke, Joshua Sommers) 3:27.62; 8. Riley (Matt Cuskaden, Nick Austin, Yoshua Reed, Thomas Capers) 3:28.72. Long jump: 1. Tim Deal (Penn) 23-2; 2. Haki Woods (St. Joseph) 22-8.5; 3. Sabin Gorset (Penn) 22-0; 4. Adam Trejo (Mishawaka) 21-10.5 (STANDARD); 5. Rashaan Jackson (Warsaw) 21-9.75; 6. Jacob White (North Miami) 21-5; 7. Blake Johnson (Pioneer) 20-8; 8. Marquis Schieber (Jimtown) 20-7. Discus: 1. Corey Hinkle (Western) 153-0; 2. Michael Fickert (Northridge) 147-0.5; 3. Codey Campbell (Cass) 146-0; 4. Alex Emmerd (Logansport) 145-3; 5. Andrew Scheidt (Warsaw Community) 143-3.5; 6. Jon Walker (Wawasee) 142-11.5; 7. Hunter Schuman (Glenn) 137-4; 8. Eric Duran (Bremen) 135-08.5. Pole vault: 1. Tanner Bradley (Mishawaka) 14-6; 2. Jacob Burnham (Marian) 13-6; 3. Avery Barrett (Kokomo) 13-6; 4. Cameron Kitson (Fairfield) 13-0; 4. Darren Curry (Northwestern) 13-0; 4. Jacob Isnogle (Goshen) 13-0; 7. Caleb Nash (Culver Academy) 13-0; 8. James Alexander (Mishawaka) 12-6. High jump: 1. Treyton Harris (Elkhart Central) 6-5.25; 2. Jacob Gilmer (Wawasee) 6-4.75; 3. Stephen Koble (Warsaw) 6-4.75; 4. Yoshua Reed (Riley) 6-4.75 (STANDARD); 5. Robert Lambert (Mishawaka) 6-2; 6. Adam Trejo (Mishawaka) 6-1; 7. Eric Burns (Culver Academy) 6-0; 8. Josh Perry (Northwestern) 6-0. Shot put: 1. Keion Johnson (Elkhart Central) 55-2; 2. Isaiah Cook (Penn) 55-1; 3. Hunter Schuman (Glenn) 54-8.5; 4. Michael Fickert (Northridge) 52-5.25; 5. Mitchell Watts (Goshen) 48-2.25; 6. Benjamin Plummer (Warsaw) 48-0.75; 7/ Russell McDorman (Western) 46-2.5; 8. Kevin Huffman (North Miami) 45-11.
