BLOOMINGTON – Warsaw junior Ashley Erba didn't get the state-record time she wanted, but she did get the blue ribbon. Erba entered Friday's girls track and field state meet at Indiana University wanting to break the 3200 record time of 10:20.66, a mark set last year by Culver Girls Academy's Waverly Neer. Instead, Erba won the 3200 title in 10:24.94, the fourth-fastest in state history and just under 13 seconds faster than second-place finisher Brenna Poulsen of North Central. Already having won the cross country state championship in the fall, Erba came out guns ablazing on the track, sprinting through the pack to join Poulsen in front just 100 meters in. The two then ran side-by-side, with Erba on the outside, until the Lady Tiger made her move just before the one-mile mark. Once she got in front, she took off, even lapping some of the 34 participants in the race. "My only concern was, if I was lapping girls, I didn't want it to get too congested, because that happened to me a few times during the season," Ashley Erba said. For the commentators webcasting the meet on IndianaRunner.com, it seemed the two frontrunners were getting out front way too fast, but according to Warsaw coach Scott Erba, it was just right. "That's actually where we wanted her tonight, coming out," he said. "Going out at 5:08 (in the first mile) was the fastest she'd ever gone out in the 3200, but that was something we were gunning for. She was a little slower on laps five and six, but then brought it back down to finish with a 1:18 on her last lap." And Ashley agreed whole-heartedly with her father/coach. "I know the first mile was quick, but that was the pace I was looking for," she said. "I actually wanted to maintain that or even go faster, because I wanted to break 10:20 tonight. So, that first mile was good. It was just unfortunate I had to run on the outside of her, because I wanted to be on the inside, but it happens." She may not have set a new state record, but she still has another year to do so, and she'll be able to try it again as the defending champion. "It was a really solid race," Scott Erba said. "To go into your biggest track race and run a (personal record), that's awfully good." Her time may have been aided by her rest, which she achieve by scratching the 1600, a race she would have been the No. 2 seed in. The top seed in the 1600 was Eastern junior Bethany Neeley, who defeated Erba at the Warsaw Regional and also won the state meet in 4:53.95. "Looking at the times, I could have maybe gotten second in that or won it, and that's cool, but I didn't feel good about it," said Ashley Erba, who ran the event in 4:55.10 at the regional. "I feel the decision I made was the for the best." And that decision resulted in her second state championship of the school year, although this one may have a little different spot in her heart than the first one earned in cross country. "There was almost a magical element about the one in cross country," she said. "It really was incredible, but this one's no less special." Her win generated all 10 of Warsaw's points on the night, leaving the Lady Tigers in a four-way tie for 23rd place, but she wasn't the only one to do well. Entering as the 19th seed in the discus, senior Lauren Burish finished just outside the top nine, which would have made her an all-state selection. Burish recorded a distance of 125-3, good for 10th place. "We started out great with Lauren making it into the finals, then just missing out on the podium by just a couple inches," Scott Erba said. In Warsaw's other field event, sophomore Claire Hickerson cleared 10-6 in the pole vault, finishing 13th and showing she wasn't overwhelmed by the big stage. "To come down here for the first time, that's a solid effort," her coach said. "It's something we can build off of. It's the same thing with (sophomore) Ann (Harvuot), of getting down here for the first time and seeing the level and depth of competition." In her first appearance at state, Harvuot finished 17th in the 100 with a time of 12.76 seconds. Like Burish's performance in the discus, the 1600 relay team’s race also exceeded expectations, finishing 11th in 4:02.10. The young foursome of freshman Nicole Eckert, sophomore Jackie Ferguson, freshman Megan Kratzsch and freshman Tennie Worrell entered as the 17th seed, but used a strong finish to come close to a top nine appearance. "What a great way for them to finish out the season, with a season-best time," Scott Erba said. "Each one of the girls was either at or under her best of the year." Warsaw's other relay, the 3200, had a tough go of it, running without senior Lilly Fleming, who suffered a non-track related injury over Memorial Day weekend. Without Fleming, the foursome of senior Brooke Kline, junior Kristin Quick, sophomore Anna Bearss and freshman Kendra Paton finished 26th with a time of 10:09.37 after entering with a seeded time of 9:37.48. Despite the 3200 relay's struggle, the meet was much more positive than negative. "It's exciting for next year," Scott Erba said. "These girls now have this experience. They enjoyed it and now they want to come back and get to be a bigger part of it." Pike won Friday's meet with 55 points, followed by Fort Wayne Northrop (49), Lawrence Central (45.5) and Westview (38), which had 30 of its points scored by mental attitude award winner Skyler Carpenter. Carpenter won the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump.
