The Warsaw Community High School athletic department announces the retirement of veteran head coaches Terry Aukeman and Jerry Gackenheimer. Both coaches have served multiple roles on the Tiger coaching staff for many years. Aukeman coached swimming and diving at WCHS for 13 seasons including 11 as the head girls coach. For the past nine years he combined his girls duties with the position of head coach of the boys squad as well. During his tenure, Aukeman’s teams won six girls IHSAA sectional titles and five boys sectional championships. He was named sectional coach of the year eight times and he was the 2011 NLC boys coach of the year. His 2005 boys team finished eighth in the IHSAA state championships. He coached numerous state medal winners highlighted by Nate Taylor’s state championship performance in the 100 breaststroke in 2005. Gackenheimer served as the head girls cross country coach for the past nine years and was an assistant girls track coach for eight years. He also served six years as the boys assistant cross country coach. During his tenure as the head cross country coach, his teams qualified for the semistate four times and won the Northern Lakes Conference title in 2009 earning him the NLC coach of the year honors. He has coached four state qualifiers with Erica Ridderman earning all-state status and the IHSAA mental attitude award in 2008.
