Warsaw Embraces Role As Favorites
The role as favorites in the Northern Lakes Conference Meet has fit the Warsaw girls track program like a glove for a long time.
Don’t expect that to change come Tuesday night.
The Tigers will look to make it nine straight conference championships as the heavy favorite once again.
Warsaw, which went 7-0 in the regular-season portion of the league schedule again this spring, boasts talent, experience and depth. The Tigers piled up 202 points a year ago to roll to the NLC Meet title.
“We revisited our team goals for the NLC yesterday at practice and reminded the team about the emotion that plays out in this meet,” said Warsaw coach Scott Erba this past week. “We will see athletes greatly outperforming what they did in the regular season and we need to be ready to face that type of competition.
“We expect every girl from every school to PR that night. Everyone is aiming to be NLC All-Conference, an NLC finalist or simply PRing at the biggest meet of the season so far.
“For us, it is key that we score in every event and score two girls in multiple events. We have the capability of placing very well in multiple events and this meet gives us that opportuntity to prepare and compete to win as individuals and as a team.”
Warsaw wrapped up another undefeated conference season by beating Goshen at home 97-35 last Tuesday.
The tradition of success is not lost on Erba’s team.
“There is a lot of tradition and expectation to win a ninth straight title,” Erba said. “We already have a share of the title with our 7-0 NLC record but winning it outright is meaningful to the whole team. I know the seniors want to go out on top and the rest of the team wants to see the streak continue. Each year that we compete at this level is another year of adding to an NLC record. I believe the length of the winning streak shows our consistency and ability to fill gaps due to graduation each and every year.”
Warsaw will count on a plethora of performers Tuesday night. The list of standouts includes the likes of sprinter Ann Harvuot, hurdler Jackie Ferguson, long jumper Samantha Alexander, pole vaulter Claire Hickerson, thrower Brooklyn Harrison and distance ace Allison Miller.
“Ann Harvuot has won the last three NLC championships in the 100-meter dash and she would love to finish out her career as a 4-time champion; that is extremely hard to accomplish in any event, but she has that potential,” noted Erba. “Jackie is one of the fastest hurdlers in the NLC and I expect her to compete for each of her individual race titles and be a part of a very competitive 4x400m team at the end of the meet. Claire has been the No. 1 ranked pole vaulter the past three seasons only to have off days at the NLC; she has vowed to make her senior year different.
“Samantha is running and jumping some of her best efforts these past two weeks and she has a lot of confidence going into the meet. A great first jump for her in trials will hopefully set off a big night for her. Brooklyn Harrison is throwing very well in Shot Put and has a great opportunity to PR on the night; a big throw from her could very well win her the NLC title. On the distance side, we will be spreading it out and allowing a lot of our talented runners a chance to score points and earn All-Conference honors. We are looking forward to a great 4x800m relay to start off the running on the track.”
The Tigers will look to use the NLC Meet as a springboard to bigger and even better things in the sectional and regional that they will host on May 20 and 27. Warsaw won both sectional and regional titles in 2013.
We are always looking at using these “next biggest meets” as a stepping stone for Regionals and State,” remarked Erba. “What we do in preparation will be reviewed and changed if we do not meet our own expectations. Typically,a strong NLC performance leads to a strong Sectional performance so we feel very good about extending that streak to eight in a row this year. Ultimately, we are looking at a short three-week season between now and Regionals in order to be at our peak performance levels for of our girls. If we are healthy and mentally ready, I see great results for us all the way through the State Meet on Friday, June 6.”