Special Night For Harvuot, Warsaw
WARSAW – There was nothing surprising about the Warsaw girls track team dominating another Northern Lakes Conference Meet Tuesday night.
But there was plenty of special about it for the hosts.
Nothing more special than a fourth straight individual championship for stellar senior Ann Harvuot.
The Warsaw sprinter led the way as Warsaw wrapped up its ninth straight league championship.
Harvuot won the 100-meter dash title for the fourth straight year as the Tigers totaled 170 points. Plymouth was a distant second with 112.5.
Harvuot won the title Tuesday night in a time of 12.70. Junior teammate Mariah Harter was second in 12.85.
“I really wanted to win four in a row and I really put a lot of pressure on myself,” said Harvuot. “It’s a big accomplishment for me and I feel good about it.”
Harvuot also teamed with Harter and sophomores Audrey Rich and Samantha Alexander to win the 4 X 100 relay title in a time of 49.74. She did not compete in the 200 though due to a nagging back issue.
“It’s a little disappointing to be out of the 200 for the rest of the season,” Harvuot said. “Our relay was a little disappointing tonight because we were close to the NLC record.
“I just feel that with the weather this season that I’m a little behind. I have to push myself more. I’m so close to the record in the 100 (12.3) that I really want and this is my last chance.”
The Tigers got plenty of championship performances on a cool night that featured wind and drizzle.
Sophomore standout Rich won the 200 in a top time of 26.23. Freshman Allison Miller won the 3,200 in 11:50.02. Senior Claire Hickerson took the pole vault title with a height of 9-4. Alexander soared 16-2 1/2 to win the long jump.
The foursome of Miller, sophomores Hannah Dawson and Brooke Rhodes and freshman Anna Craig won the 4 X 800 relay in 9:42.38.
“This may be the ninth championship for coaches, but for our girls it’s No. 1 or 2 or 3 or 4,” said Warsaw coach Scott Erba. “For our seniors to go out on top is really special. I want them to feel that doing this is special.
“This is really about how you perform for us. It’s about success based on competing to our potential. We had a little bit of complacency earlier and challenged them a couple of weeks ago.
“For Ann to win the 100 four years in a row is a big deal. That’s very challenging to do. I’m very proud of her.
“We had several noteworthy efforts, like Shannon Winslow in the pole vault. It was a huge night for her. Also, Emma Hayward ran a great and smart 3,200. Emily Bailey getting getting in the finals of the shot put.”
Senior Jackie Ferguson was second in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles, both races won by Concord senior star Jessica O’Connell.
Junior Nicole Eckert was second in the 300 hurdles for the Tigers. Junior Tennie Worrell was second in the 400, while sophomore Hannah Dawson was third in the 800. Alexander was third in the 200 and sophomore Emma Hayward was third in the 3,200.
Senior Brooklyn Harrison took second in the shot put and junior Shannon Winslow was second in the pole vault.
The Tigers also took second place honors in the 4 X 400 relay with the team of Worrell, Ferguson, Eckert and sophomore Brooke Rhodes.
Other champions were Elkhart Memorial junior Sierra Moore in the 1,600 (5:14.15) and the 800 (2:19.06), Plymouth junior Libby Read in the 400 (1:01.51), Goshen junior Maria Corbett in the high jump (5-2), Goshen senior Kristen Hanson in the discus (103-01) and Elkhart Memorial junior Deanna Cornelius in the shot put (39-11 3/4).
Concord star O’Connell won the 100 hurdles in 15.52 and the 300 hurdles in 46.05.
The Plymouth foursome of Read, juniors Allie Wright and Kaydon Foster and freshman Rachel Crawford won the 4 X 400 relay in 4:07.04.
Elkhart Memorial was third in the final team standings with 100 points. Goshen took fourth with 91.5, followed by Concord (86), Wawasee (62), Northridge (58.5) and NorthWood (43.5).
The teams will return to Warsaw May 20 for the sectional.