WARSAW – There’s no doubt who the favorites are Tuesday night for the Northern Lakes Conference track meets.

The host Tigers are the teams to beat on both the boys and the girls sides for the event set for the Tiger Athletic Complex.

Both Warsaw teams once again navigated the NLC regular season undefeated. The boys have now won 34 straight dual meets in the NLC.  The girls team is up to 47 consecutive NLC wins.

The Warsaw boys squad had a pair of close calls en route to their 7-0 league mark. Coach Matt Thacker’s team beat both Goshen and Northridge  by 71-61 finals at WCHS.

“The NLC Meet is going to be as close as you can have, I think,” said Warsaw boys coach Matt Thacker.  “Our meets with Goshen and Northridge came down to the 4 X 400 and they are going to do everything they can to win the meet and potentially share the conference.

“We are who we are and need to take care of business in our strengths and where we are not as strong we need to have our best performances in order to pull it off, which we can do.  We will be tested by the entire conference not only Northridge and Goshen.  Elkhart Memorial has strengths where we have weaknesses as does Wawasee and Northwood.  Plymouth has some strengths where we have some strengths in the 400 and the 300 hurdles and Concord has some solid 800 meter guys so to me there is a lot in the air and the meet solely depends on who comes to compete to the best of their abilities.”

The Tigers have gotten points from a plethora of performers all season long. Among the key competitors for Warsaw Tuesday night should be Rashaan Jackson in the long jump, along with Daniel Messenger (800), Owen Glogovsky (3,200) and Ross Armey (hurdles).

The Warsaw girls team put together a dominant run through the league schedule. Their closest NLC win was an 85-47 win over Plymouth. Coach Scott Erba’s deep and talented team are a virtual lock to win the program’s 10th straight NLC Meet.

“I feel that we are in a great position to not only win our 10th NLC Conference title in a row but have many girls reach the finals and score points,” remarked Warsaw girls coach Scott Erba.  “The ladies have shown great improvements with their performances over the past two weeks and we are excited to see them continue to progress into the tournament season.  There is a lot of quality athletes from other schools in all the events and we will need to be at our best to challenge for event championships.”

The Warsaw ladies are led by the likes of Mariah Harter in the sprints,  Nicole Eckert in the 300 hurdles, Audrey Rich in the 200 and Samantha Alexander in the long jump. The 4 X 100 relay team of Harter, Alexander, Abbi Curtis and Rich have the 10th fastest time in the state this season.

Wawasee will have plenty of individuals to watch Tuesday night despite a tough regular season team wise in league competition. The Wawasee boys team went 0-7 in NLC dual meets, while the girls squad was 1-6.

The Warriors will be led by senior stars Clayton Cook and JJ Gilmer on the boys side. The pair, who were both State Finalists in 2014, will be a force in numerous events. Cook stars in the hurdles, long jump and sprints, while Gilmer is a standout high jumper and long jumper. The pair also team with Cole VanLue and Tyler Coulter on an outstanding 4 X 100 relay team, which has set the school record this spring.

The Wawasee girls team excels in the field events with throwers Katlyn Kennedy (shot put) and Hannah Winters (discus) leading the way. Coach Scott Lancaster’s squad will also count on performers like Leigh-Ann Schrack, Catherine Yankowsky and Maddie Birch to score points on the track.

The NLC Meet begins Tuesday night at WCHS with field events at 5 p.m.  The action on the track starts with the 4 X 800 relay finals at 6 p.m.