The Warsaw girls track program will be well represented on Saturday at the State Finals. The Tigers have 17 young ladies, who are shown above, making the trip to Bloomington.

WARSAW –  Warsaw girls track coach Scott Erba is “excited” about the group that he will take to the State Finals this year.

Anyone who has seen the championship calibre of his athletes this season would understand why.

The Tigers will compete in seven different events, including all three relay races, come Saturday at the State Finals at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington.

Erba, whose team won conference, sectional and regional championships again this spring, likes the mix of competitors who will represent WCHS at the season finale.

“This is one of the most comprehensive groups we have taken to State,” said Erba at practice on Tuesday night. “It’s an exciting year and I’m excited about having all three of our relay teams down there. Our goal is to get multiple relay teams on the awards podium. I think we are in a great position to do that.”

The 4 x 100 relay team will be one to watch. The foursome of senior Mariah Harter, juniors Sam Alexander and Audrey Rich and freshman Abbi Curtis are seeded with a time of 48.44. The trio of Harter, Alexander and Rich teamed with Ann Harvuot a year ago to finish as state runner-up in a time of 47.62.

“Everything clicked last year at State for our 400 relay team,” noted Erba. “But this team has been ahead of last year’s all season. All three of the returnees are running better than they did last year and Abbi has stepped in and done a great job. I think a big thing is that they are a lot more confident in their exchanges now.”

Warsaw will also have its 4 X 400 relay team of seniors Tennie Worrell, Nicole Eckert and Jazzmine Brown, along with Rich. They have a seed time of 4:02.31. Worrell and Eckert were on the 1,600 relay team that placed 14th at State last year in a time of 4:02.25.

The 4 X 800 relay team of juniors Hannah Dawson and Brooke Rhodes and sophomores Allison Miller and Anna Craig return to Bloomington for the second straight year. The foursome placed 13th in 2014 with a time of 9:32.15 and have a seed time of 9:31.49 for this year.

“The goal for our relay teams are to break school records,” stated Erba. “If they do that, they have a great chance to be on the podium. We have a great chance to have personal bests in our other events and if we do that then it’s a great day.”

The Tigers, who won their fourth straight regional title on May 26 despite not placing first in any event, have four of their relay participants who will also compete as individuals. Eckert will compete in the 300 hurdles after placing 11th in the event a year ago at State in a time of 47.62. Her seed time for Saturday is 45.77. Rich will compete in the 200, Miller in the 3,200 and Alexander in both the 200 and the long jump.

Wawasee junior Katlyn Kennedy will represent the Warriors in the shot put. She placed third at the Warsaw Regional.

Whitko sophomore Kaitlyn Reed will compete in the high jump at the Finals. She is seeded in the middle of the field with a height of 5-4. The top seed is at 5-8.

The girls finals start Saturday at 3 p.m. with the pole vault, long jump and discus events. The high jump and shot put begin at 3:40 with the 3,200 relay finals at 4:15. The 100 trials start at 5:00, followed by the 110 hurdles trials (5:15), 200 trials (5:40), Opening Ceremonies (6:00), 110 hurdles finals (6:15), 100 (6:25), 1,600 (6:35), 400 relay (6:45), 400 (7:05), 300 hurdles (7:20), 800 (7:45), 200 (8:05), 3,200 (8:15) and 1,600 relay (8:30).

The Warsaw boys team will have a trio of competitors involved in the State Finals set for Friday at IU.

The Tigers will be represented by seniors Daniel Messenger and Andrew Scheidt and junior Owen Glogovsky. Messenger won a regional title last Thursday at South Bend St. Joseph and is seeded sixth in the 800 with a time of 1:55.77. Scheidt will compete in the discus after placing second at the regional and Glogovsky is in the 1,600 after finishing third at the regional.

“We’re taking a laid-back approach and our guys will go down there relaxed,” said Warsaw boys coach Matt Thacker at practice on Tuesday. “It’s more about the individuals now and our two seniors (Daniel and Andrew) are soaking in the moment and just enjoying it. I think that Andrew is ecstatic to be there and have this opportunity.

“All of them have an opportunity and the potential to get on the podium. Daniel is in a good spot.”

Warsaw scored 10 points at State a year ago to tie for 23rd place in the team standings. The Tigers tallied 29 points in 2013 to finish in fifth place, the top mark in program history.

The boys finals start Friday at 3 p.m. with the pole vault, long jump and discus. The 1,600 is set to be run at 6:35 p.m. with the 800 at 7:45 p.m.

The Warsaw track trio shown above (left to right) of Andrew Scheidt, Owen Glogovsky and Daniel Messenger will compete in the State Finals on Friday at Indiana University.