IFN Top 10 Teams: 1-5
Some of the finer programs in the state reside right here in Kosciusko County. Our top five teams for the 2014-15 athletic season had four of the five make an appearance at the IHSAA State Finals in each respective sport. Our march to number one starts with:
5. FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING – What would they do for an encore? Heck, what could they do for an encore? After a thrilling 2014 campaign that included a shocking sectional championship run the Wawasee softball team looked to turn heads again in 2015 with nearly all of its roster returning. The Lady Warriors did just that, but not in the way that many expected.
Wawasee put together what was described by head coach Jared Knipper as “the best season in program history” by posting a 20-6 record and claiming it’s first-ever Northern Lakes Conference title with a 12-2 conference mark. Wawasee was expected to be competitive in the NLC, but few outside of Syracuse saw the Lady Warriors as a true threat to take the conference crown with traditional powers like Elkhart Memorial, Northridge and Concord still lurking with talent. But Wawasee silenced critics and competitors as Concord rolled into town for a winner-take-all showdown in May, downing the Minutemen 5-4. Of the 20 wins in 2015, Wawasee won its games by an average margin of nearly seven runs per game (6.85).
Wawasee fell short of its postseason goals, falling 3-0 to eventual sectional champion Fairfield, but once again the Lady Warriors will return most of its roster next season.
4. THE EIGHTIES LADIES – Speaking of surprise seasons in Syracuse…
The Wawasee girls golf team had plenty of talent returning for the 2014 season, and expectations were high in a sport that requires a lot of mental toughness. The Lady Warriors handled the opportunity with grace on their way to a 16-1 record and a trip to the program’s first state finals since 1986.
Wawasee was dominant through the regular season, getting solid scores from No. 1 and No. 2 golfers Elizabeth Jackson and Mikala Mawhorter. A sturdy lineup behind the top two included Aubrey Schmeltz, Kylee Rostochak and Kamryn Foy and gave the Lady Warriors a team that few could compete with. Wawasee suffered its only dual loss of the season in an NLC finale to NorthWood, but the Lady Warriors were resilient and defeated NorthWood in the NLC Tournament just a week later to grab a share of the conference title. Wawasee accomplished its goal of advancing through the sectional field and then surprised itself by edging out NorthWood in the regional to punch a ticket to state behind a solid day from all of its golfers.
At the state finals Wawasee turned in the highest finish for an NLC girls program since 2008 (Warsaw-8th) by finishing 13th overall at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
3. JUST DOING THEIR JOBS – It was another outstanding season last fall for the cross country ladies from Warsaw. The Tigers capped the 2014 campaign by placing 16th at the State Finals with an all-underclassmen lineup. Sophomore Allison Miller led the team at the State Finals meet in Terre Haute. Junior Emma Hayward was the second Warsaw runner to cross the finish line with freshman Mia Beckham, junior Brooke Rhodes and sophomore Anna Craig completing the team scoring. Junior Hannah Dawson and sophomore Charlene Orr also ran for Warsaw at the season finale.
The trio of Rhodes, Beckham and Hayward all had personal best times at the State Finals.
The Tigers went undefeated in regular-season conference meets. They then won sectional and regional championships at Culver Academies before placing third at the New Prairie Semi-state.
Miller was the individual champion at both the sectional and regional and place fourth overall at semi-state. Matt Campbell, an assistant coach with the program, guided the Tigers as interim head coach as Scott Erba took the season off. Erba plans to return for the 2015-16 season.
2. A RECORD-SETTING SEASON – Coach Scott Erba’s talented girls track team capped another outstanding season in impressive fashion for sure.
The Tigers scored 10 points in a record-setting showing at the State Finals to equal their most points ever at the season finale. Warsaw medaled in four events for the first time ever at State, had all three of its relay teams place for the first time ever at State and also set three school records in the process.
The 4×400 relay team of seniors Tennie Worrell, Nicole Eckert and Jazzmine Brown and junior Audrey Rich was seventh in a school record time of 3:58.00, erasing the old school mark that had stood since 1987. The 4×800 relay team of juniors Hannah Dawson and Brooke Rhodes and sophomores Allison Miller and Anna Craig placed seventh and broke the school record with a time of 9:23.20. The 4×100 relay team of senior Mariah Harter, juniors Rich and Sam Alexander and freshman Abbi Curtis finished eighth in 47.72.
Alexander also reached the awards podium at State as she placed eighth in the long jump with a school record effort of 17-11.25. Eckert was 10th in the 300 hurdles, Rich 18th and Alexander 19th in the 200 and Miller 23rd in the 3,200 at the State Finals June 6.
The Tigers also won their 10th straight NLC Meet title this spring and stretched their conference regular-season winning streak to 47 meets in a row. Warsaw claimed its ninth straight sectional title and then won its fourth regional championship in a row.
1. OH, WHAT A RIDE – As if there was any debate as to who would slide in at No. 1.
The run that the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team made this past winter was not surprising or inspirational. No, the run that Lady Vikings made still is surprising and inspirational. It has been nearly four months since the historic run for Valley has ended but it is still fresh in the minds of many. How could it not be? It was the story that captured the interest of so many. It was Kosciusko’s team dominating Indiana’s sport and we all had a front row seat to the action.
Every milestone that the Lady Vikings surpassed seemed like it would be the moment that was the pinnacle of a great season, but the milestones just kept coming, the story kept getting bigger and the legend grew greater.
Valley carried a 13-1 mark into a January matchup with a talented NorthWood team and suffered its second loss of the season. Following that loss, Valley hosted Rochester in a TRC showdown that many saw as too big of a game for the then unproven Lady Vikings. But Valley, led by seniors Caylie Teel and Taylor Trippiedi along with stud sophomore Anne Secrest, rose to the occasion and claimed a 52-40 win over the Zebras, the first of a 12-game win streak. Valley avenged the NorthWood loss in the sectional behind a season-high point total from Secrest (27) and would claim the sectional title over TRC foe Whitko, 62-36. As great as it all seemed, the story was just starting.
Valley captured a regional title in front of a sea of yellow-clad Viking fans at Bellmont High School with wins over Muncie Central and Norwell, both of which came in overtime. The regional victory set up what would become the mecca of the girls season, a 3A Semi-state showdown at Warsaw against Rochester. The Tiger Den was packed to the gills for the game and it was no secret about which fan base came out in bigger numbers as Valley fans held the overwhelming majority of seats, creating an unforgettable scene with a sea of green and yellow to cheer their team on to state.
“I’m going to remember that moment for the rest of my life,” Trippiedi said of the semi-state pregame experience.
Valley, just as it had done all season, played as a team and did not flinch at the sight of a tough opponent and downed Rochester 60-45. Valley’s Morgan Brazo summed the emotion up in one sentence as the team celebrated a center court, “Ladies, we’re going to state!” The students stormed the court, tears flowed, cheers echoed. It was an amazing scene.
The team aspect that the Lady Vikings played with may have been the most captivating thing about their season. Though Secrest was the undisputed best all-around talent on the team, Valley would not have finished with a 25-3 record if it were not for the heroics of so many others.
The calm and reassuring leadership of Trippiedi kept the team level-headed and motivated when needed, her presence on the court may be the biggest loss for the team in 2015-16. Teel never led any categories statistically, but she was in the top 10 for TRC players in nearly all columns and without her performance against Rochester the first time around, Valley may have hoisted a co-TRC title instead of an outright one. Timely and clutch shooting from Meredith Brouyette and unsung plays from Karis Tucker were also key pieces in a historic run.
“This was definitely the most memorable senior year I could have had and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Teel remarked about her team after state. “I can’t imagine having any other team go through this with. We call each other a family because we are. We have our tiffs on the court, but we’re a family.”
We may be talking about an even more memorable season if the Lady Vikings had not run into the state’s most prolific girls scorer since Shanna Zolman (Wawasee) in Princeton’s Jackie Young. Young set a single-season record with 1,003 points and a title game record with 36 points against Valley at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in a 72-44 win.