Warsaw Girls Track: Ladies Roll In NLC Opener
WARSAW – Abbi Curtis spent time over her Spring Break last week on the track practicing.
It showed for the Warsaw standout sprinter Tuesday night.
Curtis had a hand, or in this case two speedy legs, in three wins on the track as the Tigers opened Northern Lakes Conference action with a pair of dominating wins.
Host Warsaw, which has ruled the NLC for the last several seasons, wasted no time by besting Northridge 98-34 and defeating Goshen 113-19.
The Tigers, who had not competed since beating Homestead 71-61 in the season opener back on March 28, did not miss a beat on Senior Night.
Curtis, a junior, won the 100-meter dash in 12.81 and also took top honors in the 200 in a winning effort of 26.97. She teamed with Shunterra Davis, Maygan Bellamy and Makayla Clampitt to win the 4 X 100 relay in a time of 50.74.
“My goal tonight was to have my personal best times,” said Curtis after winning the 200. “I didn’t get them, but that’s okay. I think that everyone on the team is doing well so far and I’m happy about that. I know that I would love for us to be on top of the NLC again this season.”
Curtis has personal best efforts of 12.6 in the 100 and 26.7 in the 200.
Warsaw showed its depth and talent in just its second, and last, regular season home meet on its gorgeous new track. The Tigers will host both the NLC Meet and the sectional in the postseason.
Lauren Orr won the 1,600 in a time of 5:34.41 for the hosts. Remi Beckham took first in the 400 in 1:01.36, while Michaela Buriff won the 300 hurdles in 51.95. Angie Sanchez-Vijil captured the 800 in 2:25.15.
The Tigers also won all three relay events. The foursome of Dayton Groninger, Allison Miller, Charlene Orr and Emma Bohnenkamper got things going by taking first in the 4 x 800 relay in 10:02.17. The team of Bellamy, Sanchez-Vijil, Kenzie Martz and Remi Beckham closed the meet with a win in the 4 X 400 relay in 4:10.78.
Curtis has picked up right where she left off last season. She was a member of the 4 X 100 relay team a year ago that placed seventh at the State Finals after a regional runner-up finish and a sectional championship. She teamed with Bellamy and graduated seniors Sam Alexander and Audrey Rich on that dynamic team.
“I expect myself to be a leader and I just want to keep everyone on our team positive,” remarked Curtis. “I want to get back to State and by my senior year I want to beat the 100 and 200 school records. I want to follow Audrey Rich and what she did and that’s motivation for me.”
The Tigers also had a strong showing in the field events with four wins. Morgan Bruner took the high jump by clearing 5-1. Joelle Messenger won the pole vault at 8-6. Kendal Menzie captured the long jump at 14-7.5 and Lynae Dawson won the shot put with a throw of 35-0.
Matt Thacker, who has guided the Warsaw boys track program to tremendous success, is now wearing two hats. Thacker is in his first season as the girls coach, following the highly-successful tenure of Scott Erba.
“The thing is that we have kids who just do a good job of competing for us,” said Thacker. “That really makes it easy on us as coaches. Both of our teams work hard and I also think that they take a lot of pride in coming out here and competing on this beautiful new track that we have. It means something to them.
“We came back on Monday after Spring Break and things went very well at practice. Tonight we want to get in a good workout, stay healthy and take a look at some of our younger kids make strides.
“The depth on our girls team is really good. We are able to mix things up a lot right now. Winning the NLC is always important to us. It’s all about competition. It’s a process and the NLC is the first part of that each season.”
Warsaw will have individuals compete in meets at both Lafayette Jefferson and Franklin Central Friday night. The Tigers return to NLC action next Tuesday at Concord versus the hosts and Elkhart Memorial.