Warriors dominate at MWC Meet

by Andrew Roberts
Pharos-Tribune sports editor

May 04, 2008 12:34 am

— FULTON — Temperatures dropped considerably thanks to the blustery wins that blew across the Caston High School athletic complex, making it tough on not only the athletes of the eight Midwest Conference schools, but the spectators and volunteers as well.
However, the Winamac boys and girls track teams stood tall at the end of the day with both squads earning conference championships.
The Warrior boys picked up 193.5 points to beat out runner-up Tri-County by 43 points. With the win, Winamac successfully defends its MWC championship.
Pioneer finished third in the boys meet with a score of 97, while West Central took fourth (74), Frontier placed fifth (48), North White took sixth (44), Caston placed seventh (26) and South Newton finished eighth (2).
Pioneer’s Justin Ruff won the discus with a throw of 135’ 1”. Justin Schramm of Winamac placed second (124’ 7”), and Pioneer’s Bryce Kiser took third (121’ 6”).
Ruff also won the shot put with a toss of 49’ 4.5”, beating out Warrior thrower Andy Stepp, who earned second with a distance of 45’ 1.5”.
Winamac teammates David Chambers and Anthony Chapman went 1-2 in the pole vault. Chambers won the event, clearing the bar at 12’ 6”, while Chapman maxed out at 12 feet. Panther vaulter Josh Layer earned fourth with a height of 10’ 6”.
Cody Wilson was the only area athlete to place in the high jump, clearing a height of 5’ 8” to take fourth.
Ao Wang of Pioneer finished second in the Long Jump with a leap of 19’ 4.5”, while Ryan Grandstaff of Winamac jumped 19’ 3.75” for a third-place finish.
The 100m dash was decided by the camera at the start/finish line.
Cory Hurd of Winamac edged out Caston’s Austin Yeargean by one one-hundredth of a second. Hurd turned in a time of 12.02 seconds, while Yeargean’s official time was 12.03 seconds.
Hurd also won the 200m dash (25 sec.) and the 400m (53.57). Teammate T.J. Redlin finished forth in the quarter-mile with a time of 55.9 seconds.
Joe Tetzloff won the 110m hurdles with a time of 16.04 seconds, followed by teammate Ory Maxwell (17.24). Maxwell finished second in the 300m hurdles with a time of 43.47, one one-hundredth of a second behind the JR.. Fout of Tri-County.
Ron Thomas won the 1600m run with a time of 4:56.9. He was followed by Ryan Bice of Pioneer (4:57.12) and Chapman (5:06.19). Thomas also won the two-mile, finishing the eight-lap event in 11:11.73. Bice took third with a time of 11:19.
Chapman won the 800m run with a time of 2:10.19. Pioneer’s Tony Williams took third in the half-mile (2:15.15).
Pioneer earned a second-place finish in the 4 x 400 relay. Winamac’s highest relay finishes were in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400. The Warriors finished third in both events.
In the girls Meet, Winamac rang up a total of 173.25 to give coach Adam Bennett his first MWC championship in only his second year as the general of the Lady Warriors.
“The girls ran well. They had a good day,” Bennett said. “It was cold and windy, but they ran well.”
Following Winamac were Tri-County (132), Pioneer (108), West Central (96), South Newton (40), Caston (15) and North White (9).
Winamac’s Tabby Halleck earned Most Valuable Girl honors of the meet, finishing the day with three first-place finishes and a second. She won the 100m dash (13.66), finishing ahead of teammate Jordan Brandt (14.13) and Pioneer runner Sadie Brock (14.2), the 200m dash (29.24) ahead of Brock (30.0) and fourth-place finisher and teammate Katie Sommers (30.55).
Halleck also won the 400m run (1:05.87), beating out Panther athlete Brittany Cole by two seconds (1:07.27).
In the long jump, Brandt took first with a leap of 15’ 9.25”. Halleck finished in the runner-up slot with a distance of 15’ 5.5”. Brock took fourth with a jump of 14’ 7”.
Warrior freshman Emily Paulsen finished the pole vault tied with Jasmine Humphrey of Pioneer, as both athletes broke the MWC Meet record with successful attempts at 8-feet. Humphrey was awarded first in the event because she used the least amount of tries to clear the record-setting height.
Winamac’s Linsey Foerg finished third with a vault of 7’ 6”, and Bailey Farrer placed fourth by clearing a height of 6’ 6”.
In the long jump, Brandt took first with a leap of 15’ 9.25”. Halleck finished in the runner-up slot with a distance of 15’ 5.5”. Brock took fourth with a jump of 14’ 7”.
Ali Parks finished first in the shot put (37’ 4.25”) for the Warriors, and placed second in the discus (84’ 1”).
Winamac hurdler Rachel Franko earned two wins on the day in the hurdle events. She won the 100 with a time of 18.17 seconds. Teammate Paulsen earned fourth with a run of 19.24 seconds.
Franko also won the 300, finishing in a time of 54.88 seconds. Again, Paulsen settled for a fourth-place finish with a time of 58.24 seconds.
In the high jump, Franko placed second with a height of 4’ 6”.
Caston’s Kayley Woods was the lone Lady Comet to earn a top-four finish Saturday, placing second in the 800m run with a time of 2:36.35 seconds. Pioneer runner Cady Caudle took third (2:41.94) while Winamac’s Lauren O’Donnell finished in fourth (2:42.97).
Caudle also placed in the 1600m run, taking fourth with a time of 5:55.59, and the 3200m run, earning a third-place finish (13:12.29).
The Lady Warriors’ 4 x 800 (11:06.11) and 4 x 100 (55.43) relay teams earned second-place finishes, while the 4 x 400 team (4:45.55) placed fourth.
Pioneer took second in the 4 x 400 (4:50.55), third in the 4 x 800 (11:08.43) and fourth in the 4 x 100 relays (57.62).
Andrew Roberts can be contacted at (574)732-5180 or via e-mail at andrew.roberts @pharostribune.com

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