May 18 – WARSAW – The Northern Lakes Conference will be well represented at the Kokomo regional girls’ track next week after strong showings at the Warsaw section on Tuesday.

The host Tigers walked away with the Tag Team Championship, scoring 169 points to claim their 16th straight Section crown. Warsaw was also able to have 16 qualifiers out of 13 events.

As the Tigers led the way from start to finish, Northridge was able to finish second with 95 team points. The Raiders qualified for an impressive 10 events for next week’s regional, led by senior Elaina Papandrea who won the 300m hurdles sectional championship. Papandrea was able to edge Warsaw senior Marin Hart to the finish line to win the race by 0.07 seconds.

“It was really nice to see,” Northridge coach Trisha King said of Papandrea’s win. “It was a big win on the track, but also an emotional win to see her just fired up and peaking on the right team. Marin was in the lead until she hit a snag, and my hope soared and I saw Elaina take the lead. She finished really strong, so I felt confident she was going to hang on.”

Another big performance from Northridge came in the 800m race, as junior Tame Baylis used a big sprint to the finish to pass NorthWood senior Kaitlin Burden for third place, automatically qualifying her for the region. The first three in each event advance automatically.

“(Baylis) started and she got locked in early which was a problem. We’re going to have to work on the start so she can get some air,” King said. “She came in and was sitting around eighth with 300 (meters) to go, and I was getting a little nervous. But she finished strong, so to see her empty the last 100 meters – although it gave me a fit of panic – was heartening to see.”

All three relay teams also qualified for the Northridge area. With only a number of events to focus on next week, King expects practices to go differently than they have.

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“At this point it’s just about putting the finishing touches on things and giving the girls confidence to be ready to race next week,” King said. “We won’t gain much fitness next week; it’s just time to finalize everything and refine it so that next week we are strong on the track and mentally prepared.”

NORTHWOOD FINISHES THIRD

NorthWood rookie Elayna Yoder backed up her performance in the NLC Championship Meet in the 100, winning the section title by 0.01 seconds over Elkhart rookie Ja’leiiya Williams.

It was one of six events the Panthers will send to Kokomo next Tuesday. NorthWood finished third in the team standings in sections with 85 points scored.

“Overall, I’m just proud of how the girls competed,” said NorthWood coach Mark Mikel. “Most of the competition we were in second place. … To compete in a competition like this with a Warsaw and an Elkhart and a Northridge and a Concord and even Goshen, schools of this size – we were able to put up a good fight.”

CONCORD ADVANCE THREE TO THE REGIONALS

Arguably the most exciting race of the day was won by the Minutemen, as the quartet of Jaylah Leggett, Dea ana Emerson, Reagan Cooper and Jada Swanson won the 4X100 meters relay with a time of 51.04 seconds. They were able to beat NorthWood by 0.03 seconds and Northridge by 0.05 in a photo-finish.

“Throughout the year we weren’t strong enough to get out of the anchor (part of the relay),” said Concord coach Jerry Redmond of his 4X100 relay team. “We made some adjustments, and our starting leg (Leggett) ran a strong leg. We knew if we ran a strong first leg it would give us a good lead and give our anchor a chance to win. And, she held it was great.

Concord also qualified Leggett in the 100 meters and Macie Swineheart in the discus, who both finished third in their respective events. The Minutemen finished sixth in the team standings on Tuesday with 60 points.

YODER, KONIECZNY LEADS WAWASEE

Sophomore Emma Yoder continued her strong discus season, winning the section title with a throw of 124 feet at 10.50 feet.

Senior Dylan Konieczny then qualified for regionals in two events, taking second place in the long jump and third in the high jump.

“I think it’s getting a little less intense,” Wawasee coach Stefani Wuthrich said of what training for Yoder and Konieczny will look like next week. “They already know what they’re doing and they’re already conditioned, so it’s just about getting as many reps as possible. The talent is already there, so there’s not much to work on there. .”

Other schools in The Goshen News’ coverage area that competed in the Warsaw section but did not qualify for regionals were Goshen, Fairfield and Bethany Christian.

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2022 IHSAA GIRLS TRACK SECTIONAL AT WARSAW — Regional qualifiers and final team standings

The regional is next Tuesday, May 24 at Kokomo High School

100 meters: Elayna Yoder, NorthWood, 12.60 seconds; Ja’leiiya Williams, Elkhart, 12.61; Jaylah Leggett, Concorde, 12.72

200 metres: Ja’leiiya Williams, Elkhart, 26.19 seconds; Olivia Adkins, Northridge, 26.71; Elayna Yoder, NorthWood, 26.71

400m: Rylee Burns, Warsaw, 1:01.45; Lillian Richmond, Columbia City, 1:01.55; Mikayla Mimnaugh, Warsaw, 1:04.18

800m race: Wini Barnett, Warsaw, 2:22.44; Lilyana Lahr, Columbia City, 2:24.34; Taming Baylis, Northridge, 2:24.74

1600m race: Josefina Rastrelli, Warsaw, 5:03.17; Kaitlin Burden, NorthWood, 5:13.11; Felice Mullinax, Columbia City, 5:29.50

3,200m race: Josefina Rastrelli, Warsaw, 11:13.03; Haylee Hile, Northridge, 11:43.72; Elizabeth Vander Bie, Warsaw, 12:03.25

100 meters hurdles: Marin Hart, Warsaw, 15.41 seconds; Alyssa Sloop, Northridge, 16.68; Hannah Chupp, NorthWood, 17.13

300 meters hurdles: Elaina Papandrea, Northridge, 48.99 seconds; Marin Hart, Warsaw, 49.06; Kiersten Parker, Warsaw, 50.21

4X100 meter relay: Concord (Jaylah Leggett, Dea ana Emerson, Reagan Cooper and Jada Swanson), 51.04 seconds; NorthWood (Hannah Chupp, Claire Payne, Megan Mikel and Elayna Yoder), 51.06; Northridge (Elaina Papandrea, Jen’Daesha Brown, Susanne Nickell and Olivia Adkins), 51.09.

4X400 meter relay: Warsaw (Rylee Burns, Sarah Kratzsch, Mikayla Mimnaugh and Wini Barnett), 4:06.74; Northridge (Eliana Papandrea, Olivia Adkins, Jen’Daesha Brown and Tame Baylis), 4:09.74; Elkhart Christian Academy (Emma Gruet, Emmalynn Brown, Adaline Russell and Miah Vida), 4:19.17

4X800 meter relay: Warsaw (Ella Laput, Tatum Bergan, Elizabeth Vander Bie and Wini Barnett), 9:53.03; NorthWood (Emilie Allen, Sydney Prenkert, McKenzie Brewer and Kaitlin Burden), 10:04.10; Northridge (Isabel Snyder, Haylee Hile, Emma Long and Tame Baylis), 10:14.95

Shot put: Haley Thompson, Columbia City, 38-06.50 feet; Abby Sanner, Warsaw, 37-04.50 feet; Sydney Nethercutt, Northridge, 36-10.50 feet

Discus throw: Emma Yoder, Wawasee, 124-10.50 feet; Abby Sanner, Warsaw, 115-10ft; Macie Swinehart, Concorde, 104-07 feet

Long jump: Mady Axsom, Elkhart, 16-01.50 feet; Dylan Konieczny, Wawasee, 15-10.25ft; Erika Bugg, Warsaw, 15-09 feet

High jump: Mady Axsom, Elkhart, 5-04 feet; Marin Hart, Warsaw, 5-04 feet; Dylan Konieczny, Wawasee, 5-01 feet

Pole vault: Josie Niebbia, Warsaw, 10-06 feet; Emily Hood, Northridge, 9-00 feet; Danielle Dunham, Columbia City, 9-00 feet

Final team ranking:

1. Warsaw, 169 points

2. Northridge, 95

3. North Woods, 85

4. Elkhart, 66.50

5. City of Columbia, 61

6. Concord, 60

7. Wawasee, 41.50

8. Elkhart Christian Academy, 21

9. Gochen, 10

10. Fairfield, 7

11. Jimtown, 5

12. Christian Bethany, 2

13. Lakeland Christian Academy, 1

Regional qualifications by school: Warsaw, 16 (13 events); Northridge, 10 (10 events); NorthWood, 6 (6 events); Columbia City, 5 (events); Concord, 3 (3 events); Wawasee, 2 (3 events) Elkhart, 2 (4 events); Elkhart Christian Academy, 1 (1 event).

Austin Hough can be reached at [email protected] or 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.