Erba Sets Record At Huntington

Ashley Erba wasted no time in starting her final cross country season in record-setting fashion Saturday.

The WCHS senior star broke her own course record in leading the Tigers to a second-place finish in the 16-team Huntington Invitational.

Erba, the individual state cross country champion in 2011, covered the 5K course in 17:30, shattering her old mark set a year ago by an astounding 64 seconds.

The Tigers’ runner-up finish in the meet, which was won by No. 2 Fort Wayne Carroll, was the top placing ever for the program.

Carroll won the team title with a score of 38. Warsaw was second with 86, followed by Homestead (117), Huntington North (122), Fremont (165), Leo (195), East Noble (195), DeKalb (202), Norwell (213), Columbia City (233), Oak Hill (272), Fort Wayne South Side (312), Churubusco (327), Lafayette Jeff (399), Kokomo (446) and West Noble (incomplete).

Senior Sarah Ray, competing in cross country for the first time in high school this season,  placed eighth overall for the Tigers in 19:22.  Hannah Dawson was 23rd overall in 20:45, while Madeline Hooks was 26th (20:57), Emma Hayward 28th (20:59), Tayler Mylin 53rd (22:28) and Emily Stouder 54th (22:32).

Tennie Worrell led the Warsaw JV team to a third-place finish behind Carroll and Huntington North. Worrell placed fifth overall in a time of 21:54 to lead the JV Tigers.

Hannah Thompson was 14th overall in 22:35 for WCHS, while Cynthia Yoder was 17th (22:46), Brooke Rhodes 22nd (22:56),  Kara Millington 25th (23:15), Claire Kehler 26th (23:23) and Kendra Paton 27th (23:26).

Also competing for the JV team were Jackie Ferguson in 31st place in 23:46, Audra Harman 37th (24:08), Alexis Himes 42nd (24:17), Alexis Winters 47th (24:35), Courtney Etchison 58th (26:02), Mariah Harter 63rd (26:39), Emma Lehman 70th (28:03) and Nicole Brackett 79th (29:37).

Coach Scott Erba saw 15 of his 22 runners who competed Saturday run lifetime bests in the first meet of the season.

Warsaw returns to action at the DeKalb Baron Classic Aug. 25. The Tigers then host their own Warsaw Classic Aug. 28 at Miller Field at 5 p.m.

Golfers Second At New Haven

Alexis Manwaring led the WCHS girls golf team to a second-place finish Saturday in the New Haven Invitational.

Sophomore Manwaring shot an 88, good for ninth place individually,  as the Tigers totaled 368. Yorktown won the tournament with a team score of 321.

Junior Elizabeth Meadows carded a 90 (11th place overall) and junior Nikki LaLonde a 92 (14th) for Warsaw. Seniors Morgan Sands and Ashley Murrell shot 98 and 111 respectively for coach Chris LaLonde’s team.

Warsaw opens Northern Lakes Conference play this week. The Tigers play Concord and Northridge Tuesday at Bent Oak in Elkhart and face league foes NorthWood and Goshen Thursday at McCormick Creek in Nappanee. Both NLC matches are slated to begin at 5 p.m.

Tigers Race To Second Place At Huntington

The Warsaw boys cross country team ran to a second-place finish Saturday in the Huntington Invitational.

Led by its outstanding trio of Jacob Poyner, Ellis Coon and Robert Murphy, the No. 6 Tigers posted a team score of 52 to take runner-up honors in the 16-team event. No. 4 Fort Wayne Carroll won the invite with a team score of 38.

Senior Poyner placed second overall in a time of 15:57 to lead coach Jim Mills’ deep and talented team. Junior Coon was third in 16:08 and senior Murphy was fourth in 16:10.

Junior Ismael Calderon was 18th overall in a time of 17:02 for WCHS. Senior Brysten James placed 25th in 17:12, while junior Tyler Houvener was 27th in 17:23 and sophomore Cam Hoskins 33rd in 17:37.

The WCHS JV team was also second Saturday among 16 teams with a score of 35.

Warsaw returns to action Aug. 28 by hosting its own Warsaw Classic at Miller Field at 5 p.m.

Soccer Team Nets Pair Of Shutout Wins

The girls soccer team rolled right along Saturday with two shutout victories in the Shindigz National Soccer Festival in Fort Wayne.

The unbeaten Tigers blanked Fort Wayne Concordia 2-0 in a morning match. Gabby Monroy scored in the eighth minute, assisted by Alex Noppert for a 1-0 lead. Star Meredith Hollar wrapped up the contest with a tally in the 50th minute, assisted by Erica Gauger.

Warsaw outshot Concordia 6-3 and keeper Abby Schue had three saves.

In the nightcap, the Tigers got goals from Hollar,  Kelly Williams and Sandra Granda to blank DeKalb 3-0.

Monroy, Gauger and Sydney Rose each had an assist in the victory. The Tigers outshot DeKalb 12-6 with keeper Schue making six stops in the net for her third shutout in three games. Midfielders Danielle Hutcherson, Rose and Gauger played key roles in controlling both wins for the Tigers.

Warsaw (3-0) opens Northern Lakes Conference play Tuesday at Plymouth. The JV contest begins at 5 p.m.

Volleyball Team Wins Three To Open Season

Jamie Lacheta led the way as the WCHS volleyball team opened its season with a 3-1 showing Saturday in the Lafayette Jeff Invitational.

Lacheta, a senior, totaled a team-high 38 kills on the day and also led the Tigers with eight aces to go with tying for team-high honors with 14 digs.

Warsaw defeated Morristown, Milan and McCutcheon, while losing to host Lafayette Jeff.

Kate Voelz had 14 kills and seven blocks for Warsaw. Emily Poe had 14 kills, while Alex Sanchez had 14 digs and Olivia Divine had 10 digs and three aces. Setter Chloe Hubner racked up 73 assists on the day, while Ashlynn Vitoux had two aces and Sam Jensen a pair of blocks.

Warsaw (3-1) plays at Mishawaka Marian Monday, hosts Northfield Tuesday and starts NLC play at Elkhart Memorial Thursday.