Trio Paces Tigers To Runner-Up Finish

Warsaw’s “Big Three” led the boys cross country team to a second-place finish Saturday in the Marion Invitational.

The trio of senior Jacob Poyner, junior Ellis Coon and senior Robert Murphy continued their outstanding performances as the No. 6 Tigers were runner-up in the 18-team event.

No. 4 Fort Wayne Carroll took team honors with a score of 35. The Tigers, who just won their own invitational Tuesday night, placed second with a team score of 50.

Poyner led coach Jim Mills’ deep and talented team by placing second in the race with a time of 15:41. Coon, who won the individual title at the Warsaw Invite earlier this week, was third in 15:58. Murphy placed sixth in 16:06.

Junior Ismael Calderon was 19th in a time of 16:55, while senior Brysten James was 20th (16:56), junior Tyler Houvener 30th (17:21) and sophomore Cam Hoskins 56th (18:23).

The Warsaw JV team won their portion of the invitational.

Warsaw will compete in Northern Lakes Conference action Tuesday versus Concord and Elkhart Memorial at Memorial at 5:30 p.m.

Noppert’s Goal Makes Difference In Victory

An early second-half goal by Alex Noppert lifted the Warsaw girls soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Argos Saturday at WCHS.

Noppert’s score in the 45th minute was assisted by Kelly Williams as the Tigers improved to 5-1-1 with the non-conference win over the Class 1-A No. 13 Dragons.

Junior Abby Schue made three saves to record her fourth shutout of the season in goal for the Tigers. Warsaw outshot Argos 12-3 and had a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Argos keeper Karlee Van Der Weele made 11 saves in the contest, including a pair of outstanding ones in the opening half to keep the game scoreless.

The Tigers continued another strong season despite the absence of standout Meredith Hollar. The senior has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury versus Plymouth Aug. 21. Hollar, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, is scheduled to have an MRI next week. The Grace College recruit had eight goals in the first four games this season prior to her injury and now has 50 in her career. Hollar, who scored 28 goals her sophomore season, is closing in on the school career record of 61 goals set by Ashley Kitchens, a 2004 WCHS graduate.

Lexy Myers and Cristina Tiahuetl each scored two goals Saturday as the Warsaw JV team beat Argos 4-2. Megan Davis, Violet Lopez and Tiahuetl all had assists for the Tigers.

Warsaw plays at Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial Tuesday.

Volleyball Team Wins Own Tourney

It wasn’t easy, but the Warsaw volleyball team showed its resiliency once again on Saturday to win the title of its own Warsaw Spiker Invitational.

The hosts rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Madison-Grant 3-2 in the championship match of the annual event.

The Tigers, now 10-1 on the season, won the title tilt 23-25, 19-25, 25-14, 25-17, 16-14.

Warsaw rallied from 2-1 deficits earlier in the season to win big road matches at Class 3-A power Mishawaka Marian and at Elkhart Memorial, snapping the Chargers’ 76-match winning streak in the Northern Lakes Conference.

The strong senior class for coach Mike Howard’s team once again proved to be tough.

Senior star Jamie Lacheta, a Division I prospect, slammed 28 kills on the day as Warsaw beat Tippecanoe Valley 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-16) and Madison-Grant. Lacheta also led the Tigers  with seven aces.

Senior setter Chloe Hubner racked up 63 assists in the pair of wins and also had five aces. Senior libero Alex Sanchez had a team-high 39 digs. Junior Emily Poe had 12 kills and 23 digs. Sophomore Katie Voelz had a big day with six blocks and 14 kills. Junior Delaney Goble had five aces and 18 digs and senior Rebecca Ailes had two blocks.

Warsaw  (10-1, 2-0 in the NLC) hosts conference opponent Northridge Tuesday with the JV match starting at 5:30 p.m.

No. 2 Soccer Team Continues Impressive Season

The Warsaw boys soccer team continued its stellar season Saturday with a pair of wins in the Carroll Invitational to win the event.

The Class 2-A No. 2 Tigers topped host Carroll 1-0  in the championship contest of the tourney. Senior Diego Lopez scored the game winner with under a minute to play in overtime, off an assist from Nathan Kolbe, to give Warsaw the win.  Senior Michael Yantz posted the shutout in goal with seven saves for the Tigers.

Warsaw also blanked Class 2-A No.  12 Homestead by a 2-0 count in the tourney in Fort Wayne. Gustavo Rodriguez and T.J. Hofer each netted a goal for the Tigers. Nathan Kolbe and Ethan Goodman picked up assists.  Yantz also had the shutout in goal in the win.

Warsaw (8-0-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the NLC) hosts Elkhart Memorial Tuesday in a conference match. The varsity is slated to start at 6:45 p.m.