Here is the first half of our top 10 teams for the 2014-15 athletic season in the area.

10. REACHING NEW HEIGHTS – Triton’s wrestling program experienced one of its finest seasons as a whole. The team posted 15 dual wins, which tied the school record for wins in a season with the 2000 club. Triton also went 10-1 against Class 1-A clubs, and finished ranked eighth as a team among its competitors. Triton will wrestle in the team state tournament next season, qualifying with its top-eight ranking.

Also on the list of big accomplishments for the team was sending four individuals – Malachi Greene, Gage Waddle, Nate Spangle and Justin Hefner – to Merrillville for the semi-state tournament, a feat that had never been done at the school. Triton had Grant Stichter, Greene, Waddle and Spangle all win sectional titles and Hefner finish second at the sectional. Seven Trojans won at least 19 dual matches, with Spangle leading the charge at 35-5.

9. ESTABLISHING A STANDARD – Triton’s softball program knew it would be good. But with the loss of several key seniors last season, including all-time strikeout queen Mallorie Jennings, it was anyone’s guess how the 2015 season would shape out.

Not too shabby by anyone’s standards as the Lady Trojans broke the 20-win plateau for the third straight season and with it won its third straight sectional title and fourth overall. Gaining a lot of postseason momentum from finishing fourth in the final grueling Northern State Conference season, Triton showed vulnerability and moxie at the same time in wins over Elkhart Christian Academy and Bethany Christian in the Triton Softball Sectional.

Heading into the home regional game against South Central, Triton’s offensive prowess was staggering. Batting almost .340 as a team, eight of its nine regular starters were batting over .320.

Seniors Lexee Lemler, Hannah Jennings, Lauren Hostrawser and Brycelyn Garbison all played vital roles while freshmen Taytum Hargrave, Nicole Sechrist and Courtney Jennings all showed signs of a bright future.

8. QUIET ASSASSINS – Another one of those teams flying under the radar for much of the season was the Triton girls tennis team. With much louder (Warsaw) and flashier (Plymouth) teams playing on either side of them, Triton just went about its business and had one of its finest seasons in program history.
The Lady Trojans rang up a 14-2 overall team record that included a the final Northern State Conference tournament title.

Triton’s only regular season loss was to Bremen in NSC play, giving the Trojans and Lions a share of the NSC bragging rights. Triton’s other loss, unfortunately, came in the Bremen Sectional final as Plymouth steamrolled Triton, 5-0, in a swift final match. The sting of the bitter loss, however, did not spoil what was a tremendous season.

Kaelyn Mason was the top No. 1 singles player in the conference, and sisters Kylie and Kolbie Mason were the top No. 1 doubles team at the NSC. Kaelyn finished her senior season at 21-3 overall and Kylie her senior year 17-7. Every member of the varsity for the Trojans had at least 16 court wins, and three of the regular seven – Kolbie Mason, Hannah Wanemacher and Emma Ross – were freshmen. Junior Shayla May will lead the program next year after going 19-6 in a very successful No. 2 singles campaign.

7. SHOCK AND AWE – Whitko’s girls track team ran rather stealthily during the spring season. Cut out from the Fort Wayne sectional and regional tournaments, Whitko had to find another home for its repeat Three Rivers Conference championship program. The Rochester Sectional was a nice home for the Lady Wildcats, which had Kaitlyn Reed and Elaine Warner win sectional titles in the 200 and long jump, respectively. Reed also placed second in the 100 and third in the high jump, where she qualified for state on the standard in the high jump at 5-4 at the Warsaw Regional. Reed followed up her fine showing locally by placing ninth overall in the high jump at the state finals, clearing 5-4.

The 4×100 relay team, while not qualifying for state, were sectional champions and set the school record in the event at the regional with a time of 50.79, which broke a record set way back in 1986. On the record-setting relay team are Reed, Warner, Abby Overmeyer and Reghan Craig.

6. BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT – The Warsaw boys basketball team  had quite the bounce back season in 2014-15. The Tigers notched an 18-5 overall mark, including going undefeated at 7-0 to win the Northern Lakes Conference championship. The Tigers were 11-10 overall and 2-5 in the NLC just a year before. Coach Doug Ogle’s team featured five seniors in Rashaan Jackson, Nick Sands, Jake Mangas, Tim Swanson and Peyton Long. Sophomore Kyle Mangas was the top scorer for the Tigers and junior Paul Marandet was outstanding at the point guard position.

The Tigers lost a 60-59 decision at eventual Class 4-A state champion Homestead and Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan in December. Ogle was honored as the NLC Coach of the Year, while Kyle Mangas and Marandet were both All-NLC selections. Jake Mangas off the court got the job done in the classroom, ranking No. 1 in his graduating class and earning Academic All-State in both football and basketball, as well as earning Cato and Krause scholarships for his work in the classroom.