NorthWood’s Bailey Gessinger heads into the final leg of the 4×100 relay, which Gessinger and the Panthers claimed 10 points to win the Goshen Relays Class B championship Saturday afternoon. (Photos by Mike Deak)

GOSHEN – It came down to the final relay to settle matters in the Class B standings at Saturday’s Goshen Relays. NorthWood was set up perfectly, breaking a tie with a statement while Whitko fell back and settled for second on a great day for racing at the 74th annual track extravaganza at Foreman Field.

Whitko’s Garrett Elder, center, and Alex Wilson, left, cross the line in the 100-meter dash final.

Whitko and NorthWood entered the final 4×400 relay tied at 91.5 points, and both were split into separate heats of the relay. NorthWood’s 4×400 relay team ran in heat one of the two-heat final, easily outgunning its group with Bailey Gessinger motoring home with a 3:28.25 to give the Panthers its 10 points. Whitko had a chance to match and share the title, but fell apart about halfway through the relay, landing in seventh overall at 3:55.49 and 93.5 points.

Gessinger, in sprinting home, was the icon of perfection for the Goshen Relays, earning the High Point award with 17.5 points. The senior speed demon for the Panthers was the final leg of championship 4×100, 4×200, 4×400 and the 100-meter dash champion, his 11.03 100 championship wasn’t even close. NorthWood’s Brayton Yoder and Whitko’s Garrett Elder both scored 15.5 points in the meet.

“We thought we could do well, but to be honest, I didn’t think coming in that we could win it,” said Whitko head coach Ron Cherry. “Going into that final relay tied was both surprising and exciting. We had a lot of good performances today. I don’t think the kids thought they could finish this high, either.”

Wawasee’s Jacob Moore runs in the sprint medley.

Whitko had several top-three finishes at the Relays, it’s 4×100 relay team finishing first in its heat and second overall to NorthWood with a 44.89. The Wildcat 4×200 relay was second (1:35.35) as was its sprint medley (1:42.18).

Alex Morales of Whitko was second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15:14, and the combo of Garrett Elder and Alex Wilson had a pair of quality finishes in the long jump and 100 dash. Elder went 20-03.75 in the long jump and 11.51 in the 100, taking third and fourth, and Wilson went 20-02.5 for fourth in long jump and 11.58 for fifth in the 100.

Wildcat Gavin Howard was second in shot put at 49-4 and third in discus at 129-11. Conner Sherwin was second in discus at 130-02 and Walker Hobbs was third in shot put at 49-1. Zach Freel was fourth in high jump at 5-6.

“We brought our 26 kids here and did the best we could with them,” Cherry said. “This is a good meet for us. Not just in terms with success, but this is a pretty particular meet and that will help us in setup with the TRC and sectional.”

Wawasee’s 4×100, 4×200, 4×800 and sprint medley relays all placed in the top four. The 200 was third at 1:39.39, the 100 was fourth at 46.97, the 800 was fourth at 9:20.78, and the sprint medley was fourth at 1:44.45.

The Warriors placed 12th overall with 33 points in the 16-team field.

Fort Wayne Carroll, led by its High Point award winner James Jamicich, won the Class A title with 141.50 points, 40.5 points better than runner-up Goshen. Jamicich won both the shot put (55-01.5) and discus (160-02) to score 20 points.

Whitko jumps back into Three Rivers Conference racing Tuesday in hosting Manchester, Northfield and Lakeland Christian Academy while Wawasee will host NorthWood and Elkhart Memorial Monday in a Northern Lakes Conference rain make-up.