The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 2, Milford, Kosciusko County, 25 January 1984 — Page 9

Sports

Melendez, Traviola, Hernandez take titles —

Team effort keys NLC wrestling tournament win

By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor Three Wawasee High School • wrestlers claimed the title of “Northern Lakes Conference Champion” as the Warriors swept to their first NLC tournament crown in seven years on Saturday at Wawasee Dave Melendez, Brad Traviola and Mike Hernandez took individual crowns in what proved to be a team-oriented win. Wawasee scored points in every weight class, edging second-place Goshen 1984-183. The win tied Wawasee with Goshen for top honors in the conference. Plymouth took the third spot with 1494 points. Rounding out the field were Warsaw, 1284, Concord, 118, Rochester 974. Bremen. 964, and North Wood, 89. “When all 13 kids wrestle back and score points you have to call it a team effort,” said a delighted coach Rich Welborn “I can’t remember that happening before since I’ve been coaching.” As expected, the tournament was a race between the Warriors and the Redskins. According to Welborn, one\ of the important turning points in the tournament came in the second round. “We wrestled Goshen in our third match of the year," noted Welborn, "and we lost five close matches. One of the keys for us in the tournament was that- we won three head-to-heads in the second round.” Those head-to-head wins, supplied by Lance Lantz. Tim Fraser and Pat Inks, enabled Wawasee to take a 174 point lead into the final round It proved to be too big a difference for Goshen to overcome “The kids realized they really had a shot at winning this meet," said Welborn. “It pretty much came down to Goshen and ourselves.” The Champions For Melendez, Traviola and

Lady Warriors stop Plymouth, Bremen next

By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor With their lineup back at full strength, the Lady Warriors settled down to business in a 59-39 romp over the Plymouth Pilgrimeftes in the Wawasee gym Tuesday night The win raised Wawasee to 5-1 in the conference, and assures Dale Brannock’s squad of at least a share of the conference crown. The Lady Warriors could win the title outright if they defeat 5-1

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POWER INSIDE — Christy Speicher’s fine play under the boards is one of the reaons that the Lady Warriors are 10-1. The s*l*” junior, pictured here shooting over Plymouth’s Roxanne Gibson, bad 10 points and five rebounds in Wawasee’s 59-30 win over the Pilgrimettes on Tuesday night. (Photo by Tom Charles)

Hernandez it was another in a string of fine performances this year. The threesome, with a combined record of 63-4, has been solid as a rock from 126 to 138 pounds. “Dave wrestled well on Saturday,” commented Welborn in regards to the 126 pound champion. "He is a real work horse.” Melendez dominated his weight class. In the first two rounds he recorded pins in 1:09 and 1:51. He made the finale look easy as he blasted North Wood’s Brent Hartman 16-0. i Traviola, now 22-1 on the year, also performed in near perfect style. After cruising to a 28-3 win in the opening round, Trav dispatched his semi-final and final opponents via the pin. The championship match with Plymouth's Larry Roahrig was over in 4:32. Hernandez, who was feeling a bit under the weather during the meet, had the roughest going of the three. In the second round he was trailing Warsaw’s Joe Lowe in the third period before winning by a pin. In the finale he triumphed with a 7-2 decision over Plymouth’s Greg Kunze. this was the second consecutive championship for both Melendez and Hernandez. In last year’s meet at North Wood, Melendez was the king at 126 and Hernandez was tops at 132. Team Win Despite their outstanding efforts, the three champions were only the tip of the iceberg for Wawasee. Three other Warriors wrestled themselves into the finals before dropping tough matches. Rob DeSomer raised his personal record to 15-5 as he took second in the 119 division. He won one match by forfeit and one by an 8-3 decision before losing a tough 10-1 overtime decision to Goshen’s Shayne Rogers in the finale. Lance Lantz and Tim Fraser also finished second in their divi-

Bremen at Wawasee on Thursday night Plymouth was content to play patient basketball in the first half, hoping that the slow tempo would prevent the Lady Warriors from using their speedy attack. The Pilgrimettes did not attempt a shot until Tana Powell sank a jumper with 2:35 gone in the first period. “W'e knew we couldn’t run with Wawasee,” admitted Plymouth mentor Russ Teall. “We had to be patient, and I think we played the style of ball that we hoped to.”

sions. Lantz notched two sutouts before dropping a 5-1 decision at 167 pounds. Fraser had pinned his only opponent before being pinned himself in the 177 finale. Among those who did not make it to the championship match, Jason Keim turned in a fine performance. “Jason has really become an over-achiever,” noted Welborn. “He is one of those kids who has really battled. He came through with two big pins.” After losing his opening match by an 11-5 count, Keim was an unstoppable force in the 155 division. He pinned Bremen’s Richard Blair in 3:41, stopped Rochester’s Wayne Pfeiffer in 3:27, and decisioned Northwood’s Jeff Shaw 5-0 to record 15 valuable points. Steve Sturgill finished a notable fourth at 185 pounds despite spraining an ankle and injuring his shoulder in his opening match. The remaining finishers for Wawasee were J.R. Noel, sixth at 98, Duane Turner, fifth at 105, Jeff Dunithan, third at 112, Steve Yoder, fourth at 145 and Pat Inks,

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Plymouth stayed close until the middle of the stanza when defensive lapses and turnovers allowed the Lady Warriors to run off one of their patented scoring blitzes. With Anita Swope and Sandy Payne leading the charge, Wawasee stretched a 6-4 advantage to 18-7 at the end of the quarter. “We simply didn’t get back on defense,” said Teall. “We didn’t cover the outlet pass. Wawasee got a lot of layups and those killed us.” Wawasee did not slow down in the second period. Demonstrating a sense of purpose on offense, the Lady Warriors moved the ball swiftly down the court and got off quick shots, running a smooth transition from the sideline break into the pattern offense. “We played with good intensity although I thought we looked a little tired,” said Wawasee coach Dale Brannock. "I thought the kids did a good job. But I would have liked to see a little more killer instinct. ” In the first half, Wawasee lacked some intensity on the boards and in its zone defense. While the 1-2-2 zone frustrated Plymouth for the opening minutes, it spread open late in the first quarter giving the Pilgrimettes chances to penetrate. Fortunately for Wawasee, Plymouth’s point guards were hesitant to shoot off of their penetration. “Our point guard has to be more of an offensive threat,” Teall noted. “We weren’t taking shots that we should have.” “I was happy at times with our zone,” said Brannock. “We made a few adjustments in the later part of the game and those helped.” Four players wound up in double figures for the Lady Warriors. Payne tossed in 14 points, 10 of them in the first half, to lead the effort. Other team members in double digits were Dee Stump with 12 and Swope and Speicher with 10 each. Wawasee was hot from the field as 26 of 48 shots found their marks —a 54 percent performance. Once the Lady Warriors got on track under the boards, they worked their way to a 29-25 edge in caroms. Michelle Harter and Marcia Sorensen shared honors in that category with six each. Junior Varsity The junior varsity allowed a win to slip out of its hands in the final quarter. Leading 25-14 at the end of three periods, Wawasee stumbled and dropped a 29-28

fourth in the heavyweight class

The team now has one week of practice to tune up for the East Noble sectional. The Warriors are the defending champions. NLC Champs 98 — Gary Gaskill (G > 105 — Robert Ford (WAR) 112 — Joe Grise (GOS) 119 — Shayne Rogers (GOS) 126 — Dave Melendez (WAW) 132 — Brad Traviola (WAW) 138 — Mike Hernandez (WAW) 145 — Mike Wittrig (GOS) 155 —Scott Smith (P) 167 — Craig Burton (R) 177 — Paul Bachtel (C) 185 — Mark Whitehead (WAR) Hwt. — Rob Gardner (R)

NLC KINGS — Clockwise from upper left: Rob DeSomer attempts to escape from the hold of Goshen's Shayne Rogers; the three champions, Dave Melendez, Mike Hernandez and Brad Traviola; J.R. Noel, Steve Yoder and friends relax between matches; and Steve Yoder duels with Goshen’s Mike Wittrig. (Photos by Tom Charles)

decision. The loss put the team’s record at 12-5. Jama Roose had 12 points in the loss. Ann Vitaniemi added foui markers. Next Week Sole possession of the NLC crown will be on the line in Thursday night’s home clash with Bremen. The Lions are 5-1 in the NLC and are expected to give the Lady Warriors all they can handle. In the opening round of the Warsaw sectional, Wawasee will face Warsaw at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2.

Sports comment -

Calling the shots CHARLES

IF THERE AREN’T ANY PEP SESSIONS during the school day at Wawasee High School next year, don’t blame Dr. Howard Hull, WHS principal. According to measures adopted by the Indiana Department of Public Instruction, all extracirricular activities will be subject to new regulations in the 1984-85 school year. These regulations are a result of the Governor’s Commission on General Education which was appointed to study the Indiana school system and make recommendations on ways in which it could be improved. Specifically, the commission recommended that students spend more time in classes. Therefore, students will be required to spend 360 minutes per week in class in 1984-85 as compared to the current 345. In addition, schools will riot be allowed to release studients early for club or sporting events. This is the regulation that impacts on the athletic program. First of all, due to the increased class time requirements, pep sessions during the day are out. Dr. Hull, a firm believer in school spirit, noted that the school is examining a number of alternatives, one of which is holding pep sessions prior to the start of basketball games. However, no plans have been finalized. The “no early dismissal clause” will mean some adjustments for teams which have to travel long distances to compete. Baseball games may have to be shortened in order to accomodate the changes. Golf matches may suffer the same fate. Conference tournaments will no longer be conducted during school hours —a fact that could potentially result in increased transportation costs. It will be interesting to observe the schools* reactions as this policy is put into effect next fall. The intent appears to be good, but striking at extracirricular events may be the wrong place to aim. Athletics and clubs have an important role to play in educating students and building school spirit, and it will not be popular to curb those activities. On the slate for this week: Concord at Rochester, Warsaw at Bremen, Warsaw at Elkhart Memorial, Wawasee at Whitko, lowa at Indiana, Michigan at Purdue and Maryland at Notre Dame. Bud Seely joins our panel of soothsayers this

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Boys Cons. Total Warsaw 5-0 12-2* Bremen 3-1 11-3 Plymouth 3-1 8-6 Wawasee 2-2 11-3 Concord 2-3 9-3 Rochester 1-3 2-11 North Wood 0-2 4-7 Goshen 0-3 2-11 Last week's results* Plymouth 62 Rochester 33 Wawasee 81 Goshen 62 Elk Memorial 68 North Wood 67 Warsaw 57 Whitko 56 Concord 59 Marian 58 Games of the week Warsaw at Bremen W'awasee at Whitko North Wood at Plymouth i' Concord at Rochester Penn at Goshen

week. The Milford resident is a noted sports trivia buff, and has been gracious enough to share his resources with this sports reporter. We can only hope that Bud’s knowledge of the present is as great as his command of the past. Charles (.616) — Charles’ recordtover the past month is a dismal 13-16. Who isjje trying to fool with this “Sports Editor” business? Look for the Warriors to split their weekend games — dropping the Friday contest at Whitko and taking the Saturday bout with East Noble. Winners: Concord, Warsaw (twice), Whitko, Indiana, Michigan and Maryland. Kuhn (.657) — The proud new father sees clouds in his crystal ball when it comes to Friday's Wawasee-Whitko game. “It is impossible to win in the cathouse with Billy Jo’s seven-man offense.” Kuhn noted. Winners: Concord, Bremen, Warsaw, Whitko. Indiana, Purdue and Maryland. Rhodes (.606) — Picking the Wawasee-Whitko winner is too easy for this member of the fearless forecasters. Rhodes is going so far as to predict the course of the game itself. “Wawasee will win by a couple of points in overtime,” be stated. “Some people might call it an upset, but Wawasee has the talent.” Winners: Concord, Warsaw, Elk. Memorial, Wawasee, Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame. Weinstein (.520) — Weinstein is borrowing a common parenting technique to forecast the Wawasee-Whitko winner. “Every time I seem to give WHS the nod, they lose. Reverse psychology; I’m picking Whitko, but the Warriors will actually stun the ’Cats,” informed the M-J sports personality. Winners: Rochester, Warsaw (twice), Whitko, Indiana, Michigan and Maryland. Guest (.621) — As anticipated, Seely went back to the history books in order to find his rationale for tabbing Whitko to beat the Warriors. “Whitko has a good basketball team,” noted Seely. “And Wawasee can’t seem to beat Whitko. Whitko seems to have a jinx on the Warriors.” His winners: Rochester, Warsaw (twice), Whitko, Indiana, Michigan and Maryland. >

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Around The NLC

Girls Cons. Total Wawasee 6-0 16-1 Warsaw 6-1 15-2 Bremen 5-1 16-3 North Wood 3-3 13-4 Goshen 3-4 10-7 Plymouth 2-4 5-11 Concord 1-5 7-8 Rochester 0-7 5-12 Last week's results* North Wood 52 Goshen 44 Wawasee 59 Plymouth 39 Triton 76 Rochester 42 Warsaw 64 North Wood 41 Wawasee 54 Whitko 26 Games of the week Goshen at Mishawaka Concord at North Wood Bremen at Wawasee Warsaw at Elk. Central Winamac at Rochester

Wed., January 25,1984 - THE MAIL-JOURNAL

WHS gymnasts tumble two foes .i

Wawasee’s optional gymnastics team had little trouble running its record to 3-0 as it rolled past Westview 84.5-9.5, and North Wood 81-4.7 in action last week. The intermediate team also won both matches, raising its record to 2-1 in the process. For coach Kim Conrad, the lopsided matches were rewarding in the sense that individual performances were improved from the opening meet. “Both our teams had higher scores in the Westview match than in the opener,” noted Conrad. “But we would like to get up in the nineties.” North Wood Freshman Kathy Campbell turned the North Wood meet into her own show as she racked up three firsts, a second and a third. For the third consecutive meet she captured the all around title with a score of 27.2. She also won the uneven parallel bars and the balance beam, placed second in the vault and was third in the floor exercises. Despite her lowest score of the year, Jeanine Gunn topped the field in vaulting. The sophomore has taken the top spot in that event in all three matches. Gretchen Huffman notched her second title in the floor routines with a score of 7.2. On the intermediate level, Wawasee edged the Panthers by the tune of 76.55-54.35. Three Warriors turned in championship performances. Staci Ostendorf won the vaulting with a score of 5.85. Michelle Leffler’s performance on the balance beam was good enough to earn her first place. And, rounding out the list of first place finishers, Tressa Littleton

Athlete of the week

Although be didn’t take home an individual title, Jason Keim played a big role in Wawasee’s NLC wrestling tournament victory. For his efforts, he is this week’s “Athlete of the Week.” The 155 pound senior finished third in his weight class on Saturday. More importantly, however, he picked up two pins along the way which provided the team with some extra points. “He came through with two big pins,” noted coach Rich Welborn. “Jason is one of those kids who has really battled.” "y

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won the floor exercise. Paula Smith finished second in the all around competition. Westview Jeanine Gunn and Angie Graff were double winners for Wawasee in the one-sided meet. Gunn worked her way to the top spot in both the vault and floor exercise events. Her 8.1 on the vault was her best for the year. Graff had the best scores of the day on both the balance beam and uneven parallel bars. Kathy Campbell’s 27.8 was the best in the all around field. The intermediate match was closer than the optional, with Wawasee notching an 88.1-53*3 win. Paula Smith won the all around, uneven parallel bars and floor exercise events. Bethany Crow was tops in the vault. Both teams return to action on Thursday with a home meet against Concord. Action begins at 6:00 p.m. ONE MINUTE SPORTS QUIZ 1. Who holds the NFL record for passes completed in a season? 2. Who kicked the longest field goal in NFL history? 3. Who holds the NFL record for consecutive field goals? 4. What is the NFL record for yards rushed in a single game? Who holds the record? 5. Who holds the NFL record for passes intercepted in a career? 18 asnejy inej s uoiAej — spjeX szz k 02 ‘ueiuidJdaA ojbd £ spjeX 89 ‘XasduiaQ uioj, 2 Bfr£ ‘sjnoj übq i SH3MSNV Zinb SIHOdS x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

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