The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 7, Milford, Kosciusko County, 29 February 1984 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., February 29,1984

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"Sports

Warriors look for silver fining in OT loss

By MARK WEINSTEIN Sports Writer Although John Wysong would have desired a victory instead of Wawasee’s 61-59 overtime setback to Bremen, perhaps there’s a silver lining behind the Warriors’ most recent loss. For Wawasee, which dropped to 15-5 on the year and 4-3 in the Northern Lakes Conference, this year could be a repeat of their sectional championship two years ago. In 1982, the Warriors were coming off one of their worst basketball games of the year against Bremen entering the Triton Sectional. But the loss had no negative bearing as the Warriors

1 , vJT JF—x —■ l FINGER ROLL — Wawasee’s Brooks Koble drives towards the basket while softly laying in a Wawasee two-pointer. Bremen’s Kevin Hickman,<32). watches Koble score over one of his teammates. (Photo by Mark Weinstein)

Sports shorts

Gym sectional rescheduled The Wawasee High School gymnastics sectional has been rescheduled due to the weather conditions. The Monday session has been moved to Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. The Thursday session has been moved to Saturday morning. Admission is $1.50 per session. Angie Garner wins Goshen two-miler Angie Garner, nine-year-old daughter of Jim and Denise Gamer, Syracuse, won the women’s division of a two mile road race in Goshen on Saturday. Gamer’s time of 14:53 was the best in the 30-runner field. Four other Syracuse runners competed in the five and ten mile races. Paul Hasse ran in the five-miler and Hal Pearson, Jim Garner and Tony Clouse ran the ten mile race. Clouse’s time of 68:00 earned him second place in his age division. - The races were a part of the ninth annual Maple City fcoad Race series. Over 300 runners participated in the various races.? Whitko placed on probation Whitko High School has been placed on a one-year probation by the IHSAA for fan behavior in the Feb. 17 game with Southwood. One official was hit in the leg by an apple thrown from the Whitko cheering section. In addition, paper was thrown onto the floor. Although the school is on probation, no games must be forfeited and the school is

later captured the sectional championship by defeating favored Rochester. Friday evening, Wawasee had the host Lions just where they wanted them, in their back pocket. But the Warriors lost control of their fate late in the game as Bremen came from behind for the triumph. “This is probably one of the most disappointing losses we’ve had this year,” said Wawasee’s John Wysong. “We lacked discipline and concentration in the last 1:40. We had the game won, but we gave the game away on a silver platter.” Wawasee held a seven-point lead„sl-44, with 1:40 remaining in the contest when they let things

eligible for tournament play once it files a report with the IHSAA. DePauw is tops among state colleges Which Indiana college has the best basketball record? The first schools that come to mind are Purdue, which sports a 15-4 mark, and Indiana, which stands at 18-7. However, the best record belongs to the DePauw Tigers who are currently 21-4. Purdue has the third best record in the state and Indiana is fifth. Grace College, 20-11, is eighth among the 34 colleges listed in the rankings. Area officials work sectionals Th# IHSAA has announced the assignment of six area basketball officials to work in the upcoming boys’ sectional tournaments. Fred Mohri, Elkhart, Tim Smith, Mentone, and Jay Smith, Milford, have been assigned to the Plymouth Sectional. Frank DeSantis and Don O’Connor, Bremen, have been assigned to Huntington North and Lafayette respectively. Ed Christoffel, Warsaw, will work the Valparaiso Sectional. Camelot ski team to host regional championships The Camelot Ski Team will once again sponsor the Midwest Regional Championships on July 27, 28 and 29, 1984. The top skiers from 12 states will attend this tournament in order to qualify for the national championships in Zachary, La. The nationals are slated for August.

get away. Following Mike DeSantis’ pair of fielders well outside the paint, teammate Branden Morris chipped another point off the Warriors’ lead with one of two charity tosses. With the Lions within two, 51-49, Wawasee’s most dominant player, Jon Vitaniemi took charge, temporarily. Sinking a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left, Wawasee was back in the driver’s seat. Bbt DeSantis, who finished tied wi»h Vitaniemi for scoring honors with 23 points, tickled the twine bringing Bremen back within two, 53-51, with just :36 remaining in regulation. But this is when the Warriors’ game completely fell apart. With senior guard Kim Zurcher at the line for a bonus shot, Wawasee appeared to have control of the contest in sending the Lions to their fifth loss. Instead, the lanky guard failed to connect on his first attempt, Sectionals postponed Due to poor weather conditions, Wednesday’s Triton Sectional game has been postponed until Thursday night. That means that Tippecanoe Valley will face Triton at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Weather permitting, Friday’s contests will take place as scheduled with Wawasee an<fWarsaw meeting at 7 p.m. and Rochester versus the Tippy Valley-Triton winner at 8:30 p.m. The championship is scheduled for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Fort Wayne I sectional got underway on Tuesday night despite the heavy snow and blowing winds. Fort Wayne South, Fort Wayne Northrop and Woodlawn picked up wins. ’ Northrop had an easy time advancing to the second round. The Bruins established new sectional and school single-game scoring records in their 103-44 waltz past Bishop Luers. Woodlawn advanced with a 74-62 win over North Side. Todd Gerbers scored 21 points in the first half and wound up with 34 total points in pacing Woodlawn to the win. South had to come from behind to down Fort Wayne Snider. The Panthers owned a 12-0 lead at one point in the game, but finished on the short end of a 50-48 score. Todd Starks hit two free throws after time expired to provide the margin of victory.

lowa tops Big Ten wrestling tourney The lowa Hawkeyes ran away with the 1984 Big Ten wrestling tournament at Michigan State last weekend. The Hawkeyes compiled 175.75 points to nudge out runner up Michigan State which finished with 103.25. Purdue finished seventh with a score of 49.25. Indiana brought up the rear, managing only one point in the meet. Baseball sign-up in Syracuse Registration for Syracuse summer baseball will take place on two Saturdays, March 10 and 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Syracuse Youth Center. Registration forms will be distributed in the schools and the completed forms should be brought to registration. Children who wish to sign up should be accompanied by a parent. Milford baseball registration set Registration for Milford’s summer baseball program has been scheduled for Thursday, March 8, and Friday, March 9, beginning at 6:00 p.m., and Saturday, March 10 starting at 10:00 a.m. Students from kindergarten through eighth grade are encouraged to sign up for the summer leagues at the south entrance of Milford Elementary School. Cost for signing up will be SIO.OO this year for early signings, and a $15.00 charge for those not signing up at the scheduled times. Anyone unable to pay at the time of scheduled sign up dates are encouraged to sign up anyway, and make arrangements for payment later.

and the Lions had another opportunity to tie the score. And that’s exactly what they did. With three seconds remaining in the contest, a Lion lobbed the ball cross-court over several Wawasee defenders and into the hands of Greg Adams. Adams’ line drive shot from deep in the corner was partially blocked by Vitaniemi, but not enough. Adams’ shot eventually found nothing but net, and both teams prepared for the extra three minute session. “I knew we were in trouble when the game went into overtime,” said Wysong. “We had two of our key players (Rhoades and Koble) foul out, which hurt badly.” DeSantis picked up where he left off in the final eight minutes by canning three straight long range field goals. Yet, despite DeSantis’ fireworks, Vitaniemi and Zurcher answered to keep the Warriors within two. Bremen expanded its two point lead to four, 61-57, with single free throws, but Wawasee wasn’t ready to fold. Jeff Atwood connected on his only field goal of the night, a driving layup with 12 seconds left. But after a missed free throw attempt

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MIXED EMOTIONS — Wawasee Head Coach John Wysong and players Joel Rhoades and Brooks Koble appear to be excited over action on the court late in the final period. But Assistant Coach Doug Brookins observantly looks on in the final seconds. Wawasee held the slim 53-51 lead with 19 seconds, but lost the game in overtime. 61-59. (Photo By Mark Weinstein)

Sports comment —

Calling the shots CHARLES

LOCAL BASKETBALL FANS will turn their attention towards Triton High School tonight as the 74th annual IHSAA boys’ basketball tournament gets underway. This year’s Triton field is one of the most balanced in recent memory. Whatever the outcome, the sectional promises to be a real fan pleaser. Tippecanoe Valley vs Triton: The Vikings won the regular season meeting by a 66 to 62 count, but have been up and down the last half of the season. Triton has put together some good games down the stretch. Should be a close one. Tippecanoe Valley. Wawasee vs Warsaw: Warsaw won the early-season encounter by the score of 65-54. If anything, the Tigers have improved since that game. However, the Warriors are capable of breaking down any opponent when they play their game. Keys for the Tigers will be Randels and Grose. The Warriors will need a balanced effort. Warsaw. 1 If those predictions hold true, Warsaw would be through to the finals and Tippy Valley would face Rochester in the other semifinal. The Vikings should have no trouble with the Zebras, but they will not be successful in topping Warsaw. A SPECIAL NOTtF OF RECOGNITION should be extended to Kosciusko County Sheriffs Deputy Steve Knisple who provided the Lady Warriors with an escort to and from the Fort Wayne Semi-state. According to Dale Brannock, Knisple was very helpful in carrying out the special arrangements. “He went above and beyond the call of duty,” noted Brannock. LAST WEEK’S RESULTS: Bremen 61, Wawasee 59 (ot); Warsaw 82, Elkhart Central 76; Westview 60, Concord 56; Plymouth 66, S.B. LaSalle 63; Notre Dame 65, Marquette 56; Michigan State 57, Indiana 54; Purdue 59, Illinois 55. With only a few weeks remaining in our pick

by the Lions, Seth Swihart’s 16 foot jumper rolled off the rim handing the Warriors their fifth loss of the year. “This would have been an unbelievable victory if we would have put it away,” said Wysong. “In spite of all the sickness, we had this game won, only to let it get away from us.” Wawasee now must get its act together for its biggest game of the year. Opening sectional second-round action against seventh-ranked Warsaw, the Warriors have a large hurdle to overcome. “We will have to work very hard,” said Wysong concerning his next opponent. “Maybe this loss will help us give full attention to Warsaw.” Warsaw and Wawasee met earlier this year with the Tigers defeating the Warriors 65-54 at Warsaw. “They are a very good basketball team,” said Wysong about the Tigers. “They have more than one guy they can go to, along with the fact they are playing in a well disciplined setting.” Warsaw is the reigning Triton Sectional champion, and favorite, just like Rochester two years ago.

’em contest, M-J stats man Deri Kuhn appears to have a lock on the top spot. Kulm, who won the fall portion of our pick ’em contest, has 89 correct picks out of 132 games. Sports Editor Tom Charles is currently in second place with 84 correct picks. The last two spots are occupied by darkroom technician Rich Rhodes and sports reporter Mark Weinstein. Rhodes, who has 80 correct picks, is still within striking distance of Charles. Weinstein got into the race a few weeks late and has correctly called the results in 61 of 108 contests. This week, our regular panel members will turn their attention to area boys' sectional tournaments. Our slate includes the East Noble, Triton and Elkhart sectionals. In addition, two Big Ten contests, Indiana at Illinois and Ohio State at Purdue, are on the slate Charles (.636) — Elkhart Memorial, East Noble and Warsaw should pick up sectional crowns this weekend. The East Noble Section.il appears to be the most balanced of the three. Other winners: Illinois and Purdue. Kuhn (.674) — Derk is going witii the Westview Warriors at East Noble and the Penn Kingsmen at Elkhart. Warsaw is Kuhn’s pick to win at Triton. Other winners: Illinois and Purdue. Rhodes (.666)—Looks as though Rich is the only dedicated Wawasee fan on tiis panel. He predicts the Warriors will get revenge over Warsaw and go on to claim the sectional crown. He likes Lakeland at East Noble and Memorial at Elkhart. Other winners: Illinois ind Purdue. Weinstein (J6S) —Weinstein likes the Warriors, the Westview Warriors, at Enst Noble, the Memorial Crimson Chargers at Elkhart and the Tigers at Triton. Other winners: minus and Purdue.

Lady Warriors ton NLC teams ]

Senior Dee Stump headlined a list of four Wawasee High School basketball players named to the Northern Lakes Conference A 11-star teams last Wednesday. Stump, who was an Honorable Mention selection last year, wts the only Lady Warrior named to the NLC First Team. Junior forward Anita Swope vas named to the Second Team. Juniors Sandy Payne and (Christy Speicher were listed on the Honorable Mention sqtud. Rounding out the players on the First Team were Warsaw’s Christi Harmon, Goshen’s Marcy Bixler, Plymouth’s Ftoxanne Gibson and Concord’s Deb Browns berger. Stump played an important role in Wawasee’s 7-0 NLC loop record. She averaged 8.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.1 steals per contest in conference action. Her best point production in an NLC game was 17 points against Bremen.

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ANITA SWOPE Second Team

¥ First Team v: ¥ Player* FGA FGM PCT. FTA FTM PCT. AVG. RBD. AST. >• Stump 69 28 40.6 8 5 62.5 8.7 13 30 S >: Harmon 85 38 44.7 23 12 52.2 12.6 48 9 •’•: >• Bi*ler 82 45 54.8 22 13 59.0 14.7 64 7 S : : Gibson na na 510 na na 71 0 17 4 71 na £ Brownsberger 87 39 45.0 12 7 58.0 12.1 65 9 § S Second Team >•: :• Player* :< Swope . 81 40 49.4 17 9 52.9 10.6 23 29 :$ i: DeSantis 95 31 33.0 40 29 73.0 13.0 42 17 $: £ s and 46 20 43.5 31 21 67.7 8.8 67 5 S J Kiel na na 44.0 na na 67.0 11.3 43 na $: j Shepherd * 71 25 35.2 21 12 57.1 8.9 73 3 ft • *Statistics For Conference Games

Excitement fills youthful /Wawasee swim program

By MARK WEINSTEIN Sports Writer For many coaches, a .500 season would be frowned upon. But Wawasee Head Coach Tim Caldwell was pleased as his Warriors closed out the season with an 8-8 overall ir ark. “We didn’t go out after a 8-8 record at the beginning of the year,” said Caldwell. “But with all things considered, we had a good year.” Wawasee’s swim season officially came to a close last weekend when Bob Galloway and Phil Zachary were ousted from

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Christi Harmon, the other senior elected to the first team, was Warsaw’s leading scorer in conference games. She averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in seven NLC games. Bixler, Gibson, and Brownsberger are all juniors. Gibson was the top scorer in conference action, averaging 17.4 points per contest. Bixler averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds for Goshen. Brownsberger averaged 12.1 for Concord. Swope averaged 10.6 points and 4.1 assists in NLC action. Her highest point production in conference action was 22 points against Rochester. Speicher scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Warsaw in her finest conference game. She averaged 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. Payne hit 57.5 percent of her field goals and 75 percent of her charities over the course

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CHRISTY SPEICHER Honorable Mention

the state swim meet in Indianapolis. Both Warriors advanced from the Elkhart Sectional the previous week, earning a shot at a possible state championship. But the two failed to make it out of preliminary competition, and into the championship round. “Galloway didn’t swim badly, but he just didn't swim good enough to advance,” said Caldwell of his record-holding 200 individual swimmer. “And Zachary had some nice dives, but he just missed hitting his second dive in the preliminary round, so he was out.” Galloway finished 20th in the individual medley and 29th in the backstroke, while Zachary closed out his career with a 34th place finish in diving. Although Wawasee had two state qualifying swimmers, it also had a number of other individuals who performed well throughout the season. Rob Jewson, Benj Reed, Todd Smith all performed better than many expected from the trio of Warriors. But in addition, Caldwell also witnessed exceptional talent from three very young Warriors. Sophomore Brent Atwood, and freshmen Steve Schmahl and Steve Rozow came through during the season to provide the Warriors with several points. “Schmahl, Rozow and Atwood all scored a lot of points for us this year,” praised Caldwell of his young, but experienced swimmers. “They are really encouraging to me as I look to next year. They have experience now, and know what it takes.” And even though Caldwell suf-

Crown Point takes state with 55-54 overtime win

Led by Most Valuable Player Anne Kvachkoff, Crown Point captured the Indiana high school girls’ basketball championship with a 55-54 overtime win over Warren Central on Saturday night. Kvachkoff scored 17 points in the champioship game and 21 points in the Lady Bulldogs’ semifinal win over Eastbrook to earn the title of Most Valuable Player. Crown Point, 26-0 for the year, became the first undefeated state champion since 1979. It was the first state title for the school. Last year, the Lady Bulldogs lost

of seven NLC games. She averaged 13.7 points per contest, with a high of 18 against Goshen. :$

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DEESTUMP First Team

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SANDY PAYNE Honorable Mention

sered through a season filled with controversy, the youthful coach accepted the problems while guiding Wawasee to a productive year. Opening the season with two quick losses, the Warriors regrouped while reeling off five straight triumphs. But Wawasee soon was to go into a tail spin. Winning only three of the remaining nine meets, Wawasee did its best despite several disciplinary problems. Yet, behind every dark cloud, usually comes a silver lining. And this situation has been no different. With a small group o( swimmers, and with less talent than the suspended starters, Caldwell grouped his squad together. Although they won very few following the suspensions, the Warriors consistently improved their times. "As the season went on, we kept improving our times,” said Caldwell. “That’s all I could ask of the team, and they responded.” “We weren’t pleased with out fifth place finish at sectionals,” said Caldwell. “But the kids know what will be expected of them, and we all are excited about next year.” Now.that the season has expired, optimism fills the air concerning Wawasee’s swim program. “The kids are excited about the summer program and swimming camp,” said Caldwell about his young returning squad. “After the state meet I heard several people talking about next year, and that’s a good way to end the season.”

to Bedford-North Lawrence in the state championship game. Warren Central advanced to the championship with an easy 73-46 semifinal win over Evansville Bosse. Central’s Linda Godby had 23 points in the semifinal win and 10 points in the championship to finish as her team’s leading scorer. Eastbrook, which won the Fort Wayne Semi-state, ended its season with a 25-1 record. Janna Bragg, the Panthers’ 5’6" standout guard, had 26 points in the semifinal loss. Dawn Davenport added 14 points.