The Mail-Journal, Volume 28, Number 19, Milford, Kosciusko County, 21 June 1989 — Page 8

Sports

A year of ups and downs in Wawasee High School sports

(By MITCHELL STINSON Sports Writer Some teams sizzled, some teams fizzled Other teams were just okay. Toss in a few fine individual performances and there you have it, the 1988-89 Wawasee High School year in athletics. One major highlight of the school season occurred back in the fall when Jerry Minton's boys' cross country team advanced all the way to Indianapolis for state competition. The Warriors finished the season as the 14thranked team in the state by virtue of their 14th-place finish in In diana polis. Wawasee's squad was cochampion of the tough Northern Lakes Conference, along with the Plymouth Rockies. Senior Jeff Carey and junior Jason Douglas led the Warriors to a 6-1 conference record and an 11-2 mark

-ft ■ ’ k.. Hfc IS i •<V —>—• " ♦ ‘ T SLUGGING SENIOR — Senior Jennifer Brumbaugh batted and fielded her way to team-MVP honors in Wawasee girls' softball action. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson) it n i n/A smßt BB I I I I I I fl ■ A 9 all 11111 - jt \\w pu ▼ x ■ ) J 1 w «•* : . £ «b STATE FINALIST — Garrett Ponciroli recorded one of the most impressive performances of any Waw asee athlete in 1988-89 by placing fifth in the state in 189-pound class w restling. The 18-year-old senior is pictured in his match against Princeton’s Jason Greer, who went on to capture the state title. Ponciroli lost a controversial 2-1 decision to Greer. < Photo by Tom Mangas)

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overall. Minton was named NLC Coach-Of-The-Year for his efforts. Some high points of the season included a victory at the NLC meet and a new school record set by Jason Douglas at the West Noble Invitational. Douglas blazed over the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, nine seconds. The Warriors also set a team record as Douglas teamed with Carey. Steve Eastman. Eric Streby and Chad Jones for a combined time of 85.43. Another highlight came at season's end when Carey. Douglas and Eric Mock were named to the NLC all-conference team. The Warriors' march to Indianapolis included a secondplace finish at the East Noble Sectional, a third place at the Oxbow Regional and a fourth place at the North Manchester Semistate.

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., June 21,1989

Boys’ Swimmers Splash To 13th In State The boys' swim team did the cross country team one better byplacing 13th at state competition in February. The squad recorded a 12-2 regular season record and finished third in the NLC. Led by all-conference seniors Matt Fryback and David Keener, the Warriors finished third in sectional action. Keener took second at state in his diving event while Fryback finished sixth in the 100-meter butterfly and 15th in the 200-meter intermediate medley. Senior Dave Neterer and junior Scott Berkey were a couple of allNLC at-large selections who made their” mark in state competition. Neterer was 15th in diving while Berkey took 16th in the 500-meter freestyle. Gymnasts Win Fourth Straight Sectional Wawasee's gymnastics team continued its sectional dominance by winning its fourth straight Wawasee Sectional in March. It wasn't easy, however, as an upset-minded Elkhart Central team had the Lady Warriors on the ropes with three events completed. After a disastrous series of performances on the balance beam. Wawasee's girls came through with some super performances in the floor exercise to pull out a narrow 97.50-96.60 victory over Blazers. The rest of the eight-team field finished well behind the two front-runners. Senior Anne Pohl paced the Lady Warriors in the floor exercise. taking second overall with a career high of 8.95. Darcey Smith had an 8.75. Karen Butt scored an 8.70 and Angela Kistler recorded an 8.45. The sectional was the coming out party for Butt. The 15-year-old sophomore had been a strong performer all season but she took her game to a new level this day Butt placed second in the uneven bars, fourth in the floor exercise and was the sectional vaulting champion. The Lady Warriors didn't do so well at the Valparaiso Regional but they could still look back at the 1989 season as a good one. In

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addition to winning their sectional. Wawasee's girls compiled a 9-3 season record. Wrestling Team Grabs Sectional Title Wawasee's wrestling team finished the season with a 4-3 conference record and a' sectional championship to its name. It was a team mixed with veterans and rookies who improved as the long season progressed from November through January. The tough battle that coach Dave VanLue expected at January’s East Noble Sectional never materialized and the Warriors won the title in a breeze. Wawasee’s grapplers outdistanced second-place West Noble by a 181-122 margin. Senior Garrett Ponciroli led the team throughout the season with one of the most outstanding performances of any Wawasee High School athlete. He finished the season as the fifth-ranked wrestler in the state among 189-pounders. Ponciroli won the Goshen Semistate championship in his division with a dramatic lastsecond takedown which gave him a 3-1 victory over Adams Central’s Matt Birch. In state competition in Indianapolis, Ponciroli won two matches and lost one en route to his fifth-place finish. His only loss came in a controversial 2-1 decision to Princetons Jason Greer, the eventual state champion. Greer received the go-ahead point in the match when Ponciroli was penalized for stalling. W’arriors coach Dave VanLue said it was a poor call and that Greer could have easily been penalized for stalling as well. With the loss, Ponciroli ended the season with an impressive personal record of 37-3. Ponciroli was named to the allNorthern Lakes Conference Wrestling Team along with teammate Tom Mangas, who compiled a 25-6 record in the 140-pound class. Girls’ Swimmers Record 10-4-1 Mark The girls' swimming team wasn't overshadowed by the boys' team. The Lady Warriors swimmers compiled a fine 10-4-1

•i k . IM SECTIONAL CHAMPS — Wawasee’s gymnastics team won its fourth straight sectional championship in March. In the first row, from left, are Barb Signorelli and Angela Kistler. Second row: assistant coach Nika Prather. Karen Butt. Britani Stoller and coach Tracy Sumpter. Third row: Anne Pohl, Darcey Smith and Diane Karst. (Photo by Mitchell Stinson) * ■ - 4 ■* **** * V-h. J® ‘ ~ .Vp *’* ■• « *" /’• SLIPPING THE GRASP —Wawasee quarterback Chris Conkling (9) manages to elude a Goshen defender while Scott Carlin (34) looks to help out. < Photo by Mark Huffman)

mark during the season and were ranked no. 19 in the state by midOctober. Julie Gunn put in a solid performance for Wawasee. advancing to state competition where she placed 14th in the one-meter diving event. School Records Set In Boys’ Track Tim Edwards provided one of the finest individual performances of the sports season bybreaking the school high jump record seven times. Edwards’ new mark of six feet, eight inches is well above the old record of 6-4 : u. The senior leaper advanced to state competition with secondplace finishes at the Plymouth Sectional and Kokomo Regional. In addition, he was an all-NLC selection, along with teammates Garrett Ponciroli and Scott Rozow. Just a few months after making the trip to the state wrestling finals. Ponciroli’s prowess with the discus qualified him for another Indianapolis trip He took second at the sectional and third at the regional. Rozow came up just a bit shy of qualifying for state track and field but his pole vault of 13-6 tied a school record. The Warriors ended the season with a 4-3 conference record. They placed fourth at the sectional and 13th out of 61 at the regional. Ponciroli earned team Most Valuable Player honors at the season s conclusion, narrowly beating out sprinter Andy Eberly . Girls’ Tennis Squad Finished At 11-6 The girls’ tennis team had a solid season, recording a record of 11-6 The Lady Warriors saw their season come to a close in May with a loss to conference cochampion North Wood in the semifinals of the Elkhart Sectional. Wawasee’s squad was led by no. 1 seed Nicole Neff and no. 2 seed Marci Wright Boys’ Golfers Advance Wawasee’s gentlemen linksters notched a 12-7 season record and placed second at the Warsaw Sectional The Warriors took fifth at the recent Homestead Regional, just four strokes out of the third and final state qualifying spot Randy Cesco was the Warriors' number one man for most of the year but it was teammate Doug Nigbor who shot a 75 at the regional and qualified for state competition at Plainfield last Wednesday Nigbor recorded an 87 in the state’s prep golf final

Lady Golfers Break .500 The Lady Warriors golf team had its ups and downs but ended up with more "ups", as they finished with a 7-5 record. Michelle Katsanis, Teresa West and Barb Butler led the squad in fall golf action. Butler became an individual qualifier for the LaPorte Regional after shooting a 94 at the Wawasee Sectional. Girls’ Track Team Peaks At Season’s End The Lady Warriors track and field team saved its best for last, turning in fine performances at the NLC meet and the Warsaw Sectional after completing a subpar season. Wawasee’s tracksters went 0-6-1 in the conference and 2-8-1 overall in 1989. But they looked like a new team when post-season play came around. The Lady Warriors finished fourth in the NLC meet, with junior Kriss Eisenhour winning the 300-meter hurdles in a school record time of 46.9 seconds. Sophomore Lisa Mikel won the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

g qbs Bfcw i - . v . Wm| ■l i a IvwVWlwar * < Ww W - Wk FISHING CONTEST WINNERS — The Dewart Lake Association sponsored its second annual fishing contest last Friday and Saturday. There were 18 participants from Milford, New Paris. Syracuse, and Greenfield. First place winners received trophies and cash with second and third place w inning cash. There were five categories: bass, walleye, crappie, perch, and bluegill-redear. Awards were presented to the winners by Brian Wall, president of the association. In the front row, from left, is Chuck Stephenson, who won third for bass, and Joe Gerencser, Jr., second for perch. In the back are first place winners: Kent Watson, bluegill-redear division, nine inches, fiveeighths pounds, second in bass; Clarence Johnson, bass. 14 inches. l'» pounds; Jerry Miller, walleye, 16'a inches. I> a pounds; Tom Miller, crappie, nine inches, three-eighths pound: and Scott Brown. 9< 2 inches. ■> 4 pounds. Not present was Steve Street who won third place in the perch division. (Photo by Linda Musselman)

The team continued to excel at the Warsaw Sectional May 16. Mikel highlighted the effort by winning the sectional championship in the 100-meter dash and placing second in the 200-meter dash, Eisenhour took third in the 300-meter hurdles. The Lady Warriors' 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams also qualified for regional action, with fourth-place and third-place finishes respectively Mikel ended up earning allNLC honors in both the 100-meter and the 200-meter dash. Eisenhour earned a spot on the honorary squad as its top 300-meter hurdler. Gridders Compile 4-5 Mark Once again. Garrett Ponciroli's name pops up as the standout performer on a Wawasee High School sports team. Way back in the fall, before his trips to Indianapolis, Ponciroli showed his stuff on the gridiron for the 4-5 Warriors' football team. In a poll of Associated Press sportswriters he was selected to the all-state football team as an

honorable mention defensive lineman. He was also named to the all-NLC team. Ponciroli had 17 solo tackles and 43 assists. He also played on the offense, gaining 389 yards on 93 carries. Joining Ponciroli on the all-NLC team was teammate Mike Foy. Like his stocky counterpart, Foy played both ways. He was the Warriors’ leading ground gainer with 628 yards, although he was named to the all-conference team as a defensive back. Warriors Chad Cotton, Jay Koontz and Mike Page each made\ the team as honorable mention selections. Boys’ And Girls’ Basketbail The boys’ varsity basketball team concluded its season with an 8-13 record. Senior Pete Bonner was the team MVP and a first-team selection to the allNLC team. He averaged about eight points a game and led the Warriors in steals (24), assists (102) and free-throw percentage (87). Teammate Matt Dick made the all-conference squad as an honorable mention. The senior forward scored at a 14 points per game clip and shot 84 percent from the charity stripe. The girls' team had a tough 1-18 season but there were a few highlights. Bobi Stookey and Kriss Eisenhour made the allNLC team as honorable mentions. Stookey, a 5-foot, 9-inch center averaged close to nine' points and seven rebounds a game. Eisenhour notched 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game from her forward position. Softball Team Finishes Strong The Lady Warriors softball team had trouble in the first part of the season but finished with three consecutive home victories and a 5-9 record. Outfielder Evelyn Stricklin hit .500 for the season and was named to the All-NLC first team. Teammate Nikki Jones, a defensive whiz at third base, made the team as an honorable mention choice. Senior Jennifer Brumbaugh was named the Lady Warriors’ Most Valuable Player. She hit .340 and was solid in the field with an .834 fielding percentage. Volleyball Wawasee’s girls’ volleyball team suffered through a 6-23 season. A couple of the bright spots for the team were Eisenhour and Angela Kistler, who were both named to the allNLC team. Basebail The Warriors’ varsity baseball team finished the 1989 season at 6-21. Wawasee's boys saw their season end when they dropped a tough 2-0 decision to the Goshen Redskins in recent sectional play. Warrior hurler Chris Conkling was named to the all-sectional second team. Other.teams The boys’ tennis team hovered near the .500 mark before ending the season at 7-8. Wawasee’s racket masters were led by Jason Hollar, Kermit Kropf and Mike Leedy. Although overshadowed by their male counterparts, the Lady Warriors cross country team performed up to coach Minton's expectations, completing the season at 6-6. The squad was led by the likes of Mel Hobbs. Tiffany Titus, Staci Freel and Lori Gargett. With plenty of returnees and a promising crop of incoming freshmen, the Lady Warriors could be a force to be reckoned with next season.