The Mail-Journal, Volume 29, Number 39, Milford, Kosciusko County, 7 November 1990 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., November 7,1990

Sports

Firestone finishes brilliant diving career

By SCOTT DAVIDSON Sports Writer

A fine diving career at Wawasee High School came to an end on Saturday for senior Dawn Firestone, as she finished the year with a 22nd place finish in the state finals at Indianapolis. The finals in the one-meter event' took place at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis.

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DAWN FIRESTONE

“I was disappointed with Saturday but it was a really good season overall,” said Firestone. That “good” season amounted to a sectional championship for her and a record-setting conference championship effort on the road to Indianapolis. Second-year Wawasee coach Roger Karns, who along with assistant coach John Blunk accompanied Firestone to the state meet, was still impressed with the accomplishments of his top diver. “I still believe that Dawn is one of the top 10 divers in the entire state, regardless of what happened on Saturday,” emphasized Karns. Firestone, who finished 14th at the state finals last season, said that she knew that the scoring at the state meet would be tougher

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> BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY AWARD WINNERS — The boys’ cross country team gave special recognition to the two performers shown above for the 1990 season. The two runners were honored last night ( Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Awards Banquet at the high school. Seated, from left, are Matt Johnson and Bill Sohl. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

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than the rest of the season. “I saw my dives on tape after I did them and they didn’t look that bad. I was a little off with them and at the state finals that makes them way off to some of the judges who score you,” said Firestone. With a field of 57 divers going into the state finals, Karns saw his top performer only have the chance to perform five dives before she was cut from the field. “Dawn’s performance was comparable to what she did a week earlier in the sectional, but I was just baffled by the low scores that she was given,” stated Karns. “This year was one of the strangest state meets that I’ve ever seen and the scoring on the diving part of it was just one of the weird things,” he added. With the seven diving judges at the state finals comprised of seven of the coaches of participating schools, Firestone received a jolt right away when her first dive received a score of 4.5 from one of the judges, while the others rated the dive from 6.0-6.5. “I was really upset when I saw that score for my first dive and it affected me because I’m the type of person who gets down and gets bothered,” said Firestone. “Dawn dove well all week in practice and even though she wasn’t on with all of her dives on Saturday, the scores were not indicative of her effort,” said Blunk. Karns, who has attended more than 30 state swim meet finals during his career, said that he was baffled by what transpired on Saturday. “I couldn’t believe the scores but none of that should take away from the things that Dawn did this season,” he stated. While Firestone was dealt a disappointing result on Saturday, the girls’ swim squad from Carmel captured its fifth straight team championship by amassing 260 points during the day. Valparaiso finished second in the team standings with 218 points while Lafayette Jeff (193 ), Indianapolis North Central (137), Columbus North (135), Kokomo (97), South Bend St. Joseph’s (92), Indianapolis Ben Davis (89), Indianapolis Pike (79) and Logansport (74) rounded out the

top 10 in the final team standings for the state championship meet. Firestone, despite being obviously disappointed with the results on Saturday, realizes that the state meet wasn’t the end of the world for her diving career.

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GIRLS’ GOLF AWARD WINNERS — Special award winners from the Wawasee girls’ golf squad are shown above. The performers received their awards last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Banquet at the high school. Seated, from left, are: Amber Esenwein, Nikki Marsh and Paige Price. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

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GIRLS’ SWIM AWARD WINNERS — The top award winners from the Wawasee girls’ swim team for the 1990 season are shown above. The girls received their awards last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Banquet at the high school. Seated in front, from left, are Caroline Weiss and Brandee Carlson. In back are Lori Boles and Dawn Firestone. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

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FOOTBALL AWARD WINNERS — Members of the 1990 Wawasee football squad shown above received special awards last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Awards Banquet at the high school. In front, from left, are: Buster Clevenger, Tim Schwartz and Brian Schwab. Seated in back are: Rob Clingaman, Jeremy Doerr, Tom Flees and John Hickey. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

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“It was upsetting because of how well I did last year and I was basing this year on that, but it’s not the only thing that college diving programs look at,” said Firestone, who is hoping to compete on the collegiate level.

“Dawn had a great season and a great career for the program here and we’re really proud of her,” said Kams. “She really worked hard and earned all of the accolades/rewards from her efforts,” he concluded.

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BOYS’ TENNIS AWARD WINNERS — Award winners from the 19-2 Wawasee boys’ tennis team are shown above. The squad was one of seven sports honored last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Banquet at the high school. Seated in front, from left, are: Daren Wagoner, Jerry Smith, Ed Campoy and Mason Robbins. In back are: Jason Hollar, Chris Shidler, Jerry Hutchinson and Aaron Sincroft. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

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VOLLEYBALL AWARD WINNERS — The five players shown above received special awards for the 1990 Wawasee girls' volleyball team. The players accepted their awards last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Banquet at the high school. In front, from left, are April Bouse and Trisha Mikel. In the middle is Lisa Mikel. Seated in back are Brandi Bray and Lori Stiver. (Photo by Scott Davidson)

Seven athletes receive MVP honors at WHS Fall Sports Banquet

The selection of Most Valuable Players , for the seven boys’ and girls' fall sports programs was the highlight of the evening last night (Tuesday) during the annual fall sports awards banquet held at Wawasee High School. Athletes honored as MVPs include: Tim Schwartz, football; Jason Hollar, tennis; Matt Johnson, cross country; Lisa Mikel, volleyball; Dawn Firestone, swimming; Lori Gargett, cross country, and Amber Esenwein, golf. Schwartz, who played defensive back, as well as wingback on offense, for coach Troy Akers’ 1-8 club, claimed the MVP trophy, along with the Secondary Player-of-the-Year for the gridders. Also honored with special awards from the football program were. Buster Clevenger, Offensive Back Player-of-the-Year; Rob Clingaman, Pride, Hustle, Desire; Jeremy Doerr, Mr. Intensity; Tom Flees, Most Improved; John Hickey, Special Teams; Brian Schwab, Offensive Line Player-of-the-Year, and Dan Smith, Front Seven Player-of-the-Year.

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY AWARD WINNERS — The two members of the Wawasee girls' cross country squad shown above received special awards for the 1990 season. The team, which went 9-2 on the season with a sectional championship, was one of seven honored last night (Tuesday) during the annual Wawasee Fall Sports Banquet at the high school. Seated,-from left, are Lori Gargett and (Photo by Scott Davidson)

Hollar captured MVP honors for coach Roger Brady’s tennis team that rewrote the Warriors’ record book with a brilliant 1990 season. The Warrior netters finished the season 19-2, with sectional and regional championship trophies to add to the Wawasee trophy cases. The squad, which finished the season ranked 14th, advanced all the way to the “Final Eight” before losing to South Bend St. Joseph’s in the finals of the semistate. In addition to Hollar’s MVP award, coach Brady gave out a handful of special awards to many other members of the record-setting team. Derek Sparks captured the Mental Attitude award while other award winners were: Jerry Smith and Jerry Hutchinson, Most Games Won Varsity; Ed Campoy, Coaches Award; Smith, Warrior Award; Chris Shidler, Big Play Award; Mason Robbins and Aaron Sincroft, Consistency Award; Scott Pelletier, Most Games Won JV, and Daren Wagoner, Most Improved JV. Johnson, an all-NLC performer for coach Jerry Minton’s harrier squad, took home MVP honors to

go with the Low Point Award for the 5-6 squad. Bill Sohl received the RunnerUp Low Point Award for the boys’ cross country squad. Mikel, a senior, won the MVP trophy for the girls’ volleyball squad. A three-sport letterwinner for Wawasee, Mikel also received her Wawasee blanket after earning the required number of letters for her athletic career. Also honored from coach Joy Swartzentruber’s 2-23 volleyball squad were: April Bouse, Defense; Trisha Mikel, Serving Percentage and Mental Attitude; Brandi Bray, Offense, and Lori Stiver, Serving Percentage. Firestone was one of five performers from coach Roger Karns’ swim squad to receive special awards last night. Firestone, who finished 22nd this past weekend in the one-meter diving event at the state finals, helped the Lady Warriors post a 12-3 mark on the season. The conference and sectional champions also established a new school and NLC mark in the 11-dive event this year, with 433.30 points in the NLC Championship Meet last month. In addition to MVP honors, Firestone received the 110 Percent Award and recognition for her school-record diving effort. Senior Lori Boles received the Coaches Award for the team while teammates Brandeg Carlson (High Point), Amber Brown (Most Improved) and Caroline Weiss (Most Improved) also received special honors. Gargett took home a handful of awards for coach Minton’s girls’ cross country squad, as the senior received MVP accolades to go with Outstanding Senior and Runner-Up Low Point honors. Also cited for special recognition from the 9-2 sectional championship squad was Angie Garner, receiving the Low Point Award for the Lady Warriors who advanced to the regional level of competition during the 1990 campaign. Esenwein captured top honors for the girls’ golf squad of coach Jerry Hawkins, as she received the MVP trophy to go along with the Low Putts Award for the team. Also honored from the girls’ golf team were Nikki Marsh and Paige Price, who both received Leadership Awards.