PREP TRACK: Yoder sets discus record; area teams do well at NLC championship meet

Austin Hough, Goshen News, Ind.
·6 min read

May 9—WARSAW — Warsaw swept the Northern Lakes Conference meet Tuesday night.

The Tigers' girls scored 173 points and the boys had 152 to complete outright conference championships.

YODER SETS DISCUS RECORD

Two records were broken at the meet, both on the girls' side. Warsaw junior Josefina Rastrelli ran an impressive time of 5:00.19 in the 1,600-meter run, which won the race by more than 18 seconds. It also broke the old NLC meet record of 5:01.89, which was set by Ashley Erba in 2012.

The other meet record came from the other Kosciusko County team competing Tuesday. Wawasee junior Emma Yoder, who finished third in the state meet in the discus throw last spring, set a new NLC meet record with a toss of 141-03 feet in the event. This shattered the 28-year record that had previously been held by Leslie Miles (134-07 feet).

"It feels really good," said Yoder of setting the record. "I did not go in knowing I could set the record — I didn't even know what the record was. So, when I saw it on the paper, I was really shocked."

On April 12, Yoder set the Wawasee school record with a throw of 143-01 feet. Since then, she has struggled to reach that mark, with Tuesday being the closest she's been since then.

"It feels really good to be back where I want to be," Yoder said. "I'm still not where I want to be toward the end of the season, but it feels really good to be back around where I want to be."

Having had a successful state series as a sophomore last year, Yoder knows how to prepare for the next three weeks. Sectional comes up first on Tuesday, May 16, right back at Warsaw High School.

"Now that I know what I'm doing, I know how to prepare for it," Yoder said. "I know what stuff I need to work on, which helps me prepare."

CONCORD, NORTHRIDGE, NORTHWOOD GIRLS DO WELL

Both the girls and boys' standings had three teams bunched up in the second through fourth places in the standings.

On the girls' side, Concord took second place with 108.5 points scored. NorthWood was third with 106.5 points, while Northridge was fourth at 105.5 points.

For Concord, its lone winner was Macie Swinehart in the shot put, winning with a toss of 38-07 feet. She also finished second in the discus throw.

NorthWood had a couple of winners. Hanna Clyde reigned in the 800-meter run (2:19.52), Claire Payne won the high jump (5-04 feet) and the 4X100-meter relay team of Anna Roeder, Megan Mikel, Hannah Chupp and Elayna Yoder were champs with a time of 50.07 seconds. Lisa Jackson then won the long jump with a distance of 16-01 feet.

For Northridge, Alyssa Sloop won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.12 seconds, and the quartet of Hadley Troyer, Dakotah Moore, Haylee Hile and Tame Baylis started the night with a win in the 4X800-meter relay, posting a winning time of 9:38.67.

BOYS COMPETITION EVEN

While Warsaw triumphed, the teams that finished second through fourth were close.

Mishawaka took second with 130 points, Concord third at 129 and Northridge fourth at 126.

Concord finished the night in style, winning a dramatic 4X400-relay with a time of 3:28.44. Darian Decker, Juan Ross, Armen Koltookian and Joseph Moon teamed up for that win. Moon also finished second in the 100-meter dash, with his teammate, Jaron Thomas, winning the race.

Northridge wracked up wins in the 200-meter dash (Mikey Squires, 22.51 seconds), 400-meter dash (Jaden Fisher, 50.89 seconds), 800-meter dash (Jaxon Miller, 1:56.18), the 300-meter hurdles (Mathias Hazen, 40.54 seconds), the 4X100-meter relay (Mathias Hazen, McClain Miller, Jacob Wetzel and Mikey Squires, 43.20 seconds) and the 4X800-meter relay (David Gingerich, Trevin Schlabach, Will Knox and Jaxon Miller, 8:01.77).

Other winners from The Goshen News area were Goshen's Tommy Claxton in the 1,600-meter run, winning with a time of 4:24.32.

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2023 NLC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP MEET — Event winners and team standings

GIRLS

100-meter dash: Alana Allen, Plymouth, 12.45 seconds

200-meter dash: Camryn Burner, Warsaw, 26.01 seconds

400-meter dash: Ali Barkey, Warsaw, 59.85 seconds

800-meter run: Hanna Clyde, NorthWood, 2:19.52

1,600-meter run: Josefina Rastrelli, Warsaw, 5:00.19 (meet record)

3,200-meter run: Josefina Rastrelli, Warsaw, 11:03.50

100-meter hurdles: Jersey Hunter, Plymouth, 15.92 seconds

300-meter hurdles: Alyssa Sloop, Northridge, 48.12 seconds

4X100-meter relay: NorthWood (Anna Roeder, Megan Mikel, Hannah Chupp and Elayna Yoder), 50.07 seconds

4X400-meter relay: Warsaw (Ali Barkey, Madison Smalley, Mikayla Mimaugh and Josefina Rastrelli), 4:05.51

4X800-meter relay: Northridge (Hadley Troyer, Dakotah Moore, Haylee Hile and Tame Baylis), 9:38.67

Shot put: Macie Swinehart, Concord, 38-07 feet

Discus throw: Emma Yoder, Wawasee, 141-03 feet (new meet record)

Long jump: Lisa Jackson, NorthWood, 16-01 feet

High jump: Claire Payne, NorthWood, 5-04 feet

Pole vault: Elliana Transparenti, Warsaw, 10-09 feet

Final team standings:

1. Warsaw, 173 points

2. Concord, 108.5

3. NorthWood, 106.5

4. Northridge, 105.5

5. Wawasee, 71

6. Mishawaka, 65

7. Plymouth, 59

8. Goshen, 42.5

BOYS

100-meter dash: Jaron Thomas, Concord, 10.90 seconds

200-meter dash: Mikey Squires, Northridge, 22.51 seconds

400-meter dash: Jaden Fisher, Northridge, 50.89 seconds

800-meter run: Jaxon Miller, Northridge, 1:56.18

1,600-meter run: Tommy Claxton, Goshen, 4:24.32

3,200-meter run: Liam Bauschke, Mishawaka, 9:35.53

110-meter hurdles: Skyler VanSkyhawk, Mishawaka, 15.37 seconds

300-meter hurdles: Mathias Hazen, Northridge, 40.54 seconds

4X100-meter relay: Northridge (Mathias Hazen, McClain Miller, Jacob Wetzel and Mikey Squires), 43.20 seconds

4X400-meter relay: Concord (Darian Decker, Juan Ross, Armen Koltookian and Joseph Moon), 3:28.44

4X800-meter relay: Northridge (David Gingerich, Trevin Schlabach, Will Knox and Jaxon Miller), 8:01.77

Shot put: James Leiter, Warsaw, 48-11.50 feet

Discus throw: James Leiter, Warsaw, 154-07 feet

Long jump: Carter Druzbicki, Plymouth, 21-04 feet

High jump: Jordan Randall, Warsaw, 6-04 feet

Pole vault: Morgan Johnson, Warsaw, 14-04 feet

Final team standings:

1. Warsaw, 152 points

2. Mishawaka, 130

3. Concord, 129

4. Northridge, 123

5. Goshen, 55

6. NorthWood, 51.5

7. Plymouth, 46.5

8. Wawasee, 46

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.