Tiger Track Men Eye Goshen Relays

Written on April 19, 2013 by Staff Reporter

Categories: Sports Archive 2013

Tags: ellis coon, Goshen Relays, jake poyner, matt thacker, warsaw boys track

images-7 Warsaw boys track coach Matt Thacker knows he has a talented team.

He just would love to get the chance to see them get to compete.

Thacker will get a chance Saturday, although weather conditions are expected to continue to be far from ideal, as the Tigers are one of the favorites in the Goshen Relays.

The 71st annual event, one of the state’s biggest and best, will involve 40 teams in the extravaganza at Foreman Field. Field events begin at 9 a.m. with the 4 X 800 relay set for 9:15. Track trials start at 10 a.m. with finals at noon.

The No. 6 Tigers, who have had just one meet thus far this spring, and No. 7 Fort Wayne Carroll highlight the 16 teams in Class A. The two squads tied for the team championship in 2012.

Warsaw had its first three meets of the season, including one at Penn, cancelled due to the awful weather. The Tigers finally competed this past Monday in defeating NLC foes Wawasee and NorthWood. Warsaw then had another conference meet scheduled versus Northridge Thursday night postponed due to the wet and cold weather.

Thacker is just looking to see his guys improve on Saturday against some top notch competition.

“There are some great teams and it is always fun to compete with the tradition the meet offers, plus, you never know what the weather has in store,” said Thacker about the Relays.

“At this point with an odd year of not running as much as we like, honestly, I only want to see us to continue to get better out of the blocks and exchanges on Saturday.”

Warsaw has great expectations this spring as the Tigers return a host of talent. The Tigers won the NLC and sectional titles a year ago before finishing as runner-up to Penn (by one point) at the Kokomo Regional.

The Tigers boast an outstanding distance group, led by seniors Jake Poyner and Robert Murphy and junior Ellis Coon. The three placed 1-2-3 in the 3,200-meter run indoors at the Hoosier State Relays in March. The impressive trio also led the Warsaw cross country team to a fourth-place finish at the State Finals last October. Coon did not compete on Monday due to a foot injury. He did run in the Franklin Central Distance Showcase in Indianapolis on April 12.

“I don’t know much of anything about it, but he is working hard to get back out on the track,” said Thacker about Coon’s injury and his status.

Other key performers to watch for Warsaw include Wyatt Jones, Ryan Goon, Chad Goon, Taylor Cone and Stephen Kolbe.

Carroll and Penn are expected to be the teams challenging the Tigers in Class A Saturday. The Chargers are led by seniors Jonathan Harper and Alex Hess in the distance events. Penn will rely on junior Tim Deal in the hurdles and long jump. The Kingsmen also return seniors Thomas Grant and Conner Sowders, who both ran on their state championship 4 X 100 relay team in 2012.

“The competition at the meet will give us a better idea of where we’re at and where we’re headed,” added Thacker. “It will be fun to watch us compete against all of the teams at the meet as this meet usually in the largest invite in the area, which brings out the best in everyone.”

Fairfield, coached by Bob Miller, will be going for its fifth straight team championship among the 24 teams competing in Class B at the Relays.

The Class B field also includes Wawasee, Whitko and No. 10 Gary West Side.

Wawasee, coached by Scott Lancaster, is led by Clayton Cook in the hurdles and Chad Eppley in the shot put and discus events.

The Class A field includes Carroll, Concord, Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Goshen, LPorte, Mishawaka, Northridge, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Washington and Warsaw.

The field in Class B includes Bremen, Central Noble, Columbia City, Culver Academy, East Noble, Fairfield, Fremont, Garrett, Gary West Side, Jimtown, John Glenn, Lakeland, LaVille, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, NorthWood, Plymouth, Prairie Heights, South Bend St. Joseph, Wabash, Wawasee, West Noble, Westview and Whitko.

Dean Slavens is the honorary referee for this year’s Relays. He will be honored Saturday at 11:45 a.m.

Admission to the Relays Saturday is $5 for kindergarten through adults. GHS All-Sports tickets and GHS student activity cards will be honored.