Herald Journal cover story, Thursday, May 5, 2011

RMD TRI-MEET, Three communities stay united through the decades

Front page story commemorating the 2nd longest running tri-meet between three northwest Indiana high schools.

Those who have participated in an RMD Tri-Meet, the long-time track and field competition between Rensselaer, Twin Lakes and Delphi, are understandably proud of its history.

The 96th incarnation of the tri-meet will be run today at Rensselaer Central. It will mark the
100th year since the triangle meet between the schools began, but not the 100th RMD. It hasn’t run concurrently since its inception in 1911, with the meet at least once being canceled on account of a flu epidemic and that little issue of World War II bringing a pause over several years, but it still stands as one of the longest running tri-meets in the nation.

Several have taken a crack at researching the meet’s history, and while it is generally accepted to be the longest running meet in Indiana, organizers have taken care to not get caught claiming a bit too much history. A triangle meet in Texas was begun in 1899, putting the RMD in the running for second.

“We used to advertise in our program that it was the second oldest track meet in the United
States, and somebody said, ‘Well what’s the oldest?’ ” said Gene Edmonds, who coached track at Rensselaer from 1960 to 1991. “Well we don’t know, but we didn’t want to say that we were the oldest, we weren’t sure. So we called it the second oldest.”

Plenty has changed since the RMD meet was first organized. Now used as an early May jump start meet for conference and sectional meets to come, the RMD used to be a competition far and beyond sprints finished, poles vaulted and shots put. It was a competition stretching the breadth and width of the school, meant to draw entire communities to it. Edmonds believed the intersection of the three communities along the railways made the trio an easy selection, and currently all three reside in the Hoosier Conference with plenty of rivalries in other sports.

The member schools still retain memories of these competitions, which included speech contests along with academic competitions and debates to go along with the athletic displays that have outlasted them. While not as all-engrossing as those early competitions, the modern meet has taken on a certain distinction among the three participating programs.

When other tri-meets or relays may be canceled if the original date is rained out and another cannot be readily found, the member schools are adamant to keep the RMD going, Twin Lakes coach and former RMD participant Mike Wright said.

“We try to impress upon the kids that it’s not another triangle meet,” Wright, who attended Twin Lakes from 1964 to 1968, said. “I like to bring up that this was a big meet when I was in school, and some kids get into it, like ‘Wow, that must be an old meet. How long have you been out of school?’

“I’m like hey; they were doing it many years before I was around.”

Wright had a first-hand look at the time when the “M” in RMD became obsolete. In 1963, the shuffling of consolidated schools, among them Idaville, Burnettsville, Yeoman, Adams Township and Monticello, ended with the formation of Twin Lakes. Monticello High School might no longer exist, and with it the end of the true-to- name RMD Tri-Meet, but the conglomeration of athletes made the continued competition at RMDs a change for all involved.

Monticello was on par with Rensselaer and Delphi in attendance before consolidation,
Wright said, with Twin Lakes’ formation putting the school on a path to a larger attendance class that it continues to hold.

“You’re coming from a small school, where you only had a few athletes who were pretty good, and you’re bringing them all together (to see) who’s the real cream of the crop,” Wright, who originally would have attended Idaville before consolidation, said. “I think it’s all for the good athletically, and academically too and financially.”

Generational ties are the cornerstone of the RMD’s appeal. Besides the rivalries between the schools, the continuation of an competition that could have seen a grandparent and grandchild run in the same event and strive for the same record is a quality not seen in many schools. The aspects of a school prior to consolidation may take form in the hanging of the swallowed schools’ banners in the new gym, but the continued presence of Monticello in RMD allows those same races to be run anew each year.

“It’s kind of fun, and when that week comes up for an RMD or a sectional … I put (records) up on the board and kids will say, ‘That’d be hard to do.’ ” Wright said. “It’s kind of neat for the kids to see that, to see it’d be hard for them to do it now, to accomplish some of those things. And some kids rise to the occasion.”

The RMD doesn’t hold the same place in each community as it once did, but the continued push for the traditions in the forms of old photos or clippings to be pulled down from an attic or out of a dusty garage keeps those accomplishments alive. All so that should the RMD hit its actual 100th running and continue on, the athletes of today can do the same.

“A lot don’t know the tradition of it, and if we don’t tell it kids aren’t going to know. There’s a lot of parents and grandparents that have participated in it, and they need to be recognized a little bit I think, to keep promoting the traditions,” Edmonds said.

The 96th RMD Tri-Meet begins at 6 p.m. EST today at Rensselaer.

Herald Journal, Friday, Oct. 22, 2010

Front page for sports section of 2010 football preview edition.

Herald Journal, Thursday, May 28, 2011

One page of a two page preview for the 2011 baseball playoffs.

Herald Journal, Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Full coverage of two sectionals involving three county teams and a total of three games in one day. I covered two games personally, including photos, then edited a contribution from a sister paper's reporter on deadline.

Friday, October 23, 2009

The life of a small school football team

By Chad Husted

Sports Editor

The differences between Indiana high school sports classes are no more evident than in football. Large schools can field larger teams, as well as compete at levels below varsity. Smaller school must often operate with as many players as they can get, and they usually must make due with only a few backups.

With three Class A schools and one Class 3A in White County, football is played on a different scale. Frontier, Tri-County and North White aren’t fielding eight-man football teams like they do in Montana and the Dakotas, but small-school football requires a different type of player and a different approach that White County athletes have grown used too, as well as fond of.

Area coaches have each answered the same way when asked what the advantages are when fielding smaller teams, and it has only a little to do with football.

“I’ve really enjoyed coaching at a small school because it’s more personal,” Frontier coach Greg Martz said. “You get to deal with the kids more. If you’re in a system that has 85-90 kids, kids can get lost in the cracks. If we’ve got a kid that has an issue, at least one of our kids and possibly more than that are going to know what his issues are and that’s where we can help him.”

Martz went on to say that with the smaller coaching staff comes the knowledge that the coaches only have to worry about a few players on the sideline.

“We kind of joke about that as a coaching staff,” Martz said. “We wouldn’t know what we would do if we had that many kids.”

Twin Lakes doesn’t have to deal with all of the issues involving small school football, as the Indians have 48 players on their roster while none of the Class A schools break 30. Twin Lakes still isn’t large enough to platoon completely, and several players still play on offense, defense and special teams.

“You’d like to (platoon) at 3A, but most of the teams that we play don’t do that either,” Twin Lakes coach Brad Urban, who grew up at Class A powerhouse Sheridan, said. “It’s a luxury if you can do it, but a lot of times you have some good athletes and you want to play them on both sides of the ball.”

The players see mostly the benefits in small-school ball, including a tighter bond with their teammates and, in the case of players who go both ways, the ability to stay in the game for longer. Conditioning becomes a key component for each player’s ability to stay on the field, another point of emphasis for coaches and players.

“You definitely have to be in shape for (playing both ways),” Frontier wide receiver and defensive back Grant Ream said. “It makes you a lot tougher mentally and physically.”

North White quarterback/linebacker/offensive and defensive lineman Tyler Hileman knows no other way to playing football than just playing whatever position his coach places him in. Players at larger schools can specialize in one position and excel there, Hileman said, but he prefers his ability to stay on the field.

Hileman began the season at quarterback before being moved to guard to help the Viking offense get a better push on the line.

“I feel as my choice I’d much rather have it here at a small school,” Hileman said. “I never do come off of the field. I just love to play football and anytime I do come off the field I don’t like it. I just like being in that action.”

Twin Lakes’ Dylan McKay, who plays defensive back, running back and serves as the Indians’ longsnapper, reiterates that point.

“I think it’s fun to know you’re not going to come off of the field, because every competitor wants to be on the field 100 percent of the time,” McKay said.

One disadvantage to fielding a smaller team can be the lack of playing time and experience for players who do not see the field on varsity. Larger schools can field enough players to play a freshman schedule as well as a JV schedule, allowing players of all ages to play against comparable competition and build experience for the day they can play varsity.

North White coach Jim Davis believes it is hard for those who don’t get playing time on Friday nights to keep with the program, but those that do are the ones who really want to play.

“It’s really difficult when you go all year and you only get a couple of plays in. It’s kind of like a wasted year for some of those kids, all they get is practice time, and that’s well and good, but everybody wants to play the game,” Davis said. “To be honest with you, that’s the most disappointing thing about this year is that some of our freshman and a few of our sophomore kids haven’t gotten a chance to play.

“They have to want to play, they really have to. I really admire some of our kids that come every day to practice knowing that their chance of playing on Friday is limited to a few plays if they’re lucky. You have to give those kids a lot of credit for their determination.”

Published by the Herald Journal on October 23, 2009

Forward sets out to play in World Cup

By Chad Husted

Assistant Sports Editor

The Purdue soccer team has lost its leading scorer just four days before it begins play in the Big Ten Tournament.

Junior forward Loredana Riverso has been called up to the U-20 Canadian national team. The Mississauga, Ontario, native left Sunday to join the team in British Columbia for training before its first match against Japan Nov. 20.

"I was hoping to at least play in the Big Ten Tournament, but it just wasn't possible," Riverso said in a press release. "It's really sad knowing that this is it for this year, but I'm already looking forward to next season. We have a team capable of making a difference."

Coach Rob Klatte said Purdue has always encouraged its players who wish to play internationally to pursue those goals, and the team is excited for Riverso's opportunity. The team had hoped to have her available for the Big Ten Tournament, he said, but the long-term improvement of the team will be greater because of her departure.

"She's going to come back, and our team will ultimately be better," Klatte said. "We'll be better because of the experience she will have had. We're excited for her."

As for how the Boilers (11-6-3, 5-3-2 Big Ten) will compensate for the loss of their leading offensive weapon, Klatte said Purdue might have to develop a more attacking style of team.

"We'll probably end up being a more attacking side because of (the loss), because we can't rely on Loredana breaking them down individually," Klatte said.

Riverso will likely not be able to return to the team unless her national team is eliminated early in the tournament and Purdue makes a strong push into the late rounds of the NCAA tournament, Klatte said.

With the loss of Riverso, it will be up to other players on the team to pick up the missing offense. Purdue will rely on senior forward Felicia Schroeder, who is second on the team in goals, and freshman midfielder Kellie Phillips, who is top in assists.

Klatte is also excited about the return of sophomore forward Katie Becker, who has missed the last two weeks with an injury. She had three goals this season before being sidelined.

"It's strange in life sometimes, you know, when you lose someone and you get another opportunity for someone else," Klatte said. "Hopefully she can step into the fold and help to fill that void for us. It's an opportunity for someone else as well as a loss for our team."

Published by the Purdue Exponent on November 4, 2008