Clarksville fumbled its second snap of the Class 2A, Sectional 39 semifinal game Friday and the scramble to recover the ball ended up with Triton Central at the one-yard line.

One play and three seconds later, the host Tigers were off to the races with its first of five first-half touchdowns that led to a 42-7 rout of the Generals (3-8).

Triton Central (7-4) will host Paoli (7-2), a 28-14 winner over Providence Friday in the other semifinal game, on Nov. 5 at Mendenhall Field in Fairland.

“It’s been a lot of fun the last couple of weeks. The kids have worked hard to get to this point,” said Triton Central coach Tim Able. “Now we have to take it one day at a time because Paoli will be a chore. They are good and they will want it bad since we’ve beaten them the last two years at their place.”

Clarksville arrived at Triton Central with an offense built around the state’s leading rusher, junior Robert Lamar. With 2,055 yards and 26 touchdowns this season, the green-clad defense faced a stiff challenge – one it proved up for as rain fell steadily all night long.

“He is good. He is a patient runner, he lets things happen and he is smooth,” said Able. “I felt that was our best run defense overall.”

Lamar never got in gear in the first half and touched the ball just five times ahead of his Generals falling behind 21-0.

Triton Central quarterback Jace Stuckey plunged into the end zone from one yard out to make it 7-0.

Clarksville failed to get a first down on its second possession after Lamar was stuffed on a fourth-and-four attempt from its own 26 to set up the Tigers once again.

Two plays later, Triton Central running back Ray Crawford raced into the end zone for a 14-0 advantage.

Clarksville quarterback Caleb Cummings lost control of the ball on the first play of the third offensive series and the ball shot forward out of the line of scrimmage several yards allowing Triton Central’s Levi Dewey to recover.

Five running plays followed – as did Stuckey’s second touchdown of the night.

Crawford added an 11-yard scoring run early in the second quarter and Stuckey closed out the first-half scoring by throwing an 18-yard touchdown strike to Brad Schultz to make it 35-0.

With a running clock in the second half and Triton Central turning to its junior varsity to close out the game, Lamar moved the first-down marker more often but failed to reach the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter.

Midway through the third quarter, Jaquan Blake scampered into the end zone from 26 yards out to push the lead to 42-0.

A worn-down Lamar scored with 5:32 left in the game to cap off a 34-carry night where he amassed 163 yards. But the rest of the Generals added just 16 yards of offense.

Crawford led the Tigers with 106 yards rushing on 15 carries. Blake had 34 yards on three carries. Stuckey completed just 1-of-5 passes on a night when it was tough to grip the wet football.

Able improved to 79-31 in nine seasons at Triton Central where the program has played for a sectional title every year. Paoli denied Able his first sectional title in Fairland with a 21-14 win in 2013.

“That first year, I felt bad because those (TC) kids had three coaches in four years,” said Able. “We had Paoli 14-0 and driving on them and fumbled. They came back and beat us 21-14. That was a hard one.”

The Tigers have ended the Rams’ season the last two years with a 35-12 win in 2020 and a 41-8 win in 2019 – both at Paoli.

Triton Central will attempt to win its third-straight sectional title.

After three weeks away from Mendenhall Field, Triton Central finally returns home for a Class 2A, Sectional 39 semifinal game against Clarksville and the state’s leading rusher.

Robert Lamar, a 5-foot-10 junior, has rushed for 2,055 yards and 26 touchdowns this season for a Generals team that won its first sectional game in eight seasons last week, 41-20 over Mitchell.

“They like to run the ball and they can throw it,” said Triton Central coach Tim Able. “We prefer they throw it. Their running back is good. We have to get multiple people there (to him).”

Lamar, a 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore, closed out the regular season with 307 yards on nine carries and six touchdowns in a 69-8 win over Rock Creek Academy.

Against Mitchell, Lamar (photo) racked up another 250 yards rushing and five touchdowns and had an interception return for a sixth touchdown as the Generals (3-7 this season) broke open a 14-14 game at halftime.

Junior quarterback Caleb Cummings has completed 54% of his passing attempts this season with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His two favorite targets are the Capps brothers – Morgan Capps (31 receptions, 581 yards, 5 TDs), a junior, and Dakota Capps (27 receptions, 431 yards, 5 TDs), a senior.

Head coach Justin Boser praised an offensive line that at times this season included three sophomores and a freshman. On Friday at Triton Central, the three sophomores will be joined by a pair of seniors on the offensive front.

“Triton Central is a solid team. I have a lot of respect for coach Able,” said Boser. “When I lived in Indianapolis, I went to his coaching clinic three years in a row and learned a lot listening to other coaches speak and listening to him speak.

“They are hard-nosed, well-coached team. They run a lot of formations. I’ve never seen a high school team run this many formations.”

Triton Central (6-4) counters with its own set of playmakers in quarterback Jace Stuckey (53% completion rate, 10 TDs, 5 interceptions), running backs Ray Crawford (142 rushes, 1,025 yards, 8 TDs; 21 receptions, 367 yards, 3 TDs) and Brad Schultz (16 rushes, 179 yards, 2 TDs; 20 receptions, 371 yards, 4 TDs), and receivers Devon Emberton (24 receptions, 302 yards, 3 TDs) and Anthony Dunville (17 receptions, 212 yards).

The offense also has the luxury of a skilled kicker in Levi Dewey (28-for-28 on extra-point attempts; 7-of-8 on field goal attempts).

“That’s a weapon that is nice to have,” said Able. “If you get inside the 20-yard line and don’t have a good fourth-down situation, you still have a pretty good chance of getting three points on the scoreboard. And he has been helping us at defensive back as well.”

Triton Central was dominant in its 58-0 sectional quarterfinal win at Eastern (Pekin).

“We did a pretty good job on both sides of the ball,” said Able. “Overall, it was probably the best all-around game we’ve played from the standpoint of putting our run game and our pass game together. And I thought our special teams were pretty good.”

The other Sectional 39 semifinal game tonight pits Providence (5-5) at Paoli (6-2). Paoli is a 14-point favorite in the Sagarin ratings.

Triton Central is a 34-point favorite over Clarksville.

The Tigers are 0-2 against Clarksville in two previous sectional meetings. The Generals defeated Triton Central, 28-21, on Oct. 20, 2006. The loss was the first for Rob Robertson’s Tigers (9-1) that season. Clarksville finished 10-2 under head coach Brian Glesing, now Shelbyville’s head coach.

On Oct. 24, 1997, Clarksville squashed a Joe Fussell-led TC squad, 43-0. The Tigers finished 5-5 that season.

If Triton Central wins, it will host either Providence or Paoli in the sectional championship game on Nov. 5.

GIANT fm Real Radio (96.5 fm) will broadcast tonight’s game from Fairland. The pre-game show starts at 6 p.m. with kickoff to follow at 7 p.m.

Keen Liaison was a tough race mare at Indiana Grand a few years ago. Now, her first foal, Keens Blood Legacy, is carrying on the tradition.

The two-year-old son of Apollitical Blood earned the top spot in the $30,000 Miss Roxie Little Futurity Consolation Thursday at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana. The race was a great precursor to Indiana Champions Day that will feature more than $1 million in purses, including five Quarter Horse Stakes.

Starting from post six, Keens Blood Legacy (photo) was in tight quarters at the start, but jockey Jose Ruiz kept the freshman on task over the rain-soaked sloppy track. Once he got his footing underneath him, he led the field of nine through the 350-yard dash and dug in gamely at the wire for the win by a neck over a fast-closing Bye Bye B Train and L.D. Martinez on the outside.

Jesses Beach and Edgar Diaz finished third in a tight photo, just a nose behind the second-place finisher. The time of the race was 18.137 seconds.

Trained by Erin Thompson, Keens Blood Legacy paid $13.80 for the win. It was only the second win in five starts for the home bred gelding, who hails from the Ohio base of James and Connie Black. Keens Blood Legacy more than doubled his bankroll to more than $30,000 with the win. He just missed the final, ranked 11^th on the list with a time of 18.303. The 10^th-place finisher that advanced to the final, All Star Beach, had a time of 18.300.

The 13^th running of the $198,200 Miss Roxie Little Futurity Final will kick off Quarter Horse Stakes action Saturday during Indiana Champions Day at Indiana Grand. The event is slated as Race 9 on the 13-race program with Mr Michel from the Claudio Barraza barn receiving the early nod as the morning line favorite from post five with Erik Esqueda aboard.

Other Quarter Horse Stakes on the card include the 25^th running of the $122,240 QHRAI Derby (Race 10); the 13^th running of the $119,400 Sterlie Bertram Memorial Stakes (Race 11); the ninth running of the $108,540 Indiana Championship (Race 12); and the 25^th running of the $146,360 Governor’s Stakes (Race 13).

Both the QHRAI Derby and Governor’s Stakes were two of the three initial stakes races held during the inaugural season of pari-mutuel Quarter Horse racing in Indiana in 1997 at Hoosier Park.

Quarter Horse racing will follow seven races on the card dedicated to Thoroughbred racing. The first Quarter Horse race is slated for approximately 3:55 p.m. Martha Claussen, on-air racing analyst, will be trackside to cover the day’s activities while Jose Contreras, better known as “Los Ponies” on social media, will provide commentary and social media support for the event.

A special $1,000 Quarter Horse Champions Handicapping Contest will be offered on races 9-13, with first place receiving $500. The contest is open to all players, both on-track and online, that are 18 years of age and older.

The afternoon includes a full lineup of activities, from a cigar rolling station to two book signings.

Otto Thorwarth, who serves as the Quarter Horse Chaplain at the track, portrayed Ron Turcotte in the Disney movie “Secretariat” will sign his new book “No Ordinary Champion.”

Former Quarter Horse jockey Tina Cleary will sign her new book “Growing Up With Moocher” that is based on an Indiana racehorse.

For more information on Indiana Champions Day, go to www.indianagrand.com.

The 10-member Mid-Hoosier Conference All-Conference Boys Tennis team has been announced.

Waldron led the way with four selections – Lucas Shaw, Josh Kellems, Matthew Thomas and Bryant Becker.

Southwestern and Hauser each had three selections.

Representing Southwestern were Grant Emerick, Caleb Pappano and Carter Snepp (photo, with head coach Brian Ebersold).

The final three selections from Hauser were Sam Miller, Eli Miller and Levi Gollmer.

Southwestern and Waldron were crowned co-champions.

Waldron’s Austin Swain was named Coach of the Year.

The Mid-Hoosier Conference honored 12 athletes with postseason all-conference designations.

Waldron, coming off its first ever sectional championship, had three selections. Megan Bogemann, Madalyn Hudnall (photo) and Emily Tyree topped the 12-member All-MHC Volleyball Team.

Hauser also had three selections -- Kenze Bostic, Andie Clark and Adriana Musillami.

Representing Morristown were Beth Hodgin and Bella Thompson.

Brooklyn Schneider was Southwestern’s lone representative.

Also named All-MHC were North Decatur’s Madelyn Bohman and Caroline Stapp and Edinburgh’s Alyssa Funkhouser.

Hauser and North Decatur shared the MHC championship.

North Decatur’s Ashley Gauck was named Coach of the Year.

The Mid-Hoosier Conference named nine athletes to the MHC All-Soccer team.

With only three boys soccer programs in the conference, each program had three selections.

Representing Morristown were Jacob Batten, Mathew Carlton and Nick Stidham.

Aiden Hartsell (photo), Conner Gooch and Jordan Jones were selected from Southwestern’s sectional championship squad.

Hauser’s selections were Aleck Lopez, Pedro Oliviera and Cephus Zulu Jr.

Hauser and Southwestern each went 3-1 against conference opponents and shared the MHC title.

Hauser’s Barry Grimes was named Coach of the Year.

Southwestern was 11-5-2 and made a second-straight regional championship game appearance.

Morristown was 2-11-2 this season. Hauser finished 4-9.

California Angel, the two-year-old filly phenom from the George Leonard III Stable, turned in her final work in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar Racecourse in Southern California.

The filly worked five furlongs Wednesday under former jockey and exercise rider Emmanuel Cosme in an easy 1:01.0 at her training base at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

California Angel, the daughter of California Chrome, will be sent via Fed Ex Monday en route to her destination in California. Leonard will leave ahead of the filly on Sunday while owners Chris and Alan Walsh of Columbus, Ind., are slated to leave Wednesday. Several friends and family members from Indiana as well as Leonard’s home state of Louisiana are also making the journey out to support California Angel.

Purchased for $5,500 at the Ocala Breeders’ June Sale, Leonard immediately knew he had a nice addition to his barn.

“I’ve trained a lot of horses, but I knew right away she was something special,” said Leonard. “I’ve only had her four months, but she does everything so easy.”

California Angel has had three starts so far, winning two, including the Grade 2 $200,000 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 13 which was a “win and you’re in” race for the Breeders’ Cup.

The Indiana Horse Racing Association (IHRA) held its annual banquet to honor and induct two new members to the Hall of Fame Sunday at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Dr. James Carmichael, inducted posthumously, and Ernie Gaskin were the 18^th and 19^th individuals added to the prestigious list of leaders who have worked tirelessly to promote and support horse racing in the state of Indiana. Rachel McLaughlin served as emcee for the ceremony.

Dr. James Carmichael, a longtime resident of Sullivan County, was a career advocate for Quarter Horse racing. The graduate of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine owned a veterinary practice in Sullivan, Ind., prior to his death in 2009. He was one of the initial members appointed to the Quarter Horse Breed Development Committee.

Carmichael was instrumental in developing the program for owners and breeders that has flourished over the past 25 years. He was later appointed to the Thoroughbred Breed Development Committee and was elected chairman.

Randy Beard, a longtime friend of Carmichael, provided a look at Carmichael’s career in racing and talked about how he joined his father, Eugene, at an early age to run Carmichael Stock Farm. The official resolution was read by Brian Elmore, also a native of Sullivan County and family friend, prior to the unveiling of the portrait of Carmichael.

Jan Carmichael, Jim’s wife, accepted the award on behalf of Jim, and was joined by family members during the induction. Jan noted Jim’s love of horses and his dedication to racing during his life.

“I want to thank the IHRA for this wonderful honor,” said Jan. “Jim would have been so proud to see how racing has evolved in Indiana, and he would be so happy to be recognized for his involvement. He loved racing and horses so much. My family and I thank you for honoring him with this award.”

Coady Photography photo

Jan Carmichael (center, holding portrait) was joined by friends and family for the induction of Dr. James Carmichael (posthumously) at the Indiana Horse Racing Association's seventh annual Hall of Fame ceremony Sunday at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Following the induction of Carmichael, Rick Moore, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Harrah’s Hoosier Park, provided a look at Ernie Gaskin’s life in racing. He arrived in Indiana in the early 1990s and it didn’t take long for industry leaders to recognize his expertise and leadership in the sport.

Gaskin was an initial member of the Standardbred Breed Development committee and brought a wealth of knowledge on racing from his days working as an assistant trainer for Bill Haughton, Hall of Fame driver and trainer.

Moore pointed out Gaskin’s endless hours working to establish a breeding and racing program in the state as well as his work on related projects such as lobbying for casino gaming at racetracks, enhancing the breed development funding, and providing positive solutions to better the sport.

Moore also noted Gaskin’s success as a trainer in the state. He has two leading trainer titles to his credit at Harrah’s Hoosier Park and conditioned four Indiana Sires Stakes champions in addition to hundreds of other horses that have prospered over the past 25 years.

Following the reading of the resolution by Moore, Gaskin was welcomed to the stage by a standing ovation before delivering an emotional heartfelt speech to the room.

“I have to thank my partner, my wife, Darla,” said Gaskin. “She should be in this photo with me. She has worked so hard right along with me to make racing a success in Indiana. One thing I learned from Bill Haughton is ‘surround yourself with good people’ and wow, what a great group of people we have here in Indiana. We have come a long way in the program and there are so many people who helped along the way. I’m so very proud of where we are now and what we have all accomplished.”

Coady Photography photo

Ernie Gaskin (center, holding resolution) was one of two inductees into the Indiana Horse Racing Association Hall of Fame Sunday at Indiana Grand. He was joined by his family and friends for the ceremony.

Both portraits of Carmichael and Gaskin were painted by artist Melinda Spear-Huff of Sheridan, Ind. They will join the other 17 portraits on IHRA Hall of Fame display on the Mezzanine at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

Triton Central senior Julia Sanders (photo) and junior Maddy Brown were selected All-Indiana Crossroads Conference based on their performance this past volleyball season.

The 12-player All-ICC squad was released this week.

Also named All-ICC were Monrovia’s Madison McCubbins, Shelby Clements, Raegan Stader and Lydia Dowden; Ritter’s Kelsey Waggoner; Scecina’s Allison Daves, Abbey McCoy and Cierra Lathrop; Cascade’s Zoe Mendenhall; and Beech Grove’s Elysia Hubbard.

Triton Central finished 15-11 this season and 4-3 in ICC matches.

Monrovia was crowned ICC champion with a 7-0 record.

Triton Central tennis had all-conference selections at four of the five roster spots.

The Indiana Crossroads Conference announced the All-ICC squad and six Triton Central Tigers were selected.

Alex Crouse (photo) and Tucker Hutchinson, who played No. 1 and No. 2 singles for TC, respectively, topped the All-ICC team.

Triton Central’s No. 1 doubles pairing of Quintin Potts and Avram Rund and No. 2 doubles pairing of Griffin Sego and Oliver Gearlds also were named All-ICC.

Also honored as All-ICC were Beech Grove’s Chase Alford, Scecina’s Daniel Eijach and Lutheran’s Cole Perkins and Caden Perkins.

Triton Central finished 17-7 this season and 5-0 against ICC teams.

Triton Central junior Lizzie Graham was one of 18 girls soccer players bestowed with all-conference designation this week.

The All-Indiana Crossroads Conference team was announced with Graham (photo), the Tigers’ leading scorer, on the list.

Also named All-ICC were Speedway’s Jordan Davis, Zoey Bishop, Shelby Rendes and Audrey Burrell; Cascade’s Creedance Chittenden, Ava Cook, Kaylin Cook, Sydney Gabbard and Grace Franklin; Scecina’s Madelynn Martin and Ava Smith; Monrovia’s Emery Newlin and Katie Clark; Ritter’s Anna Kokosa and Jordan Hinkle; and Beech Grove’s Maya Coker and Aui’Nya Moore.

Triton Central finished 2-12-1 this season and 1-5 in ICC matches.

Cascade won the ICC title with a 5-1 record.

Four players from Hoosier Heritage Conference champion Yorktown and three each from 20-win teams Mt. Vernon, New Palestine and Pendleton Heights lead the 2021 All-Hoosier Heritage Conference Volleyball Team.

The 15-player squad includes Shelbyville senior Emma Nolley (photo).

Yorktown’s Ava Eakins, Emilee Hill, Charlotte Vinson and Addi Applegate topped the All-HHC squad. Also selected were Delta’s Emily Reno, Mt. Vernon’s Cecilia Buhlman, Rylee Ugen and Abby Herman; New Palestine’s Reagan Kleiman, Grace Myers and Lauren Wilson; and Pendleton Heights’ Avery Ross, Ramsey Gary and Olivia Wright.

Yorktown’s Stephanie Bloom was named HHC Coach of the Year.

Yorktown won the HHC title with a perfect 7-0 mark. New Castle was second at 6-1 followed by Mt. Vernon (5-2), Greenfield-Central (4-3), New Palestine (2-5), Pendleton Heights (2-5), Shelbyville (2-5) and Delta (0-7).

A pair of Shelbyville High School seniors were honored with postseason soccer awards this week.

The 24-player All-Hoosier Heritage Conference Boys Soccer Squad was released this week.

Representing the Golden Bears were Brayden Basey and Rey Bramasco.

Also selected All-HHC were Delta’s Zion Griffis and Aidan Pierce; Greenfield-Central’s John Halvorsen, Bryce Kinnaman, Hunter Stine and Tyler Kerkhof; Mt. Vernon’s Jordan Small, Zack Johnson and Tyler Webb; New Castle’s Ian Thurlow; New Palestine’s Elliott Canova, Garrett Canova, Alex Richwine and Ethan Windham; Pendleton Heights’ Williams Phillips, Kam Kail, Cole Bubalo and Grant Koperczak; and Yorktown’s Aden Lovelace, Jackson Furnish, Clay Kruger and Nicholas Romano.

Yorktown’s Shane Guinn, New Palestine’s Brett Canova and Pendleton Heights’ Kyle Davy were named Co-Coaches of the Year.

Four teams tied at 5-2 in the HHC standings and were crowned champions.

Yorktown (15-3, 5-2 HHC), Pendleton Heights (10-6, 5-2), New Palestine (7-9, 5-2) and Greenfield-Central (6-9, 5-2) finished atop the standings in a rare four-way tie.

Mt. Vernon (11-7, 4-3), Delta (9-6-1, 2-5), Shelbyville (8-9, 2-5) and New Castle (4-11-2, 0-7) completed the second-half of the standings.

Three Shelbyville High School girls soccer players were selected All-Conference and head coach Chelsea Dourson was named Co-Coach of the Year in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.

The 24-player All-HHC girls soccer squad was announced this week.

Representing Shelbyville were senior Sophie Parker (photo), junior Evelyn Kiefer and sophomore Ava Wilson.

HHC champion Yorktown (16-1-1, 7-0 HHC) had two selections. Senior Chloe Mariotti and sophomore Hayley Reece led the Tigers to the conference championship.

Also named All-HHC were Delta’s Addie Chester, Greenfield-Central’s Jessica Merritt, Courtney Vaughn, Kalyn Moss and Sarah Contrarez; Mt. Vernon’s Maddie Swingle, Shay Shipley, Bri Hale, Lily Wilson, Ellie Gawrys and Kylie Brandes; New Castle’s Maggie Lewis; New Palestine’s Allie Blum, Sydney Miller, Tylar Whitaker and Anna Luker; and Pendleton Heights’ Isabelle Phillips, Kaitlyn Prickett and Katie Coleman.

Mt. Vernon’s Aaron Britt and Dourson were named Coaches of the Year.

Following Yorktown in the HHC standings were Mt. Vernon (16-3, 6-1), New Palestine (10-7, 5-2), Greenfield-Central (7-9-1, 4-3), Pendleton Heights (7-8-2, 3-4), Shelbyville (8-10, 2-5), Delta (7-9, 1-6) and New Castle (1-11-1, 0-7).

The combination of stables Carter and Donna Riley, Darlene Green and Mike Nance have been named “Barn Crew of the Month” for October at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

The award is sponsored by the Indiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) and Texas Corral of Shelbyville.

The three stables are small and combine to keep their shed row in perfect shape on the backstretch at Indiana Grand.

Riley is a former leading Quarter Horse jockey in Indiana. He and his wife, Donna, have three thoroughbreds and a few quarter horses racing this season at Indiana Grand.

Darlene Green, who is a former Thoroughbred jockey and has a farm in Fairland, Indiana, has approximately seven horses and earned a win later on in the card Monday with Go Get Em following the presentation for Barn Crew of the Month.

Mike Nance, who has campaigned several Horse of the Year winners over the past three decades in Indiana, has approximately six in his stable.

Each of the recipients of Barn Crew of the Month received a $200 gift certificate to Texas Corral. They also have a banner noting their award hanging on the outside of their bard for the remainder of the 2021 racing season at Indiana Grand.

The October Barn Crew of the Month is the final award for 2021. A total of eight stables were recognized for keeping an outstanding barn and providing extra special care to their horses at Indiana Grand.

The No. 2 ranked University of Indianapolis men’s soccer team defeated Drury University, 2-0, Sunday on Senior Day.

Shelbyville graduate Tyce Taylor (photo, second from left) was one of 14 Greyhounds honored during their last regular season game at Key Stadium in Indianapolis.

Taylor is a two-time Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection.

The senior class is 53-10-8 after the win Sunday. The Greyhounds are 12-0-1 this season and 10-0-1 against GLVC opponents.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

Bailey Stamper

The Triton Central graduate logged two minutes in her first collegiate game Saturday for Indiana University South Bend in an 80-48 win over IU Kokomo.

Stamper, a freshman, was credited with one defensive rebound in the Titans’ ninth-straight season-opening win.

TeAnn Bringle

The Shelbyville graduate was one of 20 Indiana State softball players named to the 2020-2021 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete list.

Athletes must maintain a 3.5 grade point average or higher to earn the honor.

Indiana State softball posted a 3.64 gpa which tied for 26^th best in the country.

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate placed fifth in the one-meter diving event and seventh in the three-meter event Saturday for Franklin College in the Indiana DIII Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Baker tallied 201.60 points in the season-opening one-meter event and 164.70 points in the 3-meter event.

Nolan Davis

The Shelbyville graduate had a trio of top-five finishes for Franklin College’s men’s swim team Saturday at the Indiana DIII Championships.

Davis finished third in the 200-yard freestyle (1:48.72), fifth in the 200 butterfly (2:13.43) and fourth in the 500 freestyle (5:10.22).

Franklin finished runner-up in the six-team event to Rose-Hulman.

Kenneth Gipson

The Triton Central graduate was the starting center in Rose-Hulman’s 57-14 victory Saturday at Manchester.

Rose-Hulman racked up 486 yards of offense and improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents.

Bailey Chandler

The Triton Central graduate recorded 10 assists and one dig Saturday in Eastern Illinois volleyball’s 23-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-14 loss to Morehead State.

The two teams also met Friday with Morehead State prevailing, 25-11, 25-13, 30-28. Chandler had five assists and two digs.

The Panthers are 7-14 this season and 0-11 in Ohio Valley Conference contests.

Maggie Schweitzer

The Triton Central graduate had three assists, three aces and eight digs Saturday for Hanover College in a 25-15, 25-16, 18-25, 22-25, 17-15 win over Anderson.

Hanover began the week with a 25-27, 30-28, 26-24, 25-18 loss Wednesday at Transylvania University. Schweitzer had one assist, five aces and seven digs.

On Thursday, Hanover rebounded for a 25-27, 25-11, 27-25, 25-19 win over Center College.

Hanover is 14-9 this season and 5-2 in the HCAC standings.

Brooklyn Schiffli

Despite a loss Sunday to Florida Gulf Coast, 25-22, 29-27, 25-20, Jacksonville State clinched a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament that will be played Nov. 18-20 in Ft. Meyers, Florida.

Schiffli, a Triton Central graduate, had one ace and eight digs for Jacksonville State (19-5, 9-2 ASUN).

On Saturday, Jacksonville State defeated Liberty, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22. Schiffli finished with one assist, one ace and 11 digs.

The Gamecocks traveled to Jacksonville (Fla.) Friday and secured a 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 win. Schiffli had six digs.

Maddy Beaver

The Triton Central graduate had six kills and three digs to help Goshen defeat the University of Northwestern Ohio Friday, 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 in the Rochester University Tri-Match in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Goshen then lost to Rochester, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24, 17-25, 16-14. Beaver finished with eight kills, two solo blocks, five block assists and five digs.

On Saturday, Goshen was defeated on Senior Day by St. Xavier University, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20. Beaver had one kill and four block assists.

Goshen is 4-30 this season.

Triton Central quarterback Jace Stuckey ran for two touchdowns and threw three more to lead the Tigers to a 58-0 rout of Eastern (Pekin) Friday in the Class 2A, Sectional 39 opener.

Triton Central improved to 6-4 this season and will host Clarksville (3-7) for a sectional semifinal game this Friday at Mendenhall Field. A Tigers’ win would guarantee the sectional championship would be played in Fairland.

The other Sectional 39 semifinal pits Paoli (6-2) at Providence (5-5).

Triton Central scored twice in the first quarter Friday at winless Eastern (0-7) and added four second-quarter scores to break the game wide open.

Levi Dewey connected on a 35-yard field goal to start the scoring and Stuckey plunged into the end zone on a quarterback sneak to make it 10-0 with just under four minutes left in the quarter.

Running back Ray Crawford got in on the scoring early in the second quarter with a 14-yard run.

Stuckey’s second rushing touchdown came less than a minute later to make it 24-0.

The sophomore quarterback closed out the first-half scoring with a 41-yard strike to Crawford and a 35-yard scoring pass to Chase Chandler to give the Tigers a 37-0 halftime advantage.

Crawford pulled in a 64-yard touchdown pass from Stuckey in the third quarter; Brayden Wilkins added an interception return for a score; and freshman Chris Perkon added a 14-yard scoring run to set the final score.

With revenge on its mind and a sectional semifinal appearance at stake, Richmond rolled into Shelbyville’s McKeand Stadium Friday night and immediately put the Golden Bears in a 14-0 disadvantage.

Despite not scoring a point in 14 straight quarters, Shelbyville went right to work and put together two scoring drives to tie the score.

The Red Devils, who lost at Shelbyville in week two (22-16), scored to close out the first-half scoring and added another touchdown to start the second-half scoring and Shelbyville was unable to get back even.

Richmond prevailed in a Class 4A sectional quarterfinal game, 32-29, and ended the Golden Bears’ season at 1-6.

With the win, Richmond (2-8) will host Connersville (2-8) in one Sectional 21 semifinal contest. Fifth-ranked Mt. Vernon (9-1) will travel to No. 11 Greenfield-Central (7-3) for the other semifinal game.

Shelbyville racked up a season-high 385 yards of offense Friday but needed one more scoring drive to tie the game or take the lead.

After a goal line stand thwarted Richmond from securing the victory, Shelbyville drove to midfield but ran out of time.

Richmond started quickly with Marquis Johnson taking the game’s opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback John Carter connected with Johnson for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

The Red Devils stopped Shelbyville’s first offensive series, got the ball back and drove down the field where Carter scored on an 8-yard run. The two-point conversion failed and it was 14-0.

Shelbyville finished off its first scoring drive with a 14-yard run from Jordan Marcum. Aiden Helfer-Vazquez added the extra point to cut Richmond’s lead in half.

The Golden Bears followed a defensive stop with another scoring drive that was capped off by Eli Chappelow’s 6-yard run and Helfer-Vazquez’s kick.

Following an 8-yard touchdown strike from Carter to Micah Belcher, Richmond secured a 20-14 halftime advantage.

The lead grew in the third quarter when Johnson pulled in a 9-yard touchdown pass from Carter for a 26-14 lead.

Cael Lux delivered a 97-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to keep the Golden Bears within striking distance, 26-21.

Johnson, who finished the game with 11 rushes for 108 yards, scored on an 18-yard run to extend the lead to 32-21.

Chappelow connected with Jackson Parker for a 44-yard touchdown throw in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the final scoring of the game.

Chappelow completed 10-of-18 pass attempts for 155 yards. Parker finished with five catches for 87 yards.

Lux led the ground game with 154 yards on 14 carries.

Waldron handled the pressure of its first volleyball regional appearance adeptly.

Playing on a familiar court against a team making its fourth-straight regional appearance, the Mohawks rolled out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads against Bloomfield Saturday morning at the Class A Morristown Regional.

The Cardinals never buckled under the pressure of being behind and rallied to win sets four and five to end Waldron’s season, 22-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 15-8.

The Mohawks finished 22-11 this season, winning the Shelby County Tournament title and the program’s first sectional championship.

In the second semifinal, Indianapolis Lutheran defeated Indiana School for the Deaf, 25-18, 25-7, 26-24.

In the championship match, Bloomfield rolled past the Saints, 25-19, 25-18, 25-20.

The regional title was the seventh in program history for Bloomfield and fourth in the last nine years.

Bloomfield (20-11) will face Trinity Lutheran (29-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Columbus East Semistate.

At Frankfort Saturday in the other Class A semistate, Kouts (27-7) battles Lafayette Central Catholic (25-9).

The state championship match will be played at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie on Nov. 6.

Stefanie Howard’s cross country career came to an end Saturday morning on her home course at Blue River Memorial Park.

The Shelbyville senior finished 113^th overall in the girls semistate field in a time of 20 minutes, 56 seconds.

The top six finishing teams at the Shelbyville Semistate and the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team qualified for the state championship event on Oct. 30 at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.

Indianapolis Bishop Chatard’s Lily Cridge won the girls race in a course record 17:04. That time was more than 40 seconds faster than the race winners at the other three semistate races Saturday, making Cridge the favorite to win the state championship.

Carmel won the girls semistate title with 46 points. Also advancing to the state finals were Noblesville (78), Franklin Central (133), Westfield (144), North Central (148) and Avon (172).

Carmel’s Kole Mathison won the boys race in 15:15 and the Greyhounds finished third in the team standings.

Brebeuf won the semistate title with 60 points. Center Grove (77) was runner-up followed by Carmel (86), Zionsville (129), Noblesville (159) and Franklin Central (184).

Steve Mackey has tried to keep this week as simple as possible. No easy task when his Waldron volleyball program is preparing for its first ever regional appearance Saturday at Morristown High School.

“We are trying to put the time in the gym and get mentally prepared,” said Mackey. “It’s just an extension of the season but it is new ground for them.

“I’m just trying to keep them thinking about what’s ahead and what’s possible for them to achieve – they do the rest.”

Waldron (22-10) opens the Class A regional at 10 a.m. Saturday against Bloomfield (18-11), a program making its fourth-straight regional appearance and 18^th overall.

In the second semifinal, Indiana School for the Deaf (21-7) returns to the regional for a second straight year to face Indianapolis Lutheran (7-24), making its fifth consecutive regional appearance.

“We are trying to prepare by doing what we do well and shoring up our deficiencies,” said Mackey, Waldron’s first-year head coach. “Calmness comes from confidence and repetition.”

The Mohawks have an experienced roster that finished 20-11 in 2020 that is directed by sophomore setter Emily Tyree (photo above), who surpassed 1,000 career assists late in the season.

“Mentally, she always has her head where it needs to be,” said Mackey.

Tyree has multiple offensive options on the floor in seniors Nicole Garner, Madalyn Hudnall (the Shelby County Tournament Most Valuable Player) and Mackenzie Shaw and juniors Josee Larrison and Kaylee Young.

Garner (photo above), who recorded career dig 1,000 earlier this season, is strong defensively with senior Megan Bogemann and sophomore Alyssa Benson, who split time this season as the libero on the junior varsity squad.

“You can count on her to be a leader in the back row. She is just a steady player,” said Mackey of Bogemann.

For Waldron to advance, it will need to keep Bloomfield’s Gracie Lowry in check. The senior has 471 kills, 55 service aces, 53 total blocks and 184 digs this season.

Seniors Kinley Moody (163 kills, 79 total blocks) and Rylee Schantz (167 kills, 247 digs) are strong second and third options offensively for junior setter Brianna Bucher (807 assists).

The Cardinals started the season 1-5 before getting into gear and finishing 17-6. They enter the regional having won five straight matches and eight of their last 10.

“(Bloomfield) will be good in all phases of the game,” said Mackey. “They are tall and have a big front line. Their blocking will be tough. We have to be ready for that.”

On paper, Indiana Deaf appears to be a solid favorite over Lutheran, one of the more successful Class A programs in the state.

The Orioles have won 15 of their last 16 and five straight on the way to Morristown. They are 0-2 against Shelby County opponents this season, losing to Southwestern on Aug. 28 in an invitational and to Waldron on Sept. 7.

Indiana Deaf is balanced offensively with seniors ZaniBelle Hoglind (108 kills) and Luisa Skjeveland (97 kills) and sophomore Sophia Wascher (91 kills) leading the way.

Senior Nicholle Bradach has a team-high 199 digs and junior setter Seanna Baird has a team-high 262 assists.

Lutheran enters the regional going 5-5 in its last 10 matches.

Sophomore Hadleigh Filipovich leads the Saints with 96 kills and 164 digs.

Junior setter Regan Wilson has 285 assists, 64 kills and 118 digs. Sophomore Brooklyn Ormsby has 60 kills while junior Annika Morrison has 137 digs.

Three of Lutheran’s losses this season came to Hauser (Aug. 26), Triton Central (Sept. 2) and Morristown (Sept. 5).

Indiana Deaf and Lutheran did not meet in the regular season.

The winner of the Morristown Regional advances to the southern Indiana semistate championship match at either Columbus East or Jasper to face the winner of the Loogootee Regional – which features Lanesville vs. Springs Valley and Trinity Lutheran vs. Loogootee.

Up north at the Culver Community Regional, Southwood faces Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian and Kouts takes on Triton.

At the Wes-Del Regional, Seton Catholic battles Lafayette Central Catholic and Daleville takes on South Newton.

The northern Indiana semistate championship will be at Huntington North or Frankfort.

With a win Friday at Eastern (Pekin) and a Clarksville win over Mitchell, Triton Central football could close out Class 2A, Sectional 39 at Mendenhall Field in Fairland.

That requires the Tigers (5-4) to secure a road win Friday at winless Eastern (0-6), a program that has lost 16 straight games. It will be TC’s third consecutive road game after closing out the season with a 28-13 win at Beech Grove and a 24-21 loss at Speedway.

“Our mindset is we need to play it like a championship game,” said Triton Central coach Tim Able. “From here on out, it is. We can’t just turn it on. We can’t play down to the competition.”

The Musketeers program has never experienced a winning season since its inception in 2007. A pair of 5-5 seasons in 2010 and 2011 serve as the high water mark. The program is 29-121 over 15 seasons – Triton Central is 121-53 over that same span.

Eastern’s last win came in its 2019 sectional opener, 22-0 over Union County.

“I know they run a spread offense … they like to throw a little more than they run but teams have a tendency to run on us,” said Able.

Triton Central’s offense will have three starters out on the offensive line. The program’s top two tight ends will play right tackle and left tackle Friday night.

“We will make due,” said Able. “Luckily we have the human eraser in Ray Crawford (135 carries, 916 yards, 6 rushing TDs; 19 receptions, 288 yards, 2 TDs). If they breach the line (of scrimmage), he can still get outside. He has had an amazing year considering how many cuts he has needed to find open yards.”

Brad Schultz (16 carries, 179 yards, 2 TDs; 17 receptions, 285 yards, 3 TDs) also will not be used following a strong performance at Speedway. Schultz suffered an ankle injury early in the season and Able wants him at near 100% as the postseason progresses.

“He’s been really outstanding the last two weeks,” said Able. “He is a difference maker, a game changer and I feel like this is a good week for him to recover.”

In the other Sectional 39 games Friday, Providence (4-5) is at Switzerland County (2-6); Union County (4-4) travels to Paoli (5-2); and Mitchell (3-5) is at Clarksville (2-7).

The victory celebration on Aug. 27 was raucous following Shelbyville’s 22-16 victory over Richmond. The win ended a 26-game losing streak for the Golden Bears.

The loss was the first of eight straight for the Red Devils, who return to McKeand Stadium Friday night for the opening round of Class 4A, Sectional 21.

“Obviously, (the draw) is about as good as we could do but the interesting thing is Richmond is just as happy as we are,” said Shelbyville head coach Brian Glesing. “It’s good for both teams because both teams are hungry for a win and both teams have struggled all year long. And they will be hungry for revenge.”

Sectional 21 features four one-win teams and they all landed in the same half of the bracket meaning one of them will play for a sectional championship in two weeks.

Shelbyville’s stunning win over Richmond preceded a three-week hiatus for the football program which was stripped of players due to COVID-19 protocols.  The Golden Bears also were stripped of any momentum gained by their best performance in three seasons.

Since the return Sept. 24 against Yorktown, Shelbyville has been shut out four straight contests. The Tigers defeated the Golden Bears, 35-0, and losses to New Palestine (52-0), Mt. Vernon (49-0) and Pendleton Heights (42-0) followed.

Glesing knows the Golden Bears have to get the ground game churning Friday night against the Red Devils (1-8), who have allowed 39 points per game this season.

“Our kids are still positive. They understand the talent level (we played the last four weeks),” said Glesing. “We’ve had a good week so far and a lot of the kids have been through this before. We have to continue to plug away.”

Turnovers plagued Richmond in its first trip to Shelbyville this season. Offensively, the Golden Bears moved the first down chains throughout the game which left the Red Devils frustrated.

“Turnovers were big and we were able to run the ball a little bit,” said Glesing. “We did some good things but that seems like eons ago. I know they will be hungry. It will be a different Richmond team. We have to play our best football game to win.”

Sophomore Jayden Shipp led Richmond in week two but senior John Carter has taken over at quarterback as the season progressed. Carter has completed 49% of his pass attempts for 872 yards and nine touchdowns.

Lucas Hall and Demarco Owens have combined for 103 rushes for 599 yards and eight TDs. Marquis Johnson leads the team with 41 receptions for 637 yards and five TDs.

“They are going to do the same stuff,” said Glesing despite the quarterback change. “They like to spread it out and throw it, they like the zone reads and a little power. They are kind of like us in they have struggled all year.”

Shelbyville will counter with quarterback Eli Chappelow under center. The sophomore led the program’s junior varsity team to an undefeated record this season.

Chappelow has completed 12-of-20 pass attempts in Friday night games this season.

“Eli will start but that does not mean Colton (Adkins) is out,” said Glesing. “I think Eli has earned the spot as the starting quarterback but Colton is right there. We might play both of them. We will see how it goes.”

Cael Lux leads the Golden Bears in rushing with 324 yards on 93 attempts, including three touchdowns. Jordan Marcum (8 carries, 65 yards) will get more carries from the backfield this week.

“We’ve taught him a couple more plays,” said Glesing of Marcum. “When you switch positions in the middle of the year it’s always tough to learn.”

A win Friday would get the program another week of practice and growth. And it would provide a second straight winnable game, which could earn the program an additional week of much-needed practice.

“Turnovers are a big deal and not giving up the big play defensively,” said Glesing of Friday night’s keys. “I think we were able to do that the first time around.”

For two teams clamoring for a second win, a fast start Friday would be a big positive.

“We haven’t scored a point since August,” said Glesing. “And both teams need confidence. I think both teams understand what we are dealing with. Confidence is key.”

In other Sectional 21 games Friday, Muncie Central (1-8) is at Connersville (1-8); Pendleton Heights (5-4) travels to Mt. Vernon (8-1); and Greenfield-Central (6-3) is at New Castle (2-7).

With a win over Richmond, Shelbyville will travel to Muncie Central or Connersville for a Sectional 21 semifinal game.

Elizabeth Kemper put together the best final round of the tournament to help Taylor University’s women’s golf team to the Heritage Hill Fall Collegiate title Tuesday in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Kemper, a Triton Central graduate, hit 12 of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens en route to a 1-under-par round of 71 Tuesday. She played the final seven holes in 4-under-par, including scoring birdies on the final three holes.

Paired with a 78 on Monday at Heritage Hill Golf Club, Kemper finished the two-day event in third place.

Taylor shot 298 on day two of the event to put together a two-day score of 602 to defeat runner-up Cumberlands (Ky.) by 16 shots.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

 Jill Anspaugh

The Shelbyville graduate finished 57^th in a field of more than 250 runners Friday for Franklin College in the JennaStrong Fall Classic hosted by Wilmington College (Ohio).

Anspaugh completed the course in 21 minutes, four seconds.

Franklin College finished 12^th in the field of 24 teams.

Kenneth Gipson

The Triton Central graduate was part of an offensive line that helped Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology rack up 210 passing yards, 212 rushing yards and a school record 48 points in the first quarter Saturday in a 62-7 rout of Anderson University.

Rose-Hulman scored seven touchdowns in the game’s opening 11 minutes to improve to 4-2 this season and 3-0 against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foes.

Bailey Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had a combined 30 assists, two kills and nine digs for Eastern Illinois volleyball in a pair of losses at Belmont.

The Panthers lost a tightly-contested five-set match Friday, 18-25, 20-25, 26-24, 27-25, 15-13. On Saturday, Belmont was victorious 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 25-22.

Eastern Illinois is 7-12 this season and 0-9 vs. Ohio Valley Conference opponents.

Maggie Schweitzer

The Triton Central graduate had one assist, one ace and six digs Saturday in Hanover’s 25-18, 25-12, 25-22 win at Bluffton.

On Oct. 13, Hanover lost to Mount St. Joseph, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-21. Schweitzer finished with eight digs.

Hanover is 12-8 this season and 4-1 against HCAC opponents.

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had one assist and one dig Saturday in Jacksonville State’s 25-20, 25-16, 25-22 win over Central Arkansas.

On Friday, Jacksonville State swept Lipscomb, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21. Schiffli had five digs.

With the pair of wins, Jacksonville State improved to 17-4 overall and 7-1 in the Atlantic Sun West Division.

Maddy Beaver

The Triton Central graduate had three kills, one block assist and one dig Saturday for Goshen College in a 25-16, 25-13, 25-16 loss to Mt. Vernon Nazarene University.

On Friday, No. 18-ranked Taylor swept Goshen, 25-12, 25-15, 25-14. Beaver had one kill and two block assists.

On Oct. 13, Spring Arbor University defeated Goshen, 25-18, 25-16, 22-25, 25-20. Beaver had one kill and three block assists.

Goshen is 3-27 this season.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) met Tuesday and approved a request for dates for the 2022 racing season at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, Indiana.

The 127-day racing season will begin April 19 and end Nov. 23. The schedule marks the most racing dates in one season for Indiana Grand Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing.

“We are constantly looking at the landscape of racing to determine what works best for our horsemen and our racing product,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “We feel we have become a national presence during the early part of the week, so we want to keep that intact, but we also want to provide weekend opportunities for our on-track racing guests. We think our 2022 racing dates will accommodate both our simulcasting patrons and horsemen as well as our on-track racing fans with a few more weekend racing opportunities next season.”

The bulk of the racing season will be contested Monday through Thursday. First post Monday through Wednesday will be 2:30 p.m. while racing on Thursdays will begin at 3:30 p.m.

Of the 127 days, seven will be Saturday cards dedicated to Quarter Horse racing with a start time of 10 a.m. Included in the Quarter Horse days will be the AQHA Bank of America Challenge Championships set for Oct. 22 with a first post of 6 p.m.

Indiana Grand will offer five Saturdays of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Live racing will be conducted May 7 during Kentucky Derby Day with a post time yet to be determined. Three summer dates are included with racing set for June 11, July 9 and August 6. Post times for each of these cards will be 5 p.m.

The final weekend racing program is set for Oct. 29 featuring Indiana Champions Day with nine stakes included on the card for both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The event will begin at noon.

Finally, special holiday racing programs will be held May 30 and July 4 beginning at noon. Also, Thursday racing in November will move to 2:30 p.m. due to shorter daytime hours in Indiana.

The 19^th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing is now in progress and continues through Nov. 11. Live racing is conducted at 2:25 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 11. First post all other Thursdays leading up to the end of the meet is 3:25 p.m.

A special Indiana Champions Day highlighting the state’s top Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses will be held Oct. 30, beginning at noon.

The decision to become Southwestern High School’s new girls varsity basketball coach was not an easy one for Jason West.

The former Shelbyville girls basketball coach planned to return to the sidelines this season as Southwestern’s junior varsity coach. It allowed him to contribute to the sport he loves yet still have plenty of quality time with his wife, Maressa – a third grade teacher at Hendricks Elementary in Shelbyville, and two children, Addison, age 6, and Jaxon, 4.

That plan changed last week when Garrett Krieg, who led Southwestern to an 18-8 record and a regional championship game appearance in his first season, resigned to become the boys varsity basketball coach at South Adams High School.

“He had to do what was best for his family,” said West. Krieg is originally from northeastern Indiana. “He had familiarity with South Adams and you just don’t expect things to open up when they do.”

Krieg’s sudden departure left Southwestern in a tough spot. The first official day of practice for the IHSAA girls basketball season was Monday.

Athletic director Brady Days immediately went searching for a new coach. It turns out all he had to do was walk down to the Math classrooms.

Days confirmed Monday that West would become Southwestern’s next coach – as soon as he returns from his family’s Alabama vacation.

Jason West, back row holding his son, Jaxon, spent four seasons at Shelbyville as girls varsity basketball coach. His father, Hank West (back row, far right), was part of the coaching staff. Jason West's daughter, Addison, sits high on a player's shoulders (far left) in this 2018 photo.

West spent four seasons as Shelbyville’s girls basketball coach from 2016-2019. After a 12-11 first season, the program struggled the next three, winning just 10 games.

West stepped aside after the season and landed at Southwestern as a Math teacher, a position he did not want to jeopardize with a return to coaching.

“I enjoy Southwestern. I enjoy the administration, the community and the people there,” said West via phone interview Tuesday morning. “I know the kids at Southwestern. I have the kids in class. There were no drawbacks to this scenario.”

West said he won’t commit long-term to coaching at Southwestern because his family life is important to him. But the program needed someone to step up, and he was willing to make that commitment for this season. Where it goes from there will be up to his family and Southwestern’s administration.

“I am really happy in the classroom where I’m at,” he said. “I enjoy the small school community. I love the administration and working for (superintendent) Curt (Chase) and (principal) John Tindall.”

Brett Andrews is running practices this week in West’s absence. When Krieg asked West to be the junior varsity coach, West requested being able to keep his family’s traditional fall break vacation on the schedule.

Andrews, a former head coach at Indianapolis Lutheran, was slated to be the girls varsity assistant coach this season. Whether he takes the junior varsity slot that is now open or remains varsity assistant will be up to him, according to West.

“It will be whatever role he wants and what he wants to do,” said West. “He has a really good relationship with the girls.”

Southwestern will look to replace the many contributions that came from seniors Abby Muck (12 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg, 3 spg), Lexi Wilkins (11 ppg, 59 made 3-pointers), Maggie Correll (8 ppg, 4 rpg) and Trinity Tatlock (12 ppg, 6 rpg).

Lily Kerber (top photo, 5.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.4 apg) is the leading returning scorer. West will have to get more production from Alison Muck (2.7 ppg, 2 rpg), Kennedy Pile (2.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg), McKinnley Correll (2.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Lilly Rooks (2.3 ppg) to repeat as sectional champions.

“This week is about getting conditioning in and getting shots up,” noted West as cross country and volleyball seasons just concluded. “On Monday, we will get after it.”

Southwestern is scheduled to open the season Nov. 2 at Tri. The Spartans are at Shelbyville on Nov. 19.

With straight-set wins over Hauser and Morristown, Waldron’s volleyball program celebrated its first-ever sectional championship.

Waldron defeated Hauser, 25-15, 25-20, 27-25, in the semifinal round Saturday at Edinburgh High School.

Morristown matched the Mohawks with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-17 victory over Greenwood Christian Academy in the second semifinal to set up a sectional championship match between sister schools in the Shelby Eastern Schools system.

In the third meeting between the two teams this year, Morristown once again struggled with a veteran Waldron squad that improved to 22-10 this season with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-20 win.

Morristown closed out the year at 15-17.

Waldron’s first regional appearance will come on familiar grounds. The Mohawks travel to Morristown Saturday to face Bloomfield (18-11) in the first semifinal match at 10 a.m.

In the other semifinal, Indiana School for the Deaf (21-7) takes on Indianapolis Lutheran (7-24).

The championship match is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Bloomfield, Lutheran and Indiana Deaf all return to Morristown from the 2020 regional won by Hauser.

Bloomfield has won four straight sectionals and 18 overall.

Lutheran collected its fifth straight sectional championship.

Indiana Deaf has won five sectional titles and collected back-to-back titles for the second time in program history.

Triton Central volleyball coach Ray Basile knew his young squad would face many difficulties throughout the season. The goal was to learn to play the game at a high speed.

To capture the program’s third sectional title in the last four seasons, the Tigers would have to put on a stellar performance – and they did and still fell just short Saturday night at Scecina High School.

After securing an easy 25-8, 25-3, 25-12 win over Irvington Prep in the semifinal round, the Tigers stepped up for a rematch against Covenant Christian – a team that swept them 25-21, 25-6 on Aug. 21 at the Covenant Christian Invitational.

Triton Central got out to a fast start Saturday night winning set one and set three but the Warriors responded taking the last two sets for a hard-fought 20-25, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, 15-10 victory.

With the win, Covenant Christian advanced into the Cascade Regional to take on Union County. The other regional semifinal pits South Putnam and Western Boone.

Triton Central will feel the loss of senior defensive specialist Julia Sanders, who finished with a team-high 36 digs in the championship match.

The remainder of the Tigers’ stat sheet was dominated by juniors and sophomores.

Maddy Brown, a junior, had a team-high 19 kills. Sophomore Brooklyn Bailey had 18 while juniors Hallie Schweitzer and Kaitlin Bramlett each had 10.

Schweitzer backed Sanders with 30 digs.

And sophomore setter Kate Isley recorded 56 assists in the five-set match.

Against Irvington Prep, Brown finished with a team-high 10 kills. Bramlett had eight.

Schweitzer collected seven serving aces.

Isley had 15 assists while senior setter Maia Harris collected 11 assists.

Covenant Christian defeated Scecina in the other semifinal match, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20. Abbey McCoy led Scecina (18-13) with 11 kills.

Shelbyville senior Stefanie Howard earned at least one more cross country run – and it will come on her home course.

Howard finished 20^th Saturday in the Franklin Regional in a time of 21 minutes, 39 seconds to qualify for the Shelbyville Semistate.

The top five finishing teams at Franklin and the top 10 individuals not on an advancing team earned semistate berths.

Batesville won the girls regional team title by one point over Franklin, 58-59. East Central (89), Center Grove (103) and Whiteland (111) also advanced.

Howard will compete Saturday morning at Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville with a berth in the State Finals at stake.

Shelbyville junior Kaila Brattain (22:51) (photo) and sophomore Hannah Wright (23:42) also ran at the Franklin Regional.

Center Grove captured the boys team title at Franklin with 51 points. Whiteland (75), Batesville (79), Mooresville (80) and Indian Creek (100) also advanced to the Shelbyville Semistate.

Shelbyville had two regional qualifiers running at Franklin.

Senior Michael Fox completed the course in 19:18 while junior Elijah Von Werder finished in 19:49.

Columbus North Regional

Five Southwestern runners competed Saturday in Columbus.

Columbus North dominated the boys race and won the regional title with 15 points. Austin (61), Jennings County (90), Brown County (119) and Seymour (127) also advanced.

For Southwestern, junior Dane Kissell ran the course in 19:22. Sophomore Koty Claiborne was close behind in 19:38.

Columbus North also won the girls team title with 15 points. Seymour (89), Columbus East (132), Austin (136) and Jennings County (138) also qualified for semistate competition.

Southwestern junior Lilly Rooks finished the course in 22:11. Seniors Gracie Schlabach (22:51) and Jenna Drake (26:17) completed the careers with solid performances.

Triton Central senior Alex Crouse’s high school tennis career ended Saturday at the Fishers Regional.

Crouse was defeated by Franklin County’s Jack Stirn, 6-0, 6-0, Saturday in one regional tennis semifinal match at Fishers.

In the other semifinal, Southmont’s Adam Cox defeated Rossville’s Evan Lawson, 6-0, 6-2.

In the regional championship match, Stirn remained unbeaten this season with a three-set win over Cox.

Class A, No. 18 Cascade earned its first boys soccer regional championship Saturday over No. 14 Southwestern – denying the Spartans their first regional title.

Tied 1-1 after regulation and two seven-minute overtime periods, the Cadets (13-5-1) and Spartans (11-5-2) went to a round of five penalty kicks.

The drama built with each attempt as Cascade and Southwestern converted on their first four attempts.

Cascade connected on the fifth penalty kick to put added pressure on Southwestern – a successful conversion meant another round of five penalty kicks would follow while a miss meant an end to the postseason.

Southwestern missed and Cascade prevailed 5-4.

The Cadets scored first Saturday in the regional championship match at Knightstown High School. With 22 minutes left in the first half, the game’s first goal came off a corner kick.

Southwestern trailed 1-0 at halftime and midway through the second half before being awarded a penalty kick. Senior Aiden Hartsell converted to tie the game once again.

The goal was Hartsell’s 46^th of the season and 110^th of his career – both program records. Hartsell also holds the records for assists in a season and a career as well as goals in a game.

With the victory, Cascade advances to the Evansville North Semistate to face No. 3 Providence – the defending state champions. Providence defeated No. 8 Forest Park, 5-2, in the other southern Indiana regional championship match Saturday.

In the north half of the Class A bracket, No. 1 Park Tudor defeated No. 15 Carroll (Flora), 3-1, while No. 16 Westview eliminated No. 9 Illiana Christian in penalty kicks.

Park Tudor and Westview will face off Saturday in the Kokomo Semistate.

Triton Central senior Alex Crouse will compete in the IHSAA State Tennis Singles Regional Tournament Saturday at Fishers High School.

Crouse, 14-8 at No. 1 singles for Triton Central this season, will face Franklin County’s Jack Stirn (18-0) at 10 a.m. in a regional semifinal match.

The other regional semifinal match at Fishers features Rossville’s Evan Lawson against Southmont’s Adam Cox (18-1).

The regional championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Waldron and Morristown advanced through their opening volleyball sectional matches while Shelbyville and Southwestern were eliminated.

On Thursday at the Edinburgh Sectional, Waldron collected win No. 20 of the season with a 25-12, 25-20, 25-16 victory over the host Lancers (9-21).

Waldron improved to 20-10 this season and will face Hauser (17-14) in the first semifinal match Saturday at 11 a.m. The Jets defeated the Mohawks, 20-25, 25-11, 25-19, 25-14 on Sept. 17.

In the other quarterfinal match Thursday at Edinburgh, Morristown defeated Southwestern, 25-14, 25-9, 25-20. The Yellow Jackets pushed their record to 14-16 this season.

Southwestern closed out its season with a 9-19 record.

Morristown returns to Edinburgh Saturday to face Greenwood Christian Academy (14-14) in the second semifinal match. The Yellow Jackets defeated Greenwood Christian, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 25-10 on Oct. 7.

At Shelbyville Thursday, Greenwood and Franklin advanced through the quarterfinal round with sweeps of Whiteland and Shelbyville, respectively.

Greenwood defeated Whiteland, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18 to improve to 18-12 this season. The Woodmen will face Franklin Central (11-19) Saturday in the semifinals.

Franklin topped Shelbyville for the second time this season, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15. The Golden Bears closed out the season with a 16-14 record.

Franklin (12-17) returns to Garrett Gymnasium Saturday to face Center Grove (20-9) in the other semifinal match.

Triton Central travels to Scecina Saturday for the semifinal round of the four-team sectional.

Covenant Christian (22-6) takes on Scecina (18-12) in one semifinal while Triton Central (14-10) faces Irvington Prep in the other semifinal.

Triton Central is 0-2 against Covenant Christian and Scecina this season.

Southwestern’s goal all season has been a return to the Class A boys soccer regional championship game to finish it right.

After losing in the final seconds of the 2020 championship game to Lutheran, the Class A, No. 14-ranked Spartans will get another chance to create program history.

On Thursday, Southwestern def. No. 17 Providence Cristo Rey, 2-1 to secure a berth in Saturday’s regional championship against Cascade. Southwestern has never won a regional title in boys soccer.

Jordan Jones got the Spartans (11-4-2) started quickly Thursday in a game played at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard High School. Off an assist from Conner Jewell, Jones scored less than three minutes into the match.

Just over 10 minutes later, the Wolves (12-2) answered when Luis Rodriguez scored off a Demian Rojas assist to tie the match.

With eight minutes left in the first half, Aiden Hartsell delivered what turned out to be the game winner with a long-distance strike set up by Conner Gooch. The goal was Hartsell’s program-record 45^th of the season.

Both teams were held scoreless in the second half. Southwestern goalkeeper Eli Fix finished with seven saves.

Southwestern returns to Knightstown Saturday for a 2 p.m. game with 18^th-ranked Cascade (12-5-1). The Cadets defeated Centerville Thursday in penalty kicks after a scoreless two halves and overtime.

Cascade is low-scoring with just 32 goals this season – 13 less than Hartsell. Sophomore Ethan Edwards leads the Cadets with 14 goals this season; two more players have five goals apiece.

The Cadets and Spartans had one common opponent this season – Lutheran. Cascade defeated the Saints, 2-1 on Aug. 28. Southwestern played Lutheran to a scoreless tie on Sept. 16.

The regional champion advances to the Oct. 23 semistate game at either Evansville North or Seymour.

Third-ranked Providence (13-3-3), a 3-0 winner over Southwestern (Hanover) Thursday, and 8^th-ranked Forest Park (14-4-2), a 4-2 winner over 5^th-ranked South Knox, meet in the other southern Indiana regional championship game at Providence.

Providence and Forest Park played to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 21.

The DNR and the Hoosier Mountain Bike Association (HMBA) held a celebratory ribbon cutting on Oct. 8 to mark the opening of Limekiln East, a newly completed 1.6-mile beginner-level mountain bike trail in Brown County State Park.

Funding for the project included a Next Level Trails (NLT) grant to HMBA, which provided the required match.

Limekiln East is the second of three mountain bike trails to be completed in the state park as part of a $200,000 NLT grant to HMBA to develop 7.5 miles of new mountain bike trail. The first, Weed Patch Trail, a 2.4-mile intermediate-level trail, opened in November 2019. The three new NLT-funded trails will connect with existing trails as well as other park amenities, including the campground, park office, nature center, and Hesitation Point. Once completed, the three new trails will bring the total mileage of mountain bike trails within the state park to 43.5.

Limekiln East becomes part of the park’s Limekiln network.

The park’s existing Limekiln West Trail connects the campground to the Hoosier’s Nest, fire tower and park office. Before the Limekiln East Trail opened, beginner mountain bike riders (and hikers and runners) used Limekiln West as an out-and-back. The addition of Limekiln East transforms the former out-and-back into a 3.7-mile beginner directional loop for the park’s daytime visitors. Limekiln East not only adds miles for both new and experienced riders, it also reduces congestion on the popular trail.

“Brown County State Park is premier destination for mountain biking in the Midwest and the new Limekiln East Trail only cements that reputation,” said DNR Director Dan Bortner. “Thanks to Next Level Trails and HMBA, trail users of all abilities will have an additional opportunity to experience the park.”

As part of Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s Next Level Connections initiative, NLT funds the development of regionally and locally significant trails throughout Indiana. The Brown County State Park NLT project was awarded in May 2019 as part of the first round of NLT funding, which included $24.9 million for 17 trail projects. Gov. Holcomb announced the second round of awards this March, bringing the total of NLT funds awarded thus far to $54.3 million for 35 projects that will develop more than 112 miles of trail.

Gov. Holcomb announced an additional $60 million of funding for NLT in April, bringing the total for the trail grant program to $150 million. Applications for Round 3 of NLT, in which $35 million will be available to local units of government and non-profits, will be accepted through DNR from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1.  

Mountain bike trails in Brown County State Park are multi-use and are open to hiking and trail running as well as bicycling. Riders should obtain a $5 daily or $20 annual off-road cycling pass before using park mountain bike trails. Passes can be purchased at gates, the park office or at ShopINStateParks.com.

More information about NLT is at on.IN.gov/NextLevelTrails.

Triton Central football coach Tim Able believes there is plenty at stake for his Tigers Friday night in the regular season finale at Class 2A, No. 11 Speedway.

With a victory, Triton Central can potentially finish in a three-way tie for third place in the Indiana Crossroads Conference. The higher the finish in a conference with four state-ranked teams, the more postseason honors Triton Central players can receive.

A win over a state-ranked opponent like the Sparkplugs also would give the Tigers two road victories in a row ahead of the Sectional 39 tournament.

That momentum would propel Triton Central into the postseason for a quarterfinal round matchup with Eastern (Pekin) – the only winless team in Sectional 39.

“It would be nice to have a couple of notches on our belts against good teams,” said Able. “We’re not thinking about next week. We need to finish the conference (schedule) strong and more wins gets us more kids on the all-conference team.”

At 5-3 following a 28-13 win at Beech Grove, Triton Central can finish in a three-way tie for third with Speedway (6-2, 4-2 ICC) and 2A No. 11 Scecina (5-3, 4-2 ICC), who faces 2A No. 12 Monrovia (6-2, 5-1 ICC) Friday.

The Tigers are getting healthy at the right time and seeking a strong four-quarter performance to finish out the regular season against a resurgent Sparkplugs program that has never beaten Triton Central in a ICC game.

Speedway is 0-9 over the last nine seasons against Triton Central, who shut out the Sparkplugs in the last two meetings. Able labeled Speedway a “young” team in 2020 which has matured under first-year head coach Shane Clampitt.

Sophomore quarterback Carter Watson has completed 53% of his pass attempts this season for 1,336 yards and 19 touchdowns.

The running game features junior Deejay McFerson (108 carries, 639 yards, 9 TDs).

Watson’s top targets are seniors Reis Walker (27 receptions, 441 yards, 6 TDs) and Jackson Golden (18 receptions, 270 yards, 5 TDs) and McFerson (21 receptions, 231 yards, 3 TDs).

“I really like (Watson). He throws a nice ball,” said Able. “And their running backs are very solid.

“I am more impressed with their line of scrimmage on both sides. They are strong and quick. They present a lot of challenges for us.”

Triton Central counters with sophomore quarterback Jace Stuckey (54% completion rate, 796 yards, 7 TDs).

Four Tigers have combined for 64 receptions this season led by senior Devon Emberton (22 receptions, 273 yards, 3 TDs). Junior Brad Schultz and sophomores Ray Crawford and Anthony Dunville each have 14 receptions and have combined to catch five touchdowns.

Crawford leads the team in rushing at 869 yards on 124 carries.

“We are starting to peak a little bit here at the right time,” said Able. “We should be ready to roll Friday.”

Class A, No. 1 Lutheran (8-0, 7-0) is the ICC champion. The Saints host Traders Point Christian (4-4) Friday.

Beech Grove (3-5, 2-5 ICC) is at Franklin County (5-3). And Ritter (0-8, 0-6 ICC) is at Cascade (2-6, 0-6 ICC).

The Sectional 39 draw potentially sets up two more weeks of road games for Triton Central.

The Tigers open the sectional on Oct. 22 at Eastern (Pekin) (0-5). The Musketeers have won one game in the last three seasons and are on a 15-game losing streak.

The other quarterfinal game in the bottom half of the eight-team bracket has Mitchell (3-4) at Clarksville (1-7).

If Triton Central and Mitchell win, the Tigers would have a fourth-straight road game at Mitchell, located south of Bedford. If Clarksville wins, Triton Central would host the semifinal game.

In the top half of the bracket, Providence (4-4) starts at Switzerland County (2-5) while Union County (4-3) travels to Paoli (5-1).

The Shelbyville High School football program was due for a break.

That break came Sunday when the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced the sectional pairings for the state tournament.

If the Class 4A, Sectional 21 field was seeded, Shelbyville, Richmond, Connersville and Muncie Central would be the bottom four seeds.

The IHSAA does a random draw for each sectional tournament across the state. That draw put those four programs in the top half of the eight-team bracket creating a modicum of hope, but not just for the Golden Bears.

“I have had people telling me all week what a good draw we got,” said first-year Shelbyville coach Brian Glesing. “My first response is guess who else thinks they got a good draw? Richmond!”

Shelbyville will open the sectional tournament on Oct. 22 at home against Richmond, the one team the Golden Bears have beaten this season (22-16 on Aug. 27).

In fact, Shelbyville (1-4), Richmond (1-7), Connersville (1-7) and Muncie Central (1-7) each have just one win in the first eight weeks of the season. Connersville and Muncie Central will meet in the other quarterfinal game in the top half of the bracket.

Those two winners will meet on Oct. 29 in the sectional semifinal round.

Before all that, Shelbyville must close out the regular season Friday at Pendleton Heights (4-4, 2-4 Hoosier Heritage Conference).

The Arabians are led by senior quarterback Luke Candiano, who has completed 45% of his pass attempts for 831 yards and seven touchdowns.

Senior Ethan Ross (66 carries, 402 yards) and sophomore James Malone (65 carries, 386 yards) are the team’s leading rushers this season. Candiano (83 carries, 277 yards, 4 TDs) is third.

Senior Marvin Jones Jr. (19 receptions, 134 yards) and sophomore Reese Reddington (14 receptions, 150 yards) are Candiano’s top targets.

“We have our work cut out for us,” said Glesing. “It’s a different kind of Pendleton Heights team … relying on the running game.”

Since its three-week hiatus due to COVID-19 and contact tracing protocols, Shelbyville’s offense has been stifled. The Golden Bears have not scored in 10 straight quarters in losses to Yorktown (35-0), New Palestine (52-0) and Mt. Vernon (49-0) – three of the top four teams in the HHC standings.

“We have to get our rhythm going,” said Glesing. “We haven’t been able to get much rhythm going, get first downs and control the ball. If we don’t do that (Friday), we will see a running clock again.”

The Mt. Vernon game last Friday ended at halftime when the McKeand Stadium lights went dark. Glesing confirmed there was an electrical short that took time to find and repair. The lights were on Tuesday night at McKeand Stadium when both Shelbyville Middle School football teams ended their seasons with winning records.

Pendleton Heights started the season 3-0 but have lost four of five against the top half of the HHC standings and have scored 10 points or less in three of the last four games.

Around the HHC Friday, Class 4A, No. 5 Mt. Vernon (7-1, 6-0 HHC) can clinch the outright conference championship with a win over Yorktown (5-3, 3-3 HHC).

New Palestine (5-3, 5-1 HHC) will finish no worse than second in the standings. The Dragons are at Delta (4-4, 1-4 HHC).

With a win at New Castle (2-6, 1-4 HHC), Class 4A, No. 11 Greenfield-Central (5-3, 3-2 HHC) will secure a third-place finish in the conference.

The bottom half of the Sectional 21 bracket has Pendleton Heights at Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central at New Castle.

With a win in their sectional opener, the Golden Bears will travel to Muncie Central or Connersville for the semifinals.

Tuckyourtaleandrun did just that Wednesday to score the win in the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Fillies Stakes at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Guided by Sammy Bermudez, the filly earned her first stakes win in the event, which was coupled with the ITOBA Stallion Season Stakes for colts and geldings during ITOBA Day at Indiana Grand.

Starting from the outside post eight, Bermudez was able to rally Tuckyourtaleandrun out for good early positioning in the one-mile event. The duo sat third as Amazing Gal and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. set the tempo. Bermudez began to call upon Tuckyourtaleandrun in the turn and was able to move into the lead at the head of the lane.

The sophomore daughter of Run Away and Hide led the way in the lane and was gutsy to the wire for the win by one and one-quarter lengths. Quick and Easy and Rodney Prescott finished second over Starlet Express and Miguel Mena for third.

Tuckyourtaleandrun (photo) is owned by Penny Lauer and was bred by the Lauers at their Finchville, Kentucky farm. It was her second straight win and her first for Bermudez, who was making his debut aboard the filly.

“I have never been on her in a race, but I’ve been on her in the morning,” said Bermudez. “The outside post was perfect for her today. She stood there and waited patiently until the race started.”

Tuckyourtaleandrun now has three wins in eight tries in 2021. She pushed her career bankroll to more than $150,000 with the win. Mike Lauer, Indiana Grand’s all-time leading stakes winning trainer, conditions the filly.

Luck has turned around for Hard Luck Justice this season.

After winning only one race in limited starts as a two-year-old, Hard Luck Justice scored his fourth win of the season Wednesday in the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Season Stakes at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Hard Luck Justice (photo) was the heavy favorite for good reason. The three-year-old Harry’s Holiday gelding had two previous stakes wins this season and was ready for action from post five. Ridden by Sammy Bermudez, Hard Luck Justice got away in mid pack and waited patiently as Sudden Shift and Eddie Perez set the pace on the front.

Heading into the final turn of the one-mile event, Bermudez timed his move just right, taking over on the front end for the stretch drive.

Hard Luck Justice was well under wraps for Bermudez down the stretch. Bermudez looked behind him a couple of times to ensure their lead would hold up and it did. Bermudez never asked Hard Luck Justice for more speed in the late stages of the race, winning by three and one-half lengths.

Rockin All Night and Tommy Pompell closed well for second over Sudden Shift.

Owned by Joselyn Salazar, Hard Luck Justice is now four for seven in 2021. He increased his bankroll to nearly $300,000 for trainer Lonnie Hinds, who has had the horse from the beginning. Bermudez has been aboard for all four of his wins in 2021.

“He’s just a push button horse,” said Bermudez, who also won the ITOBA Stallion Season Fillies Stakes Wednesday at Indiana Grand. “He’s an easy horse to ride. When he sees the red and white pole, he knows it’s time to take off.”

Bermudez has now scored eight stakes wins on the season to add to an impressive year so far. The Puerto Rican-born jockey is currently in third place in the standings with 71 wins and more than $2 million in purses. When asked about his exceptional year on the track, the humble Bermudez said, “There are no words how happy I am. I am very blessed.”

Oliver Gearlds, a Triton Central junior, has been playing golf in the US Kids Golf Tournament.

The U.S. Kids Golf Local Tours are created to provide boys and girls, ages 5 to 18, the opportunity to advance their skills in the game in age-appropriate competition without having to take the time and incur the costs of having to travel long distances. A Local Tour consists of between six and eight one-day tournaments including a season-ending one-day Local Tour Championship. Players earn awards and points for each tournament. 

On Sunday Gearlds was at the Eagle Creek Golf Course for the Boys 15-18 age group Fall Tournament Series Championship match.  He placed first for the day.

Gearlds was also awarded the Indianapolis Fall Local Tour Champion trophy for his performance during the tournament which consisted of eight golf matches at various golf courses in the area. 

Some background info:

Southwestern soccer has been on a mission all season.

The Spartans came within mere seconds of going to overtime in the 2020 regional championship match at Knightstown. Lutheran scored inside 20 seconds left in regulation for a stunning 3-2 victory that left the Spartans reeling.

Thursday night, Class A, No. 14 Southwestern (10-4-2) will take on No. 17 Providence Cristo Rey (12-1) in one regional semifinal game with a return trip to Knightstown for the regional championship match at stake.

“We’ve talked about this all year,” said Southwestern head coach Taylor Meredith. “We didn’t want to overlook the sectional but we wanted to get back to the regional and win the regional because we hated how it ended last year.”

Lutheran, ranked No. 13 in the final state coaches poll, was on the Spartans’ radar all season. The Saints and Spartans even played to a 0-0 draw on Sept. 16. But Providence Cristo Rey captured its first ever sectional title with penalty-kick wins over Lutheran and Covenant Christian.

“The guys were definitely surprised,” said Meredith. “They followed that Lutheran game fairly closely.”

That does not mean Providence Cristo Rey is an unknown entity to Meredith. The Wolves’ lone loss this season came at Tech, 4-0 on Sept. 22. The Titans finished their season 17-3-2. And Providence Cristo Rey has wins this season over Mid-Hoosier Conference foes Hauser (6-2) and Morristown (4-2) as well as Crispus Attucks (3-2), who handed Southwestern its first loss of the season on Sept. 2.

“I’ve seen a little bit of film,” said Meredith. “They have a really good goal scorer in Bryan Jara. He is good up front. Kevin Cervantes is really good in the midfield. They are solid all the way around.”

Jara has scored 22 of the Wolves’ 48 goals this season. He also has four assists. Cervantes follows with eight goals and seven assists. Luis Rodriguez has seven goals and three assists.

Southwestern counters with Aiden Hartsell, who has scored a program-record 44 goals this season. The senior is the career leader in goals in a season and career, assists in a season and career, and goals scored in a game.

“Everyone knows going in who the goal scorers are,” laughed Meredith. “It will be who steps up and scores.”

Southwestern will have veteran goalkeeper Eli Fix leading the defensive game plan.

“Fix has been phenomenal,” said Meredith of his junior goalkeeper who posted 4-0 and 2-0 wins in the sectional semifinal and championship games, respectively. “That was huge. He has really stepped up this year.”

Meredith will rely on juniors Conner Jewell and Gavin Shaw to keep the front of the net clean for Fix.

“We depend on those guys a lot,” said Meredith.

Providence Cristo Rey will likely have freshman Aaron Najera in goal. He has a 1.2 goals against average this season.

Providence Cristo Rey is the host for the regional semifinal but does not have a dedicated soccer facility on its campus. Thursday’s semifinal will be played at Bishop Chatard High School, 5885 N. Crittenden Ave., in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. Admission is $8.

The regional championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Knightstown High School. The Southwestern-Providence Cristo Rey winner will face either Centerville (7-5-3) or No. 18 Cascade (11-5-1) with a semistate berth on the line.

“We looked at Cascade all year like they could be there,” said Meredith. “They have been a pretty solid team and we thought they might be the favorite to win their sectional.”

Daniela Joseph, a Shelbyville graduate, posted 18-hole rounds of 97, 104 and 97 to finish tied for 35^th (298) at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championship.

Played Friday through Sunday, Joseph, a senior at Earlham College, was part of a Quakers squad that finished seventh in the conference tournament.

Here is a look at other Shelby County athletes competing at the collegiate level.

Maddy Beaver

The Triton Central graduate had four kills and one block assist for Goshen College in a 25-14, 25-13, 25-16 loss to Judson University Saturday to close out the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

On Friday, Goshen opened the tournament with a 25-16, 25-15, 31-29 loss to the University of Northwestern Ohio. Beaver finished with four kills, one assist, four block assists and one dig.

Also Friday, Trinity Christian College (Ill.) defeated Goshen, 28-26, 25-18, 25-22. Beaver had four kills and one dig.

Goshen faced the host Indiana Tech squad Saturday and lost, 19-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-14. Beaver had six kills and two digs.

Goshen is 3-23 this season.

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate collected two assists, one service ace and seven digs for Jacksonville State Friday in a 25-12, 25-16, 25-21 conference victory over the University of North Alabama.

Jacksonville State improved to 15-4 this season and 5-1 against Atlantic Sun Conference opponents.

Maggie Schweitzer

The Triton Central graduate helped Hanover College to a pair of HCAC victories.

On Oct. 6, Hanover defeated Earlham College, 25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 16-25, 15-13. Schweitzer had three aces and nine digs.

On Saturday, Hanover improved to 11-7 this season and 3-0 against HCAC opponents with a 25-17, 25-18, 21-25, 25-16 win at Defiance College.

Schweitzer finished with three aces and 11 digs.

Bailey Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had one kill, 20 assists and four digs Friday in Eastern Illinois’ loss to Southeast Missouri State, 25-23, 25-18, 27-25.

The two Ohio Valley Conference teams met again Saturday with the same results. Southeast Missouri State prevailed, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18. Chandler had one kill, 13 assists and 10 digs.

Eastern Illinois is 7-10 this season and 0-7 against OVC opponents.

Elizabeth Kemper

The Triton Central graduate helped Taylor University’s golf team to its third tournament victory of the season.

Taylor won the Harbor Shores Intercollegiate, played Oct. 4-5 at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Taylor posted rounds of 320 and 331 for a wire-to-wire victory at the 5,865 yard, par 72 course.

Kemper carded rounds of 82 and 91 to finish tied for 16^th place.

Tyce Taylor

The Shelbyville graduate played two minutes Friday and had one shot in the University of Indianapolis’ 5-1 men’s soccer win over William Jewell.

The Greyhounds are 8-0-1 this season and ranked No. 2 nationally.

Valiantinecandyrocks continues her dominance this season in the older Quarter Horse ranks at Indiana Grand. The five-year-old mare scored her 10^th career win Wednesday in the 25^th running of the $83,300 Hoosier Park Classic, earning her third win in a row at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Starting from post one, Valiantinecandyrocks (photo) and Juan Marquez came out of the gate strong and had the lead within steps from the gate. The duo hit a high gear early on to lead the way. About 100 yards into the 400-yard dash, Marquez tapped the Valiant Hero mare twice. She continued to lead the way under wraps at the wire by one and one-quarters lengths in 19.831 seconds.

Beach Mercedes, last year’s Hoosier Park Classic winner, finished second for jockey German Rodriguez, just a head in front of Jess a Flyin Beach and L.D. Martinez. Randy Smith trained both Valiantinecandyrocks and Beach Mercedes to complete the Hoosier Park Classic double.

It was the 10^th career win in 17 career starts for Valiantinecandyrocks, who is owned and bred by Lance and Tammy Finlinson of Greenwood, Indiana. The Indiana bred mare increased her career bankroll to more than $264,000. She is now four for five in 2021 and is out of the Finlinson’s fantastic brood mare, Jesses Candy, by Mr Jess Perry.

“It’s just amazing how this mare came on this year,” said Lance Finlinson, who has liked Valiantinecandyrocks since she was born. “It’s just a testament that you should wait. As a two-year-old, she had to get better to be terrible. Then, at three, she was a little better and was coming on at the end of her four-year-old year. She just goes out and does her job now.”

The Finlinsons own a small breeding operation in central Indiana. They have had several Indiana champions over the past four years, all stemming back to Jesses Candy. They have plans to continue the bloodlines they have worked so hard to establish.

“That’s it for her this year,” said Finlinson on her next race. “We’ll take a look at her over the winter and decide. Her value is as a mom. She’s valuable for the little ones. She’s five, so do you bring her back? That’s something we will have to take a look at this winter.”

It was the second straight win in the Hoosier Park Classic for Marquez, who won the race in 2020 aboard Beach Mercedes. Marquez is currently among the track’s top 15 jockeys this season.

Randy Smith continues to dominate the trainer standings and has already broken his record for most wins in one season. The win with Valiantinecandyrocks was his 66^th of the meet. The previous record was established by Smith with 54 wins last season.

He also broke the record for most purse earnings in one season with his win in the Hoosier Park Classic. Horses from his barn have earned in excess of $1.5 million. The previous record of $1.49 million was set by Smith in 2020.

Indiana High School basketball will have a mercy rule in place when the girls basketball season starts in November.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association’s Executive Committee recently approved the new mercy rule that will keep the clock running, with certain exceptions, when the winning team takes a 35-point lead in the second half of games.

The rule will be in effect for all levels of play and in the IHSAA State Tournament except for state championship games.

Once the running clock starts, it will run continuously except for the following situations: An official’s timeout for an injured player; a charged (team) timeout occurs; intermission between the third and fourth quarters; any time a foul is called that results in free throws; and any time officials determine it is necessary for safety reasons.

“I think it will affect girls basketball games more than boys basketball games,” said Triton Central athletic director and girls basketball coach Bryan Graham.

Graham believes there is a greater difference between top girls basketball programs and those that struggle than top boys team and weaker opponents.

“Overall, I don’t think that coaches will change how they play,” said Graham, 262-55 in 13 seasons with Triton Central.

Graham’s Tigers have been consistently ranked in the top 10 of Class 2A for several seasons. They played six games last season where the final margin of victory was more than 35 points.

“There are definitely pros and cons to it,” said Shelbyville boys basketball coach John Hartnett Jr. “For me, we don’t really play teams on our schedule that let it get out of hand like that. Last year, we were down 30 (points) to Mt. Vernon.”

Despite the large deficit, Shelbyville continued to battle against a strong conference opponent.

“It allowed us in the second half to chip away when they put guys in from the bench,” he said, “or that allows you to get your bench guys in or your program guys in.”

Hartnett Jr. is 10-22 at Shelbyville with his third season beginning in less than a month.

“I know there are some coaches that like to run that score up so this will help them not do that,” he said.

Southwestern athletic director and boys basketball coach Brady Days sees the mercy rule ending the discussion of the need for a shot clock in Indiana games.

Days also agrees with Graham and Hartnett Jr. that obtaining a 35-point lead in a game is difficult to accomplish.

“I’ve coached many years and I don’t come across that very often,” said Days, who is 144-190 in 15 seasons at Southwestern. “I feel it doesn’t have much effect on our program. And if it does affect us, I hope we are on the good side.”

Garrett Krieg put together a terrific first season as head coach of the Southwestern High School girls basketball program.

The Spartans finished 18-8 and lost to Greenwood Christian, 49-42, in the regional championship game.

Krieg (photo) will not follow up on that success, though. He has been hired as South Adams High School’s new boys basketball coach after the departure of Josh Hendrixson for Madison-Grant.

“He really thought it through and it was best for him,” said Southwestern athletic director Brady Days. “He left on good terms.”

South Adams finished 15-9 last season and returns a pair of seniors that averaged a combined 30 points per game as juniors.

South Adams is a Class 2A program in northeastern Indiana.

Krieg’s departure leaves Southwestern in a bind. The first official practice of the 2021-2022 girls basketball season is Monday.

Brett Andrews, a former head coach at Indianapolis Lutheran, served as Southwestern’s junior varsity coach last season and is still with the program.

Days, Southwestern’s athletic director and boys basketball coach, also can help run practices if needed.

“If I have to step in, I will but I am not coaching a game,” said Days while laughing. “We have to get the practices in to be eligible for the first game. We will make it work.”

Southwestern is scheduled to open the girls basketball season Nov. 2 at Tri.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association’s Executive Committee approved boys and girls basketball sectional host sites for 2022.

The biggest change for Shelby County programs comes in Class 2A, Sectional 42 where Heritage Christian returns to 2A and will host the postseason girls basketball tournament that includes Triton Central, Eastern Hancock, Scecina and Irvington Prep.

Triton Central has won four straight sectional titles and eight since 2012 but will have to go through the state’s most decorated program in Heritage Christian, which has been in 3A in recent seasons due to the IHSAA’s success factor.

The Eagles have a state record seven state titles, with their last coming in 2016 that finished off a three-year run as state champs. Heritage Christian won four straight state titles from 2006-2009.

The Eagles finished 15-8 last season under first-year coach Cassie Wiseman.

In Class 4A, Shelbyville will join Center Grove, Franklin, Greenwood and Whiteland at Franklin Central for Sectional 13.

Waldron will host Sectional 60 in Class A which also features Hauser, Jac-Cen-Del, Morristown, Oldenburg Academy, Rising Sun and Southwestern.

The regional sites for the five Shelby County schools will be Columbus North (4A), Southmont (2A) and Southwestern (A).

Semistate sites are LaPorte, Logansport, Jasper and Jeffersonville.

The state championship games will be Feb. 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, formerly known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse, in Indianapolis.

Greenwood is the host site for Class 4A, Sectional 13 in the boys tournament.

Triton Central will travel to South Ripley for Sectional 44 which also includes Milan, North Decatur and South Decatur.

Southwestern is the boys host site for Sectional 60.

The regional host sites for a Shelby County team that wins a sectional will be Seymour (4A), Greenfield-Central (2A) and Martinsville (A).

Semistate sites are Lafayette Jefferson, Elkhart, Washington and Seymour.

The state championship games will be played March 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

A total of 16 football programs remain unbeaten and top-10 ranked in the Indiana Football Coaches Association’s weekly poll.

Six of those programs are in Class 2A.

Fort Wayne Luers (8-0) remains No. 1 ahead of Eastbrook (7-0), Andrean (6-2), Linton-Stockton (8-0), Heritage Christian (8-0), Eastside (8-0), Evansville Mater Dei (6-2), Tipton (7-1), Lafayette Central Catholic (5-3) and Centerville (7-0).

Three Indiana Crossroads Conference schools sit just outside the top 10. Speedway (6-2), Triton Central’s opponent this week, is No. 11 with Scecina (5-3) and Monrovia (6-2) right behind in the poll.

Another ICC school is ranked No. 1 in Class A. Lutheran (8-0) is followed by Adams Central (7-1), Monroe Central (8-0), Winamac (6-0), South Adams (6-2), Churubusco (6-2), South Putnam (7-1), Parke Heritage (6-2), Springs Valley (6-1) and Covenant Christian (5-3).

Former ICC member Park Tudor (6-2) is ranked 12^th.

Unbeaten West Lafayette (8-0) is No. 1 in 3A. Brebeuf (6-2) is No. 2 ahead of Gibson Southern (7-1), Danville (7-1), Lawrenceburg (7-1), Brownstown Central (8-0), Norwell (7-1), Tri-West (6-2), Mishawaka Marian (5-3) and Mt. Vernon (Posey) (7-1).

Tippecanoe Valley is 8-0 and ranked 12th in 3A.

Three unbeatens are in the top four in Class 4A. Roncalli (8-0), Leo (8-0), East Central (7-1), Jasper (8-0) and Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (7-1) are the top five. Evansville Memorial (7-1) leads the second five ahead of Mooresville (6-2), Chatard (4-4), New Prairie (7-1) and East Noble (5-2).

Hoosier Heritage Conference member Greenfield-Central (5-3) is No. 11.

Cathedral (8-0) is the only unbeaten in the top 10 in Class 5A. The Irish are No. 1 with Decatur Central (7-1), Valparaiso (7-1), Fort Wayne Snider (6-1), Harrison (7-1), Bloomington South (6-1), Concord (7-1), Mishawaka (6-2), Fort Wayne Dwenger (4-4) and Zionsville (4-4) giving chase.

Center Grove sits atop the Class 6A poll at 8-0. Westfield (7-1), Carmel (7-1), Merrillville (8-0), Hamilton Southeastern (7-1), Brownsburg (6-2), Lawrence North (5-2), Carroll (Allen) (7-1), Warren Central (5-3), Ben Davis (3-5) and Chesterton (6-2) complete the top 10.

Luck has not necessarily been on the side of Shelbyville’s football program this season.

That changed Sunday when the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced the first round sectional games for the 49^th Annual IHSAA Football State Tournament.

All four teams with one win in Class 4A, Sectional 21 were paired together.

Shelbyville (1-4) will host Richmond (1-7) on Oct. 22 at McKeand Stadium in Shelbyville. The Golden Bears’ lone win this season came over Richmond, 22-16, on Aug. 27.

Shelbyville canceled its next three games due to COVID-19 protocols and has struggled since returning to the field to regain the momentum created that last August night.

The winner of Shelbyville-Richmond will face either Muncie Central (1-7) or Connersville (1-7). If the Golden Bears win, they will either play at Muncie Central or Connersville.

In the other half of the eight-team bracket, Pendleton Heights (4-4) will be at No. 5 Mt. Vernon (7-1) and Greenfield-Central (5-3) will travel to New Castle (2-6).

Mt. Vernon defeated Shelbyville last Friday, 49-0, in a game that was ended at halftime when the lights at McKeand Stadium powered down and could not be restarted.

The sectional semifinal games are Oct. 29 and sectional championship games will be played on Nov. 5.

Class 2A, Sectional 39 is a distinctly southern Indiana grouping with two exceptions – Triton Central and Union County.

Triton Central (5-3) will open the sectional tournament at Eastern (Pekin) (0-5). The winner would face either Mitchell (3-4) or Clarksville (1-7) in the semifinal round.

If Triton Central and Mitchell win, the Tigers would be at Mitchell. If Clarksville wins, Triton Central would host Clarksville at Mendenhall Field in Fairland.

The top half of the bracket features Providence (4-4) at Switzerland County (2-5) and Union County (4-3) at Paoli (5-1).

After turning in a prep at Indiana Grand in early September, Head Patron found his winning stride to lead the field of finalists into the $150,000 Governor’s Stakes Final set for Oct. 30.

The race is one of six stakes on the program, which is tagged as Indiana Champions Day. The day begins at noon with Thoroughbred stakes action followed by Quarter Horse stakes. The afternoon features stakes purses in excess of $1 million.

Head Patron (photo) was a strong favorite for a reason in the first of four trials Saturday for the Governor’s Stakes. The chestnut gelding was guided through the 350-yard dash by James Flores, who came in specifically to ride the Zoomin for Bux gelding for Jon and Brand Barley of Missouri. Trainer Randy Smith now conditions the horse for his starts in Indiana.

“I came in to ride this horse for the Barleys,” said Flores, who has a longstanding relationship with them through trainer Larry Sharp, who passed away a few years ago. “I consider it an honor to ride this horse since this horse came from the same ranch that Larry (Sharp) was with.”

Flores and Head Patron stopped the timer in 17.942 seconds to lead the way from 31 attempting to qualify for the final. It was the first time Flores has been aboard the gelding who raced at Remington and Fair Meadows before shipping to Indiana a month ago.

A Little Louie and Erik Esqueda finished second over MG Airlines and Giovani Vazquez-Gomez for third.

Head Patron now has two wins in six career starts. The freshman gelding now has more than $20,000 on his card.

The second fastest qualifier for the Governor’s Stakes trials was El Rubio Corona from the Ricardo Martinez stable. Ridden by Sergio Ramirez, the Coronado Cartel colt was making his first start at Indiana Grand after starting three times at Fair Meadows this summer, winning two. He is now three for four for Martinez, who also owns.

All Out and Berkley Packer finished second. Count Down and L.D. Martinez finished third in the trial times in 18.013.

Other trial winners for the Governor’s Stakes included Prize Kiss (L.D. Martinez) and BV Blaze of Glory (Oscar Macias).

The field for the final of the Governor’s Stakes, in order of time with jockey, includes: Head Patron (James Flores, 17.942); El Rubio Corona (Sergio Ramirez, 18.013); All Out (Berkley Packer, 18.016); Prize Kiss (L.D. Martinez, 18.117); BV Blaze of Glory (Oscar Macias, 18.171); Count Down (L.D. Martinez, 18.201); BP Ck Eagle (Cristian Esqueda, 18.242); A Little Louie (Erik Esqueda, 18.273); MC to Fancy Macho (Giovani Vazquez-Gomez, 18.283); and Stolin Home Brew (Rolando Pina, 18.289).

Tony Cunningham will saddle two for the final while Jessi Vazquez also saddle two.

Trainer Tim Eggleston began the 14-race all-Quarter Horse racing day at Indiana Grand with a win from Stormi Spirits in one of the trials of the Miss Roxie Little Futurity. His day ended with another win in the final race of the day as Jess Over Yonder topped two trails to lead the way into the QHRAI Derby Final set for Oct. 30.

Jess Over Yonder and Natasha Fritz came into their trial on a three-race win streak and exited on a four-race win streak. The duo rallied near gate to wire for the win in 20.206 seconds over the 400-yard dash. Rock the Candy Wagon and German Rodriguez finished second on the outside, closely tracked by Jess Cindy and James Flores for third.

Jess Over Yonder is owned by JF Racing Stables. The sorrel filly by Apollitical Jess was also bred by Nick Johnson, primary owner of JF Racing Stables.

The other trial was won by WRs Moonin Thewagon (photo) and Juan Marquez. The duo finished second on the final list with their time of 20.216. Gwen and Randy Williams of LaCenter, Kentucky, own the flashy grey gelding by Moonin the Eagle. He is now on a six-race win streak dating back to last August at Indiana Grand for trainer Randy Smith.

The 10 finalists moving on out of 19 entrants for the QHRAI Derby, in order of time with jockey and time, includes: Jess Over Yonder (Natasha Fritz, 20.206); WRs Moonin Thewagon (Juan Marquez, 20.216); On a New Note (James Flores, 20.273); Rock the Candy Wagon (German Rodriguez, 20.293); Cartel Creek (Berkley Packer, 20.330); Jess Cindy (James Flores, 20.388); Flyn (Rolando Pina, 20.445); Western Reserve (Cristian Esqueda, 20.523); WRs Famous Molly (Juan Marquez, 20.566); and Apollitical Tools (Rolando Pina, 20.608).

Randy Smith will be busy in the final as he has six of the 10 to prep. Tim Eggleston had two qualify for the final.

Of the six that qualified for the QHRAI Derby Final, two were ridden by James Flores, who flew in for the day to ride in six of the races. Flores always enjoys a trip to Indiana when he gets the opportunity to ride. He plans to return Oct. 30 for the finals and is already excited about the 2022 Bank of America Challenge Championships coming to Indiana Grand.

“I believe this is the perfect place for the Challenge,” said Flores, who holds a couple of track records in Indiana. “The facilities are very nice, and this part of the country needs to expand their Quarter Horse racing. As a jockey, I want to see Quarter Horse racing grow, and Indiana Grand is well deserved to host the event next year. They always do everything right. It’s a family-friendly track and the fans here are always so excited about racing. I’m looking forward to the Challenge at Indiana Grand next year.”

Four trials were held during the final all-Quarter Horse racing program Saturday at Indiana Grand.

One of the trials was set up with three trials for the Sterlie Bertram Memorial, including a total of 21 entrants. Stone Lake (photo) from the Tony Cunningham barn, was the top performer, turning in a time of 19.884 seconds to lead the field of finalists.

Starting from post six, Stone Lake had a good break and was on top to lead the way throughout the 400-yard dash. The chestnut Escondido Beach gelding was a strong winner at the wire, posting a two and one-half length advantage over the field for L.D. (Danny) Martinez.

WRs Raise the Bar and Juan Marquez finished second with Jess Scare Me and Cristian Reyes rounding out the trifecta.

Stone Lake is owned by Patti Marshall. It was only his second win in seven starts for 2021, but the gelding has been a strong performer for the Cunningham barn the past two years.

“He’s been dependable his whole career,” said Cunningham. “He always qualifies for the final and he’s always right there. We hope he comes back and throws in a solid race in the finals.”

Joining Stone Lake as a winner in the Bertram Trials was WH Imastreakinbeach, ridden by Jose Ruiz. The Escondido Beach filly was a comfortable winner by a length over Rock Candy Almighty and Juan Marquez and Beach Diva and Rolando Pina.

The final trial was scored by Mitey Persuasive, who gave jockey Dex Mitchell his first career win. The Jazz Be First gelding was in contention for the lead throughout, finishing strong for the win in 20.375, the fourth fastest of the trials.

Inseperable Blood and James Flores finished second followed by DNA Dales Lil Zoomer and German Rodriguez for third.

Trained by Shelby Weintraut, Mitey Persuasive earned his first win of 2021 for owner-breeder Ted Harpold. Following the winner’s circle photo, Mitchell was greeted by the other riders in the room with the celebratory water and powder brigade to signify his first win.

The full field for the Bertram Memorial Final, in order of times with jockey, includes: Stone Lake (L.D. Martinez, 19.884); WRs Raise the Bar (Juan Marquez, 20.289); WH Imastreakinbeach (Jose Ruiz, 20.313); Mitey Persuasive (Dex Mitchell, 20.375); Inseparable Blood (James Flores, 20.406); DNA Dales Lil Zoomer (German Rodriguez, 20.407); Gottasmoochjess (Natasha Fritz, 20.414); Jess Scare Me (Cristian Reyes, 20.417); Rock Candy Almighty (Juan Marquez, 20.439); and HF Stormi Daniels (Cristian Esqueda, 20.471).

Randy Smith will saddle four in the final. Trainer Tim Eggleston has two to prep for the final.

The Sterlie Bertram Memorial Final will join five other stakes scheduled for Indiana Champions Day on Oct. 30. The day begins at noon with Thoroughbred racing, including four stakes, followed by six Quarter Horse Stakes.

The day will feature stakes purses in excess of $1 million for both breeds.

Lexus Beach and Juan Marquez turned in the quickest time of 48 vying for a spot in the $150,000 Miss Roxie Little Futurity Saturday at Indiana Grand. The duo covered the 350-yard dash in 18.094 seconds to lead the way into the final set for Oct. 30.

Starting from post four, Lexus Beach was a threat from the beginning, maintaining the top spot throughout to score the win by one-half length. Cat Express and Giovani Vazquez-Gomez got the second spot by a nose over High Rolling Seize and Shanley Jackson at the wire.

Lexus Beach is owned by Rose Bode and trained by Randy Smith. It was one of three wins on the all-Quarter Horse Day card for Smith, and one of two for Marquez, who is currently fourth in the leading Quarter Horse standings.

Another stellar performance was turned in by Mr Michel (photo), who scored the second fastest time in the trials. The Kiss My Hocks gelding, trained by Claudio Barraza, was strong throughout to win his trial in 18.097. It was one of three wins in the Miss Roxie Little Futurity Trials for jockey Erik Esqueda, who also guided Botticelli Beach to victory as well as Stormi Spirits, who was the third fastest in the trials.

“I wasn’t expecting to have such a good day, but I’ve been working really hard for this,” said Esqueda. “It helps to ride such good horses such as these three. Mr Michel is the one I won the stakes on. I get along really well with him. He didn’t break as sharp in that race but once he got going, he ran really well. I’ll talk to the trainers and see which one to ride in the final.”

Barraza also trained Botticelli Beach, a filly he also owns. She has won three of six this season for Barraza, who purchased the Escondido Beach filly out of an online sale from Sheri Miller’s consignment last fall.

Other trial winners included Knockout Swing, who didn’t make the final, and Stormi Spirits for trainer Tim Eggleston and owner-breeder Owen Stanley Jr. It was the third win in six starts for the Jess Zoomin gelding.

“This horse is maturing,” said Eggleston. “He’s been real immature and is just now finding his groove. Erik (Esqueda) did well on him. He kept him on task because he loses focus, but the last 100 yards, he came running.”

The final field for the $150,000 Little Futurity, in order of time with jockey, includes: Lexus Beach (Juan Marquez, 18.094); Mr Michel (Erik Esqueda, 18.097); Stormi Spirits (Erik Esqueda, 18.151); Cat Express (Giovani Vazquez-Gomez, 18.200); High Rolling Seize (Shanley Jackson, 18.204); Botticelli Beach (Erik Esqueda, 18.205); FE Stone Crusher (Juan Marquez, 18.222); Tooyahbooya DHD (Rolando Pina, 18.300); Our Game Changer (German Rodriguez, 18.269); and All Star Beach (Rolando Pina, 18.300).

Trainer Randy Smith will saddle three in the final while Claudio Barraza saddles two and Tony Cunningham has two for the final.

The Rey Hernandez Stable has been selected as the Barn Crew of the Month for September at Indiana Grand. The award is presented by the Indiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) along with Texas Corral of Shelbyville, Indiana.

Although they have raced at Indiana Grand in the past, the Hernandez Stable is spending their first season stabled locally. Based out of the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Hernandez divides his time between his main barn in Kentucky with 35 horses and his string of 10 in Indiana.

Jose Hernandez oversees operations in Indiana as the assistant trainer.

“The team does a really good job,” said Hernandez, who is averaging a 49 percent win average this season. “I’m very happy with them; they are working very hard and keeping everything neat and tidy. That’s all a trainer can ask for. We are very happy to be part of Indiana Grand’s backstretch this season.”

Hernandez, who has a brief career as a jockey with 26 wins, took out his trainer’s license five years ago. He still exercises a lot of the horses under his care in addition to running the day-to-day operations as the trainer.

One of the best performers this year in Indiana has been Choctaw Bingo, who has won four of eight starts. Thanks to the efforts of the Hernandez team, including Juan Orantes and Efvin Sanchez, the filly has earned more than $60,000 this season.

The Hernandez barn received a $200 gift certificate to Texas Corral. In addition, a banner will hang on their barn to signify the great work the team has done to keep the horses and the shedrow in great shape this season.

The crew was recently recognized in the winner’s circle at Indiana Grand with a special ceremony for winning Barn Crew of the Month.

Shelbyville volleyball closed out its regular season schedule with a pair of wins and pair of losses at the Lawrence North Invitational.

The Golden Bears opened tournament play Saturday morning with a 25-21, 25-11 loss to Noblesville.

Shelbyville won the first set against Leo but dropped to next two for a 17-25, 25-10, 15-10 loss. Emily Parker led Shelbyville with seven kills, four aces and six digs. Gracie Leffler had 19 assists.

The Golden Bears got back in the win column with a 25-19, 25-21 win over East Central. Parker had eight kills, three aces and five digs. Leffler had 19 assists.

Shelbyville closed out the regular season with a 25-21, 25-19 win over Delta.

Parker had a team-high eight kills while Jaidyn Tackett and Madison Bassett each had seven kills. Emma Nolley collected 14 digs and Leffler finished with 25 assists.

Shelbyville is 16-13 this season.

Waldron swept Triton Central and Morristown Saturday to claim the program’s first Shelby County Volleyball Tournament title in 10 years.

The Mohawks first eliminated Triton Central, 25-15, 25-20 at Southwestern High School.

Madalyn Hudnall, Nichole Garner and Josee Larrison each had six kills to lead Waldron. Setter Emily Tyree collected 19 assists.

Kaitlin Bramlett led Triton Central (14-10) with nine kills. Julia Sanders had a team-high 10 digs and Kate Isley notched 18 assists.

In the other semifinal, Morristown lost the first set to the host Spartans but recovered for the victory, 23-25, 25-14, 15-10.

Lilly Stoddard led Morristown with 16 kills. Bella Thompson added 14 kills. Aubrea Trattner finished with a team-high 11 digs. Setter Raegan Kleine had 33 assists.

Southwestern dropped to 9-18 this season.

Hudnall had 10 more kills in the championship match to lead Waldron to a 25-21, 25-15 victory over the Yellow Jackets (13-16).

Hudnall was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Kaylee Young and Kenzie Shaw combined for nine more kills for Waldron (19-10).

Bogemann had 14 digs and Tyree recorded 16 assists.

Gracie Laster finished with eight kills for Morristown. Trattner had a team-high 15 digs. Kleine had 14 assists.

Five Shelbyville runners and five Southwestern runners qualified for cross country regional competition.

At the Franklin Sectional Saturday morning, Michael Fox (photo, back row left) and Elijah Von Werder (photo, back row right) scored top-40 finishes for Shelbyville to move on to the regional.

In the girls race, Shelbyville senior Stefanie Howard (photo, front row center) finished seventh overall to earn another race. She will be joined by teammates Kaila Brattain (photo, front row left) and Hannah Wright (photo, front row right) at the Franklin Regional.

Fox completed the course in 18 minutes, 53 seconds for a 33^rd-place finish. Von Werder was 36^th in 19:03.

The top five finishing teams advanced to regional races as did the top 10 individual finishers not on an advancing team.

 Also running Saturday at the sectional for Shelbyville were Beau Kenkel (19:46), Tristin Maloney (19:53), Ben Hinojosa (20:55) and Isaiah Havens (25:10).

The Golden Bears were eighth in the team standings.

Shelbyville’s girls missed advancing as a team by 31 points. The Golden Bears were sixth at 159 points. Indian Creek finished fifth with 128.

Howard completed the course in 21:10 for a top-10 finish. Brattain was 23^rd (22:50) and Wright was 36^th (23:47). Also competing for Shelbyville were Angel Kreider (25:07) and Daisy Barrett (30:52).

Waldron finished 10^th in the boys standings and did not have enough girls to set a team score.

Waldron was led by Will Larrison (19:50). Jared Crosby crossed the finish line in 20:06. Caden Shaeffer (21:55), Skylar Ferguson (22:02), Ethan Richardson (22:19) and Nathaniel Evans (24:22) followed.

Hallie Ross led the Mohawks in the girls race at 25:48. Audrey Hogg (26:43), Cheyenne Lozier (26:52) and Sophie Hudnall (27:10) rounded out the roster.

Brown County Regional

Southwestern advanced three girls and two boys to the Columbus North Regional.

Lilly Rooks (22^nd, 22:48), Gracie Schlabach (24^th, 22:57) and Jenna Drake (31^st, 24:39) advanced for Southwestern. The Spartans only had four runners Saturday with Maxine Higdon (27:38) completing the roster.

In the boys team standings, Southwestern finished eighth.

Koty Claiborne (35^th, 19:38) and Dane Kissell (39^th, 19:56) qualified for the regional.

Also running for Southwestern were Collin Cummings (20:48), Ryan Griffin (21:30) and Elias Clark (23:01).

Mt. Vernon Sectional

Morristown and Triton Central traveled to Hancock County for postseason competition and did not have anyone advance to regional competition.

Owen Sprinkle led Triton Central with a time of 20:59. Elizijuh Israel followed in 23:08. Hank Hadler finished in 23:38. Lucas Bear crossed the finish line in 24:48 and Corbin Maurice finished in 26:36.

For Morristown, Zavier Poole finished in 21:18. T.J. Butcher followed in 22:14 and Braydon Burris crossed in 26:52.

In the girls race, Morristown’s Grace McLaughlin finished in 25:19 while Triton Central’s Brooke Bear ran the course in 37:46.

With a pair of goals from Aiden Hartsell, Southwestern repeated as soccer sectional champions Saturday on its home field.

Hartsell, the program’s career scoring leader, tallied goals midway through the first half to put Class A, No. 14 Southwestern up 1-0 on Oldenburg Academy. Conner Gooch was credited with the assist.

Midway through the second half, Hartsell got the insurance goal off an assist from Garreth Stringer to close out the scoring and secure the Spartans a second-straight regional appearance.

Eli Fix had six saves in goal for Southwestern.

The Indiana High School Athletic Association regional format has the Sectional 43 winner hosting the Sectional 44 winner in the semifinal round.

On Thursday at 6 p.m., Southwestern (10-4-2) will play at No. 17 Providence Cristo Rey (12-1). The winner advances to the regional championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Knightstown High School to face either Centerville (7-5-3) or No. 18 Cascade (11-5-1).

Providence Cristo Rey captured the program’s first sectional championship with a 1-1 (3-2 penalty kicks) win over No. 13 Lutheran in the semifinals and a 0-0 (6-5 penalty kicks) win over Covenant Christian in the championship.

Centerville defeated Knightstown, 2-1, in the Sectional 42 championship game. Cascade won 2-1 over Bethesda Christian in the Sectional 41 title tilt.

The Knightstown Regional champion advances to an Oct. 23 semistate championship game played at either Evansville North or Seymour.

The other half of the Class A southern Indiana bracket includes No. 8 Forest Park at No. 5 South Knox and No. 3 Providence at Southwestern (Hanover).

Both of Shelby County’s girls soccer programs suffered the same fate Thursday in sectional semifinal games against state-ranked opponents.

At Greenfield-Central, Class 3A, No. 18 East Central shut out Shelbyville, 9-0. And Triton Central was eliminated from the postseason tournament, 9-0, by Class A, No. 1 Heritage Christian in Fairland.

East Central, now 14-2-1, scored six first-half goals Thursday to take control of the match.

Shelbyville finished the season 9-5-2.

The Trojans return to Greenfield Saturday for a 7 p.m. sectional championship game against No. 16 Mt. Vernon (11-3-1). The Marauders defeated Greenfield-Central, 5-1, in the other semifinal contest.

At Triton Central, the Eagles got five goals and three assists from a pair of freshmen to defeat the Tigers (2-12-1).

Kya Crooke scored three goals and Abby Foulk had two goals and three assists to lead top-ranked Heritage Christian (10-8) into the sectional title match Saturday at 7 p.m. against Scecina (9-5).

Scecina defeated University, 4-3, in the other sectional semifinal.

Heritage Christian also got goals from Eimy Lozan-Fuentes, Brynna Moore, Anna Peduto and Maggie Vander Wiele.

Goalkeeper Aubrey Booher was credited with three saves in the shutout victory.

In other prep events Thursday:

Volleyball

Morristown def. Greenwood Christian, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 25-10

At Morristown, the Yellow Jackets improved to 12-15 this season on Senior Night.

Greenwood Christian dropped to 10-14.

Eastern Hancock def. Waldron, 27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21

At Eastern Hancock, the host Royals pushed their record to 20-8 on Senior Night in Charlottesville.

Waldron dropped to 17-10.

For the first time in six weeks, Triton Central football coach Tim Able will have a full roster intact.

Injuries stretched the Tigers’ roster thin over the last five weeks which resulted in a 2-3 record after starting the season 2-0.

“I feel better about our overall balance,” said Able. “Our backup roles are pretty solid now.”

Triton Central (4-3, 2-3 Indiana Crossroads Conference) will spend the last two weeks of the regular season on the road starting Friday at Beech Grove (3-4, 2-4 ICC) before closing out the schedule on Oct. 15 at Class 2A, No. 10 Speedway (6-1, 4-1 ICC).

Already eliminated from winning the conference championship, Able will spend the last two weeks making sure his team is healthy and ready for the postseason.

“That’s what we’re trying to do … we just have to do it on the field,” said Able. “The kids have been excellent with their attitudes the last couple of weeks. They are learning the system inside and out. Tonight (Wednesday), the offense was fluid and sharp. You can tell everybody is back.”

Starting quarterback Jace Stuckey returns to the field after missing two weeks with an arm injury. The sophomore has completed 54% of his pass attempts for 684 yards and six touchdowns.

Ray Crawford continues to lead the team in rushing with 757 yards and six touchdowns.

Brayden Wilkins (20 carries, 114 yards) returns from injury as well giving Able a full complement of backs with Brad Schultz, Lucas Kleeman and Jaquan Blake.

Stuckey’s return also allows the Tigers to open up the offense downfield with Devon Emberton (19 receptions, 235 yards, 3 TDs), Crawford (14 receptions, 222 yards, 2 TDs), Anthony Dunville (14 receptions, 179 yards, 1 TD) and Schultz (11 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD).

Stuckey may need all his weapons to keep up with Beech Grove.

Quarterback Adonis Adams (6-foot-3, 2-5 pounds) has thrown for 1,279 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. The junior also has thrown nine interceptions.

Adams has four receivers that have combined for 55 catches, 950 yards and 10 touchdowns. Steven Edmonds (5-11, 155) leads the way with 18 receptions; Aeden Crawley (5-11, 185) has 15; Eric Freeman (5-9, 165) has 12; and Skyler Thacker (5-10, 165) has 10.

“They are very athletic offensively,” said Able. “They are an up-and-down team but they are very talented.”

While the Hornets have averaged 28 points per contest, their defense is allowing 27 ppg.

With a 36-12 win over Monrovia last week, Class A, No. 1 Lutheran (7-0, 6-0 ICC) is all alone atop the ICC standings. Speedway and Monrovia are both 4-1 vs. ICC foes.

Triton Central leads the bottom half of the eight-team conference.

On Friday, Ritter (0-7, 0-5 ICC) is at Scecina (4-3, 3-2 ICC); Monrovia (5-2) travels to Cascade (2-5, 0-5 ICC); and Speedway is at Lutheran.

Triton Central has played for a sectional championship in all eight of Able’s seasons in Fairland. The path to a ninth-straight appearance will become visible Sunday when the Indiana High School Athletic Association airs its football pairings show on IHSAAtv.org.

Able has no special plans to watch the show, citing the need to prep for a showdown at Speedway.

“I will wait until next week because we’ve got another team to play,” he said. “The following week we will worry about that. We will take care of it when it comes. We can’t control (who we draw). We will just see how it works out … but I feel good about our chances in the tournament.”

Triton Central and Paoli (4-1) are the only two teams in Sectional 39 with winning records headed into week eight of the season.

Providence (3-4), Mitchell (3-3) and Union County (3-3) each have three wins. The rest of the sectional includes Switzerland County (2-4), Clarksville (1-6) and Eastern (Pekin) (0-4).

The only intersectional result of the season so far is Providence’s 46-27 win at Clarksville on Sept. 10.

Brian Glesing knows there are too many hurdles to still be cleared before Shelbyville football can compete with the top programs in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.

The first-year coach of the Golden Bears has reestablished a strong culture within the program that helped it break a three-year losing streak earlier this season.

Then COVID-19 protocols within the school system shut the football program down for three weeks until it could field enough players for Friday night games.

Now, the third week back from the hiatus brings the stiffest challenge of the season for Shelbyville (1-3, 0-2 HHC) – one final home contest at J.M. McKeand Stadium against Class 4A, No. 5 Mt. Vernon (6-1, 4-0 HHC).

Shelbyville is coming off a 52-0 loss at New Palestine, who lost to Mt. Vernon, 49-10, on Sept. 10.

“They are so much better than us,” said Glesing of New Palestine. “They have talent, they have size, they have strength, they have everything and it was one of those nights where they could do anything they wanted.”

And how does that compare to Mt. Vernon?

“I think they are more athletic and more experienced,” said Glesing.

Shelbyville’s offense has not scored since its return to the field and the defense has allowed 87 points. Glesing continues to teach the game and saw last Friday night as a character test.

“I thought defensively we lined up right, especially for being out for three weeks,” he said. “Defensively, we lined up right in week one about 50% of the time. Last week it was 90-95% of the time and that’s a big battle when you have a new system.”

Glesing is adamant the defense needs to get better at limiting big plays.

“We cannot give up big plays, plays over 20 yards, defensively,” he said. “We have to break down and make the tackle and make them earn their touchdowns.”

In losses to Yorktown (35-0) and New Palestine (52-0), the offense has failed to control the line of scrimmage and rack up first downs.

“We have to get more first downs. (New Palestine) overwhelmed us at the point of attack,” said Glesing, who is 119-97 in 19 seasons as a head coach in Indiana.

Mt. Vernon comes to Shelbyville with a pair of rushers with nearly 1,000 yards combined and a quarterback who has thrown for nearly 1,500 yards.

Keagan LaBelle (5-foot-8, 170 pounds) has 524 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Travon Hegler (5-10, 188) has 455 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Both are seniors.

Senior quarterback Gehrig Slunaker has completed 66% of his pass attempts for 1,428 yards and 17 touchdowns. His favorite targets are senior Ashden Gentry (21 receptions, 505 yards, 7 TDs), and juniors George Burhenn (16 receptions, 271 yards, 3 TDs) and Eli Bridenthal (15 receptions, 297 yards, 3 TDs).

The Marauders control the HHC standings with at least a two-game lead over the other programs except New Palestine, who has just one HHC loss.

On Friday, Delta (4-3, 1-3 HHC) is at 4A No. 13 Greenfield-Central (4-3, 2-2 HHC), New Castle (2-5, 1-3 HHC) is at New Palestine (4-3, 4-1 HHC), and 4A No. 14 Pendleton Heights (4-3, 2-3 HHC) travels to Yorktown (4-3, 2-3 HHC).

Friday is Senior Night at McKeand Stadium. With everything the Shelbyville program has been through this fall, Glesing hopes the seniors enjoy what could be their final time playing in front of a home crowd.

“It could be that last home football game after all the sweat and blood you left on the football field,” said Glesing. “It’s definitely a big deal. It could be the last time you put on the pads on that field.”

Shelbyville will learn its postseason fate Sunday when the Indiana High School Athletic Association airs the football pairings show beginning at 5 p.m. on IHSAAtv.org.

Glesing has no special plans to watch. Although the Golden Bears are in Sectional 21 with Mt. Vernon, there are potential pairings that could allow the program to extend its season an extra week or two.

“That’s a neat thing about this tournament. If it was seeded, we would be playing Mt. Vernon and our kids would shut down,” explained Glesing. “We would be the eighth seed or the seventh seed … who knows. That’s why I don’t like seeding. It wouldn’t make for a good game. They (seed) in Kentucky and the first round scores are awful. This is the only fair way and it’s a great Indiana tradition. I might be in the minority, but I love the draw.”

If Sectional 21 was seeded, Mt. Vernon would be a clear cut No. 1 with Greenfield-Central and Pendleton Heights following. That would leave New Castle as a No. 4 seed with Shelbyville potentially being No. 5 based on Sagarin ratings.

Listed below the Golden Bears in the ratings system for the sectional are Muncie Central (1-6), Richmond (1-6) and Connersville (1-6).

Richmond’s lone win came against Connersville. Shelbyville and Muncie Central have wins over Richmond.

Piedi Bianchi, the standout Indiana bred mare by Overanalyze, has won races from coast to coast. Her connections always work in a stop in Indiana each year for stakes action, and her win in the $150,000 Cardinal Stakes Wednesday moved her into the record books.

With total earnings now of $823,497, she is third on the list of all-time leading Indiana breds and second by only dollars behind Lady Fog Horn to be the all-time winningest Indiana bred female in Indiana history.

Based out of New York, Piedi Bianchi (photo) was accompanied by East Coast rider Tyler Gaffalione for her start in the Cardinal Stakes at Indiana Grand. Just as the field of eight was entering the starting gate, a torrential rain blasted down with horses almost at times unrecognizable on the television monitors.

Piedi Bianchi left from post seven and got into good early positioning as expected on the inside and was immediately joined by Magical Peapod and Florent Geroux, who placed pressure on them through the first half of the one and one-sixteenth mile race. Down the backstretch, Fireball Baby and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. joined in on the pressure, moving three wide at the halfway marker before slipping over to duel with just Piedi Bianchi.

In the stretch, Piedi Bianchi did what she does best, drew away from the field and was an eventual winner by four and one-half lengths at the finish line. Fireball Baby was second over Bumble of Love and Rodney Prescott, who closed for third over the sloppy track.

Piedi Bianchi now has eight wins in 27 career starts for owners Jay Oringer, Jack Bick, Lucien Bianchi and Jordan Rubenstein’s Al Bianchi Racing, LLC. Carlos Martin trains the striking grey filly that was a purchase by her connections for $80,000 out of the Ocala Breeders Two-Year-Old Sale in 2017.

The win was the fifth stakes win for Piedi Bianchi, who is a Graded Stakes placed six-year-old.

“She slipped a little at the start, so I didn’t want to rush her, but she broke pretty good so we were able to get near the front early,” said Gaffalione. “I wasn’t concerned about the pressure because she was doing it easily and was pretty comfortable. When I threw to her a little, she gave me everything she had. She is just a classy horse.”

Piedi Bianchi is now behind all-time Indiana bred leader Bucchero, who has $947,000 in earnings, followed by Lady Fog Horn who earned in excess of $824,000 during her career.

Piedi Bianchi is moving into the final strides of her racing career and her connections hope to retire her at the end of the 2021 racing season.

Bayou Cat and Rodney Prescott gave trainer Tim Eggleston a first Wednesday in the 24^th running of the $150,000 To Much Coffee Stakes at Indiana Grand.

Eggleston, who trains both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds, has several Quarter Horse Stakes wins to his credit, but Bayou Cat is his first Thoroughbred stakes victory.

Starting from post nine on the rain-soaked track, Bayou Cat (photo) and Prescott rolled right out for the lead and obtained the top position before they hit the turn in the one and one-sixteenth mile event. The four-year-old son of Turbo Compressor sat comfortably on the lead to the top of the stretch before Prescott asked the gelding for more speed.

In the stretch, Bayou Cat pulled away from the field, winning by two and one-quarter lengths at the finish. Hard Luck Justice and Sammy Bermudez held steady for second over Strong Tide and Florent Geroux for third.

It was the second straight win for Bayou Cat, who paid $18.40 to win. The To Much Coffee Stakes is his first attempt at stakes action and his first stakes win for breeder-owner Cathi Jones.

“When they were at the quarter in 24 cruising along, I thought he was in good shape,” said Eggleston regarding Bayou Cat’s performance. “He always has a lot in the tank, and he loves to fight for the win.”

Bayou Cat scored the sixth win of his career and has been ridden to victory in all six of those starts by Prescott, who is the state’s all-time leading jockey. Prescott moved to nine wins away from his 4,000^th career win Wednesday with Bayou Cat.

“We sat back and watched how the races were playing out today and when it started to rain, Rodney and I talked and figured it was best to go out for the lead,” added Eggleston. “That’s what he did and didn’t look back. Rodney did an awesome job and had a great plan. I also have to thank Jordan (Hash). He does a great job taking care of this horse.”

Eggleston, a native of Michigan, is stabled at Indiana Grand. Last year, he relocated to Easter Farms in Scottsburg, Indiana, where they keep a lot of their horses year round.

Mowins and Sammy Bermudez were favored from the start of the 22^nd running of the $100,000 Indiana Futurity for good reason. The duo came into the race off a win in the $100,000 Circle City Stakes and looked just as impressive in the Indiana Futurity.

Starting from post five, Mowins (photo) got away in mid pack as Oro Azteca and Emmanuel Esquivel set the pace of the one mile, 70-yard race. Around the final turn, Bermudez began moving up with Mowins and at the head of the lane, had a big jump on the field.

Moving to the center of the track over the sloppy track surface, Mowins ploughed through the rain and mud to win by more than six lengths at the wire Wednesday at Indiana Grand.

Blue Kalon and Orlando Mejica closed well on the outside for second over Scotty’s on Edge and Marcelino Pedroza Jr. for third.

Mowins is now three for five in his young career. The freshman son of Mohaymen has not finished worse than second in his career and now has a bankroll of more than $160,000. Mike and Penny Lauer bred the colt, which is now owned by Penny and Tim Clary’s Clary Thoroughbreds. Mike Lauer trains.

The stakes race was one of four on the afternoon card at Indiana Grand, featuring a $75,000 guaranteed pool in the All Stakes Pick 4. Rain dampened the day off and on but didn’t deter Mowins from scoring another impressive stakes victory, even though the trophy presentation was not held in the downpour.

Holy Justice and Splash of Tonic fought gamely to the wire with Holy Justice getting the right head bob to win the $100,000 Miss Indiana Stakes Wednesday at Indiana Grand in Shelbyville, Indiana.

Ridden by Jose Riquelme, Holy Justice (photo, right) got away from post two in the bulky field of 12 with some early speed. The Harry’s Holiday chestnut filly was joined by Mi Estrella and Fernando De La Cruz from the inside and Flirty Dancer and Joshua Morales from the outside.

Once the one mile and 70-yard race progressed, Holy Justice came out with the lead heading down the backstretch. She held her ground and was not being intimidated by the horses preparing for the final quarter of the race.

In the stretch, Splash of Tonic joined Holy Justice on the outside and the two fought neck and neck down the wire with Splash of Tonic, ridden by Joe Ramos, getting a head in front a couple of times only to have Holy Justice fight back. The two fillies finished side by side at the wire with Holy Justice scoring the victory by a nose in a time of 1:46.41.

Torte and Florent Geroux rallied up from the back of the pack to finish third.

Holy Justice was the second choice of the field, paying $9.80 to win. It was her third win in four starts this season for trainer Genaro Garcia and owner Bruce Murphy and Garcia’s Southwest Racing Stables, Inc.

“That was a very tough race, and both of those horses were not giving in,” said Murphy. “And neither one of them had the greatest starting spot. But this filly (Holy Justice) is just tough. Her heart is almost bigger than she is. She’s not a very big filly at all. I want to thank everyone from the Garcia barn for their hard work with her.”

Murphy and Garcia picked Holy Justice out of the Indiana Mixed Sale last fall, and although she was small, Garcia liked the way she was put together. They acquired her for $1,800. She has now won in excess of $150,000.

Southwestern grabbed the lead late in the first half and never relinquished it to defeat Hauser, 4-0, Wednesday night in the Class A Southwestern Sectional semifinal round.

With the victory, the 14^th-ranked Spartans (9-4-2) advance to face Oldenburg Academy (7-8) in the sectional championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at Southwestern High School.

Oldenburg Academy ended regulation and two overtime periods Wednesday tied 1-1 with Greenwood Christian. The Twisters finally prevailed 7-6 in penalty kicks to dispatch of the Cougars.

During the regular season, Southwestern routed Hauser, 7-1, on Aug. 21, but the Jets recovered for a 2-1 victory over the Spartans on Sept. 17.

Southwestern knew it had a battle on its hands to get to the sectional championship.

Late in the first half, Aiden Hartsell gave Southwestern the lead 1-0 off a Jordan Jones assist.

It took the Spartans a long time to find goal two but Aiden Hartsell made it happen with a long run and finish just over halfway through the second half.

Jonny Joy and Conner Gooch added on late goals with assists by Conner Jewell and Gareth Stringer and Southwestern could finally celebrate.

Eli Fix was credited with four saves in goal for Southwestern.

In other another boys soccer sectional game Wednesday night:

Mt. Vernon 2, Shelbyville 1

At Mt. Vernon, the Class 3A sectional rematch between the host Marauders and Golden Bears seemed destined for overtime once again.

On Sept. 14 in a Hoosier Heritage Conference match in Fortville, the two teams played to a 2-2 tie which included two scoreless overtime periods. Mt. Vernon prevailed in penalty kicks 10-9.

The Marauders scored first Wednesday night in the sectional semifinal but a Christian Haas goal late in the first half tied it up. The goal was Haas’ 10^th of the season.

Inside five minutes left in regulation, Mt. Vernon found the back of the net to finish off the Golden Bears (8-9).

Mt. Vernon (11-6) advances to face East Central (14-4) in the sectional championship. East Central defeated Greenfield-Central Wednesday in penalty kicks.

After 18 months off the diamond, Hannah File is back playing Division I softball.

The Shelbyville graduate had her junior season at top-25 ranked James Madison abruptly stopped in March of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. With two years of playing eligibility left, File graduated from JMU and pondered her next move.

File did not play college softball in 2021 but kept preparing for the next step while coaching Shelbyville Middle School’s softball team to a successful season.

Louisville provided immediate playing time and the opportunity to be closer to home and she has found her rhythm once again.

On Friday, Louisville traveled north to Bloomington, Indiana, to face the Indiana Hoosiers in a fall doubleheader.

File played shortstop, a position she last played with the Golden Bears in high school, in game one and batted seventh for the Cardinals. In her first at bat, she singled to right field and the ball was misplayed which allowed File to reach third where she was stranded.

File tripled down the left field line in her second at bat before an infield pop out and groundout to the shortstop completed her game one battling line.

Louisville went down early to the Hoosiers, rallied to tie the game late only to lose on a walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning, 8-7.

File was moved to the leadoff position in game two and played right field, where she started her career with James Madison.

File grounded out to the first baseman to lead off the game then smashed a solo home run off Indiana sophomore pitcher Macy Montgomery, who is related to Shelbyville High School principal Brent Baker, to get the Cardinals on the scoreboard. She grounded out in her third at bat and singled to right field to finish the night 4-for-8.

Indiana won game two, 8-5.

Louisville closes out its fall schedule Friday when Bellarmine comes to Ulmer Stadium.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

Jill Anspaugh

The Shelbyville graduate ran a new personal best 25 minutes, 33 seconds for Franklin College’s cross country team Saturday at the D-III Pre-National Race at Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Anspaugh finished 156^th overall and slashed 44 seconds off her personal record.

Makenzie Logan

The Morristown graduate went 1-1 representing Huntington College’s women’s tennis team at the ITA Regionals held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marian, Indiana.

Competing in the Singles B Draw, Logan opened the tournament with a 6-1, 3-6, 10-5 victory over Indiana Wesleyan’s Lilianna Tubbergen.

In the quarterfinals, Lawrence Tech’s Angela Anderanin defeated Logan, 8-1.

Daniela Joseph

The Shelbyville graduate posted rounds of 99 and 106 for Earlham College’s women’s golf team this past weekend at the College of Wooster Women’s Golf Fall Intercollegiate at Mochian Hills Golf Course in Jeromesville, Ohio.

Joseph’s two-round score of 205 left her tied for 43^rd place.

Nick Brokering

The Shelbyville graduate was credited with one tackle Saturday for Mount St. Joseph’s football team in a 45-27 victory at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio.

Mount St. Joseph is 2-2 this season and 1-0 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Ethan Demaree

The Triton Central graduate had three rushing attempts that netted eight yards Saturday for Wabash College in a historic overtime win over Denison at Piper Stadium in Granville, Ohio.

Wabash completed a two-point conversion in overtime to secure a 39-38 victory. The win was the program’s 700^th all time, which is second amongst all Indiana schools.

Notre Dame tops the list with 922 career victories. Wabash is second with Purdue third at 623.

Wabash is 4-0 this season.

Bailey Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had 22 assists, one ace and three digs for Eastern Illinois Tuesday in a 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 loss to Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

The loss dropped EIU to 7-7 this season and 0-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

On Friday, the Panthers traveled to the University of Tennessee Martin and lost 25-14, 19-25, 25-18, 25-13. Chandler finished with one kill, three assists, one ace and 11 digs.

The two OVC squads met again Saturday with a similar result. UT Martin defeated Eastern Illinois, 25-17, 25-16, 25-17. Chandler had 10 assists, two block assists and eight digs.

Maggie Schweitzer

The Triton Central graduate had one ace and seven digs for Hanover volleyball Friday in a 25-14, 25-19, 25-22 win over Manchester.

Hanover is 9-7 this season (1-0 HCAC).

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had two assists, one ace and four digs for Jacksonville State Saturday in a 25-20, 25-16, 25-9 win at Bellarmine to improve to 14-4 this season and 4-1 in Atlantic Sun Conference matches.

On Friday, Jacksonville State won at Eastern Kentucky, 25-14, 25-20, 25-20. Schiffli finished with one assist and five digs.

Triton Central tennis came up one match win short of making a regional finals appearance Tuesday at Center Grove High School.

Franklin Central defeated Triton Central, 3-2, to set up a regional championship match against 11^th-ranked Center Grove, a 5-0 winner over Perry Meridian Tuesday.

Triton Central got wins at the top two singles spots but couldn’t find a third win to eliminate the Flashes.

Alex Crouse defeated FC’s Landon Carlisle at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-2. Crouse improved to 13-8 this season and will move into the state singles sectional tournament Thursday, also at Center Grove.

At No. 2 singles, freshman Tucker Hutchinson completed an outstanding season with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hayden Hege. Hutchinson finished 17-4 at No. 2 singles this season.

Ethan Jackson needed a tiebreaker to defeat Triton Central’s Ashton Sturm at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Sturm closed out the season 10-4 at No. 3 singles.

Triton Central’s doubles pairings were dominant much of the season but never got on track Tuesday.

Kole Brewer and Wyatt Gilliland defeated Triton Central’s Avram Rund and Quintin Potts at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-2.

And at No. 2 doubles, Aaron Mahoney and Joshua Summitt topped Oliver Gearlds and Griffin Sego, 6-4, 6-4.

Both of TC’s doubles teams finished the season 17-6.

Center Grove did not drop a set against the Falcons in the other regional semifinal. Five of the seven Trojans were freshmen or sophomores.

In other prep events Tuesday:

 Volleyball

Triton Central def. North Decatur, 20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 15-7

At Triton Central on Senior Night, Maddy Brown and Brooklyn Bailey combined for 29 kills to end a four-game win streak for North Decatur (20-8).

Brown finished with a team-high 17 kills and had 28 digs to get Triton Central (14-9) its third-straight win. Bailey had 12 kills and six total blocks.

Julia Sanders collected a team-high 43 digs. Hallie Schweitzer added 18 digs.

Kate Isley recorded 29 assists.

Greenwood Christian def. Southwestern, 25-11, 25-21, 25-19

At Greenwood Christian, Olivia Shingleton had 17 kills and 10 digs to lead the host Cougars (10-13).

Mara Beumer added 11 kills and four aces. Naomi Hillenburg had a team-high 13 digs and Savannah Danielson collected 37 assists.

The Spartans have lost four straight and sit at 9-17 as they prepare for Saturday’s Shelby County Tournament.

Lutheran def. Morristown, 25-12, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18

At Lutheran, the host Saints improved to 11-15 this season.

The loss dropped Morristown to 11-15.

New Palestine def. Shelbyville, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19

At Shelbyville on Pink Out Night, Reagan Kleiman led New Palestine (25-3, 4-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) with 16 kills.

Lauren Wilson contributed 11 kills and 10 digs while Isabella Gizzi finished with 35 assists and five kills.

The loss dropped the Golden Bears to 14-11 (2-5 HHC).

New Palestine won the junior varsity match, 25-17, 25-22.

All six teams ranked No. 1 in the most recent Indiana Football Coaches Association state poll are unbeaten.

Center Grove (Class 6A), Cathedral (5A), Roncalli (4A), West Lafayette (3A), Fort Wayne Luers (2A) and Lutheran (A) are 7-0.

Chasing Center Grove in the 6A poll are Westfield (6-1), Carmel (6-1), Merrillville (7-0), Lawrence North (5-1), Hamilton Southeastern (6-1), Brownsburg (5-2), Chesterton (6-1), Warren Central (5-2) and Carroll (Allen) (6-1).

In 5A, Decatur Central (6-1) is No. 2 behind Cathedral. The rest of the top 10 are Valparaiso (6-1), Fort Wayne Snider (5-1), Bloomington South (6-1), Harrison (6-1), Concord (6-1), Fort Wayne Dwenger (4-3), Bloomington North (5-2) and Mishawaka (5-2).

Following Roncalli in the 4A poll are Leo (7-0), Jasper (7-0), East Central (6-1), Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (6-1), Evansville Memorial (6-1), Mooresville (5-2), Chatard (3-4), New Prairie (6-1) and East Noble (4-2).

Chasing West Lafayette in 3A are Brebeuf (6-1), Gibson Southern (6-1), Danville (6-1), Lawrenceburg (6-1), Brownstown Central (7-0), Western Boone (5-2), Norwell (6-1), Tri-West (5-2) and Mishawaka Marian (4-3).

In Class 2A, Fort Wayne Luers is followed by Eastbrook (6-0), Andrean (5-2), Linton-Stockton (7-0), Tipton (7-0), Heritage Christian (7-0), Eastside (7-0), Evansville Mater Dei (5-2), Lafayette Central Catholic (4-3) and Speedway (6-1).

Adams Central (6-1) sits at No. 2 in Class A behind Lutheran. Monroe Central (7-0) is third with Winamac (5-0), Covenant Christian (5-2), South Adams (5-2), Churubusco (5-2), South Putnam (6-1), Parke Heritage (5-2) and Perry Central (6-1) rounding out the top 10.

With a 2-1 victory Monday over Morristown, the Hauser Jets solidified the boys soccer semifinal bracket for the IHSAA Class A Southwestern Sectional.

The Jets (4-8) scored twice in the first half to take the early lead over the Yellow Jackets (2-11-2).

Morristown cut the deficit in half in the second half but could not secure the game-tying goal.

Hauser moves into Wednesday’s semifinal to face the 14^th-ranked host Spartans (8-4-2) at 7 p.m.

In the other semifinal at Southwestern, Oldenburg Academy (6-8) takes on Greenwood Christian (3-11).

Southwestern is the defending sectional champion.

In other prep events Monday:

Volleyball

Triton Central def. Eastern Hancock, 25-16, 25-20, 25-14

At Triton Central, Maddy Brown had 16 kills and Brooklyn Bailey and Kaitlin Bramlett each had 12 kills to lead the host Tigers (13-9) over the Royals (18-8).

Julia Sanders delivered a team-high 24 digs. Brown had 19 digs and Hallie Schweitzer contributed 15 digs.

Kate Isley collected 37 assists while running the offense.

North Decatur def. Southwestern, 25-14, 25-17, 25-10

At North Decatur, the host Chargers won their fourth straight to improve to 20-7 this season.

Southwestern lost its third straight to fall to 9-16.

Morristown def. Rushville, 25-15, 26-24, 25-18

At Rushville, the visiting Yellow Jackets (11-14) ended a two-match losing streak with a straight-set victory against the Lions (2-23).

All five Shelby County volleyball programs learned their sectional draw Sunday night when the Indiana High School Athletic Association released the sectional pairings for the 50^th Annual IHSAA Volleyball State Tournament.

Shelbyville is the host school for the six-team Class 4A sectional.

The Golden Bears (14-10) will open sectional play with a rematch against Franklin (11-14). The Grizzlies defeated Shelbyville in Franklin on Sept. 23, 28-26, 25-22, 25-23.

The winner faces Center Grove (17-8) in the second semifinal match.

The sectional opener pits Whiteland (6-11) against Greenwood (16-12). The winner meets Franklin Central (10-14) in the semifinals.

The Shelbyville Sectional winner advances to the Bloomington North Regional to face the Martinsville Sectional champion.

Triton Central travels to Indiana Crossroads Conference rival Scecina for the Class 2A, Sectional 42 tournament.

Scecina (15-11) hosts Covenant Christian (17-5) in the first semifinal.

The second semifinal has Triton Central (12-10) taking on Irvington Prep.

While the Tigers will be favored in the semifinal, they are 0-2 against Covenant Christian and Scecina this season.

The Scecina Sectional champ advances to the Cascade Regional to face the Union County Sectional champ.

Six teams meet up in Edinburgh for the Class A, Sectional 60 tournament.

In the opener, Waldron (16-9) takes on Edinburgh (5-17). The Mohawks defeated the Lancers on Sept. 27, 25-15, 25-19, 25-7.

The other sectional quarterfinal match has Southwestern (9-15) taking on Morristown (10-14). The Yellow Jackets topped Southwestern, 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 25-14 on Sept. 13.

The Waldron-Edinburgh winner advances to face Hauser (17-12).

The Morristown-Southwestern winner moves on to face Greenwood Christian (8-13).

Morristown is the regional tournament host site. The Edinburgh Sectional champion will face the White River Valley Sectional champion in the first regional semifinal match.

The sectional round runs from Oct. 12-16.

Regional tournaments across the state are Oct. 23.

Semistates at Huntington North, Frankfort, Columbus East and Jasper are Oct. 30.

The state championship matches will be held Nov. 6 at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie.

Shelbyville girls soccer produced its best finish in the Hoosier Heritage Conference standings since 1997 Saturday night with a 4-3 overtime victory over Yorktown.

The Golden Bears closed out the regular season with a 9-4-2 record and finished 4-3 against HHC opponents for a fourth-place finish – the best for the program since it won the HHC title in 1997.

Senior Sophie Parker scored two goals and had two assists on Senior Night at Shelbyville which also served as a Pink Out event to honor breast cancer survivors.

Parker was involved in all the scoring Saturday. She delivered a corner kick that was headed in goal by Ava Wilson early in the first half. Not long after, Parker deposited a shot in the net off a free kick to get her team off to a 2-0 lead.

Yorktown (9-5, 3-4 HHC) responded with a pair of goals by Macie Dowd and another by Chloe Mariotti to take a 3-2 lead at halftime.

Ten minutes into the second half, Parker set up Ella Johnson for the game-tying goal.

And just one minute into the first overtime period, Parker collected her 12^th goal of the season which proved to be the game winner.

Shelbyville will begin its quest for a sectional title Thursday at Greenfield-Central against Class 3A, No. 16 East Central (13-2-1).

In other prep events:

Girls Soccer

Greensburg 2, Triton Central 1

At Triton Central, Macy Smith scored a pair of goals to lead the visiting Pirates (4-8) past the Tigers (2-11-1).

Elaina Maurice scored the lone goal for Triton Central.

Triton Central will host Class A, No. 1 Heritage Christian (9-8) at 5 p.m. Thursday for a sectional semifinal contest. The Eagles defeated Triton Central 11-2 on Sept. 18.

Volleyball

Shelbyville def. East Central, 25-20, 15-25, 25-16, 25-18

At East Central Saturday, Jaidyn Tackett and Emily Parker each had 14 kills to lead the visiting Golden Bears (14-10) to the victory.

Parker also had three serving aces and 12 digs.

Madison Bassett finished with four total blocks. Emma Nolley had a team-high 25 digs and Gracie Leffler collected 33 assists.

Triton Central def. Morristown, 25-9, 25-21, 25-16

At Triton Central Saturday, the Tigers got 11 kills from Maddy Brown and eight more from Kaitlin Bramlett to defeat the visiting Yellow Jackets (10-14).

Brown also had six aces for Triton Central (12-9). Brooklyn Bailey finished with four total blocks. Julia Sanders had 39 digs to push her career total over 2,000 and Maia Harris and Kate Isley combined for 28 assists.

Sanders (photo) also had two aces to set a new program record for career aces (172).

Lilly Stoddard topped Morristown with seven kills. Madison Espich had four total blocks. Aubrea Trattner collected a team-high 22 digs and Raegan Kleine recorded 13 assists.

Hauser def. Morristown, 25-18, 25-16, 25-19

At Morristown Friday, the visiting Jets improved to 17-12 this season and remained unbeaten (5-0) against Mid-Hoosier Conference opponents.

Bella Thompson led the Yellow Jackets with 10 kills and four blocks. Beth Hodgin had 18 digs and Raegan Kleine finished with 19 assists.

Waldron def. Southwestern, 25-15, 25-19, 25-13

At Southwestern Friday, the visiting Mohawks pushed their record to 16-9 this season with a straight-set victory.

Southwestern dropped to 9-15.

Waldron won the junior varsity match in straight sets.

Cross Country

Hoosier Heritage Conference Meet

Shelbyville senior Stefanie Howard (photo) earned All-HHC honors with a 10^th-place finish Saturday at the Muncie Sportsplex course.

Howard crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, 44 seconds. She was followed by Kaila Brattain (26^th, 22:40), Hannah Wright (34^th, 23:20), Angel Kreider (38^th, 24:08), Kaylie McDonald (42^nd, 24:40) and Daisy Barrett (50^th, 29:03).

Shelbyville finished seventh in the team standings. Mt. Vernon was crowned the HHC champion.

The Golden Bears also finished seventh in the boys team standings.

Michael Fox (25^th, 18:39) and Elijah Von Werder (26^th, 18:42) were Shelbyville’s top finishers.

Also running for Shelbyville were Beau Kenkel (40^th, 19:48), Tristin Maloney (43^rd, 20:29), Ben Hinojosa (44^th, 20:43), Isaac Zermeno (50^th, 22:08) and Isaiah Havens (53^rd, 23:12).

Mt. Vernon won the team title.

Nike XC Town Twilight Meet

Waldron placed 13^th in the boys team standings and 12^th in the girls standings in a large-scale meet held at the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Will Larrison led the Mohawks with a 113^th-place finish (19:30).

Also competing for Waldron were Jared Crosby (166^th, 20:21), Caden Shaeffer (170^th, 20:24), Ethan Richardson (245^th, 21:52), Skylar Ferguson (270^th, 22:49), Nathaniel Evans (285^th, 23:46), Jimmie Taylor (305^th, 26:36) and Joshua Lugo (308^th, 27:58).

Cheyenne Lozier led the Waldron girls with a 74^th-place finish (23:54). She was followed by Audrey Hogg (108^th, 25:20), Hallie Ross (125^th, 26:04), Sophie Hudnall (133^rd, 26:36) and Riley Price (153^rd, 27:35).

The Triton Central football team is fast. 

But Scecina is faster.

Scecina’s speed and dominant work on the defensive line led to the Crusaders ruining Senior Night at Triton Central with a 27-0 Indiana Crossroads Conference victory at Mendenhall Field.

The teams exchanged possessions and punts in the first quarter until the game’s first mistake led to its first points.  Scecina 6’3” junior defensive end Tamir Woods blocked a Tiger punt with 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter.  The Crusaders took advantage of the short field and capped a 34-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by backup sophomore quarterback David Mendez with 8:31 left in the half. 

Mendez and senior starting quarterback Aidan Ray shared snaps throughout much of the game.

Scecina’s front line defense controlled the line of scrimmage.  Triton Central freshman quarterback Chase Chandler started in place of injured sophomore Jace Stuckey.  Chandler was only 2-for-11 passing for 15 yards.  Chandler was under constant pressure, sacked three times and knocked down several more.

Following a second quarter punt that left Scecina with a short field again, the Crusaders added to their lead.  DeQuan Stennis recorded his sixth rushing touchdown of the season from four yards out with 3:16 left in the half to extend the Scecina lead to 14-0. 

The teams exchanged possessions in the final three minutes.  Triton Central defensive back Levi Dewey grabbed an interception on an overthrown ball with 50 seconds left in the half but the Tigers weren’t able to turn it into points.

The Tigers (4-3, 2-3 ICC) found some success in the running game but nothing they could sustain to lead to points on the scoreboard.  Leading rusher Ray Crawford ran for 112 yards on 25 carries.  Several of the Crawford runs were the product of direct snaps in the wildcat.

Scecina (4-3, 3-2 ICC) added a third quarter touchdown on a 47-yard pass from Aidan Ray to Keaton Thibo who broke two Tiger tackles to reach the endzone. 

Travion Woods capped the scoring with a 15-yard run with 3:24 remaining in the game.

Triton Central will finish the season on the road with trips to Beech Grove next week and Speedway in the season finale.

New Palestine celebrated head coach Kyle Ralph’s 100^th career victory in a 52-0 victory Friday over Shelbyville.

The Dragons (4-3, 4-1 Hoosier Heritage Conference) racked up 378 rushing yards and scored on eight straight possessions to down the Golden Bears (1-3, 0-2 HHC).

Shelbyville managed just four first downs and 98 yards of offense against one of the best teams in the HHC.

Grayson Thomas had 153 rushing yards and three touchdowns to become the first New Palestine sophomore to eclipse 2,000 career rushing yards.

Kyler Kropp had two rushing touchdowns and Isaiah Thacker and Blaine Nunnally also reached the end zone.

Jake Wells added a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

The road does not get any easier for Shelbyville, who hosts Class 4A, No. 6 Mount Vernon (6-1, 5-0 HHC) Friday at McKeand Stadium in the final regular season home contest.

Triton Central closed out a dominant run through the Shelbyville Tennis Sectional Friday with a 5-0 victory over Waldron.

The Tigers, now 17-6, advance to Tuesday’s regional at Center Grove to face Franklin Central. The other semifinal features No. 11 Center Grove against Perry Meridian.

The Tigers lost a total of eight games in winning both doubles matches Friday and the No. 2 singles and No. 3 singles matches then watched Alex Crouse take a three-set victory over Lucas Shaw to start the celebration.

Crouse closed out the No. 1 singles match with a 7-6, 1-6, 6-2 win to improve to 12-8 this season.

Tucker Hutchinson pushed his No. 2 singles record to 16-4 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Jack Fischer.

Ashton Sturm did not start the season in the varsity lineup but once he moved into the No. 3 singles position, he won 10 of 13 matches. Sturm bested Josh Kellems, 6-3, 6-2.

Triton Central’s two doubles teams have matched each other win for win all season.

On Friday, Quintin Potts and Avram Rund moved to 17-5 at No. 1 doubles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Max Jones and Jacob Lindsey.

Griffin Sego and Oliver Gearlds also improved to 17-5 at No. 2 doubles with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Bryant Becker and Matthew Thomas.

The sectional championship was the sixth overall for the Triton Central program – and first since 2016.

Franklin Central defeated Roncalli, 3-2, to capture its 14^th sectional title and first since 2016.

Perry Meridian rolled past Decatur Central, 5-0, to win its fourth straight sectional title and 32^nd overall.

Center Grove captured its fifth-straight sectional title with a 5-0 victory over Whiteland. The Trojans have won 34 sectional titles overall.

Triton Central and Waldron advanced to today’s Shelbyville Tennis Sectional championship match with 5-0 victories Thursday.

Triton Central improved to 16-6 this season with a 5-0 victory over Southwestern.

Alex Crouse defeated Hunter Pappano, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.

Tucker Hutchinson blanked Justin Swift at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-0.

Ashton Sturm topped Jackson Burcham at No. 3 singles, 6-0, 6-1.

At No. 1 doubles, Quintin Potts and Avram Rund needed three sets to defeat Caleb Pappano and Tristan Pappano, 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-3.

And Oliver Gearlds and Griffin Sego complete the sweep with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Carter Snepp and Ty Burcham.

Waldron produced straight-set victories at all five positions.

Lucas Shaw, Jack Fischer and Josh Kellems swept the singles matches for the Mohawks (7-8).

Jacob Lindsey and Max Jones at No. 1 doubles and Bryant Becker and Matthew Thomas at No. 2 singles lost just three games in their victories.

Triton Central is seeking its first boys tennis sectional championship since 2016. The Tigers are 2-0 against the Mohawks this season.

Waldron’s last sectional title was in 2019.

In other prep events Thursday:

Boys Soccer

Greensburg 2, Morristown 0

Andrew Johnson and Grayson Newhart scored goals for the Pirates (4-8) to drop the Yellow Jackets to 2-10-1 this season.

Southwestern 1, Christel House 1

Class A, No. 13 Southwestern closed out its regular season schedule with its second tie.

The Spartans enter postseason play at 8-4-2.

Girls Soccer

Shelbyville 0, Greenwood 0

Shelbyville was held scoreless in regulation for a third-straight match and came out with a draw against the Woodmen (7-7-2).

The Golden Bears are 8-4-2 with its final regular season match Saturday against Yorktown left on the schedule.

Volleyball

Morristown def. North Decatur, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 15-11

At Knightstown, Brookelynn Snyder had a team-high 12 kills for the host Panthers (10-12) in the loss. Knightstown has lost four straight.

Jailyn Kopp had eight digs and Gwen Dyer finished with 37 assists.

Morristown won its second straight match to improve to 10-12.

North Decatur def. Waldron, 25-22, 12-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-10

At Waldron, the visiting Chargers improved to 17-7 this season.

The Mohawks dropped to 15-9.

New Palestine def. Triton Central, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-10

At New Palestine, Maddy Brown had a team-high 11 kills for Triton Central (11-9). The Tigers have lost five of their last six matches.

Julia Sanders collected a team-high 34 digs. Hallie Schweitzer added 27 digs. Setter Kate Isley finished with 21 assists.

Mt. Vernon def. Shelbyville, 25-17, 25-16, 25-22

At Mt. Vernon, the host Marauders improved to 19-4 and senior Cecelia Buhlman broke the program’s career record for kills.

In set three, Buhlman notched career kill No. 1,602 to break the previous mark held by her sister, Jaclyn Buhlman, which was set in 2017.

Cecelia Buhlman finished with 17 kills against the Golden Bears (13-10), who have lost three of their last four matches.

With four freshmen in the lineup, Waldron captured the Shelby County Cross Country Championships boys title Thursday at Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville.

Waldron freshman Will Larrison won the race in 19 minutes, 18 seconds. Fellow freshmen Jared Crosby (4^th, 19:51), Nathaniel Evans (9^th, 21:34) and Skylar Ferguson (12^th, 21:53) finished in the top 15.

Waldron senior Caden Shaeffer finished 6^th in 20:14 and junior Ethan Richardson was 11^th in 21:48 to net the Mohawks 27 points.

Southwestern was runner-up (35), Triton Central was third (63) while Morristown did not field enough runners for a team score.

Morristown’s Zavier Poole was the runner-up in 19:35. Also for Morristown, T.J. Butcher was 16^th in 23:38 and Brayden Burris was 19^th in 26:59.

Southwestern’s Dane Kissell finished third (19:48). Also running for Southwestern were Dakota Claiborne (5^th, 19:54), Ryan Griffin (8^th, 21:21), Collin Cummings (10^th, 21:43) and Elias Clark (14^th, 22:30).

Triton Central was led by Owen Sprinkle’s 7^th-place finish (21:09). Completing TC’s roster were Hank Hadler (13^th, 22:15), Lucas Bear (15^th, 23:07), Elizijuh Israel (17^th, 25:06), Corbin Maurice (18^th, 26:37) and Giorgi Gogichashvili (20^th, 27:41).

Southwestern (photo) edged Waldron for the girls county championship. The Spartans’ 24 points topped the Mohawks’ 31 points. Morristown and Triton Central were incomplete.

Three of the top four finishers Thursday were Spartans. Lilly Rooks won the race in 24:02. Gracie Schlabach was runner-up in 24:17 while Jenna Drake placed fourth (24:43).

Southwestern’s scoring was completed by Malori Pike (8^th, 28:01) and Maxine Higdon (11^th, 32:17).

Waldron’s Cheyenne Lozier was third in 24:35. Also for Waldron, Sophie Hudnall finished 5^th (25:40), Audrey Hogg was 6^th (26:09), Riley Price placed 9^th (28:12) and Hallie Ross was 10^th (29:31).

Morristown’s Grace McLaughlin finished 7^th (27:02) and Triton Central’s Brooke Bear was 12^th (36:13).

Morristown Junior High’s girls cross country team (photo) continued its dominant season with an easy win Thursday. The top four finishers were Yellow Jackets.

Taylor Tragesser was first in 11:53 followed by Chloe Tragesser (12:07), Clara Wallace (13:19) and Brooke Kuhn (13:23). Morristown’s scoring was completed by Chloe Theobald’s 9^th-place finish (13:51). Hayden Mohr finished 13^th (14:55).

Triton Central was second in the team standings. Samantha Fladeland placed fifth (13:29) ahead of Ariel Walker (8^th, 13:45), Ava Bedwell (10^th, 14:15), Jocelyn Oertel (11^th, 14:20), Rylee Pruitt (12^th, 14:29), Brynne Aukerman (14^th, 14:59) and Farah Coen (17^th, 16:52).

Waldron finished third with Claire Larrison (6^th, 13:34), Grace Fischer (7^th, 13:41), Avery Haehl (15^th, 15:52), Brooklyn Milbourn (18^th, 17:10), Jessica Price (19^th, 17:13), Abby Crouch (21^st, 20:52) and Kendal Berauer (22^nd, 21:01).

Southwestern was represented by Adalyn Brewer (16^th, 16:13) and Sienna Shaw (20^th, 18:31).

Triton Central had four of the top eight finishers to win the boys team title. Liam Thompson won the race in 11:16. Janssen Capps was 5^th (12:18), Jayden Franklin finished 7^th (13:27) and Reid Oertel was 8^th (13:52).

Also running for Triton Central were Lucas Graham (12^th, 15:20), Rowen Foley (14^th, 15:40) and Harry Watson (16^th, 16:26).

Waldron was the only other school to field a team. Ethan Hirschauer finished 4^th (12:16). He was followed by Jacob Kuhn (9^th, 14:14), Caige Sheaffer (11^th, 14:42), Kevin Crouch (15^th, 16:05), Wyatt Bogemann (17^th, 17:33) and Lucas Price (18^th, 17:42).

Morristown’s Max Compton was the race runner-up in 12:10.

For Southwestern, Chris Claiborne was 3^rd (12:15), Jackson Bentz was 6^th (12:28), Ryan Wildman was 10^th (14:27) and Aiden Mitchell was 13^th (15:36).