Local Sports

Waldron's Mitchell and Yarling, Morristown's Palmer named All-MHC

Two of Waldron’s all-time leading scorers were named All-Conference by the Mid-Hoosier Conference.

Waldron’s Bryce Yarling (photo, right) and Lucas Mitchell (photo, left), No. 2 and No. 5 respectively in Waldron history, top the 12-player All-MHC team.

Mitchell, averaging 20.4 points and 7.4 rpg, just recently surpassed 1,000 career points. Yarling (11.2 ppg, 2.9 apg) reached the 1,000-point milestone in Waldron’s season opener in November.

Morristown’s Jameson Palmer (14 ppg, 4.3 rpg) also was named All-MHC.

Also earning the All-Conference designation were Edinburgh’s Caleb Dewey (19.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Jarrett Turner (12 ppg, 3.8 rpg), South Decatur’s Dorian Hacker (12.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg) and Jacob Scruggs (18.7 ppg, 3.1 apg), Hauser’s Ledger Gelfius and Taeshaun Tungate, and North Decatur’s Kaden Muckerheide, Lance Nobbe and Blake Spears.

North Decatur head coach P.J. Metz, who led the Chargers (19-5, 6-0 MHC) to the conference title, was named Coach of the Year.

Following North Decatur in the MHC standings were South Decatur (12-11, 4-2 MHC), Waldron (11-11, 4-2), Edinburgh (13-9, 3-3), Hauser (11-12, 3-3), Morristown (1-21, 1-5) and Southwestern (4-18, 0-6).

Three more athletes were named Honorable Mention for their performances – Southwestern’s Ben Kahler, South Decatur’s Dale Peters and Edinburgh’s Connor Ramey.

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Four Shelby County athletes selected to All-MHC Girls Basketball Team

Morristown’s Raegan Kleine and Danika Rutledge were joined on the All-Mid-Hoosier Conference Girls Basketball Team by Southwestern’s McKinley Correll and Waldron’s Josie Larrison.

The 12-member team was recently announced at a postseason banquet.

Kleine (12.8 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Rutledge (12.7 ppg, 9.3 rpg) led Morristown (13-11, 4-2 MHC) to a runner-up finish in the conference standings.

North Decatur (17-6) finished 6-0 against conference opponents to claim the championship. Three Chargers – Madi Allen (13.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Madelyn Bohman (8.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Ella Kunz (11.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg) – were honored as All-MHC for their performances this season.

Larrison averaged 7.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg for Waldron (5-18, 2-4 MHC).

Correll’s All-MHC honor was based on her averaging 10 ppg and 6.6 rpg for the Spartans (6-17, 1-5 MHC).

Also named All-MHC were South Decatur’s Kiley Best (12.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and Makayla Somers (10 ppg, 9.3 rpg), Edinburgh’s Gracie Crawhorn (11.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg), and Hauser’s Kyliegh Parrott (9.5 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Madelyn Poe (15.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg).

North Decatur head coach Doug Laker was named MHC Coach of the Year.

Seven more athletes were named Honorable Mention -- Waldron’s Alyssa Benson and Alivia Fischer, Hauser’s Kenze Bostic and Adrianna Musillami, South Decatur’s Molly Eden and North Decatur’s Kelsey Haley and Clare Kinker.

Hauser (10-12, 4-2 MHC) and South Decatur (9-15, 4-2 MHC) finished in a three-way tie with Morristown. Edinburgh finished 6-18 (0-6 MHC).

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Triton Central's record-breaking receiver signs with UIndy

FAIRLAND – Triton Central’s record-breaking receiver is ready for the jump to the next level.

Brad Schultz made his commitment to the University of Indianapolis’ football program official Thursday in a signing ceremony at the school.

Triton Central’s new record holder for single game yards (238), single season receptions (79) and receiving yards (1,492), and career receptions (125) and receiving yards (2,229) always favored UIndy but an administrative change within the football program stalled his recruitment.

“My recruiting coordinator quit at UIndy so that’s what kind of jumbled everything up,” said Schultz, the son of Brad and Leslie Schultz. “Up until the end, it was either UIndy or Olivet (Nazarene). I loved Olivet but I liked UIndy even more. They are in my backyard, just 15 minutes from here. And I think their training program will develop me.”

After a tough junior season with the Tigers due to a frustrating ankle injury, Schultz was still not convinced he could play college football – despite the strong desire to do just that.

“I never really thought I could until probably going into my senior year,” he said. “I was playing 7-on-7 and I was doing really, really well playing against ranked kids. My coaches over there told me to push for it.”

 

 

And with the help of a junior quarterback drawing Division I interest, Schultz stepped up and dominated most Friday nights. He had nine catches for 149 yards and three touchdowns in a season-opening win over Cascade, 42-14. Two weeks later against the eventual Class A state champions from Indianapolis Lutheran, Schultz produced eight catches for 188 yards.

As the season rolled on, the TC records of former Manchester All-American Dakota Nelson and receiver-turned-quarterback Aaron Steele started to fall.

Schultz also was a defensive presence for Triton Central as both a linebacker and defensive back depending on the opponent.

“It was definitely a fun season,” he said. “It was rough getting moved around all year and playing different positions but I think it worked out.”

Schultz already has a weight training regimen from UIndy and he expects the playbook to arrive soon.

“I think the biggest adjustment is going from playing kids my age to I’m moving in and will be the youngest kid there,” said Schultz. “Playing against guys totally bigger than me and more mature physically, I think that will be the biggest stepping stone.”

 

 

Schultz is ready for the more competitive environment that comes with joining a top 20 Division II program.

“I think the biggest part of football is winning,” he said. “I don’t want to play for a school that is OK with being average. I want to play in a program that is going to push me. I think that has been my biggest goal.”

While he knows he is starting over as a freshman, Schultz relishes the challenge of proving himself once again, just as he did at Triton Central when he moved in as a freshman.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “For me, high school football was fun but college football, almost everyone on the team is being paid to be there. They will want it more. High school football, you are out there to have fun with your friends. At college, it will be more competitive and fun.”

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Morristown gymnast qualifies for Franklin Central Regional

Morristown senior gymnast Oakleigh Goedde scored a pair of top-six event finishes and placed third in the all-around competition to advance out of the Connersville Sectional.

The top six finishers in each event and the all-around qualified for the Franklin Central Regional Friday. Also, the top three teams advanced to the regional round.

On Saturday at Connersville High School, Goedde (photo, fourth from left) placed fourth in the vault with an 8.775 and fourth on the balance beam at 8.45 to earn a spot in the regional. However with scores of 7.075 on uneven bars and 8.2 on floor exercise, Goedde finished third in the all-around competition (32.5) behind New Palestine’s Lynzie Stiller (34.3) and Rushville’s Isabell Westphal (34.15).

New Palestine captured the sectional title with a team score of 103.425. Also advancing to regional are New Castle (99.25) and Rushville (95.525).

Morristown finished fifth (88.425) and Shelbyville was sixth (74.00).

New Castle’s Hailey Helsley won the vault with a score of 9.0. Shelbyville’s Renee Aldridge finished eighth (8.55).

New Palestine’s Jillianne Fee took first place on the balance beam with a 9.525. Morristown’s Remi Spicklemire’s score of 8.30 left her .025 away from the regional cut in a seventh-place finish.

New Palestine’s Addyson Kendall won the uneven bars event with an 8.3.

Fee also was the top scorer in the floor exercise at 9.525.

The Franklin Central Regional will feature the top six finishers from the Connersville and Franklin Central sectionals.

At the regional, the top six in each event and all-around as well as the top three teams advance to the State Finals on March 11 at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie.

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Triton Central's depth overwhelms Speedway in ICC victory

SPEEDWAY – To win a third-straight sectional title, Triton Central cannot afford extended lapses in focus to get through the Eastern Hancock Sectional.

The Tigers had one of those lapses Friday in the second half of the second quarter at Speedway when a 30-22 lead disappeared in less than a three-minute stretch.

Triton Central recovered to take a 35-31 lead into halftime then scored 44 second-half points to put away the Sparkplugs, 79-67, and finish fifth in the Indiana Crossroads Conference standings.

Isaac Morgan scored a game-high 23 points and three more Tigers scored in double figures to close out the regular season with a 16-6 record (3-4 ICC).

Morgan aggressively attacked the rim in the opening quarter and scored seven points as the Tigers built an 18-15 lead.

Luke Faust took over in the second quarter and tallied 10 of his 18 points to get TC a 35-31 lead despite Speedway’s 10-2 run that netted a 31-30 advantage. Triton Central had a stretch where it turned the ball over four straight possessions.

“We were disappointed in the volume of the way we turned the ball over,” said Triton Central head coach Kyle Ballard. “Especially the way it happened. A lot of it was just not catching the ball, we had some travels and some silly passes. It’s all stuff we can control and they took advantage of that.”

Nate Matelic (19 ppg) scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half for Speedway but did not have a second-half field goal until late in the fourth quarter.

Silas Blair and Eli Sego combined for 12 points in the third quarter as the Tigers extended the lead to 57-45.

Morgan made his final six shots and the Tigers shot 67% from the field over the final eight minutes and made 6 of 8 free throws to seal the win.

Faust had a game-high eight rebounds. Sego, a freshman, finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Blair, a sophomore, had 14 points and five rebounds.

“(Blair) has really gotten a lot more comfortable within himself, playing to his strengths and picking his spots,” said Ballard. “As a young player, sometimes that is the hardest leap to make, to understand when to go and when not to go. We really like where he is at when he plays within himself.”

Kody Fenters scored 16 points for Speedway (3-18, 2-5 ICC).

The Sparkplugs won the junior varsity game 45-38. Damola Ajani led Speedway with 15 points. Camden Bennett had 13.

Garrett McElfresh topped Triton Central with 16 points. Sam Collier finished with 12.

Triton Central faces Indianapolis Riverside (9-10) in the first semifinal game Friday at Eastern Hancock.

Class 2A, No. 11 Eastern Hancock (18-6) opens the sectional tournament Tuesday against Irvington Prep (4-19). The winner advances to take on Indianapolis Scecina (15-6) in the second semifinal game Friday.

“This is the first time in the tournament for a bunch of these guys but we really like where our young guys have come from the beginning of the year to now. They have really matured quite a bit, physically and mentally,” said Ballard. “We are excited about the opportunity next weekend.”

 

Triton Central 79, Speedway 67

TC – Faust 6-13 4-4 18, Sego 6-12 7-7 19, Stuckey 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan 10-14 2-3 23, Blair 6-12 2-3 14, Crouse 2-8 0-0 5, Baugh 0-2 0-0 0, Kemper 0-0 0-0 0, Goul 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-61 15-17 79.

SP – N. Matelic 4-15 8-11 17, Short 2-4 4-6 8, Cal. Bennett 2-2 0-0 4, D. Matelic 4-9 0-0 9, Cr. Bennett 1-3 0-0 2, Fenters 6-14 2-2 16, Bambo 2-2 0-1 4, Robinson 3-6 1-4 7, Cam. Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, Cork 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-56 15-24 67.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

TC (16-6)  18  17  22  22  --  79

SP (3-18)   15  16  14  22  --  67

Three-point field goals: TC 4-20 (Faust 2-7, Sego 0-5, Morgan 1-1, Blair 0-3, Crouse 1-3, Baugh 0-1), SP 4-13 (N. Matelic 1-4, D. Matelic 1-2, Fenters 2-6, Robinson 0-1). Rebounds: TC 36 (Faust 8, Sego 7, Stuckey 6, Morgan 2, Blair 6, Crouse 2, Baugh 1, Kemper 4), SP 24 (N. Matelic 5, Short 5, D. Matelic 1, Cr. Bennett 4, Fenters 2, Bambo 1, Robinson 6). Assists: TC 7 (Sego 1, Morgan 2, Blair 2, Crouse 2), SP 9 (N. Matelic 2, Short 1, D. Matelic 2, Cr. Bennett 1, Fenters 1, Bambo 1, Robinson 1). Steals: TC 4 (Faust 1, Sego 1, Stuckey 1, Crouse 1), SP 2 (N. Matelic 1, Bambo 1). Blocks: TC 2 (Faust 1, Blair 1), SP 5 (N. Matelic 2, Short 1, Fenters 2). Total fouls: TC 24, SP 17. Fouled out: Baugh (TC). Turnovers: TC 15, SP 13.

JV

Speedway 45, Triton Central 38

TC – McElfresh 16, Collier 12, Morgan 6, Canter 2, McClure 2.

SP – Ajani 15, Cam. Bennett 13, Kiser 5, Cork 4, Lund 3, Coleman 3, Craig 2.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

TC    7    7  11  13  --  38

SP  14    5  11  15  --  45

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Sandman sets program record, reaches milestone in loss at Batesville

BATESVILLE – Shelbyville senior Ollie Sandman reached a milestone and broke a basketball program record Thursday in a 55-49 loss at Batesville.

Sandman (main photo) scored a team-high 16 points and made four three-pointers to surpass Zach Kuhn’s program record for career made 3s. And Sandman needed just 10 points to become the 10th Golden Bear to score 1,000 career points.

“Ollie has made tremendous growth. He is a great kid and you can’t take anything away from him,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett Jr. “He has worked his butt off to get to this point. Becoming the tenth Golden Bear to get to 1,000 points and breaking Zach Kuhn’s 190 made 3-point record is a big accomplishment. He has worked for it. He has spent a countless amount of hours and he has put up so many shots in the summer, in the fall and in the spring to make this happen in the wintertime when its basketball season.”

Sandman can extend the 3s record and attempt to climb the career scoring leaderboard at Shelbyville Tuesday when the Golden Bears open the postseason against East Central at the Columbus North Sectional.

 

 

Shelbyville put together a strong first-half performance Thursday sparked by the return of freshman point guard Caden Claxton (photo above), who missed three games with a hand injury. Claxton wasted little time splashing a 3 midway through the first quarter that jumpstarted the Golden Bears, who were trailing 9-2.

Sandman followed with his first 3 and a 7-0 run gave the Golden Bears the lead, 12-11. The DePauw commit’s second 3 came at the 5:22 mark of the second quarter and tied Kuhn’s record. He added the record-breaking 3 with 1:53 left in the half which helped Shelbyville secure a 25-22 lead at the break.

Batesville (16-6) outscored the Golden Bears 14-5 in the third quarter and Shelbyville never recovered.

“We came out flat and they came out and scored right away,” said Hartnett. “We can’t have spurts where we have the lead and then come out in the third quarter and give up easy buckets or give up a big bucket. Every bucket they scored in the third was huge. And then they shot a bunch of free throws in the fourth quarter.

“We have to find guys that are wanting to get stops when it is time to get stops. It seems like when we take the lead we find ways to give it back to teams and we have to stop doing that.”

 

 

Sandman’s 1,000th-career point came with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter on a free throw that cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 38-31.

Sandman added a traditional 3-point play and Claxton hit one of his five made 3s that cut the deficit to 40-37.

Shelbyville would get no closer than that the rest of the contest.

Cade Kaiser sank 7 of 8 free-throw attempts inside the final two minutes to salt away the victory.

Jack Grunkemeyer led Batesville with 16 points. Kaiser and Sam Johnson each had 11 while Cole Pride finished with 10.

The Bulldogs shot 51% from the field to push its win streak to seven going into the postseason.

Claxton finished with 15 points and Aidan Asher had 11 points and five rebounds.

Shelbyville’s junior varsity finished 13-9 with a 57-39 victory at Batesville. Cole Schene led the Golden Bears with 13 points. Gavin Reed finished with 11 and Kohen Myers and Brody Runnebohm each had nine.

Notes: Sandman is 10th in career scoring (1,006 points) at Shelbyville trailing Kuhn (1,887), Harry Larrabee (1,370), Tim Ash (1,246), Wes Miller (1,244), Gary Elkins (1,149), Mark Drake (1,143), Rick Moorhead (1,038), Tony Martin (1,028) and Brian Asher (1,024) … Class 4A, Sectional 14 at Columbus North begins Tuesday with Shelbyville (9-13) and East Central (7-15) followed by the host Bull Dogs (14-8) and Franklin (10-13). Whiteland (9-14) awaits the winner of Shelbyville’s quarterfinal contest and Columbus East (2-19) will get the winner of the CN/FR game.

Steve Bush photos

 

Batesville 55, Shelbyville 49

SH – Sandman 5-11 4-9 16, Badgley 1-3 0-0 3, Brinkman 0-2 0-0 0, Parker 1-5 0-0 2, Lambert 1-2 0-0 2, Claxton 5-10 0-0 15, Asher 4-6 2-2 11. Totals: 17-40 4-6 49.

BV – Prickel 1-3 2-2 5, Kaiser 1-2 9-10 11, Pride 4-10 1-1 10, Johnson 4-7 1-2 11, Grunkemeyer 7-9 2-7 16, Laker 1-3 0-2 2, Drake 0-0 0-0 0, Maple 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-35 15-24 55.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH (9-13)  14  11    5  19  -- 49

BV (16-6)  14    8  14  19  --  55

Three-point field goals: SH 11-28 (Sandman 4-9, Badgley 1-3, Brinkman 0-2, Parker 0-2, Claxton 5-10, Asher 1-2), BV 4-11 (Prickel 1-2, Pride 1-4, Johnson 2-3, Laker 0-1, Maple 0-1). Rebounds: SH 21 (Sandman 4, Badgley 1, Brinkman 3, Parker 1, Lambert 3, Claxton 4, Asher 5), BV 16 (Kaiser 7, Pride 2, Johnson 2, Grunkemeyer 4, Laker 1). Assists: SH 10 (Sandman 1, Badgley 3, Brinkman 1, Parker 1, Claxton 4), BV 9 (Prickel 2, Kaiser 1, Pride 2, Johnson 1, Grunkemeyer 1, Laker 2). Steals: BV 3 (Prickel 1, Johnson 1, Laker 1). Blocks: BV 1 (Pride 1). Total fouls: SH 20, BV 12. Fouled out: Asher (SH). Turnovers: SH 16, BV 6.

JV

Shelbyville 57, Batesville 39

SH – Schene 13, Reed 11, Myers 9, Runnebohm 9, Reinhart 6, Owens 5, West 4.

BV – Luers 8, Kuria 6, Laker 5, Drake 5, Maple 4, Lewis 3, Raver 3, Heiser 2.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH  15  18  11  13  --  57

BV    7   14  10    8  -- 39

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Prep Report: Seniors lead Waldron to win over Sheridan

With all four seniors in the starting lineup on Senior Night, Waldron opened an early lead and never relinquished it in a 71-53 win Friday over Sheridan (10-12).

Lucas Mitchell scored 23 points to lead Waldron (11-11) and moved into the No. 5 position on the Mohawks’ career scoring board. The senior, now with 1,044 points, surpassed Tyler Bowlby (1,031) to move into the top five.

David Miller, another senior, finished with 11 points. Fellow seniors Sam Adkins and Bryce Yarling each scored six points. Yarling pushed his career scoring total to 1,243 points – No. 2 in Waldron history.

The Mohawks led 18-10 after one quarter but saw the Blackhawks cut the lead to 29-27 by halftime. Waldron outscored Sheridan 42-26 in the second half.

Waldron begins its postseason journey Wednesday in the Edinburgh Sectional against Morristown.

In other boys basketball games Friday:

 

 

Southwestern 83, Anderson Prep 61

On Senior Night, Southwestern’s three seniors – Matt Clements, Conner Jewell and Jonah DeArmitt – combined to score 40 points to help defeat the Jets.

Jewell hit seven three-pointers to lead Southwestern (4-18) with 21 points. DeArmitt finished with 10 points and Clements added nine.

Ben Kahler also scored in double figures with 18 points.

Southwestern led 14-13 after one quarter then scored at least 22 points in each of the next three quarters.

Lincoln Fathauer led Anderson Prep (1-21) with 19 points. Gavin Mitchell and Ben Scott finished with 17 and 16, respectively.

Southwestern opens postseason play Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Jac-Cen-Del (14-9) in the Edinburgh Sectional.

 

 

Tri 55, Morristown 28

On Senior Night at Morristown, Class A, No. 12 Tri survived a strong second quarter by the Yellow Jackets to improve to 16-5.

Caelin Huffman led the Titans with 19 points. Parker Burk had 14.

Morristown cut the Titans’ lead to 25-20 by halftime but was outscored 30-8 in the second half.

Senior Jameson Palmer led Morristown (1-21) with 12 points. Fellow seniors Kamdyn Gaines and Chase Theobald played their final game at the Bee Hive.

The Yellow Jackets will face Waldron (11-11) in the second quarterfinal game Wednesday at the Edinburgh Sectional.

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Nearly $2 million slated for Quarter Horse Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Indiana Quarter Horse racing is coming off one of its best record-breaking years to date, and the momentum continues into 2023.

More than $1.9 million is slated over 23 stakes races on the Quarter Horse schedule, with that figure certain to top $2 million following the addition of nomination fees to the final purses.

The 2022 season saw two stakes, the Gordon Mobley Futurity and the Miss Roxie Little Futurity, top $200,000, a first in Indiana Quarter Horse Racing history. The Miss Roxie Little Futurity now holds the record for the richest purse for a state stakes program at $201,500. Once again, the Miss Roxie Little Futurity will be joined by the Gordon Mobley Futurity and the Leader of the Class Sale Futurity as the richest stakes on the program starting at $150,000-added.

 

 

“Our Quarter Horse program continues to grow each year, and we are excited to keep that trend going in 2023,” said Chris Polzin, Director of Racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville. “We have 10 stakes that will be run for six figures, and the nominations and participation in our stakes continues to grow annually. It’s very encouraging to see the amount of interest in our Quarter Horse program from across the nation, and we look forward to hosting some big days to showcase our Indiana Quarter Horse program.”

In addition to offering at least one race on a daily basis during the 123-day meet, a total of six Saturdays have been set aside for Quarter Horse racing. The all-Quarter Horse events will be held June 3, July 1, July 22, Aug. 12, Sept. 2 and Oct. 7. Post times for the cards will be 10:45 a.m.

“We have worked to find the right fit in the simulcasting schedule for our Quarter Horse days, and the late morning start puts us in a prime spot for coverage through industry television outlets,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “We continue to consult with the horsemen to ensure both our on-track and simulcasting partners are benefitting from these dates and times, and the results are positive. Our Saturday cards are well attended and provide our horsemen with a platform to show just how far our state Quarter Horse program has come over the past few years.”

The 2023 Quarter Horse Stakes schedule begins with the $75,000-added Harley Greene Derby and the $75,000-added Born Runner Classic slated for the first all-Quarter Horse Day on June 3.

The stakes schedule culminates on Oct. 29 during the fourth Indiana Champions Day showcased by five stakes, including the $150,000-added Miss Roxie Little Futurity. Quarter Horse stakes purses will top $500,000 for the day.

The 21st season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing will begin April 18. Live racing will be held Monday through Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. with Thursday post time set for 2:10 p.m.

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Helfer-Vazquez accomplishes goal of becoming a collegiate diver

When health issues derailed Maiah Helfer-Vazquez’s junior diving season, the thought occurred to her that becoming a college diver was now gone.

If what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, the Shelbyville senior’s best diving days are ahead of her at Franklin College.

On Monday in the Golden Bear Room at Shelbyville High School, Helfer-Vazquez made her commitment to Franklin College official in front of friends and family (photo, third from left).

“I was wanting to do college diving before (my health issues) but I thought I wasn’t going to get the chance since I didn’t have last year,” said Helfer-Vazquez. “The Franklin College coach reached out to me and I am really thankful to be able to get to dive in college.”

Franklin College diving coach Ty Hoffman was one of several coaches interested in Helfer-Vazquez after she finished her sophomore season as a regional qualifier.

 

Maiah Helfer-Vaquez signs her paperwork committing to being a diver at Franklin College Monday as Shelbyville diving coach Bri Mason observes.

 

Helfer-Vazquez returned to the regional round after a successful senior season that proved her resolve.

“It was really hard,” she said. “I improved a lot mentally and am still improving physically again getting back into it.

“I did become braver and mentally tougher, being thankful for coming back to diving changed my mindset on everything.”

When Helfer-Vazquez arrived at the high school level, she practiced daily with senior diver Cameron Baker. She will follow that same routine at Franklin College where Baker now competes.

After a long senior season, Helfer-Vazquez will embrace some down time before resuming her club diving schedule.

“For the next couple of weeks I’m resting,” she said. “The last four months was busy.”

All that is left now for Helfer-Vazquez is graduation. Then she can concentrate on her newest challenge – being a freshman at Franklin College where she will study Exercise Science with the goal of being a physical therapist.

“It’s nerve-wracking but it’s really exciting,” she said.

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Collegiate Update: Lux delivers solo home run in Duke's loss to Liberty

Damon Lux blasted a solo home run to straightaway centerfield Wednesday in Duke’s 8-6 loss to Liberty in Durham, North Carolina.

Lux’s first home run of the season opened the scoring in the second inning. The loss dropped the Blue Devils to 2-2 this season.

Duke baseball debuted Friday with a 16-0 win over Saint Joseph’s. Lux went 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and a stolen base.

 

 

On Saturday, Duke prevailed 2-1 over Saint Joseph’s. Lux went 1-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly that scored the game-winning run.

Saint Joseph’s won the series finale Sunday, 5-4 in 10 innings. Lux went 0-for-3 with two walks.

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

 

 

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had five points, one rebound and one assist Wednesday for Loyola in a 71-61 loss at Duquesne that dropped the Ramblers to 6-22 this season.

On Saturday, Chandler finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists in a 61-50 loss at George Washington.

 

 

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate had one rebound for Samford in a 70-59 loss against Mercer Saturday. Samford is 13-14.

 

 

Hayden Langkabel

The Morristown graduate produced 11 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists Wednesday in Marian’s 81-70 Crossroads League Tournament quarterfinal win over Bethel.

The Knights improved to 21-8 and travel to Grace College Saturday for a semifinal contest.

In Marian’s regular-season finale Saturday, Langkabel had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal in an 85-83 double overtime win over Taylor.

 

 

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate had one rebound and one assist Saturday for Hanover in an 83-73 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament win over Franklin.

The Panthers (17-9) face Anderson Friday.

 

 

Taylor Heath

The Triton Central graduate finished with eight points, two rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot in Hanover’s 84-79 win at Mount St. Joseph Friday.

The Panthers are 16-7 and face unbeaten Transylvania (25-0) Friday in the semifinal round of the HCAC Tournament.

 

 

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate had 10 points, three rebounds and one steal Saturday in Oakland City’s 72-63 loss to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

The Mighty Oaks finished the season 9-19.

 

 

Tenleigh Phelps

The Triton Central graduate had two points Friday in Youngstown State’s 75-54 loss to Milwaukee.

The Penguins dropped to 18-9 this season.

 

 

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate saw her freshman season at Anderson University come to a close Tuesday in a 73-65 loss to Bluffton in the HCAC Tournament Opening Round.

Larrison finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists and one block.

The Ravens ended their season at 15-10.

 

 

Zaleeya Martin

The Shelbyville graduate broke her own Hanover record in the 60-meter dash Friday at the RHIT Friday Night Spikes Tune-Up.

Martin won the 60 meters in 7.79 seconds. Her previous record was 7.82. Martin also won the long jump competition with a best attempt of 4.94 meters and she was part of Hanover’s runner-up finish in the 4x200 relay.

 

 

Alison Muck

The Southwestern graduate placed fifth in the 200 (28.29) and won the high jump competition with a best clearance of 1.45 meters for Franklin College Friday at the RHIT Friday Night Spikes Tune-Up.

 

 

Jill Anspaugh

The Shelbyville graduate finished second in the one-mile run (5:41.87) for Franklin College at the RHIT Friday Night Spikes Tune-Up.

 

 

Taylor Tatlock

The Southwestern graduate placed seventh in the women’s weight throw (12.53 meters) for Franklin College at the RHIT Friday Night Spikes Tune-Up.

 

 

Madisen Hinderliter

The Shelbyville graduate finished ninth for St. Francis (Ind.) in the women’s weight throw (45 feet, nine inches) at the Crossroads League Championship event at Indiana Wesleyan.

 

 

Sequoia Gilbert

The Shelbyville graduate placed 18th in the 60 meters (8.28) and 20th in the 200 (28.38) for St. Francis at the Crossroads League Championship.

 

 

Konrad Dorsey

The Shelbyville graduate finished eighth in the 60 meters (7.67) and fourth in the 200 (25.42) for Trine University Saturday in the Hillsdale Tune-Up in Hillsdale, Michigan.

 

 

TeAnn Bringle

The Shelbyville graduate had a double and a run batted in Sunday for Indiana State University’s softball team in a 4-2 win at Chattanooga in the final game of the Chattanooga Challenge.

The Sycamores opened the event Saturday with a 3-2 loss to Marshall and an 8-0 win over Maine. Bringle had a walk in each game.

On Sunday, Marshall defeated Indiana State again, 1-0, before the finale with Chattanooga.

Indiana State is 3-2 this season.

 

 

Cory Taylor

The Shelbyville graduate went 1-for-1 with a run scored Sunday in Eastern Michigan’s 13-9 win over Northern Kentucky in Hoover, Alabama.

Eastern Michigan scored 10 runs in the final two innings to secure the baseball program’s first win of the season.

Northern Kentucky won the first two games of the weekend, 9-2 and 5-4.

 

 

Madalyn Hudnall

The Waldron graduate finished 16th in the women’s weight throw (39-3.75) and 13th in the shot put (35-4.5) for Mount St. Joseph Saturday at the Wittenberg Invitational.

 

 

Kina Schultz

The Shelbyville graduate was the runner-up in the 200 (27.55) and third in the 60-meter hurdles (9.79) Friday for Muskingum in an indoor track and field meet hosted on its campus.

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Seymour overpowers Shelbyville in 57-44 victory

SEYMOUR – An 11-0 run to start the third quarter was enough to get Seymour its fourth win in its last five outings.

Jaylan Johnson scored 11 of his team-high 21 points in the second quarter to stake the Owls to a 22-20 lead at halftime against Shelbyville Tuesday at Lloyd Scott Gymnasium.

Johnson scored the first four points of the third quarter and Landon Fritsch hit Seymour’s first three-pointer of the game that was part of an 11-0 run to start the quarter and a 22-9 overall run that led to a 57-44 victory.

Seymour improved to 9-12 after starting the season 0-6.

The Golden Bears lost their third straight to fall to 9-12.

Ollie Sandman (photo) hit five 3s to lead Shelbyville with 24 points but stopping Johnson proved difficult in the first half and the Golden Bears shot 20% in the fourth quarter during a stalled comeback attempt.

“Overall, what I was most disappointed in was our defensive effort,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. Jr. “I thought there were too many times where they had too many easy straight-line drives to the basket and some guys taking some plays off defensively. I am just disappointed with some of the defensive effort tonight.”

Seymour used a 6-0 run to take an 8-5 lead after one quarter.

Sandman sank a pair of 3s early in the second quarter – the second a long-range bomb that put the Golden Bears up 13-11.

Johnson, a six-foot, two-inch sophomore, went to the free-throw line eight times in the second quarter and forced Hartnett to go deep down the bench to find someone to contain him in the low post.

“At halftime, we talked about how we were going to try and adjust and stop Johnson down low,” said Hartnett. “That guy is a load. He is a hard worker down low. All the time we had to prepare for him we’ve known that you have to work early on Johnson to make sure he doesn’t get position in the post. He ate us up the whole entire game down low.”

 

 

Once Shelbyville got down double digits in the third quarter, the physical Seymour defense only allowed two field goals inside the 3-point arc in the second half.

“It doesn’t help having Caden (Claxton) out who is a contributor on our scoring end,” said Hartnett of his injured point guard who has missed the last three games with an injury. “We are trying to figure out different ways to score some shots.”

Johnson also had a game-high eight rebounds.

Eli Meyer finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Fritsch had 13.

Aidan Asher went 3-for-3 from the arc and added a free throw for 10 points for Shelbyville. Jackson Parker finished with four points, five rebounds and two assists.

With 24 points, Sandman pushed his career scoring total to 990 points. He would be the 10th Golden Bear to eclipse 1,000 career points.

Shelbyville won the junior varsity game, 40-37.

The Golden Bears close out the regular-season schedule Thursday at Batesville (15-6).

Steve Bush photos

 

Seymour 57, Shelbyville 44

SH – Sandman 8-12 3-3 24, Badgley 1-6 1-2 3, Brinkman 0-2 1-2 1, Parker 0-3 4-6 4, Lambert 1-4 0-2 2, Asher 3-3 1-1 10, Myers 0-0 0-0 0, Fortune 0-0 0-0 0, West 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-30 10-16 44.

SE – Fritsch 5-12 1-2 13, Longmeier 2-6 1-2 5, Johnson 7-10 7-12 21, Perry 2-5 0-1 4, Meyer 5-7 4-4 14, Rennekamp 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Harp 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-41 13-21 57.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH (9-12)    5  15  11  13  -- 44

SE (9-12)     8  14  18  17  -- 57

Three-point field goals: SH 8-16 (Sandman 5-9, Badgley 0-3, Brinkman 0-1, Asher 3-3), SE 2-12 (Fritsch 2-5, Longmeier 0-3, Perry 0-2, Meyer 0-1, Brooks 0-1). Rebounds: SH 14 (Sandman 1, Brinkman 1, Parker 5, Lambert 3, Asher 3, West 1), SE 24 (Fritsch 5, Longmeier 3, Johnson 8, Perry 1, Meyer 7). Assists: SH 5 (Brinkman 1, Parker 3, West 1), SE 9 (Longmeier 5, Perry 2, Meyer 1, Smith 1). Steals: SE 4 (Fritsch 1, Longmeier 2, Johnson 1). Blocks: SE 2 (Johnson 2). Total fouls: SH 15, SE 16. Turnovers: SH 11, SE 3.

JV

Shelbyville 40, Seymour 37

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Shelbyville gymnastics closes regular season at New Palestine

Shelbyville gymnastics closed out its regular-season schedule Tuesday with a third-place finish at New Palestine High School.

The host Dragons improved to 17-1 this season after securing victories over three opponents. New Palestine’s 97.625 outdistanced Fishers (85.875), Shelbyville (69.65) and Indianapolis Lutheran (50.375).

Lutheran’s Penelope Morrow won the all-around competition with a 33.75. Morrow won the uneven bars event with an 8.4 and she tied with New Palestine’s Lynzie Stiller for first place on the vault with an 8.45. Morrow also finished runner-up on the balance beam (8.325) and third in the floor exercise (8.575).

Faye-Lynn Voss delivered Shelbyville’s best result with a fourth-place finish in the vault (8.15). Ella Griggs finished fifth on the uneven bars (6.825).

Shelbyville travels to Connersville Saturday for sectional competition beginning at 11 a.m. The 10-team field also includes Connersville, Franklin County, Morristown, Muncie Central, New Castle, New Palestine, Northeastern, Rushville and Union County.

The top six place winners in each event as well as the all-around competition advance to the Franklin Central Regional on March 3.

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Glesing leaving Shelbyville to take Salem football coaching position

Salem High School needed a new football coach and athletic director Hank Weedin knew just who to call.

Brian Glesing was surprised to hear one of his former Hanover College roommates offer him a job – one that proved too intriguing to pass up.

Glesing formally accepted the head coaching position at Salem last week, leaving Shelbyville after just two seasons and a 2-15 record.

“The timing isn’t great,” said Glesing on Monday from the football office at McKeand Stadium in Shelbyville. “I loved everything our kids have done, my assistant coaches and the parents have done to get to this point and build the program. We are going in the right direction.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”

In 20 seasons as a head coach at LaVille, Clarksville, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Paoli and Shelbyville, Glesing is 120-109. Brought to Shelbyville with a reputation of rebuilding struggling football programs, the Franklin Central graduate established a new culture within the Golden Bears despite only tangible success on the field.

Shelbyville won just one game in the three seasons before his arrival. Glesing helped the program end a 26-game losing streak in 2021 and a 23-game Hoosier Heritage Conference losing streak in 2022.

 

 

“That was the hardest thing I’ve done because they’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do,” said Glesing when asked how telling the Golden Bears went. “Their attitude, character and effort is unbelievable and off the charts. It’s tough when you preach hang in there and stick it out and you’re the one that leaves. I told them the other day to continue with attitude, character and effort.

“Whomever the new coach is going to be, you will be in good hands. Keep doing those things and good things will happen.”

Salem finished 2-8 in 2022. In head coach Blair Thompson’s three seasons with the Lions, the program played for a sectional championship in 2020 in a 7-3 season, went 6-3 in 2021 before falling below .500 this past season.

“They called me. I did not seek them out,” said Glesing, who will finish out his teaching contract at SHS before leaving for Salem. “When you are getting a phone call to come down and coach football, that makes you feel good. I will be working for a guy, the athletic director at Salem, we go a long way back. When the job came open there, he called me and said you are our guy.”

Glesing’s wife, Barbara, a teacher at Hendricks Elementary in Shelbyville, is originally from southern Indiana and that factored into the decision.

“I couldn’t turn it down. I’m being selfish in that regard, but my wife is also involved,” he said. “She is originally from southern Indiana and it’s a chance to get back to her mom, who has been in the hospital and been sick. There are a lot of things going on with that and she can be closer to her.”

While Shelbyville has struggled to be competitive on the gridiron in recent seasons against HHC opposition, the school system has invested heavily in recent years building a new lockerroom and purchasing new lights at McKeand Stadium, opening an 8,000-square-foot weight room within the school and, this summer, installing an artificial turf surface that will be ready for the 2023 season.

“Everything is there as far as being on the outside looking in – the turf, this facility we are sitting in here today, and the weight room,” said Glesing. “And great faculty. Everything is there. It’s ready to explode.

“I told the players I want to see it through (here) but sometimes you get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you have to go do and that’s what happened.”

Barring a schedule change, Shelbyville and Salem will meet on Aug. 11 in a preseason jamboree with Madison.

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Rushville tops Morristown in gymnastics regular-season finale

Morristown gymnastics closed out its regular-season schedule Monday with a 92.2-88.925 loss at Rushville.

Bell Westphal led the host Lions with top scores in the vault, uneven bars and in the all-around competition. Cora Emory won the floor exercise.

Morristown’s Oakleigh Goedde won the balance beam competition, finished runner-up on the vault and uneven bars and placed third in the floor exercise. She tied Westphal for the top score in the all-around.

Remi Spicklemire placed fifth in the vault, third on uneven bars, second on balance beam and fifth in floor exercise. She finished third in the all-around.

Morristown travels to Connersville Saturday for sectional competition beginning at 11 a.m. The 10-team field includes Connersville, Franklin County, Morristown, Muncie Central, New Castle, New Palestine, Northeastern, Rushville, Shelbyville and Union County.

The top six place winners in each event as well as the all-around competition advance to the Franklin Central Regional on March 3.

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Prep Report: Rife lowers SHS swim record at New Palestine Sectional

Will Rife produced a school-record performance but did not qualify for the IHSAA State Championships.

Rife (photo, center), a junior, finished second Saturday in the 100-yard butterfly sectional championship race at New Palestine and lowered his own school record time to 53.46 seconds.

Richmond’s Cayden Lindahl won the 100 butterfly sectional title with a time of 52.34.

Rife also was the runner-up in the 100 backstroke at 56.07. Mount Vernon’s Ethan Murphy won the race in 54.60.

Rife also was part of two Shelbyville relay teams that finished third.

Rife teamed with Trey Carrell, Tristin Maloney and Beau Kenkel to secure a third-place finish in the 200 medley relay (1:44.34). Richmond won the sectional title in 1:41.63.

In the 200 freestyle relay, Carrell, Kenkel, Andrew Duffy and Rife took third in 1:35.05. Mount Vernon won the race in 1:29.63.

Carrell also had a pair of top-four finishes Saturday. The senior placed third in the 50 freestyle (22.52) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (49.62).

Kenkel and Duffy teamed with Elijah von Werder and Tristin Maloney for an eighth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:46.09).

In other prep events Saturday:

Gymnastics

New Castle 101.95, Rushville 96.225, Shelbyville 73.55, Jay County 56.525

At New Castle, Renee Aldridge produced Shelbyville’s top score in three of the four events and secured a pair of top-eight results.

Aldridge received an 8.75 for her vaulting effort and finished seventh overall. Alisa Fisher and Ella Griggs each scored 8.4.

Aldridge’s score of 7.3 earned her a fifth-place ribbon in the uneven bars event.

Ella Griggs led the Golden Bears with a 6.6 on the balance beam.

Aldridge’s 7.7 led Shelbyville in the floor exercise.

Southmont Invitational

Morristown totaled a score of 87.7 to finish fifth in the 12-team invitational.

Oakleigh Goedde won the balance beam competition for Morristown and placed seventh in vault, 10th on uneven bars and seventh in floor exercise which earned her a fourth-place finish in the all-around.

Remi Spicklemire finished fifth on beam, eighth in floor exercise and ninth in the all-around scoring.

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IHSAA announces pairings for 113th Annual Boys Basketball State Tournament

Indiana high school boys basketball teams learned what the path to Gainbridge Fieldhouse looks like Sunday when the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced the pairings for the 113th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament.

Sectional games will begin on Feb. 28 and run through March 4 with one-game regionals set for March 11.

Semistate semifinal and championship games will be played on March 18 and the State Finals will close out the season on March 25 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.

Columbus North Sectional

The Class 4A, Sectional 14 tournament is hosted by Columbus North.

Shelbyville (9-11) opens the bracket on Feb. 28 against East Central (6-15). The Golden Bears defeated the Trojans, 47-38 on Dec. 22.

The winner advances to face Whiteland (8-14) in the semifinal round on March 3.

Also on Feb. 28, Franklin (10-12) will face Columbus North (14-7) with the winner advancing to a semifinal game against Columbus East (2-18).

The Columbus North Sectional champion will face the Center Grove Sectional champion in the Seymour Regional on March 11.

Eastern Hancock Sectional

Triton Central has won back-to-back sectional titles but to capture a third, it may have to defeat Class 2A, No. 13 Eastern Hancock on its home floor.

The Class 2A, Sectional 42 host Royals (16-6) open the tournament on Feb. 28 against Irvington Prep (4-17). The winner gets Indianapolis Scecina (14-6) in the semifinal round.

Triton Central (15-6) already sits in the semifinal round where it will face Indianapolis Riverside (8-9) with a berth in the sectional championship game at stake.

The Eastern Hancock Sectional champion will travel to the Greenfield-Central Regional to face the Cascade Sectional champ.

Edinburgh Sectional

Class A, Sectional 60 features seven teams with many natural rivalries.

South Decatur (10-11) battles Class A, No. 16 Edinburgh (12-9) in the sectional opener Tuesday. The winner advances to the semifinal to take on Oldenburg Academy (6-13).

In Wednesday’s quarterfinal games, Jac-Cen-Del (13-9) drew Southwestern (3-18) in game one while sister schools Waldron (10-11) and Morristown (1-20) will meet in the nightcap. Wednesday’s winners advance to the semifinal round.

The Edinburgh Sectional champion travels to Martinsville for the one-game regional against the Indiana Deaf Sectional champion.

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Delta pins Hoosier Heritage Conference loss on Shelbyville

Delta used an efficient shooting performance to pick apart Shelbyville and spoil Senior Night at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

The Eagles hit eight of their first 12 three-point shots and shot 45% or better in each of the four quarters Friday to collect their fourth straight win, 62-46.

D’Amare Hood led Delta (14-8, 3-4 Hoosier Heritage Conference) with 16 points and six rebounds.

Blake Jones and Kaiden Bond combined for five made 3s and 25 more points.

“Coming into the game they were shooting about 32% from the 3-point line. That was not their strong suit,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett Jr. “Tonight, it seemed like everybody they had were stroking 3s. Our scouting report told our guys to sit back and make (Delta) earn it, and they sure did in the first half.”

Ollie Sandman (main photo), playing in his final game at Garrett Gymnasium, topped the Golden Bears (9-11, 1-6 HHC) with 18 points. The senior committed to play basketball at DePauw University is 34 points short of 1,000 career points with two regular-season games left on the schedule.

Damon Badgley came off the bench Friday to score 11 points and Kohen Myers had all six of his points and three rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Shelbyville shot 35% from the field (16 of 46) and finished 7 of 23 from the 3-point line (30%).

Delta outscored the Golden Bears 25-15 over the middle two quarters to build a 43-26 lead.

“Delta did a very good job of jumping on ball screens and making us go backward instead of toward the basket and I thought at times, especially in the middle of the game, our offense stalled and our guys didn’t quite know where they were going and what spots to hit,” said Hartnett. “Their defensive pressure really threw us off. Offensively, we made some errors and that led to not getting the shots that we wanted. And they forced us to take some bad shots outside the paint.”

 

 

Shelbyville utilized an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to get within 45-34, and four times got the lead down to 10 but did not get any closer.

Delta closed the game with a 9-3 run, with seven points coming from the free-throw line.

In the junior varsity game, Shelbyville outscored Delta 13-5 in the final quarter to take a 41-34 victory.

Brody Runnebohm led the Golden Bears with 16 points.

Shelbyville ends the season with consecutive road games at Seymour (8-12) Tuesday and at Batesville (15-6) Thursday.

Steve Bush photos

 

Delta 62, Shelbyville 46

DE – Hood 4-7 6-6 16, Bond 5-8 0-1 12, Manor 1-1 2-2 4, B. Jones 5-6 0-0 13, Furney 2-7 4-6 9, Elliott 0-1 0-0 0, Wors 3-7 2-2 8, C. Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-37 14-17 62.

SH – Sandman 5-16 4-4 18, Brinkman 1-2 2-2 4, Parker 1-4 0-0 2, Asher 1-2 0-0 3, Fortune 0-0 0-0 0, Badgley 4-14 1-2 11, Lambert 1-2 0-0 2, Myers 3-5 0-0 6, Reed 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-46 7-8 46.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

DE (14-8)  18  12  13  19  --  62

SH (9-11)  11    9    6  20  --  46

Three-point field goals: DE 8-14 (Hood 2-4, Bond 2-3, B. Jones 3-3, Furney 1-3, Elliott 0-1 ), SH 7-23 (Sandman 4-13, Brinkman 0-1, Parker 0-1, Asher 1-2, Badgley 2-6). Rebounds: DE 20 (Hood 6, Bond 1, B. Jones 3, Furney 4, Elliott 1, Wors 4, C. Jones 1), SH 17 (Sandman 4, Brinkman 1, Asher 2, Badgley 3, Lambert 4, Myers 3). Assists: DE 11 (Hood 1, Bond 1, Manor 1, B. Jones 5, Furney 2, Wors 1), SH 8 (Sandman 2, Brinkman 2, Parker 2, Badgley 2). Steals: DE 1 (Hood 1), SH 4 (Brinkman 2, Fortune 2). Blocks: DE 4 (Hood 2, Furney 1, Wors 1), SH 4 (Brinkman 1, Parker 2, Myers 1). Total fouls: DE 13, SH 12. Turnovers: DE 8, SH 8.

JV

Shelbyville 41, Delta 34

DE -- Bragg 12, Bratton 7, Furney 7, Ritchie 6, Edwards 2.

SH – Runnebohm 16, Myers 9, Reinhart 6, West 6, Reed 2, Schene 2.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

DE    8  10  11    5  -- 34

SH  11    7  10  13  --  41

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Prep Report: Beech Grove finishes strong to defeat TC and secure ICC title

Beech Grove secured the Indiana Crossroads Conference title Friday with a 70-65 come-from-behind win over Triton Central.

Jeremiah Alexander hit all 10 of his free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 26 points.

Jaleel Edwards had 13 points and Rylan Horen finished with 10 to improve the Hornets to 13-5 overall and 7-0 against ICC competition.

Isaac Morgan led Triton Central (15-6, 2-4 ICC) with 23 points. Eli Sego (17) and Silas Blair (14) also scored in double figures.

The Tigers led 24-17 after the first quarter but trailed 32-30 at halftime. A 22-point third quarter put TC back in the lead 52-50 after three quarters.

Triton Central closes out its regular-season schedule on Friday at Speedway (2-16, 2-3 ICC).

In other boys basketball games Friday:

Batesville 62, Morristown 22

At Morristown, three Bulldogs scored in double figures to secure the win at the Bee Hive.

Cade Kaiser led Batesville (15-6) with 16 points and five steals. Gus Prickel and Cole Pride each had 12 points.

Colin Kieninger topped the Yellow Jackets (1-20) with 12 points.

Morristown ends its regular-season schedule Friday against Tri (13-5).

North Decatur 67, Southwestern 31

At Southwestern, Kaden Muckerheide scored 23 points in the first half to help the Chargers finish off their Mid-Hoosier Conference title with a 6-0 mark.

Lance Nobbe finished with 16 points to improve North Decatur to 18-4.

Conner Jewell hit four 3s to lead Southwestern (3-18, 0-6 MHC) with 14 points.

The Spartans finish the regular season off Friday against Anderson Prep (1-19).

Liberty Christian 66, Waldron 54

At Liberty Christian in Anderson, Cedric Anderson had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Lions over the Mohawks.

Kobe Watson finished with 19 points and six rebounds and Ethan Troutman had 17 for Liberty Christian (12-9).

Lucas Mitchell led Waldron (10-11) with 14 points. Keith Settles had 13 and Bryce Yarling scored nine.

Waldron’s final game of the regular season is Friday against Sheridan (9-9).

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Second visit made Anderson University football first choice for TC's Kleeman

A minor injury playing football as a second grader nearly derailed Lucas Kleeman’s football career.

Five years later, Kleeman convinced his mother he wanted to return to football and the rest is history. For the second consecutive year, Kleeman led the Tigers in tackles and was a vocal leader within the program.

Just as he was an eager seventh grader ready for the challenge of football, the Triton Central senior is excited for his next challenge – playing football at Anderson University.

On Feb. 9, Kleeman signed his letter of intent to continue his football career at a school he originally did not feel was the place for him.

“I went there on a visit (last year) and I was not too excited about how the team was being run,” said Kleeman. “They have a whole new coaching staff and new players. I went on another visit and liked what they said and what they believed in. I am excited where the football program is going.”

In mid-December, Anderson hired Jonathan Coddington as its new football coach and his ties to another football program Kleeman visited swayed his decision.

Coddington, a 2014 Anderson graduate, spent the last eight years as an assistant coach at Concordia University Ann Arbor.

“I met coach Coddington at Concordia and I knew he would bring the same values to Anderson,” said Kleeman.

Kleeman led Triton Central with 60 total tackles and another 10-win season despite playing with an injured shoulder that required surgery.

“It bothered me in the summer and it got worse by sectionals,” explained Kleeman, who had surgery this week. “It got really bad toward the end of the season but I knew nothing was going to keep me off the field.”

The goal is to make the rehabilitation program be less stressful than the recruiting process.

“The process itself was kind of stressful,” admitted Kleeman. “Trips every Saturday visiting different schools and weighing our options. And I went to a lot of camps.”

Listed as five-foot, eight inches tall, Kleeman admitted he had to battle the notion that he is undersized as a linebacker.

“It helped me going to different camps,” he said. “They could see how I play.”

Kleeman plans to major in Business Administration Leadership and has a goal of being a football coach either at the high school or college level.

Now, after spending several afternoons supporting fellow TC students on their signing day it was surreal to sit at the table and be the center of attention.

“It is relieving to know where I am going,” he said. “I am excited about it. It was great to have family and friends there (at the signing). That was cool to know since I’ve seen all the other kids sign.”

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Prep Report: Shelbyville's Carrell, Rife, three relay teams qualify for swimming sectional championship races

Shelbyville’s Trey Carrell and Will Rife will compete for sectional championships Saturday at the New Palestine Boys Swimming Sectional; and all three relay teams advanced to championship races.

Carrell posted the fifth-fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle (22.83 seconds) and fourth fastest in the 100 freestyle (49.78). The senior finished .78 seconds behind Mount Vernon’s Brady Gray – the top qualifier in the 100 freestyle; and he was less than one second behind Gray’s top time in the 50 freestyle.

Rife qualified third in the 100 butterfly (56.27). Richmond’s Cayden Lindahl (53.66) and Masson Heiny (55.21) were the top two qualifiers.

Rife, a junior, also finished fifth in the 100 backstroke (59.39) – 1.99 seconds behind top qualifier Ethan Murphy (57.4) of Mount Vernon.

Carrell and Rife teamed with Tristin Maloney and Beau Kenkel to place fourth in the 200 medley relay in 1:48.81.

Shelbyville finished third in the 200 freestyle relay with Carrell, Kenkel, Rife and Andrew Duffy.

Kenkel, Duffy, Maloney and Elijah von Werder just made the cut to the sectional championship race in the 400 freestyle relay. The quartet finished eighth in 3:47.52 to earn a return trip to Saturday’s finale.

The top eight finishers in each event Thursday advanced to Saturday’s sectional championship races. The next eight finishers also return Saturday for consolation races.

For Shelbyville, Maloney (14th in 200 individual medley; 10th in 100 butterfly), Kenkel (11th in 50 freestyle), Duffy (12th in 100 breaststroke) and Blake Hughes (10th in 100 breaststroke) all earned consolation spots.

In other prep events Thursday:

Boys basketball

Providence Cristo Rey 57, Morristown 51

At Providence Cristo Rey, Jason Johnson scored a game-high 29 points and Marcus Allen added 18 to improve the Wolves to 5-15 this season.

Morristown (1-19) led 12-4 after one quarter but saw its lead cut to 19-18 by halftime. A 23-point third quarter put Providence Cristo Rey on the way to a victory.

Jameson Palmer led the Yellow Jackets in their final road game of the regular season with 26 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Colin Kieninger finished with 12 points and two rebounds.

Morristown hosts Batesville (14-6) Friday at the Bee Hive. The final regular season game is Feb. 24 against Tri (12-5).

Gymnastics

New Palestine 101.95, Morristown 87.7, Lapel Inc.

At New Palestine, J.J. Fee won three events and the all-around title to lead the Dragons to the team title in their final home meet of the season.

Morristown’s Oakleigh Goedde took first place in the vault with her highest score of the season. Goedde also placed fifth on the uneven bars, second on the balance beam and third in the all-around.

The Yellow Jackets return to action Saturday at the Southmont Invitational.

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TC's Graham, Schweitzer and Bailey earn All-ICC designation

A trio of Triton Central Tigers earned All-Conference status from the Indiana Crossroads Conference.

The 2023 All-ICC Girls Basketball Team features 13 athletes including TC seniors Lizzie Graham and Hallie Schweitzer and junior Brooklyn Bailey.

Graham averaged 12.8 points and 3.6 rebounds for the ICC champion Tigers (18-5, 7-0 ICC).

Schweitzer (photo) averaged 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 assists per contest.

Bailey finished with averages of 10 ppg and 7.9 rpg.

Also named All-ICC were Cascade’s Abby Parsons (14.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Sydney Warran (14.4 ppg, 7 rpg), Monrovia’s Ashley Lewis (15 ppg, 5 rpg) and Emery Newlin (12.3 ppg, 4.5 apg), Scecina’s Abby Moore (16.6 ppg), Speedway’s Daniella Galvez (12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Alex DeLisle (12.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Beech Grove’s Mylee Boling (15.4 ppg, 11.4 rpg), Lutheran’s Caitlyn Brooks (15.3 ppg) and Ritter’s Nia Stubblefield (9.9 ppg).

Cascade was the ICC runner-up at 22-3 overall and 6-1 against conference foes.

Speedway (11-11, 5-2 ICC) finished third ahead of Monrovia (15-8, 4-3 ICC), Beech Grove (9-13, 2-5 ICC), Scecina (12-12, 2-5 ICC), Lutheran (5-18, 1-6 ICC) and Ritter (4-21, 1-6).

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TC's Graham named to Indiana All Stars coaching staff

Bryan Graham thought it unusual to get a call from Indiana All-Star game director Mike Broughton.

The Triton Central athletic director and girls basketball coach thought Broughton would be inquiring about using TC’s basketball facilities. Instead, Broughton was building a coaching staff for the 2023 Indiana All-Stars.

Graham, with 299 career wins in 15 seasons at Triton Central, was named one of two assistant coaches for the Indiana All-Stars that will face the Kentucky All-Stars in its traditional June twinbill.

Penn’s Kristi Ulrich was announced as the head coach with Graham and Garrett’s Bob Lapadot serving as assistant coaches.

“I am really looking forward to it,” said Graham Thursday afternoon. “I would not be where I’m at if not for the TC community, coaches and players. I am blessed to represent Triton Central.”

Ulrich is 312-50 in 14 seasons at Penn. She led Penn to the 2016 Class 4A state championship and runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2014.

“We’ve met at coaches clinics,” said Graham of his familiarity with Ulrich. “I hear we are kind of alike. We’re all-in people with personalities that will hit it off. The girls will enjoy playing for us.”

Lapadot is 193-91 in 12 seasons at Garrett, where he has guided the Railroaders to four sectional titles and a regional championship in 2022.

Graham has eight sectional titles to his credit and regional championships in 2012 and 2020.

The Indiana All-Stars roster has not yet been announced.

The Indiana All-Stars will face the Kentucky All-Stars in a girls-boys doubleheader on June 9 in Owensboro, Kentucky, and again on June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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IUPUC seeks prospective cross country runners for second season

As IUPUC gears up for its second year with a competitive men’s and women’s cross country team, it’s reaching out to athletes from all different backgrounds, hoping to round out its fall rosters.

Cross country debuted last year under the Crimson Pride banner as IUPUC’s first-ever varsity sports team. Due to a short recruiting cycle and just getting established, the team featured only a handful of runners, according to Tim Hoeflinger, IUPUC Head Cross Country Coach. This year they’re starting the recruiting process early and working hard make the program more robust.

“A lot of people don’t even know that IUPUC has a cross country team,” said Hoeflinger. “It’s a great opportunity for area student-runners to compete at the collegiate level, including athletes from all different experience levels. As a bonus, each of our runners is eligible for a scholarship.”

The inaugural team was a great example of diverse athletic backgrounds. Freshman Aidan Ernstes ran on the semistate qualifying Jennings County cross country team and state-qualifying track relay team. His teammate, freshman Peyton Rehlander, had no running background but played basketball and baseball for Columbus Christian.

The Crimson Pride’s Brett Kleber ran for Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) for two years, and earned 13 letters at Seymour High School in cross country, gymnastics, diving, and track and field. Her teammate, Audra McNear, played no high school sports but started running at age 30 and completed an Ironman.

Coach Hoeflinger noted that while it helps if students have experience running high school cross country or with other organized running programs, it’s not required.

“What’s most important to me is they’re willing to do the work," he said.

Hoeflinger says there’s something special about having a new, tight-knit program.

“We push each other, we keep each other accountable, and we really care about each other. We’re a family," he said.

For prospective team members concerned about getting in shape for competition, Hoeflinger designed a customized summer training program to gear up for the season. He also kicks off in-person practices with a weekend camp the Friday-to-Sunday just before fall classes start. In addition, he spearheads a campus running club in the offseason.

“The beauty of cross country is you aren’t just competing against other teams, you’re competing against yourself,” Hoeflinger said. “If one of my runners can say, ‘I improved my time by five minutes since the start of the season,’ that’s what it’s all about.”

To find out if you’d be a good fit for the team, contact Hoefilinger at tihoef@iu.edu or fill out the online form at iupucathletics.com under the Student Central tab and Recruit Information Forms.

Last year, runners participated as individuals, but IUPUC hopes to have enough athletes to participate as a team in 2023. 

Boys basketball state tournament pairings show to air Sunday

The pairings show for the 113th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball State Tournament airs at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Hosted by Bob Lovell and Greg Rakestraw, the pairings show will air exclusively on IHSAAtv.org. Complete pairings will be available at IHSAA.org following the broadcast.

All five Shelby County boys basketball programs will travel outside of the county for sectional tournaments.

Class 4A, Sectional 14

Shelbyville will make the familiar trip to Columbus North for the six-team sectional.

The field includes Columbus East (1-18), Columbus North (13-6), East Central (6-15), Franklin (10-10), Shelbyville (9-10) and Whiteland (8-12).

Class 2A, Sectional 42

Eastern Hancock is the host school for the five-team sectional.

Joining Eastern Hancock (15-5) will be Indianapolis Scecina (12-6), Irvington Prep (4-16), Indianapolis Riverside (7-9) and Triton Central (15-5).

Class A, Sectional 60

Seven teams will compete in the Edinburgh Sectional.

The field includes the host Lancers (12-7), Jac-Cen-Del (12-9), Morristown (1-18), Oldenburg Academy (6-12), South Decatur (9-11), Southwestern (3-17) and Waldron (10-10).

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Collegiate Update: Hamilton named to NFCA All-Tourney Team in collegiate debut

Karissa Hamilton, Indiana’s reigning Miss Softball from Shelbyville, made a splashy debut with the University of Kentucky at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.

Hamilton made her collegiate debut Friday in Kentucky’s 14-4 win against St. John’s. She earned a bases-loaded walk to collect her first run batted in.

Hamilton earned a start in game two against Louisville and went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. The home run put the run rule in effect to complete an 8-0 victory over the Cardinals.

Kentucky closed out the season-opening event with a 4-4 tie against No. 9 Texas. Hamilton went 0-for-3.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Hamilton was named to the NFCA All-Tournament Team.

The 2-0-1 performance vaulted the Wildcats to No. 17 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll.

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

 

 

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had five points, five rebounds, two assists and a career-high five steals Saturday for Loyola in a 48-47 loss to St. Bonaventure.

The Ramblers dropped to 6-19 this season (1-11 Atlantic 10 Conference).

 

 

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate collected nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals Saturday in Samford’s 60-55 loss to Chattanooga.

The loss dropped Samford to 13-13 (7-4 Southern Conference).

On Thursday, Stephens finished with seven points, six rebounds and one steal in a 75-63 loss to East Tennessee State.

 

 

Hayden Langkabel

The Morristown graduate had six points and one rebound Saturday in an 82-76 loss at No. 13 Indiana Wesleyan.

The Knights are 19-8 this season and 9-8 in the Crossroads League standings.

 

 

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate finished with three points, three rebounds and three assists Saturday for Hanover in a 74-72 loss at Manchester.

The Panthers dropped to 15-8 (11-5 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference).

 

 

Taylor Heath

The Triton Central graduate helped Hanover battle unbeaten Transylvania Tuesday before falling 73-56.

Heath had seven points, one rebound, two assists and two steals against No. 2 Transylvania (24-0).

The Panthers fell to 15-7 (12-3 HCAC).

On Saturday, Heath had eight points, two rebounds, five assists and four steals in Hanover’s 88-59 win at Manchester.

 

 

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate scored a game-high 25 points Tuesday and added six rebounds in Oakland City’s 85-66 loss to Indiana University Kokomo.

On Thursday, Moore had five points, two rebounds and one steal in a 59-58 win at Brescia University.

Oakland City is 9-18 (3-4 River States Conference).

 

 

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate finished with two points, two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot Tuesday in Anderson’s 81-63 win over Great Lakes Christian.

The Ravens are 16-8 this season.

On Saturday, Larrison had three points, two rebounds, one steal and three blocks in a 69-38 loss to No. 2 Transylvania.

 

 

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate finished third for Franklin College in the one-meter diving competition at the HCAC Championships in Terre Haute.

Baker was third after the qualifying round with 372.95 points and totaled 365.20 points in the finals.

 

 

Jill Anspaugh

The Shelbyville graduate placed ninth in the 800 meters (2:49.74) and fourth in the one mile (5:49.13) for Franklin College Saturday at the DePauw Indoor Invitational.

 

 

Alison Muck

The Southwestern graduate won the 60-meter hurdles (9.55 seconds) for Franklin College Saturday at DePauw.

 

 

Taylor Tatlock

The Southwestern graduate finished sixth in the weight throw (12.71 meters) for Franklin at DePauw.

 

 

Madisen Hinderliter

The Shelbyville graduate placed 12th in the weight throw (13.63 meters) Saturday for St. Francis (Ind.) at the Tiffin University Open 2 event.

 

 

Austin Perry

The Shelbyville graduate lost a No. 6 singles match Saturday at Wabash.

Perry, representing Rose-Hulman, was defeated 6-1, 6-1 by Blake Discher.

Wabash won the tennis match 7-2.

 

 

Zaleeya Martin

The Shelbyville graduate finished runner-up in the 60 meters (7.89) and fifth in the long jump (4.58 meters) for Hanover Saturday in the Mount St. Joseph Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Martin was part of Hanover’s winning 4x200 meter relay team (1:55.39).

 

 

Madalyn Hudnall

The Waldron graduate placed seventh in the shot put (10.18 meters) and 15th in the weight throw (11.30 meters) for Mount St. Joseph Saturday in its MSJ Invitational.

 

 

Chandler Martin

The Shelbyville graduate finished fourth in the high jump (1.88 meters) Saturday for the University of Indianapolis in the Jerry England Invitational hosted by the Greyhounds.

 

 

Konrad Dorsey

The Shelbyville graduate placed 28th in the 60 meters (7.69) for Trine University Saturday in the Midwest Elite Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

 

 

Kina Schultz

The Shelbyville graduate finished ninth in the 200 (27.59) and was part of three Muskingum relay teams Saturday at the All-Ohio Meet, hosted by Wittenberg, in Springfield, Ohio.

Schultz and her teammates placed fourth in the 4x200 relay (1:50.9) and sixth in the distance medley relay (14:23.84) and 4x400 relay (4:20.13).

 

 

TeAnn Bringle

The Shelbyville graduate went 1-for-2 with a solo home run for Indiana State University’s softball team in a season-opening 2-0 win over James Madison Friday in the Charleston Invitational in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

 

Hannah File

The Shelbyville graduate went 1-for-3 Friday in Louisville’s 4-2 season-opening win over South Alabama in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.

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More than $4.75 million in purses set for 2023 stakes schedule at Horseshoe Indianapolis

The Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule has been set for the 2023 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville. A total of $4.75 million will be dispersed over 38 events led by the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby slated for July 8.

The Indiana Derby and the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks will be part of the $1.1 million eight-stakes lineup on Indiana Derby Day. Joining the Derby and Oaks races are the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial and the $100,000 Mari Hulman George Memorial. Also, four turf stakes are on the card led by the $100,000 Indiana General Assembly, the $100,000 Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial, the $100,000 Snack Stakes and the $100,000 Ellen’s Lucky Star Stakes.

“Each year, Indiana Derby Day continues to grow and set new handle records,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “Our racing office staff works very hard to assemble top quality fields for each of these stakes. With all the activities surrounding the event, Indiana Derby Day has become one of Indiana’s biggest summer sporting events and attracts some of the nation’s top three-year-olds. It’s definitely a day to put on our calendars each July.”

 

 

The 2023 stakes schedule also includes 10 stakes slated for the turf course. The turf stakes are led by the 18th running of the $150,000 Caesars Stakes on May 17. The one-mile Black Type event leads four stakes on the day and will be joined by the $150,000 Horseshoe Indianapolis Stakes for the fillies, also running at one mile.

“We have a great balance of stakes for younger horses, older horses, and events on the dirt and the turf,” said Chris Polzin, Director of Racing. “We have moved a couple stakes to the day before Indiana Derby for the first time this year to create more stakes racing opportunities for those coming in for the Indiana Derby program. We work alongside out horsemen’s group to ensure we have the best possible schedule that accommodates everyone.”

Of the 38 stakes for the 123-day racing season, 28 stakes are dedicated to Indiana bred and sired horses. More than $2.9 million will be dispersed to horses that are part of the lucrative breeding program in Indiana.

The 21st season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing begins April 18. Live racing will be held Monday through Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., with Thursday post time set for 2:10 p.m. Saturday racing will be held during the summer months featuring six all-Quarter Horse dates June 3, July 1, Aug. 12, Sept. 2 and Oct. 7 beginning at 10:45 a.m.

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Prep Report: Triton Central tops Monrovia on Senior Night

Silas Blair hit four first-half three-pointers to propel Triton Central to a 66-56 victory Tuesday over Monrovia.

On Senior Night in Fairland, Blair scored a game-high 20 points while Eli Sego (15 points) and Luke Faust (13) combined for 28 more points to improve the Tigers to 15-5 overall and 2-3 against Indiana Crossroads Conference opponents.

Triton Central made five 3s in the opening quarter – three by Blair and one each by Jace Stuckey and Faust.

A 23-18 first-quarter lead grew to 37-21 by halftime.

Four of Monrovia’s five starters scored in double figures. Clay Tharp and Jayden Jones each finished with 14 points. Hayden McCloud had 11 and Tucker Rahn made a trio of 3s on the way to 10 points.

Monrovia dropped to 6-15 overall and 0-6 in the ICC standings.

Triton Central travels to Beech Grove (12-5, 6-0 ICC) Friday to face the ICC-leading Hornets.

In another boys basketball game Tuesday:

Knightstown 43, Southwestern 28

At Knightstown, Southwestern built a 17-16 halftime lead but was outscored in the third quarter, 14-2, and never recovered.

Michael Roberson led the Panthers (10-8) with 16 points.

Carter Snepp topped the Spartans (3-17) with eight points. Ben Kahler and Conner Jewell each finished with six points.

Southwestern hosts North Decatur (17-4) Friday for a Mid-Hoosier Conference game.

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Shelbyville hosting Class 2A girls basketball semistate tournament

The road to Gainbridge Fieldhouse goes through William L. Garrett Gymnasium for four Class 2A girls basketball teams.

Garrett Gymnasium is the host site Saturday for both 2A semistate games in southern Indiana as well as the championship game.

At 10 a.m., No. 2 Forest Park (23-3) takes on Greencastle (23-4). In the second semistate, No. 1 North Knox (27-1) battles No. 8 Eastern Hancock (23-3).

The semistate championship game is set for 8 p.m.

Admission is $15 per session (two games).

The northern Indiana 2A semistate will be played at Logansport.

The semifinal games are No. 4 Andrean (25-3) against Lapel (20-7) and No. 3 Central Noble (25-2) facing No. 5 Lafayette Central Catholic (20-6).

Here are the other semistate contests:

  • Huntington North Semistate (Class 4A): No. 10 Fort Wayne Snider (21-4) vs. No. 3 Fishers (24-2) and No. 1 South Bend Washington (27-0) vs. No. 11 Lake Central (22-5).
  • Southport Semistate (4A): No. 7 Bedford North Lawrence (24-3) vs. No. 9 Center Grove (22-4) and Lawrence North (18-9) vs. Ben Davis (18-9).
  • LaPorte Semistate (3A): No. 1 Twin Lakes (27-0) vs. No. 11 Hamilton Heights (20-5) and Tippecanoe Valley (22-3) vs. No. 7 Fairfield (25-2).
  • Jasper Semistate (3A): Gibson Southern (21-4) vs. No. 6 Corydon Central (25-2) and Indianapolis Chatard (12-13) vs. No. 5 Indian Creek (26-1).
  • Frankfort Semistate (A): No. 2 Tri (25-1) vs. Tri-Central (12-13) and No. 7 Bethany Christian (22-3) vs. No. 6 Washington Township (20-6).
  • New Albany Semistate (A): Bloomfield (14-14) vs. No. 13 Jac-Cen-Del (16-11) and No. 1 Lanesville (25-2) vs. No. 4 Trinity Lutheran (22-6).

The IHSAA state championship games will take place on Feb. 25 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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Prep Report: Waldron's Mitchell joins 1,000-point club in loss at Centerville

Lucas Mitchell became the second Waldron senior to join the 1,000 career points club this season.

On Saturday at Centerville, Mitchell scored a game-high 24 points to push his career points to 1,007. He is the seventh Mohawk to join the club.

Bryce Yarling was the sixth in Waldron’s season-opening win over Elwood.

Shea Hollendonner scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Centerville to a 61-60 victory. The Bulldogs improved to 6-12 this season.

Waldron dropped to 10-10.

Mitchell entered the game needing 17 points to reach the milestone.

Keith Settles had 14 points for Waldron. Yarling finished with nine points.

The Mohawks won the junior varsity game, 45-30. Jack Fischer scored 17 points to lead Waldron, now 12-6 this season.

Waldron returns to action Friday at Liberty Christian (10-9).

In other prep events:

 

 

Gymnastics

Connersville 89.1, Shelbyville 85.475

Shelbyville’s Renee Aldridge (photo, second from left) finished fifth in the all-around scoring with three top-five finishes in the five-team meet.

Aldridge placed fourth in the vault (8.3) and floor exercise (8.075) and fifth on the balance beam (6.85) to total 30.2 in the all-around standings.

Franklin County’s Audrey Harper won the all-around at 33.5. Northeastern’s Aubrie Irvine (31.875), Franklin’s County’s Rachel Ruf (31.0) and Union County’s Eliana Bostick (30.8) rounded out the top five along with Aldridge.

Shelbyville’s Faye-Lynn Voss placed sixth in the vault (8.175) while Ella Griggs finished sixth on the balance beam (6.8).

Morristown

The Yellow Jackets finished fifth at the Connersville Invitational Saturday with 88.8 points.

Oakleigh Goedde placed ninth in the vault while Remi Spicklemire was eighth on the balance beam with her highest score of the season.

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Triton Central's Ball earns berth in IHSAA Wrestling State Championships

Triton Central senior Hadyn Ball is one of two unranked wrestlers at 220 pounds to qualify for the IHSAA Wrestling State Championships.

Ball pinned Northeastern’s Michael Henderson in two minutes, 56 seconds Saturday at the New Castle Semistate then needed just 39 seconds to pin Sheridan’s Peyton Cross to punch his ticket to the state finals.

Henderson and Cross had a combined two losses this season before losing to Ball.

 

 

In the semifinal round, Ball (photo) lost to Mount Vernon’s Devin Kendrex then took another loss in the third-place match to Noblesville’s Austin Hastings.

The seeding for each weight class at the state championship meet was announced Sunday by the IHSAA.

Fourteen of the 16 wrestlers in the 220-pound weight class ended the regular season ranked in the top 25.

Ball (26-6) will make his first state finals appearance Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis against Fort Wayne Northrop junior Julante Hinton (38-1), a two-time state finals qualifier at 220 and ranked No. 12 in the final state poll.

The winner moves into Saturday’s quarterfinal round to face either No. 8 Nate Johnson (27-3) of Center Grove or No. 20 Cole Chicoine (37-3) of McCutcheon.

Also at the New Castle Semistate, Shelbyville junior Jacob Harker lost his first-round match to Frankton’s Hunter Branham to end his season with a 28-6 record.

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Strong second half propels Class 4A, No. 10 New Palestine over Shelbyville

Shelbyville needed every weapon it had to deal with Class 4A, No. 10 New Palestine.

For 16 minutes Friday at Garrett Gymnasium, the Golden Bears were up to the challenge, building a 22-20 halftime lead.

Foul trouble and an injury left Shelbyville vulnerable in the third quarter and the Dragons took full advantage.

Seniors Ollie Sandman and Aidan Asher each collected four first-half fouls which left them out of the third-quarter action and freshman Caden Claxton, who scored 43 points in his team’s last two wins, could only watch from the bench after suffering a hand injury in the win Tuesday at Edinburgh.

Ben Slagley scored nine of his 15 points in the third quarter where New Palestine outscored Shelbyville 20-9 to take a 40-31 lead.

Blaine Nunnally then took over in the fourth quarter scoring 11 of his game-high 23 points, including a 7-for-8 performance from the free-throw line, that secured the Dragons a share of the Hoosier Heritage Conference title in a 61-51 victory.

“It was a very physical game. Our guys were ready for it,” said Shelbyville coach John Hartnett. “I am proud of how hard our guys came out and played. They knew they were being overlooked. They knew they were the underdogs and expected to come out here and get throttled by 20 or 30 points and they weren’t going to let that happen.”

New Palestine improved to 18-1 overall and 6-0 against HHC opponents. The Dragons can clinch the title outright on Friday against Mount Vernon.

Slagley, a six-foot, four-inch sophomore, bothered Shelbyville all night. He finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

“He is a good post presence to have with guys that shoot it that well,” said Hartnett. “They are a really good team that is going to go far in the tournament.”

Shelbyville junior Ethan Lambert did his best to match Slagley with a 12-point, 10-rebound performance that kept the Golden Bears in the game as Sandman (16.8 ppg) watched from the bench.

“Lambo plays his butt off every single night,” said Hartnett. “If there was one guy that wanted it tonight, it was him.”

Sandman got back into the fight in the fourth quarter, and along with Damon Badgley, got Shelbyville as close as five points twice.

Badgley scored Shelbyville’s first five points of the fourth quarter to quickly cut the lead to 42-37 but Moses Haynes scored five points off the New Palestine bench in less than 60 seconds to extend the lead to 47-39.

Sandman followed with a cut to the rim and score and Lambert added a free throw to slice the lead to 47-42 with 3:38 to go.

Nunnally then used his strength to score in the low post twice and the Golden Bears got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

“He’s a dude,” said Hartnett of Nunnally. “He gets after it and he is very tough to stop. Luke Brinkman did a good job of keeping him in front of him but Nunnally has that post presence and he can shoot the 3. And if you go out on him to contest the 3, he is going to go around you. He has a very quick first step.”

Sandman led Shelbyville (9-10, 1-5 HHC) with 16 points. Badgley finished with 13.

New Palestine hit 21 of 32 free throws while Shelbyville was 3 of 6.

Shelbyville won a hotly-contested junior varsity game, 42-41.

Kenny Owens was fouled in the lane with 1.4 seconds left and hit the second of two free-throw attempts to secure the win for the Golden Bears.

Brody Runnebohm led Shelbyville with 10 points.

The Golden Bears will celebrate Senior Night Friday when Delta (12-8, 2-4 HHC) visits Garrett Gymnasium. It is the final home game of the regular season for Shelbyville, who finish on the road at Seymour (7-11) and Batesville (13-6).

Tipoff for the junior varsity game Friday is 6:30 p.m.

 

New Palestine 61, Shelbyville 51

NP – Stephens 2-9 3-5 7, Br. Nunnally 0-1 2-2 2, Bl. Nunnally 6-12 11-17 23, Roudebush 2-3 0-0 4, Slagley 6-7 3-6 15, Gizzi 2-4 0-0 5, Haynes 1-1 2-2 5, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Tippit 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-37 21-32 61.

SH – Sandman 6-14 0-0 16, Badgley 5-12 1-1 13, Brinkman 1-2 0-0 2, Parker 2-4 0-0 5, Lambert 5-9 2-5 12, Asher 0-2 0-0 0, Myers 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 20-46 3-6 51.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NP (18-1)  11    9  20  21  --  61

SH (9-10)  15     7    9  20  --  51

Three-point field goals: NP 2-7 (Br. Nunnally 0-1, Bl. Nunnally 0-2, Roudebush 0-1, Gizzi 1-2, Haynes 1-1), SH 8-21 (Sandman 4-10, Badgley 2-4, Brinkman 0-1, Parker 1-2, Asher 0-2, Myers 1-2). Rebounds: NP 24 (Stephens 6, Bl. Nunnally 1, Slagley 13, Gizzi 2, Haynes 1, Hill 1), SH 26 (Sandman 4, Badgley 3, Brinkman 2, Parker 4, Lambert 10, Asher 1, Myers 2). Assists: NP 11 (Bl. Nunnally 5, Roudebush 1, Slagley 5), SH 7 (Badgley 1, Brinkman 1, Parker 1, Lambert 2, Myers 2). Steals: NP 7 (Br. Nunnally 1, Bl. Nunnally 2, Slagley 2, Haynes 2). Blocks: NP 5 (Slagley 2, Gizzi 1, Haynes 2), SH 4 (Parker 3, Myers 1). Total fouls: NP 13, SH 24. Fouled out: Brinkman (SH). Turnovers: NP 9, SH 17.

JV

Shelbyville 42, New Palestine 41

SCORE BY QUARTERS

NP  10  15    5  11  --  41

SH  16    7  10    9  --  42

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Shelbyville's Edwards, TC's Graham named 2023 HBCA Regional All-Stars

Shelbyville’s Kylee Edwards and Triton Central’s Lizzie Graham were selected to the East squad for the 2023 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association Regional All-Star Game on April 16 at North Daviess High School.

Edwards and Graham will be part of the 12-member East squad selected by coaches in southern Indiana.

Also selected to the East were Paoli’s Jackie Crews, Indian Creek’s Abby Fleetwood, Brownstown Central’s Maddy Hackman, Corydon Central’s Bailey Orme and Ava Weber, Columbus East’s Saige Stahl, Scottsburg’s Hannah Stutsman, Trinity Lutheran’s Bailey Tabeling, East Central’s Josie Trabel and Lanesville’s Linzie Wernert.

Edwards closed out her Golden Bears’ career as the program’s career scoring, rebounding and blocked shots leader. She will play college softball at Mississippi State University.

 

 

Graham (photo) is Triton Central’s career leader in made threes. She will play college basketball at Indiana University South Bend.

Stahl and Trabel were Indiana Junior All-Stars in 2022. Stahl’s Columbus East squad defeated Trabel’s East Central squad in Sectional 14 at Shelbyville.

Edwards and Shelbyville then eliminated Columbus East in the semifinals. Edwards and Stahl combined for 52 points and 28 rebounds in that sectional contest.

Stahl is committed to Indiana State University.

Trabel, East Central’s career scoring leader, will play collegiately at Wofford.

Weber and Wernert are both 1,000-point career scorers. Weber is Corydon Central’s career scoring leader.

Tabeling is over 2,000 points in her career at Trinity Lutheran. She will play collegiately at Ohio University.

Stutsman is committed to Franklin College.

Crews will play at Indiana Tech.

The West squad is led by another 2022 Junior All-Star in Forest Park’s Amber Tretter.

Also selected to the West were Tretter’s teammates Carley Begle and Lydia Betz, Greencastle’s Gloria Brewer, South Spencer’s Trinity Britton, Evansville North’s Amiyah Buchanan and Jalyn Shelby, North Knox’s Reegan Hemmelman, Northeast Dubois’ Rhylan Kalb, Vincennes Lincoln’s Gracie Kramer, Evansville Memorial’s Emily Mattingly, and Gibson Southern’s Alexis Tucker.

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Prep Report: Triton Central secures ICC win over Indianapolis Ritter

Triton Central held Indianapolis Ritter to nine third-quarter points then hit a flurry of free throws in the fourth quarter to claim its first Indiana Crossroads Conference win of the season.

Four of the five TC starters scored in double figures to defeat the Raiders, 65-59.

Luke Faust finished with a game-high 17 points for Triton Central (14-5, 1-3 ICC).

Silas Blair had 14 points followed by Isaac Morgan with 13 and Eli Sego had 10.

The Tigers made 23 of 33 free-throw attempts in the game, including 14 of 21 in the final quarter, to seal the win.

Mikial Miller led Ritter (9-11, 5-2 ICC) with 14 points. Cheick Wade and Beneiam Smith each had 10.

Triton Central will continue in conference play Tuesday when it hosts Monrovia (6-13, 0-4 ICC) for Senior Night in Fairland.

In other boys basketball games Friday:

 

 

Waldron 56, South Decatur 54

At South Decatur, Lucas Shaw had a three-point shot blocked in the game’s final seconds but got a second chance on a South Decatur turnover and buried a long jumper to set the final score.

Shaw finished with 13 points to get Waldron above .500 at 10-9 and secured a second-place finish in the Mid-Hoosier Conference standings with a 4-2 mark. North Decatur (16-4, 5-0) sits atop the MHC standings.

Lucas Mitchell topped Waldron with 15 points and moved within 17 points of reaching 1,000 career points.

Keith Settles also scored in double figures for the Mohawks, finishing with 11 points.

Waldron travels tonight to Centerville (5-12).

 

 

Eastern Hancock 75, Morristown 28

At Eastern Hancock, the Spaulding brothers combined for 39 points and two more Royals scored in double figures in a win over the Yellow Jackets.

Silas Spaulding hit four 3s on the way to a game-high 20 points. Jacob Spaulding followed with 19 points.

Edric Miller had 12 points and Grant Gray finished with 10 for Class 2A, No. 14 Eastern Hancock (14-5).

Cade Mahin led Morristown (1-18) with 11 points.

Morristown is at Providence Cristo Rey (4-15) Thursday.

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Collegiate Update: Chandler nets 18 points in loss at Davidson

For the 13th time this season, Maya Chandler scored in double figures for the Loyola Ramblers.

On Wednesday at Davidson, Chandler finished with 18 points, three rebounds and one assist in a 57-55 loss.

The Ramblers dropped to 6-18 this season and 1-10 in the Atlantic 10 standings.

On Saturday, Fordham defeated Loyola, 80-64. Chandler, a Triton Central graduate, had one point, one rebound and one blocked shot.

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

 

 

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate came off the Samford bench to score 10 points, grab three rebounds and collect one steal Saturday in a 72-63 win at Western Carolina.

Samford rallied from a 12-point first half deficit to earn its 20th straight win over the Catamounts.

The Bulldogs are 13-11 this season and 7-2 in conference play.

 

 

Hayden Langkabel

The Morristown graduate had 19 points, four rebounds, two steals and three assists Wednesday in Marian’s 68-51 win over Spring Arbor.

The Knights improved to 19-7.

On Saturday, Marian lost to Huntington, 87-79. Langkabel finished with seven points, two rebounds and one assist.

 

 

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate had six points and one assist Wednesday for Hanover in a 98-62 victory over Franklin College.

On Saturday at Earlham, Crim had six points, two rebounds and one assist in Hanover’s 76-70 victory.

The Panthers are 15-7 (11-4 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference).

 

 

Taylor Heath

The Triton Central graduate finished with 14 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals for Hanover Wednesday in a 65-54 win at Franklin College.

Heath had six points, two assists and one steal Saturday in Hanover’s 77-47 win at Earlham.

Hanover is 14-6 (11-2 HCAC).

 

 

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate led Oakland City with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists Tuesday in a 97-82 loss against Indiana University East.

Moore also had 24 points, 10 rebounds and two assists Saturday in a 93-77 loss to IU Southeast.

Oakland City is 8-17.

 

 

Tenleigh Phelps

The Triton Central graduate had one rebound and one assist Saturday in Youngstown State’s 81-48 loss at Cleveland State.

Youngstown State is 16-7 this season.

 

 

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate finished with six points, one assist and two blocks Wednesday in Anderson’s 88-81 win at Defiance College.

On Saturday, Anderson defeated Franklin, 80-75 in overtime. Larrison had six points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Anderson is 15-7 (10-4 HCAC).

 

 

Madisen Hinderliter

The Shelbyville graduate placed 19th for St. Francis (Ind.) Saturday in the Indiana Wesleyan University Classic.

Hinderliter’s best throw in the weight throw was 12.63 meters.

 

 

Madalyn Hudnall

The Waldron graduate totaled three top-six performances Friday for Mount St. Joseph at the Friday Night Spikes event in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Hudnall finished fourth in the high jump (four feet, 7.75 inches), third in the shot put (34-2.25) and sixth in the weight throw (35-4.50).

 

 

Zaleeya Martin

The Shelbyville graduate won the 60 meters (7.95 seconds) and 200 meters (27.24) and placed second in the long jump (4.85 meters) for Hanover Friday in the Tim Hreha Memorial Invitational in Greencastle, Ind.

 

 

Chandler Martin

The Shelbyville graduate finished fourth in the high jump (1.87 meters) for the University of Indianapolis Saturday in the Blue-White Classic in Terre Haute.

 

 

Michael Fox

The Shelbyville graduate finished sixth in the one-mile run Saturday for Manchester in the Anderson University Indoor Invitational.

Fox crossed the finish line in 4:54.2.

 

 

Kina Schultz

The Shelbyville graduate finished sixth in the 200 meters (28.18) for Muskingum Saturday in the Bob Shannon Invitational, hosted by Denison University.

Schultz also placed 16th in the 60-meter hurdles (10.25) and was part of a Muskingum quartet that placed runner-up in the 4x200 relay (1:53.41).

Mrs. G Invitational

Four Shelby County graduates competed Saturday at Trine in Angola, Ind.

 

 

Trine’s Konrad Dorsey, a Shelbyville graduate, finished 25th in the 60 meters (7.62) and 35th in the 200 (25.07).

 

 

Alison Muck, a Southwestern graduate, placed second in the high jump (1.52 meters) and 16th in the 200 (28.78) for Franklin College.

 

 

Taylor Tatlock, a Southwestern graduate, finished 20th in the weight throw (10.97 meters) for Franklin College.

 

 

Jill Anspaugh, a Shelbyville graduate running for Franklin College, finished third in the 3,000 meters (11:46.43).

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TC's Ball, SHS' Harker two wins away from wrestling state finals appearance

Triton Central’s Hadyn Ball and Shelbyville’s Jacob Harker will have to defeat a state-ranked wrestler to advance to the IHSAA State Championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

To advance from the New Castle Semistate Saturday, wrestlers must win their first two matches to qualify for the state finals.

 

 

To get to the “ticket round” Saturday, Ball (18-5), a senior, will face Northeastern’s Michael Henderson (36-1) in his semistate opener at 220 pounds.

The winner then faces either Sheridan’s Peyton Cross (38-1), ranked No. 17 in the state poll, or Hamilton Heights’ Josh Brown (35-7), ranked No. 21.

There are six state-ranked wrestlers competing in New Castle at 220.

 

 

Harker (26-5) is faced with his own tough task. The junior opens against No. 6 Hunter Branham (30-1) of Frankton.

The winner then faces either No. 12 Dom Burgett (31-2) of Hamilton Southeastern or Richmond’s Grant Long (28-11).

Seven of the top 20 ranked wrestlers at 285 are part of the field at New Castle.

The state championship meet is Feb. 17-18 in Indianapolis.

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Shelbyville finds way to take down Class A, No. 10 Edinburgh

EDINBURGH – With two starters in street clothes and two more starters fouled out, Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett was left with a makeshift lineup trying to secure a road win Tuesday at Class A, No. 10 Edinburgh.

The Golden Bears built a 34-20 lead midway through the third quarter before the Lancers turned up the defensive pressure. A 16-4 run followed that got the hosts within 38-36 with 4:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Kohen Myers, who has seen very limited varsity minutes this season, scored six points in the fourth quarter and the Golden Bears hit 9 of 12 free-throw attempts to hold off Edinburgh, 53-46.

Shelbyville has won five of its last six games to improve to 9-9.

“We got up 14 (points) and we had some guys that haven’t been in that situation all year,” said Hartnett. “We had guys step up and make plays.”

Shelbyville played without its top two scorers in senior Ollie Sandman (16.8 ppg) and sophomore Damon Badgley (8.6 ppg), who were serving mandatory one-game suspensions after being ejected from the previous game at Indian Creek.

The Golden Bears calmly built a double-digit lead Tuesday behind the play of freshman point guard Caden Claxton, who finished with a game-high 21 points.

“This week during practice we put a lot of sets in to make sure that (Caden) was coming off ball screens and coming off pin downs to make sure the ball was in his hands to make plays,” said Hartnett. “Not only is Caden a good shooter and good scorer but he is a good passer and he finds guys that are open.”

Defensively, Shelbyville frustrated Edinburgh and its career scoring leader Caleb Dewey (20.2 ppg), who took just one field goal attempt in the second quarter and had just five points at halftime.

 

 

Jackson Parker (photo) did much of that work on Dewey but collected foul No. 5 with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter which brought Myers into the rotation.

The Lancers opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run that was stifled by a Myers layin off an inbounds play to make it 40-36. The junior added another score at the rim off an assist from Claxton to push the lead to 46-43 and started a 7-0 run.

Claxton and Myers hit four straight free throws in a 13-second span to extend the lead to 50-43.

Braylon Bryant made a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to four but Claxton and Ethan Lambert sank three free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the victory.

Luke Brinkman (main photo), who fouled out late in the fourth quarter as well, finished with nine points and five rebounds. Parker had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks. Lambert scored five points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots.

Dewey led Edinburgh (12-6) with 15 points and five rebounds. Bryant finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Connor Ramey had 10 points.

After a slow start, Shelbyville pulled away from the Lancers to earn a 56-31 victory in the junior varsity game.

Logan Reinhart hit four 3s to lead Shelbyville with 14 points. Gavin Reed finished with 10.

Rylan Londeree led Edinburgh with 15 points.

Shelbyville has been above .500 just once this season – at 2-1. To get above .500 again, the Golden Bears will have to upset Class 4A, No. 10 New Palestine (17-1, 5-0 Hoosier Heritage Conference) Friday at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

“They are the real deal. We will be put to a big test Friday,” said Hartnett. “We will not back down from them. They have it at all five positions. They have guys that can shoot. Their sixth man could start on pretty much any team in the state right now. We have to be ready for a physical game in Garrett Gym.”

Steve Bush photos

 

Shelbyville 53, Edinburgh 46

SH – Brinkman 3-6 2-4 9, Parker 4-11 0-0 8, Claxton 5-15 10-13 21, Asher 2-8 0-0 4, Lambert 1-2 3-4 5, Myers 2-2 2-2 6, Runnebohm 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-44 17-23 53.

ED – Dewey 5-13 4-10 15, Turner 2-9 0-0 6, Bryant 4-7 2-2 12, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Ramey 4-10 2-5 10, Brockman 0-1 1-2 1, Hartwell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 16-53 9-19 46.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH (9-9)    12  14  10  17  --  53

ED (12-6)  13     4    9  20  --  46

Three-point field goals: SH 2-14 (Brinkman 1-1, Parker 0-1, Claxton 1-9, Asher 0-3), ED 5-21 (Dewey 1-4, Turner 2-7, Bryant 2-5, Ramey 0-4, Brockman 0-1). Rebounds: SH 28 (Brinkman 5, Parker 5, Claxton 3, Asher 4, Lambert 9, Myers 2, Runnebohm 1), ED 21 (Dewey 5, Turner 3, Bryant 7, Smith 3, Ramey 1, Hartwell 2). Assists: SH 7 (Brinkman 2, Parker 2, Claxton 1, Asher 2), ED 7 (Dewey 1, Turner 4, Ramey 2). Steals: SH 1 (Brinkman 1), ED 2 (Turner 1, Bryant 1). Blocks: SH 5 (Parker 3, Lambert 2), ED 2 (Dewey 1, Hartwell 1). Total fouls: SH 16, ED 21. Fouled out: Brinkman, Parker (SH). Turnovers: SH 9, ED 10.

JV

Shelbyville 56, Edinburgh 31

SH – Reinhart 14, Reed 10, West 8, Owens 6, Runnebohm 6, Isaacs 5, Myers 5, Fischer 2.

ED – Londeree 15, Seegers 6, Branigin 4, Smith 4, Burkman 2.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

SH  6  17  20  13  --  56

ED  8    2  14    7  --  31

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Prep Report: Fast start propels Southwestern to win at Indiana Deaf

Carter Snepp scored 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter to propel Southwestern to a lead it would never relinquish.

On Tuesday at Indiana Deaf, the Spartans raced out to a 21-11 lead after eight minutes and extended the lead to 33-18 at halftime to roll to a 67-33 victory.

Ben Kahler led Southwestern (3-16) with 17 points.

Jonah DeArmitt and Matt Clements also scored in double figures with 10 points apiece.

Tyler Wascher topped Indiana Deaf (6-12) with 19 points.

Southwestern returns to action on Feb. 14 at Knightstown (9-7).

In another prep event Tuesday:

Diving

Brownsburg Regional

Shelbyville senior Maiah Helfer-Vazquez closed out her diving career with a 200.20-point performance at the diving regional.

Helfer-Vazquez was one of 20 divers competing Tuesday for a berth in the state championship meet. Only the top eight finishers advanced to the state finals.

Simone Hall of Park Tudor won the regional with 470.60 points.

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Ruschhaupt commits to continue track and field career at Franklin College

As a freshman, Ava Ruschhaupt walked away from running competitively. Three years later, the Shelbyville senior has committed to run for Franklin College.

On Thursday in the Golden Bear Room at Shelbyville High School, Ruschhaupt made her choice official with a signing ceremony in front of her coaches, friends and family.

“I was no nervous,” said Ruschhaupt after the ceremony with a big smile. “There were a lot of people staring at me.”

The young teenager made an important decision to focus on her health rather than her passion as she entered high school.

“I was dealing with an eating disorder for awhile and I made the decision my freshman year to step back and regroup and figure out what I was doing,” explained Ruschhaupt, the daughter of John and Julie Ruschhaupt.

 

 

She opted to be a team manager instead of a competitive athlete to keep her close with the cross country and track and field programs at SHS.

“I managed for awhile and then I felt like I was in a better spot physically and mentally to come back,” she said. “I wasn’t quite sure about running long distance again so I switched over to sprint group.”

Shelbyville track and field coach Nick Blakey informed those in attendance Thursday only two students in his nine years at the school have left the track and cross country programs and returned.

“I think you made a really mature decision because when you became a manager and you helped out with the sprints crew, you looked at what we were doing and said, ‘That’s different. I think I can get a fresh start if I try that,’” said Blakey. “Frankly, many high school students don’t make that decision. It was very insightful and our whole team is better for that decision.”

Ruschhaupt’s focus now is running the 200 meters and 400 meters in track and field. She did opt to return to cross country for her senior season and that helped her overcome any mental hurdles holding her back.

 

 

“It was scary,” she said. “The anxiety was so bad. My first race at Franklin (High School) I only ran a 3K. It was a lot better getting back into it. I was very nervous but once I got that over with, I felt better afterward and I continued to keep growing and getting better.”

Ruschhaupt is excited for her senior season of track because she will be more prepared to be a sprinter.

“I ran a mix of things last year just trying to feel everything out,” she said. “This year I want to focus on the 400 and the 200.”

Ruschhaupt never considering running collegiately until a college track and field coach contacted her. By exploring her options, Franklin College became an opportunity.

“I love coach (Taylor) Sadkowski,” said Ruschhaupt. “He had a plan for growing the program (at Franklin College). He really wants to stay there for awhile and make the program better. That is what really pulled me there.”

Ruschhaupt will major in Biology with a medical career in her future.

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Franklin captures third-straight sectional championship with 48-29 win over Shelbyville

Franklin used a 19-0 run to secure a 19-point win and its third-straight sectional championship win Saturday night at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

Following an emotional semifinal win Friday over Columbus East, Shelbyville fell flat in its first sectional championship game appearance since 2007. Franklin scored the first 19 points of the game and rolled to a 48-29 victory.

“I feel like we gave it everything we’ve got (Friday) and we just ran out of juice,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler. “You have to have everything you’ve got to play Franklin Community.”

The Grizzly Cubs (18-5) will face No. 9 Center Grove (21-4) in the regional championship game on Feb. 11 at Bedford North-Lawrence High School. The Trojans have won 17 straight games since a 38-34 loss to Franklin on Nov. 29.

Shelbyville’s only first-quarter points came on an Ava Wilson drive in the final seconds.

Franklin scored the first five points of the second quarter to push its lead to 24-2 before Shelbyville dug in. The Golden Bears scored the next eight points and trailed at halftime 25-10.

 

 

After a Hailey Pogue (photo) lay-in to start the third quarter cut the deficit to 13, Franklin’s Brooklyn York and Scarlett Kimbrell hit three straight three-pointers to push the lead to 34-12.

Erica Buening led Franklin with 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. York finished with 10 points. Nine of the 11 Grizzly Cubs that took the court scored Saturday.

“We were trying to make sure they didn’t pop off on 3s. They are known for (hitting) 3s,” said Hoefler. “We were boxing out every possession to eliminate their second-chance opportunities. They are quite bigger than us. They have five basketball players on the court that will all someday play somewhere else (at the college level) and it shows on the court.”

One night after hitting 11 3s against Columbus East, Shelbyville was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc and had just eight field goals total in the loss.

Ava Wilson led Shelbyville with 13 points. Kylee Edwards finished with six.

“Ava gave it everything she had on the court. She gave it her all and I cannot fault her one second,” said Hoefler. “And Kylee is not quite 100% and (Friday) she did everything she could to win and she just ran out of juice.”

 

 

The Golden Bears closed out their most successful season in 16 years with a 15-9 record. Three seniors, Edwards, Pogue and Abby Brenner (photo) were part of a 4-20 team as freshmen. The program improved to eight and 11 wins the next two seasons, respectively.

Hoefler did not stop the game in the final minutes to bring the three seniors off the floor together, instead allowing them to finish their careers at Garrett Gymnasium on Frank Barnes Court.

“I told them it’s the last three minutes you are going to be in that uniform, go make it worth your while,” said Hoefler. “They have done so much for this program. They put Shelbyville back on the map with all their hard work. They should be proud of being a Shelbyville Golden Bear the last four years.”

Edwards’ record-breaking career ended with the single-game record for points scored and career records for points, rebounds and blocked shots.

 

 

“No regrets,” said Edwards after the game as she tried to keep her emotions in check. “Tonight was a tough one but looking back on Columbus East, that was probably the best game we ever played as a team. It was like a moment where we finally got the recognition we deserved. There were so many people that doubted us in that game, and tonight, and we showed them who we are.”

Edwards, who surpassed several notable Shelbyville athletes on her way to the career scoring record, now is the standard for future Golden Bears to chase.

“I think it will come with time,” said Edwards when asked if she understood the mark she left on the program. “Maybe when I am older I will. I’m just out here right now playing with my best friends. I enjoy playing basketball just as much as softball.

“My freshman year I remember standing on the court and the seniors were getting announced and I thought it was never going to be me. It was a couple of weeks ago (for me), it just feels so unreal.”

Edwards will take some time to heal an injured knee and ankle before preparing for her final softball season as a Golden Bear. She will play softball collegiately at Mississippi State University.

Steve Bush photos

 

Franklin 48, Shelbyville 29

FR – Klem 2-3 0-0 4, Kimbrell 2-10 0-0 5, Buening 4-10 3-4 12, Jochim 2-3 2-2 7, York 3-8 2-2 10, Sappenfield 1-4 0-0 3, Doty 0-1 0-0 0, Phillips 1-4 0-0 3, Runyon 1-1 0-0 2, Fuqua 0-1 0-1 0, Morris 0-2 0-0 0, Rinehold 1-2  0-0 2. Totals: 17-49 7-9 48.

SH – Edwards 3-5 0-0 6, Brenner 0-3 4-6 4, Simpson 0-3 0-1 0, Wilson 4-20 5-8 13, Pogue 1-2 1-2 3, E. Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Marshall 0-0 1-2 1, Keller 0-4 2-2 2. Totals: 8-37 12-21 29.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

FR (18-5)  19    6  14    9  --  48

SH (15-9)    2    8    5  14  --  29

Three-point field goals: FR 7-29 (Klem 0-1, Kimbrell 1-7, Buening 1-2, Jochim 1-2, York 2-5, Sappenfield 1-3, Doty 0-1, Phillips 1-4, Fuqua 0-1, Morris 0-2, Rinehold 0-1), SH 0-8 (Edwards 0-1, Brenner 0-1, Wilson 0-6). Rebounds: FR 34 (Klem 5, Kimbrell 8, Buening 8, Jochim 3, York 4, Sappenfield 1, Doty 1, Phillips 2, Runyon 2, Fuqua 1), SH 21 (Edwards 5, Brenner 5, Simpson 1, Wilson 7, Pogue 3). Assists: FR 12 (Klem 1, Kimbrell 4, Buening 2, Jochim 1, York 2, Sappenfield 1, Phillips 1), SH 1 (Simpson 1). Steals: FR 7 (Klem 1, Kimbrell 1, Buening 2, Jochim 2, York 1), SH 2 (Edwards 1, Marshall 1). Blocks: FR 3 (Kimbrell 2, York 1), SH 4 (Edwards 1, Simpson 1, Wilson 2). Total fouls: FR 20, SH 12. Turnovers: FR 11, SH 16.

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Prep report: Shelbyville's Helfer-Vazquez qualifies for diving regional

Shelbyville diver Maiah Helfer-Vazquez earned a regional appearance with a fourth-place finish Saturday at the New Palestine Sectional.

Helfer-Vazquez totaled 280.2 points to qualify for Tuesday’s Brownsburg Regional. The top eight finishers at the regional qualify for the state championship meet.

Mount Vernon’s Riley Nielsen won the diving competition with 329.5 points. Also advancing were New Palestine’s Ava Tuley (296.3) and Centerville’s Taylor Heaston (292.5).

Only sectional champions in swimming events qualify for the state finals.

Shelbyville’s best finish came in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Naomi Garringer, Miriam Garringer, Meeghen Bushfield and Riley Everette placed third in 1:48.35.

Greenfield-Central won the race in 1:38.94. New Palestine finished second in 1:43.73.

Everette produced the Golden Bears’ top individual finish. The freshman was fourth in the 100 butterfly in 1:04.37. Greenfield-Central’s Mary Ellen Stratman won the sectional title in 59.81.

Shelbyville’s only other top-8 finish Saturday came in the 200 medley relay. Naomi Garringer, Alexis Dwiggins, Riley Everette and Paige Bohman finished seventh in 2:10.47.

Greenfield-Central won the race in 1:48.08.

In other prep events Saturday:

Boys basketball

Waldron 72, Tri 69, OT

At Tri, Lucas Mitchell scored 32 points and Bryce Yarling had 21 to lead the Mohawks to an overtime victory over the Class A, No. 9 Titans (11-4).

Waldron (9-9) led by three points with six seconds left in the fourth quarter but fouled a Titan shooting a three-pointer at the buzzer. With three made free throws, the game went to overtime.

With a Mitchell screen late in overtime in a tied game, Yarling was able to get to the rim and score with less than one second on the clock. Yarling was fouled as well and hit the free throw to set the final score.

With 32 points, Mitchell moved within 32 points of becoming the sixth Mohawk to reach 1,000 career points.

And with the game-winning shot, Yarling surpassed 1,200 career points to become Waldron’s No. 2 career scoring leader. Yarling passed Justin Barnard (1,181); and with 1,201 points trails only Jared Lux (1,313) for the top spot.

Waldron is at South Decatur (8-10) Friday.

Centerville 60, Morristown 22

At Centerville, 10 different Bulldogs scored led by 11 points from Nathan Dickenson and Chase Clark to improve to 5-11. Centerville started the season 1-9 but have since won four of six.

Jameson Palmer led Morristown (1-17) with nine points.

The Yellow Jackets travel to Class 2A, No. 15 Eastern Hancock (13-5) Friday.

Triton Central 77, Oldenburg Academy 41

At Triton Central, Luke Faust and Eli Sego each scored 20 points and Silas Blair had 18 points to improve the Tigers to 13-5.

Triton Central led 21-12 after one quarter and opened the lead to 40-19 by halftime.

Connor Miles led Oldenburg Academy (6-11) with 16 points.

Triton Central hosts Indianapolis Ritter (9-9) Friday for an Indiana Crossroads Conference contest.

Rising Sun 62, Southwestern 54

At Southwestern, Dylan Morris scored a game-high 27 points and two more Shiners scored in double figures to push Rising Sun’s record to 9-10.

Brody Morris scored 11 points and Brady Works had 10 for Rising Sun.

Ben Kahler topped Southwestern (2-16) with 17 points. Carter Snepp and Jonah DeArmitt each scored 14.

The Spartans host Indiana Deaf (6-11) Tuesday.

Gymnastics

Rushville Invitational

New Palestine 99.7, Westfield 97.0, Rushville 93.75, Morristown 85.925, Shelbyville 70.15, Muncie Central 67.325

At Rushville, New Palestine gymnasts collected four of the top-10 spots in the all-around competition to secure the team title.

Rushville’s Bell Westphal won the all-around with 33.95 points. Westfield’s Elianna Reynolds (33.225) and New Palestine’s Lynzie Stiller (32.725) finished runner-up and third.

Morristown’s Oakleigh Goedde placed fifth at 31.875 while Shelbyville’s Renee Aldridge was 10th (29.6).

Stiller won the floor exercise with a score of 9.425. Goedde finished sixth (8.2) while Aldridge placed 11th (29.6).

Westphal produced the best score on the balance beam (8.525) and vault (8.85).

Goedde finished sixth on the balance beam (8.125). Aldridge was 12th (7.15).

Goedde scored 8.3 in the vault to finish seventh. Aldridge was ninth (8.275).

Reynolds won the uneven bar competition with an 8.275.

Goedde finished fifth (7.25) and Aldridge was 10th (6.375).

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Triton Central's Ball, Shelbyville's Harker advance to wrestling semistate

Hadyn Ball and Jacob Harker finished third in their respective weight classes to advance to the New Castle Semistate.

On Saturday at the Perry Meridian Regional, Ball, a Triton Central senior, lost a semifinal match at 220 pounds to Warren Central’s Greg Johnson, 5-2, then defeated Franklin Central’s Talan Humphrey, 5-3, in the third-place match.

Ball qualified for the semistate with a 9-1 victory over Beech Grove’s Ian Thompson in his opening match.

Deckard won the regional championship with a 3-2 win over Johnson.

 

 

Harker, a Shelbyville junior, followed the same route at 285 pounds.

Harker defeated Southport’s Jacarei Markey, 7-3, to qualify for the semistate.

In the semifinal round, Beech Grove’s John Broadwell, ranked No. 20 in the state poll, defeated Harker, 8-4, to relegate him to the third-place match.

Harker earned the third-place position with a 6-3 victory over Perris Green of Warren Central.

Broadwell claimed the 285-pound championship with a 3-2 victory over Franklin Central’s Andrew Just.

Triton Central’s Ayden Nufio (106 pounds), Shelbyville’s Isaiah Havens (120), Triton Central’s Dayne Bailey (132) and Ethan Booth (138) and Shelbyville’s Julian Eads (145) lost quarterfinal-round matches Saturday at Perry Meridian.

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South Decatur eliminates Morristown in Sectional 60 semifinal round

Morristown’s bid to get to the Class A, Sectional 60 championship game was thwarted Friday by South Decatur, 50-38.

The win was the second for the Cougars (9-15) over the Yellow Jackets (13-11) this season.

Raegan Kleine led Morristown in her final game. The senior finished with 14 points, five steals, two rebounds and two assists.

Danika Rutledge had 13 points and four rebounds. Alexia Rogers had five points and three steals.

South Decatur built a 17-12 lead by halftime. Morristown cut the lead to 29-25 after three quarters but the Cougars scored 21 fourth-quarter points to secure the victory and a spot in the championship game.

In Saturday’s championship, Class A, No. 13 Jac-Cen-Del defeated South Decatur 43-34.

Julia Meyer led the Eagles (15-11) with 23 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Olivia Neal had 12 points and two rebounds.

Jac-Cen-Del will face Bethesda Christian (12-13) in the regional championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Southwestern High School.

Southwestern also will host the regional championship game between Eminence (17-6) and Bloomfield (13-14) at 4 p.m.

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Lizzie Graham's career with LTB ends as one at IU-South Bend is about to begin

You’ve heard of adding insult to injury. 

 

Triton Central’s Lizzie Graham had the reverse with an injured foot on top of the insult of a sectional quarterfinal loss to Eastern Hancock that not only ended the Tigers’ girls basketball season but also Graham’s high school career.

 

Graham was hurt in the late stages of the Tigers – Royals quarterfinal and had to be helped from the floor.  But the senior wasn’t ready to go out that way.  She would return minutes later and as the game reached the final seconds just rimmed out a volleyball line three point attempt that could have tied the game.

 

Maybe the pain in the foot eased the pain of the loss.

 

As is often the case, time will further ease the hurt that comes from the end of a season.  Better yet, Graham will have another season begin when she joins the IU-South Bend women’s basketball program to extend her career to the collegiate level.

 

Graham verbally committed to the Titans before the high school season began and then followed that by signing on the dotted line right before the sectional.

 

 

The 5’8” TC senior led the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game.  She also averaged 3.7 rebounds and two assists while shooting 42 percent from three-point range.

 

Graham is a career 44% three-point shooter and the Tigers all-time leader in triples made.

 

She says the style of play she’s accustomed to at Triton Central is similar to what the Titans feature.

 

 

Her dad and head coach, Bryan Graham, says the Titans’ program and Lizzie’s talents are a good fit.

 

 

Graham was part of a three-member senior class for the Tigers with classmates Riley Ross and Hallie Schweitzer.

 

 

Graham will join a program at IU South Bend that was knocked out of the last postseason in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Opening Round by 12th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan, 65-64.  It marked the first NAIA Tournament appearance for the Titans since 2005.

 

The Titans 25-8 overall record was the program's second straight full season with 25 victories. Currently, IU-South Bend is 21-2 and just outside the NAIA Top 25.

 

Shelbyville defeats Columbus East to earn first sectional championship game appearance since 2007

Shelbyville could not secure its first sectional game victory since 2011 with Kylee Edwards and Ava Wilson doing all the scoring. The dynamic duo needed help.

The Golden Bears held a precarious 30-26 halftime advantage on Columbus East Friday in the second semifinal game of Class 4A, Sectional 14 but Edwards and Wilson accounted for 28 of those points.

A halftime pep talk from Edwards (photo below) instilled confidence in her teammates and they went to work. Abby Brenner, Ellie Keller, Ella Johnson and Lilly Marshall combined for 21 second-half points and Edwards had 11 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to get Shelbyville a 65-62 victory and a spot in tonight’s sectional championship game at Garrett Gymnasium in Shelbyville.

“It was a team win,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler, who earned the first postseason win of her four-year coaching career. “Kylee at halftime, and this shows you what kind of leader she is, looked at all of them and said take a shot if you’re open. Ava and I are being guarded, take a shot and we will try to rebound it … just keep shooting.”

The Golden Bears will face Franklin (17-5), 66-43 winner over Whiteland Friday, at 7:30 p.m. tonight. The Grizzly Cubs defeated Shelbyville, 63-39 on Dec. 17 in the very same Garrett Gymnasium.

 

 

Eighteen of Edwards’ 27 points came from a scorching performance from beyond the 3-point line. She went 1-for-3 in the first quarter then hit her final five attempts, including two in the final quarter that kept the Olympians in chase mode.

That was no easy task. With Columbus East six-footers Saige Stahl and Leah Bachmann collecting rebound after rebound, the Olympians battled to the end.

Stahl, an Indiana State commit, scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds (10 on the offensive end) while Bachmann finished with six points and 17 rebounds. Columbus East outrebounded Shelbyville 48-28 in part to a 21-rebound performance in the final quarter.

While Stahl flourished, the Columbus East guards struggled to hit open 3s. Maeleigh Roberts and Allison Craig were a combined 3 of 19 from the arc. The Olympians did hit 10 3s but it took 39 attempts (26%).

“I scouted them very heavily. We were very concerned about this game. We wanted to win it and we put a lot of work into our scouting,” said Hoefler. “They are not the best outside shooters so we made sure we played off of them and covered the inside. Stahl is an amazing player and she is hard to stop. Our focus was to make it harder for her and make them shoot from the outside. The game plan worked.”

Jenna Guse found her range in the third quarter and helped stabilize the Olympians, who fell behind 41-29 following a Johnson 15 footer.

Guse, averaging just 6 ppg this season, scored off an offensive rebound then hit back-to-back 3s to get Columbus East within two points, 45-43, at the end of the quarter.

The junior hit two more 3s in the final quarter and finished with 17 points.

Shelbyville got a third-quarter boost from freshman Ellie Keller, who did not play in the first half. Her 3-pointer not long after checking into the game was part of an 8-0 run that pushed the Golden Bears’ lead to its largest at 41-29.

The fourth quarter finally arrived with several key players in foul trouble.

Edwards managed to avoid early foul trouble while battling Stahl in the low post. In the end, the two Division I athletes did everything they could to carry their respective teams into the championship game.

Edwards, who will play collegiate softball at Mississippi State University, scored Shelbyville’s first nine points of the final eight minutes.

Guse’s 7-0 run helped Columbus East tie the game at 56-all with 2:37 left. The final point, a free throw, came after Wilson, who averages 18.4 ppg, fouled out.

Brenner answered with a 3, one of Shelbyville’s 11 made 3s in the game. Keller followed with a baseline 10 footer to get the lead to 61-56.

Shelbyville struggled to hit free throws from there that would have secured the win earlier. Edwards only hit 3 of 6 in the quarter and Brenner was 2 of 4.

Meanwhile, Stahl scored in the low post, Brielle Stevens sank a pair of free throws and Stahl drove hard to the rim and scored again to cut the lead to 63-62 with 13 seconds left.

Edwards was fouled and with the Shelbyville season and her career on the line, the senior swished two free throws in front of a large Golden Bears student section to seal the win.

Wilson (main photo), a junior, finished with 15 points and combined with Edwards to hit 9 of 16 3s in the win.

Brenner, a senior, finished with eight points – all in the second half.

Keller had seven points and two assists but was injured on Columbus East’s final shot attempt that was well off the mark. She had to be helped off the court after the win leaving her playing status for the championship game in doubt.

Johnson hit a pair of third-quarter field goal attempts to finish with four points and three rebounds.

Marshall and Hailey Pogue, Shelbyville’s third senior, each had two points.

Ellie Simpson did not score but had four rebounds and two assists.

 

 

“I am so proud of those girls for stepping up and taking shots,” said Hoefler (photo). “We will need the exact same thing (against Franklin).”

Notes: Edwards pushed her career scoring record to 1,557 points in the win and surpassed Sharon Knecht as the program’s career rebounding leader with 567 rebounds. … As Hoefler celebrated her first postseason victory, Columbus East head coach Danny Brown closed out his coaching career with 303 wins with the Olympians and 361 career victories. He announced his retirement earlier this season. … Stahl, like Edwards, is a 1,000 point scorer in her career. She accomplished the feat earlier this season. … With her 15 points, Wilson pushed her career scoring total to 729 points which puts her on pace to reach 1,000 career points during her senior season.

Steve Bush photos

 

Shelbyville 65, Columbus East 62

CE – Roberts 1-9 0-0 3, Murphy 0-2 0-0 0, Stahl 10-25 3-6 25, Bachmann 1-6 3-4 6, Trapp 1-2 1-1 3, Guse 6-13 1-3 17, Craig 2-10 0-0 6, Stevens 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 21-66 10-16 62.

SH – Edwards 9-19 3-6 27, Brenner 2-5 3-8 8, Simpson 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson 4-13 4-6 15, Pogue 1-1 0-0 2, Keller 3-6 0-0 7, E. Johnson 2-3 0-2 4, Marshall 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 22-49 10-22 65.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CE (10-14)  11  15  17  19  --  62

SH (15-8)    11  19  15  20  --  65

Three-point field goals: CE 10-39 (Roberts 1-9, Murphy 0-2, Stahl 2-8, Bachmann 1-1, Guse 4-8, Craig 2-10, Stevens 0-1), SH 11-21 (Edwards 6-8, Brenner 1-1, Simpson 0-1, Wilson 3-8, Keller 1-2, Marshall 0-1). Rebounds: CE 48 (Stahl 19, Bachmann 17, Trapp 5, Guse 4, Craig 3), SH 28 (Edwards 9, Brenner 3, Simpson 4, Wilson 4, Pogue 3, Keller 1, E. Johnson 3, Marshall 1). Assists: CE 13 (Roberts 1, Murphy 2, Stahl 1, Bachmann 1, Trapp 1, Guse 3, Craig 4), SH 10 (Edwards 1, Brenner 2, Simpson 2, Wilson 2, Keller 2, Marshall 1). Steals: CE 3 (Stahl 2, Guse 1), SH 8 (Edwards 1, Brenner 2, Simpson 1, Wilson 1, Keller 1, Marshall 2). Blocks: CE 1 (Bachmann 1), SH 3 (Edwards 1, Simpson 1, Keller 1). Total fouls: CE 16, SH 19. Fouled out: Bachmann (CE), Wilson (SH).

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Wasson signs on for new challenge with University of Indianapolis football

FAIRLAND -- Aidan Wasson is ready to create his own identity on the football field.

On Wednesday at Triton Central High School, the senior made his commitment official to the University of Indianapolis – a Division II program that went 9-2 in 2022 and qualified for the NCAA DII playoffs.

“One of the big sells for me was how they develop their players,” said Wasson. “Their strength program and their athletic program, I think, is the best in the nation and can rival some Division I schools. I know they will develop me as a player. It was the best fit for me.”

Wasson plans to major in either Computer Science or Computer Engineering.

 

 

Standing six-foot, four inches tall and weighing 240 pounds, Wasson was a stalwart on Triton Central’s offensive line this past season. He was part of a TC team that finished 10-3 with two of the losses against eventual state champions.

Wasson is excited for a position change at UIndy where he will run routes as a tight end as well as be a key blocker for the Greyhounds’ rushing attack.

“That was hard recruiting wise, being recruited for a position they hadn’t seen me play,” he said. “They put a lot of trust in me and I knew I could take care of what I needed to do.”

Wasson also considered his football options at Taylor and Olivet Nazarene. His older brother, Dylan, is a sophomore defensive lineman at Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

 

For more on Dylan Wasson's signing in 2021, go to https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/archives/2021-02/

 

Ultimately, Wasson wanted to walk his own path at UIndy.

“I think that was a big thing,” he said of the decision to stay closer to home. “I wanted to create my own identity rather than be Dylan’s little brother.”

Despite not following his older brother to ONU, he valued Dylan’s advice throughout the recruiting periods.

“I am glad it’s over,” he said of the process. “(Dylan) was there to guide me on what to say to coaches and help me with the learning curve talking to coaches. It was good to have someone in the family that has been through the same process.”

The Wassons are the sons of Shawn and Tiffiny Wasson.

With the college decision now official, Wasson can enjoy the rest of this senior year.

“I’m not necessarily going to coast to graduation but I will enjoy myself,” said Wasson. “Once summer rolls around, I will be getting ready (for the football season).”

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Prep Report: Six Shelbyville swimmers qualify for sectional championship races

Six Shelbyville swimmers will be part of the championship races today at the New Palestine Sectional.

Freshman Riley Everette qualified Thursday for the sectional championship race in the 100-yard butterfly and will be part of two relay teams racing for sectional titles.

Everette posted the fifth-fastest time in the 100 butterfly (1:05.53) during qualifying races Thursday at New Palestine.

Greenfield-Central’s Taylor Parsons was the top qualifier at 1:01.48.

Everette will team with Naomi Garringer, Alexis Dwiggins and Paige Bohman in the sectional championship race of the 200 medley relay. The Golden Bears posted the seventh-fastest time Thursday in qualifying.

Naomi Garringer, Miriam Garringer, Meeghen Bushfield and Everette also will compete in the sectional final of the 200 freestyle relay. The quartet had the third fastest time (1:49.53).

Shelbyville had six qualifiers for Saturday’s sectional consolation races.

Everette finished 11th in the 200 freestyle Thursday to advance.

Kylie Stader will compete in the 100 butterfly consolation race.

Bohman qualified for the consolation race in the 100 freestyle.

Miriam Garringer just missed qualifying for the sectional championship with a ninth-place finish in the 100 backstroke.

Naomi Garringer also qualified for the consolation of the 100 backstroke.

Bushfield is in the consolation race of the 100 breaststroke.

Shelbyville diver Maiah Helfer-Vazquez is part of the diving field that begins qualifying Saturday morning to advance to the championship round later in the day. The top four divers qualify for the Brownsburg Regional on Feb. 7.

In other prep events Thursday:

Boys basketball

North Decatur 67, Waldron 58

At Waldron, the host Mohawks built a 31-21 lead at halftime but were outscored 20-9 in the third quarter and allowed the Chargers 26 points in the fourth quarter.

North Decatur improved to 14-4 this season and leads the Mid-Hoosier Conference standings at 5-0.

Lucas Mitchell led Waldron (8-9, 3-2 MHC) with 22 points. Bryce Yarling finished with 14 and Keith Settles had 11.

Waldron is at Tri (11-3) today.

Hauser 48, Southwestern 31

At Hauser, the host Jets extended a 16-14 halftime lead to 36-22 after three quarters then Alex Cord scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter.

Hauser improved to 8-9 (3-2 MHC).

Carter Snepp led Southwestern (2-15, 0-5 MHC) with eight points. Matt Clements and Conner Jewell each finished with six points.

Southwestern hosts Rising Sun (8-10) today.

Gymnastics

Martinsville 99.90, Franklin Central 98.15, Fishers 86.325, Lapel 67.175, Shelbyville 30.65

At Franklin Central, Gabby Grubb and Lily Boyd finished 1-2 in the all-around competition to lead Martinsville in the five-team meet.

Grubb totaled 35.525 points in all four events to win the all-around. Boyd was runner-up at 35.225.

Shelbyville’s Renee Aldridge finished seventh with 30.65. Ella Griggs placed ninth (27.575).

Aldridge’s best finish came in the vault. Her score of 8.5 secured a fifth-place finish.

Aldridge also placed eighth in the floor exercise (7.85), ninth on the uneven bars (7.15) and 12th on the balance beam (7.15).

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Semistate one win away for eight Shelby County wrestlers

Three Shelbyville and five Triton Central wrestlers are one win away from qualifying for the New Castle Semistate.

All it takes is one win Saturday at the Perry Meridian Regional.

Triton Central’s Hadyn Ball and Shelbyville’s Jacob Harker have favorable matchups after winning and finishing runner-up, respectively, at the Warren Central Sectional.

The other six qualifiers from Shelby County must defeat a Southport Sectional champion to move into the regional final four and automatically qualify for the semistate round of the state tournament.

Ball (22-3), a senior, has plenty of familiarity standing in his way at 220 pounds. He will open the regional tournament against Beech Grove’s Ian Thompson (21-11), who he pinned in his season-opening match this year. The two did not square off at the Indiana Crossroads Conference Tournament in mid-January.

A win would set up a semifinal match against either Warren Central’s Greg Johnson (24-8) or Providence Cristo Rey’s Kyrese Rhodes (23-7).

 

 

Ball (photo) defeated Johnson in overtime in the sectional semifinal last week.

“That Warren Central match came down to overtime,” said Ball. “I was getting really tired but I knew I had to push through. I knew there were going to be tough matches going into it. We have a really tough sectional but I pulled through and with the No. 1 seed coming out of the sectional, I should win at regional and go to semistate.”

A regional championship match for Ball would most likely come against Roncalli’s Royce Deckard (21-3), ranked No. 16 in the state, or Franklin Central’s Talan Humphrey (21-6), who Ball defeated for the sectional title, 8-4.

The goal for Ball this season was to get to the State Finals.

“I put on a bunch of muscle and have been working harder, and being intentional in my practices making sure everything I do helps me in my next match,” said Ball.

To do so means winning two matches at the semistate round. Just as Ball made his road easier at the regional by winning the sectional, a regional title would make the path clearer in New Castle.

“Being a regional champion just sets you up really nice for the semistate,” said Ball. “If you are the No. 1 seed coming out of the regional then you get a No. 4 seed in the first round and the winner of a No. 2 and a No. 3 seed (match) to go to state.”

 

 

Harker (26-4), a junior, will open the regional against Southport’s Jacarei Markey (13-13), who finished third at 285 pounds at the sectional. A win for Harker (photo) would probably set up a semifinal-round match with Beech Grove’s John Broadwell (32-3), ranked No. 20 in the state.

The other half of the 285-pound bracket includes Franklin Central’s Andrew Just (21-1), ranked No. 9 in his weight class. Just defeated Harker, 6-1, in the sectional championship match.

Triton Central’s Ayden Nufio (18-6) is part of the 106-pound bracket that features three state-ranked wrestlers. The TC junior first faces Perry Meridian’s Hurai Lian (24-4), ranked No. 11.

New Palestine’s Gunner Butt (21-6), ranked No. 23, and Greenfield-Central’s Jett McGuire (22-8), ranked No. 15, also are in the field.

At 120 pounds, Shelbyville’s Isaiah Havens (12-9) opens against Perry Meridian’s Bryce Beckham (18-7).

Triton Central’s Dayne Bailey (13-12) drew Perry Meridian’s Keaton Morton (27-4), ranked No. 12, at 132 pounds. No. 1 ranked Kyrel Leavell (23-1) of Warren Central is in the other half of the bracket.

At 138 pounds, Triton Central’s Ethan Booth (7-11) will face Providence Cristo Rey’s Delin Jones (28-4).

Shelbyville freshman Julian Eads (12-15) debuts at the regional level with a match against Roncalli’s Braden Getz (25-5) at 145 pounds.

And at 195 pounds, Triton Central’s Andrew Bailey (12-10) must defeat No. 4-ranked Luke Hansen (33-0) of Roncalli to advance to the semistate.

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Morristown overwhelms Edinburgh to move into Sectional 60 semifinal

Morristown strung together at 12-0 run early in the first quarter Wednesday and never looked back in defeating Edinburgh, 53-17 in the final quarterfinal game of Class A, Sectional 60.

At Southwestern High School, Raegan Kleine scored a game-high 19 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets (13-10) to their seventh-straight win.

Danika Rutledge finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists and Maggie Lutes had six points and 10 rebounds.

Morristown will face South Decatur, a 56-49 winner Wednesday over Oldenburg Academy, in the second semifinal game Friday.

In the semifinal opener at 6 p.m., Southwestern (6-16) will take on Jac-Cen-Del (13-11).

The championship game is at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Morristown lost at South Decatur on Nov. 10, 65-46. It was the fifth of six straight losses to start the Yellow Jackets’ season. Now, with its lineup intact, Morristown gets a rematch after dismantling the Lancers (6-18) Wednesday.

Edinburgh scored first before Morristown ran off 12 consecutive points and outscored the Lancers 17-3 in the first quarter. The lead extended to 31-5 by halftime in a sloppily-played first half that saw the Yellow Jackets commit nine turnovers and shoot just 34% from the field.

“We knew the nerves would be there,” said Morristown head coach Rachel Kleine. “They were so ready to go and fired up. We knew the first couple of minutes would be helter skelter until we got settled in.”

A cleaner third quarter made sure Morristown was ready for the semifinal round.

The Yellow Jackets shot 41% from the field in the third quarter as the lead opened to 47-15. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock and the Morristown reserves on the floor.

“South Decatur will be a completely different opponent just in their style of defense and being tight with the basketball,” said Kleine. “We have to be smart and stronger with the ball. I was pleased with the way we responded tonight. I think we had (Edinburgh) thinking, trying to throw some new things at them and I think they were thinking and trying to execute at the same time. We just need to continue to get sharper.”

Edinburgh dressed just eight players after starting the season with seven. Seniors Gracie Crawhorn and Cloee Britton took the floor for a final time and played well.

Crawhorn finished with eight points, three rebounds and four blocked shots. Britton had two points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Edinburgh did not have a junior varsity team this season and ended the season with 10 consecutive losses.

Morristown also did not field a junior varsity squad but has a much-more experienced varsity squad. Eight of the nine Yellow Jackets that took the floor Wednesday scored.

Now, the Yellow Jackets are one win away from playing for a sectional championship.

 

Morristown 53, Edinburgh 17

ED – G. Crawhorn 3-11 0-0 8, Turner 0-7 0-0 0, Streeval 3-13 1-3 7, Goff 0-5 0-2 0, Britton 1-4 0-1 2, Gobel 0-1 0-0 0, Sanders 0-1 0-0 0, A. Crawhorn 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 7-43 1-6 17.

MT – Rogers 1-5 0-0 3, Kleine 8-14 2-2 19, Rude 1-4 0-2 3, Rutledge 6-15 3-5 16, Lutes 2-7 2-3 6, Cox 1-6 0-0 2, Essex 1-4 0-0 2, Theobald 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-59 7-12 53.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

ED (6-18)       3     2  10    2  --  17

MT (13-10)  17  14  16    6  --  53

Three-point field goals: ED 2-14 (G. Crawhorn 2-8, Turner 0-4, Streeval 0-1, Goff 0-1), MT 4-12 (Rogers 1-4, Kleine 1-2, Rude 1-2, Rutledge 1-2, Theobald 0-1, Smith 0-1). Rebounds: ED 23 (G. Crawhorn 3, Turner 2, Streeval 4, Goff 2, Britton 7, Gobel 3, A. Crawhorn 2), MT 42 (Rogers 3, Kleine 12, Rude 6, Rutledge 5, Lutes 10, Cox 5, Essex 1). Assists: ED 2 (G. Crawhorn 1, Britton 1), MT 14 (Rogers 1, Kleine 3, Rude 4, Rutledge 4, Essex 2). Steals: ED 2 (G. Crawhorn 1, Streeval 1), MT 7 (Rogers 1, Rude 2, Rutledge 3, Cox 1). Blocks: ED 7 (G. Crawhorn 4, Goff 1, Britton 2), MT 3 (Rude 1, Rutledge 1, Lutes 1). Total fouls: ED 9, MT 8. Turnovers: ED 19, MT 15.

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Collegiate Update: Phelps helps Youngstown State improve to 15-5

Youngstown State improved to 15-5 this season on Jan. 26 with a 76-60 win over Wright State.

Tenleigh Phelps (photo), a Triton Central graduate, came off the Youngstown State bench to score three points, grab two rebounds and dish out one assist to help the Penguins improve to 9-2 against Horizon League opponents.

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

 

 

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate scored a team-high 14 points Wednesday for Loyola in an 81-68 loss to Dayton.

On Jan. 25, Chandler had four points and one rebound in Loyola’s 75-61 loss to George Washington.

Four days later, Chandler had 10 points, one rebound and one steal Sunday in a 60-50 loss at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

The Ramblers are 6-16 this season and 1-8 in the Atlantic 10 standings.

 

 

Hayden Langkabel

The Morristown graduate finished with 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal Wednesday in Marian’s 87-72 loss at Bethel.

On Jan. 25, Langkabel had 10 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in Marian’s 80-70 loss to No. 7 Grace.

On Saturday, Marian defeated Goshen College, 97-82. Langkabel had 14 points, one rebound, one steal and one assist.

The Knights are 18-6 this season and 8-6 in the Crossroads League standings.

 

 

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate had two rebounds and two assists Saturday in Hanover’s 95-82 win at Defiance College.

Crim finished with four points, two rebounds and one assist Saturday in Hanover’s 84-78 win at Rose-Hulman.

The Panthers are 12-7 (8-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference).

 

 

Taylor Heath

The Triton Central graduate finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal Wednesday in Hanover’s 91-62 loss at Anderson.

On Saturday, Hanover defeated Defiance, 67-55. Heath had 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.

The Panthers are 12-6 (9-2 HCAC).

 

 

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate collected 10 points, three rebounds and one block Tuesday in Oakland City’s 84-59 loss to Midway University.

On Saturday, Moore had 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists in a 78-67 loss to Brescia University.

Oakland City is 8-15 this season and 2-11 in conference games.

 

 

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate came off the bench and scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and had one assist and one steal in Anderson’s 91-62 win over Hanover.

On Jan. 26, Larrison had one steal and one block in a 78-51 loss to Bluffton.

Larrison had six rebounds, one assist and two blocks Saturday in an 83-44 win over Earlham.

Anderson is 13-7 (8-4 HCAC).

 

 

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate finished runner-up in a pair of one-meter diving competitions Saturday against Indiana Wesleyan.

Baker, competing for Franklin College, finished with 183.74 points in the first event and 282.21 in the second event.

Franklin defeated Indiana Wesleyan, 198-84.

RHIT Friday Night Spikes

In Terre Haute Friday, four Shelby County graduates were in competition.

 

 

Zaleeya Martin, a Shelbyville graduate, won the 60-meter dash (7.85 seconds) for Hanover College. She also finished ninth in the 200 (27.2).

 

 

Franklin College runner Jill Anspaugh, a Shelbyville graduate, finished fifth in the 3,000 meters (11:48.87).

 

 

Alison Muck, a Southwestern graduate competing for Franklin College, placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.49) and sixth in the high jump (4-10.25).

 

 

Taylor Tatlock, also a Southwestern graduate, finished seventh in the women’s weight throw (43 feet, five inches) for Franklin College.

Taylor Indoor Invitational

On Saturday at Taylor University, a pair of Shelbyville graduates competed for St. Francis (Ind.).

 

 

Sequoia Gilbert placed eighth in the 60 meters (8.58) and 15th in the 200 (30.19).

 

 

Madisen Hinderliter finished fourth in the weight throw (12.25 meters).

Aurora Grand Prix

At the Gately Indoor Facility in Chicago Friday, two Shelby County athletes competed representing Trine.

 

 

Konrad Dorsey, a Shelbyville graduate, finished 71st in the 60 meters (7.81) and 93rd in the 200 (25.38).

 

 

Jacob Batten, a Morristown graduate, placed 64th in the 400 (57.74).

 

 

Kina Schultz

The Shelbyville graduate finished 15th in the 200 (28.45) and fifth in the 60 hurdles (10.24) Saturday for Muskingum University at its indoor facility in New Concord, Ohio.

 

 

Madalyn Hudnall

The Waldron graduate finished 17th in the shot put (9.81 meters), 12th in the high jump (1.41 meters) and 26th in the weight throw (10.28 meters) for Mount St. Joseph Saturday in the Wittenberg Steemer Showcase in Springfield, Ohio.

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Golden Bears focus attention on sectional foe Columbus East

One last ride.

The four-year resurgence of the Shelbyville girls basketball program, sparked by seniors Kylee Edwards, Abby Brenner and Hailey Pogue, continues Friday at William L. Garrett Gymnasium when the Golden Bears (14-8) make their 2023 postseason debut against Columbus East (10-13).

“I have the most competitive senior class,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler, 37-55 in her fourth season. “They really want to get past that first round. They want to be in that sectional championship game since we are hosting.”

Shelbyville has not won a sectional game since 2011 and the program’s last sectional championship came in 2004. The Golden Bears have already secured their first winning season since 2016 and four of its losses came by a combined 16 points.

“A couple of shots here or there,” agreed Hoefler. “In the last four years, nothing has been handed to us. It’s always a grind. Hopefully, we’re due. I think these girls can get it done.”

 

 

Edwards (photo), the program’s career scoring leader with 1,530 points, has luckily avoided two serious injuries this season. She injured a knee in a win over South Central (Union Mills) in the Valparaiso Tournament on Dec. 22 and severely sprained an ankle in a loss at Whiteland on Jan. 18.

The high-scoring guard (20 ppg, 8 rpg) missed the win over Delta but returned to the floor for a Senior Night victory over Hauser on Jan. 26. With another week to rest, Hoefler proclaims Edwards is at 100%.

Shelbyville will need Edwards at her best to overcome a Columbus East squad that features Indiana State commit and potential Indiana All-Star Saige Stahl (26 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.2 spg).

“She is one of the best we’ve seen,” admitted Hoefler.

The Golden Bears watched the Olympians, the only team in Sectional 14 with a losing record, eliminate East Central, a program Shelbyville is more familiar with, on Tuesday at Garrett Gymnasium.

“What was nice was watching them play live,” said Hoefler. “I definitely think the matchup is pretty good for us. We’re a little quicker but they’ve got size on us.”

Stahl, a six foot, one-inch senior, and Leah Bachman, a 6-0 senior that averages 9 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 1.8 bpg, gives Columbus East a formidable front line.

“If they miss (a shot), we have to guarantee it’s our ball,” said Hoefler emphasizing rebounding as a key to victory. “We won’t be able to use our normal defense. We will keep it packed in.”

That puts added pressure on Pogue and junior Ella Johnson to limit second-chance opportunities for Columbus East, who has not faced Shelbyville since the 2018 postseason. The last regular-season meeting came in 2013.

 

 

“Hailey and Ella have got to be on the boards,” said Hoefler (photo). “I don’t expect anything else from them but to get on the boards. We have to make them feel uncomfortable and be as physical as we can.”

Bachman finished with 11 points and six rebounds Tuesday. Maeleigh Roberts (four made 3s) added 14 points and three assists while Jenna Guse had 13 points and three steals.

Junior guard Ava Wilson (18.4 ppg) (main photo) gives Shelbyville an explosive 1-2 punch but the duo accounts for 70% of the Golden Bears’ scoring.

Brenner is the team’s third-leading scorer at 6 ppg.

“This is a big one,” said Hoefler of Friday’s game. “We dropped a couple of (Hoosier Heritage Conference) games that we’re so close. Our conference was so tough this year. This is the last goal (to win a sectional game) to hit. We wanted more than 11 wins – we got that. This just seems like the year (for more).”

The first semifinal game Friday at Garrett Gymnasium features Franklin (16-5) and Whiteland (12-10).

The sectional champion advances to a one-game regional at Bedford North Lawrence to face the Bloomington South Sectional champion. Still alive in Sectional 13 are No. 9 Center Grove (19-4), Bloomington North (17-6), Mooresville (18-6) and Martinsville (0-24).

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Prep Report: Jac-Cen-Del ends Waldron's season in Sectional 60 opener

Class A, No. 13 Jac-Cen-Del stormed out to a 21-2 lead after one quarter and cruised to a Sectional 60 opening win over Waldron Tuesday at Southwestern High School.

The Eagles outscored the Mohawks 20-9 in the second quarter and led at halftime 41-11.

With the win, Jac-Cen-Del (13-11) returns to Southwestern Friday for a 6 p.m. semifinal game against the host Spartans (6-16).

Olivia Neal scored a game-high 22 points for Jac-Cen-Del. Reagan Hughes finished with 19.

Waldron closed out its season with a 5-18 record.

Sectional 60 continues tonight with Oldenburg Academy (11-9) taking on South Decatur (7-14) and Morristown (12-10) facing Edinburgh (6-17). The two winners return Friday for a 7:30 p.m. semifinal game.

The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.

In another sectional tournament Tuesday:

 

 

Class 4A, Sectional 14

At Shelbyville, Franklin opened the postseason with a 48-45 victory over Columbus North.

The Grizzly Cubs (16-5) led 15-11 after one quarter but trailed at halftime, 25-24.

Franklin outscored the Bull Dogs, 16-13 in the third quarter and held on for the victory.

Hadassah Hurt led Columbus North (14-9) with 14 points. Kathryn Wilson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Franklin advanced to Friday’s first semifinal game at Garrett Gymnasium to take on Whiteland (12-10).

In the second quarterfinal game Tuesday, Columbus East eliminated East Central, 60-50.

The Olympians (10-13) advanced to Friday’s second semifinal game to battle the host Golden Bears (14-8). The two teams have not faced each other since the 2018 postseason.

East Central ended its season at 15-11.

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Eastern Hancock's strong finish eliminates Triton Central from Sectional 42

FAIRLAND – Class 2A, No. 11 Triton Central opened the fourth quarter in grave danger Tuesday against No. 8 Eastern Hancock in the Sectional 42 opener.

Senior Lizzie Graham was out of the game with a foot injury and two more starters had three fouls against a confident Royals squad that led 33-29 with eight minutes to go.

Triton Central dug deep and opened the final frame with a 9-2 run to take a 38-35 lead midway through the quarter but the lead never grew to two possessions and Eastern Hancock capitalized.

The Royals outscored the Tigers 14-6 over the final four minutes to secure the program’s second-straight sectional win over Triton Central and advance to Friday’s semifinal round with a 49-44 victory.

Eastern Hancock (20-3), now with a program-record 20 wins, will face Irvington Prep (1-10) while Indianapolis Scecina (11-11) takes on Indianapolis Riverside (2-15). The championship game is Saturday at 7 p.m.

Ruby White scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter and had six rebounds, including two offensive that she scored on, to lead the Royals.

“I thought we did a really good job of containing (Sammie) Bolding and (Grace) Stapleton but that is what makes them a good team,” said Triton Central head coach Bryan Graham. “They have those three weapons. We took away two of three and did a pretty good job, but the one (White) stepped up there in the fourth.”

Trailing by three points, White, a six foot, one-inch junior, took over. She scored on an offensive rebound to cut the TC lead to 38-37.

Emma Bolding sank a baseline jumper to get the Royals the lead for the final time. White followed with a 17-foot jumper from just beyond the free-throw line then pump-faked the same shot on the next possession and drove to the rim and scored.

A three-point deficit quickly turned into a five-point lead – the biggest of the game for either team.

 

 

Graham (photo), who returned in the fourth quarter, drove into the lane and scored to stop the Royals’ 8-0 run.

“I thought she was done,” admitted Bryan Graham after seeing his daughter carried off the floor to the trainer’s room late in the third quarter. “I knew it was her ankle (injured) and not her knee -- that made me feel a little bit better.”

Emma Bolding matched the move at the other end of the floor and Eastern Hancock led 45-40 with 1:55 to go.

Maryrose Felling (main photo) hit a pair of free throws to get the lead back down to three but White scored on another offensive rebound.

 

 

Hallie Schweitzer (photo) drove into the lane and scored for the final time in her TC career to make it 47-44 with 55 seconds on the clock.

Grace Stapleton, who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and five assists, missed back-to-back free throws to give the Tigers hope but the offense could not deliver.

Graham had a chance to tie the game with a late 3 from the top of the key that rattled out and closed TC’s shooting performance from beyond the arc at 1-for-13.

Stapleton hit two free throws at the other end to then seal the victory.

Felling, a freshman, led Triton Central with 15 points.

“Her talent level and IQ will just continue to get better and grow,” said Graham of Felling, who scored just short of 300 points in her first season as a Tiger.

Brooklyn Bailey finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Schweitzer added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Triton Central, led by seniors Graham, Schweitzer and Riley Ross, finished the season 18-5 – the program’s seventh consecutive season with at least 18 wins.

TC will return Bailey and Felling as well as juniors Kennedy Brown and Hailey Harris and turn to a successful junior varsity program to reload for another season.

“Brooklyn will be that key piece in the middle and Maryrose will be up top,” said Graham. “So right away you have a good 1-2 punch. And then you throw in a Hailey Harris and Kennedy Brown, who do all the little things right all the time.”

Bryan Graham closes out his 15th season as the head coach at Triton Central with 299 wins against just 65 losses.

Steve Bush photos

 

Eastern Hancock 49, Triton Central 44

EH: Stapleton 2-10 3-6 9, S. Bolding 2-12 2-2 8, E. Bolding 4-10 3-4 11, White 7-11 1-2 15, O’Neal 0-2 0-0 0, Springman 0-0 0-0 0, Willis 1-3 0-0 2, Meyer 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 18-50 9-14 49.

TC: Schweitzer 5-11 2-2 12, Graham 1-11 2-2 4, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Felling 6-13 3-3 15, Bailey 4-5 4-5 13, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Ross 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-42 11-12 44.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

EH (20-3)  13    7  13  16  --  49

TC (18-5)  11    8  10  15  --  44

Three-point field goals: EH 4-20 (Stapleton 2-10, S. Bolding 2-9, O’Neal 0-1), TC 1-13 (Schweitzer 0-2, Graham 0-4, Brown 0-1, Felling 0-4, Bailey 1-2). Rebounds: EH 32 (Stapleton 8, S. Bolding 2, E. Bolding 4, White 9, O’Neal 2, Willis 5, Meyer 2), TC 26 (Schweitzer 5, Graham 3, Brown 4, Felling 3, Bailey 9, Ross 2). Assists: EH 14 (Stapleton 5, S. Bolding 3, E. Bolding 2, White 1, O’Neal 1, Willis 2), TC 5 (Schweitzer 2, Brown 2, Felling 1). Steals: EH 3 (S. Bolding 1, White 2), TC 2 (Schweitzer 1, Bailey 1). Blocks: EH 3 (S. Bolding 1, White 1, Willis 1). Total fouls: EH 10, TC 11. Turnovers: EH 8, TC 10.

 

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