Recent Terre Haute South graduate Spencer Harlan is a tremendous example for any young basketball players who would like to play at the college level someday.
Harlan didn’t start for the 18-5 Braves this season, but the 6-5 post player still caught the eye of Jim Shaw last summer and will suit up for the Rose-Hulman Engineers this fall.
“This is a great opportunity for Spencer,” South Coach Mike Saylor said. “I didn’t get to utilize him as much as I wanted with the up-and-down style that we played this year, but he’s much more suited to Coach Shaw’s system.
“He’s a great kid, and he’ll be a solid player for them.”
Saylor noted that Harlan held 2008 Mr. Basketball Tyler Zeller to five points in a summer team camp game a year ago, and that effort didn’t escape Shaw’s notice.
In other college news:
• Phegley’s honors continue — Terre Haute North grad Josh Phegley was a unanimous first-team all-Big Ten Conference selection at catcher after turning in one of the best offensive seasons in league history.
Phegley finished the conference slate first in slugging percentage (.776), RBI (45) and total bases (90) and tied for the lead in home runs (10). He also ranked in the top five in average (.431), on-base percentage (.500), runs scored (38) and hits (50).
Phegley was also named a 2008 Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the publication announced recently.
Earlier, it was announced that Phegley had earned an invitation to the 2008 National Team Trials. Those trials began on Wednesday and continue through June 23.
IU Coach Tracy Smith is very happy for his sophomore catcher.
“What a wonderful experience to be able to represent not only Indiana University but also his country,” Smith said. “I know Josh is excited about the chance. We've known for a while that he's one of the best players in the nation, and now he has a chance to prove it.”
• Taylor ties for 18th — Linton grad Chris Taylor shot a 76 on the final day of the NJCAA Division III men’s golf tournament in Jamestown, N.Y., helping Vincennes University to earn a third-place national finish.
Taylor finished with a 305 to tie for 18th place overall, missing all-American honors by two strokes.
Taylor will be taking his skills to the University of Southern Indiana this fall with two years of eligibility remaining after his stellar VU career.
• Birkey to Grace — Northview High School graduate Abby Birkey has signed a letter-of-intent to play soccer at Grace College starting this fall.
Birkey was a three-year member of the Northview team, was captain the past two years, earned all-Western Indiana Athletic Conference and helped lead the Knights to their first conference championship this year.
She will major in Elementary Education and minor in Youth Ministries, and will accompany the Lancers on a mission trip to Peru this summer to both play soccer and work with a sports ministry there.
• OCC picks up local talent — Northview graduate Traci Sanders will take her softball talents to Olney Central College this fall.
The standout shortstop hit .458 this year with 38 hits in 83 at-bats. She also slugged .627 for the year, scoring 26 runs and driving home 22 runs.
Sanders will join several former area players at OCC, including sophomore Selina Roman from Terre Haute North, freshman Angie Camp from Clay City and sophomore Kelly Fougerousse from Terre Haute South, who is transferring from National Junior College Athletic Association championship qualifier South Georgia College.
• Mardis to transfer — Terre Haute North grad Wendell Mardis will be attending his fourth college in four years this winter, as he looks to transfer from Alabama State and complete his college eligibility at a Division II school.
Mardis started two games for the Hornets in mid-season, but saw his playing time cut as the season progressed. Alabama State participated in the National Invitation Tournament this year.
Mardis played one season each for Southeastern Illinois and Illinois Central before signing with Alabama State.
n Gant drawing interest — Terre Haute North sophomore Justin Gant has a whole lot of high school basketball left to play for the Patriots, but is already drawing considerable attention from college recruiters.
The 6-8 Gant has helped his Spiece Select 15-and-under team to win several tournaments already this summer, with the jam-packed AAU month of July still to come. Published reports have indicated that Gant already has an offer from Bradley, and that new Indiana Coach Tom Crean is close to extending an offer.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches and coaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
College report: Harlan to join Rose-Hulman hoops squad
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
- More College Report Headlines
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Today in History May 22
Raw: Costa Rica Volcano Roars to Life
Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile
AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
Kim Kardashian Flaunts Pregnant Bikini Body in Greece
NBA star pledges $1M to help tornado recovery
Shakira's Shocking Talent
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
GRAPHIC: Blood-Soaked Machete Killer Caught on Tape
Elin Nordegren Furious With Lindsey Vonn For Parading Kids in Public
Camera Captures Climber As He Loses Grip And Falls
Helen Mirren Meets with Dying Boy in Queen Elizabeth's Place
Crowd Chants '¡Si, Se Puede!' After Passage of Immigration Bill
DWTS Crowns a Winner
Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
Demi Moore a Rocks Bikini at Harry Morton's Family House
Anthony Weiner: I'm running for New York City mayor
Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
