TERRE HAUTE —
The stellar college basketball career of Terre Haute North grad Molly Martin came to an end March 4, as Hanover College’s women’s team dropped a 76-62 decision to the University of Chicago in the opening round of the NCAA Division III national tournament at Grand Rapids, Mich.
Martin, Hanover’s career leader in scoring and rebounding, concluded her career with a 24-point, 11-rebound effort to lead the Panthers.
Hanover hit just one of its first 13 field goal attempts, while Chicago jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the opening five minutes of action.
Chicago expanded its lead to 29-12 with 7:54 to go in the half, and Hanover would not get within single digits the rest of the way.
Hanover shot just 19.1 percent from the floor in the first period (7-of-36) and finished the game 18-of-69 (26.1 percent).
Hanover, making its second national tournament appearance (1997), finished with a 25-2 overall record. The Panthers captured the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s regular season title with a 17-1 mark.
Chicago improved to 23-3 with its 19th consecutive win.
Martin, a center, was named the Heartland Conference’s most valuable player and was a first-team selection for the fourth consecutive year. She was the third Hanover player to be named the HCAC’s player of the year and first since Jennifer Skaggs in 2001.
She ranked second in the HCAC in scoring and rebounding with 17.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. She led the league by shooting 54.4 percent from the field.
Martin was named the Heartland Conference’s newcomer of the year in 2008. She was named the most valuable player in the league tournament the past two seasons.
She totaled 1,887 points and 1,091 rebounds in her career.
• Modesitt gets Summit honor — West Vigo graduate Joel Modesitt of IUPUI was recently named the Summit League Men’s Tennis Player of the Week.
The Player of the Week honor is the third of Modesitt’s career.
On the week ending Feb. 13, Modesitt went 1-1 in singles play, with his win securing IUPUI’s lone win in a 6-1 loss at Ball State. After dropping the first set to Ball State’s Zane Smith on Feb. 11, Modesitt bounced back with a convincing 6-2 second-set win to even things at one set a piece. In the third set, Smith and Modesitt went back and forth before Modesitt used a break to secure a 6-4 third-set win.
Two days later against Toledo, Modesitt lost 7-6, 7-5, but despite the loss, he has reeled off four wins in his last six singles matches.
In doubles action, Modesitt and Nick Volz lost both of their matches at No. 2 singles, snapping a four-match winning streak.
• Olney Central was eliminated 83-70 from the Great River Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament on Thursday night, ending the standout career of Northview’s Austin Akers.
Akers averaged 13.5 points and 4.6 assists per game for the injury-depleted Knights, who would have been much more Wabash Valley-flavored had Thomas Anderson and John Michael Jarvis not suffered injuries.
Akers has a list of five schools on rivals.com that have “medium” interest in him for the final two years of his college eligibility – Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Evansville, Loyola-Chicago and Texas Christian.
• The top two recruits for Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball programs next year, according to multiple recruiting services, will be homegrown power forwards who chose to play in their own backyards.
Terre Haute North’s Justin Gant (headed to Indiana State) and Christian Kirk, a 6-7 forward from Springfield, Mo., going to Missouri State, each received three-star ratings on a five-star scale from ESPN, rivals.com and scout.com.
Those ratings grade them out higher than any other players signed in the early signing period.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil.
College Report
COLLEGE REPORT: Molly Martin ends college career with run in NCAA Division III Tournament
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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.
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