TERRE HAUTE —
The long debate over the membership of Terre Haute North Vigo and Terre Haute South Vigo in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference is coming to a close.
The MIC principals gathered for their regular monthly meeting Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, and voted to replace North and South in the eight-team conference beginning in the 2014-15 seasons, Carmel High School Principal John Williams told the Tribune-Star today. Lawrence Central and Pike high schools will replace North and South.
Danny Tanoos, superintendent of Vigo County schools, requested a hearing for explanation of the decision, and that session immediately followed the MIC meeting.
The increased cost of transportation associated with the 70-mile distance between the two Terre Haute schools and the six current Indianapolis-area MIC schools was the reason given for the change, Tanoos said. The vote was 6-2, with the Terre Haute schools in the minority, he added.
“There’s been a lot of conversation over the years, and really it comes down to one thing — the travel,” Williams said. The Indy-to-Terre Haute road trips have been a challenge for the league since North and South began competing in its ranks in 1997-98, he added, and the situation “exacerbated with the rising price of gas.”
Also, the hour-plus drive time caused other problems. “There’s some academic concerns, with the sports that have to travel in the middle of the week,” Williams said.
But the transportation issues effect North and South more so than the Indianapolis schools, Tanoos said.
“We have to travel to Indianapolis many more times than they [individually] have to travel to Terre Haute,” Tanoos said. “And we’re all in the same economic boat, and continue to find ways to pay for travel to conference games. But we understand where they’re coming from [on the issue].”
He also pointed out that, when the conference formed, the Indianapolis schools courted North and South as members.
Carmel, Ben Davis, Warren Central, Lawrence North, Center Grove and Indianapolis North Central constitute the Indy-area portion of the MIC. Lawrence Central and Pike are also located in that same metropolitan region, and will leave their current conference — Conference Indiana — for the MIC. The geographic proximity of those two MIC-similar schools made the switch logical, Williams said.
“If [North and South] were inside the doughnut of Indianapolis, this would not be happening,” Williams said. He praised the Terre Haute schools as outstanding members of the league. “It certainly had nothing to do with the quality of the Terre Haute schools, or their functioning in the conference,” he said.
Pike and Lawrence Central “bring the same kind of quality programming leadership the Terre Haute schools have,” Williams said.
For North and South, the difficulty of competing with the MIC’s traditional powerhouse programs — particularly in football — has long stirred questions of whether staying in the conference was wise. Since 1999, MIC schools have won all but two Class 5A state football championships. Pike and Lawrence Central both maintain strong football teams.
Ironically, Terre Haute North posted the best MIC football record ever by the Terre Haute schools this past season, finishing 4-3 in league games. Three MIC victories was the high for either local school prior to the Patriots’ 2012 performance. Also this fall, two Terre Haute runners — Chanli Mundy of North, and Jackson Bertoli of South — scored breakthrough individual victories in the MIC girls and boys cross country championships.
Earlier this fall, Vigo County School Corp. superintendent Danny Tanoos told the Tribune-Star that the corporation — aware of the impending MIC shakeup — was pursuing affiliations with different conferences.
“I know they’re working hard to see where their next step is, and what’s best for their programs,” Williams said.
In October, the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference turned down acceptance of North and South into that league, which currently includes eight Evansville-area schools. This week, Tanoos spoke with an official from a southern Indiana conference, which may need new members. If that prospect doesn’t materialize, the Vigo County schools will keep looking.
“We’d hope to have something resolved in the next few months,” Tanoos said. “The worst scenario would be to play as independents.”
North and South endured the scheduling complexities as independents from the early 1980s, after they left the SIAC, until joining the MIC nearly a generation later.
The MIC scheduling will be intact in the 2013-14 school year, Tanoos said. He also noted that several MIC schools have longterm scheduling contracts with North and South, “and we’re going to hold them to those, unless they want to buy them out.”
See Saturday’s Tribune-Star print edition for more details.
High School
MIC replaces North, South beginning with 2014-15 sports seasons
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North baseball pulls away from South in sectional opener
In high school baseball little things mean a lot, and the crack in the door doesn’t have to be open very wide.
Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves. -
Blank, Mundy named McMillan Award winners
Posing side-by-side for photos following Terre Haute North High School’s Senior Awards ceremony, seniors Calvin Blank and Chanli Mundy couldn’t look more different.
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West Vigo baseball advances with 10-0 win behind Stewart's two-hitter
West Vigo got off to a good start in Class 3A high school sectional baseball action Wednesday evening at Dick Ballinger Field.
The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning of the first sectional game and went on to defeat Brown County 10-0 in five innings with Kevin Stewart hurling a two-hitter. -
Terre Haute South tennis claims regional crown
It was a lot tougher than some thought it would be, but the Terre Haute South girls tennis team won the Greencastle regional for the second year in a row Wednesday evening at DePauw University Tennis and Track Center.
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Big group of Wabash Valley boys head to Evansville looking for state berths
The top four finishers in each event from last week’s Terre Haute North, Evansville Central, Jasper and Princeton boys high school track and field sectionals will converge on Evansville Central today for regional competition.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
Northview unleashed power rarely seen in high school girls softball Tuesday night to eliminate Terre Haute South 8-1 in the Class 4A Sectional at Martinsville High School.
The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
Keirra Porter took first place in two individual events and helped Terre Haute North win one of its relays as the Patriots captured the Evansville Central Regional team championship in girls high school track and field Tuesday night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. - More High School Headlines
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