TERRE HAUTE —
The IHSAA wrestling state tournament, which returned to its old format of not having team advancement this season, will begin today with sectionals around the state, including those involving Wabash Valley teams at Northview, Crawfordsville and Avon.
At Northview, No. 4-ranked Bloomington South is the heavy favorite to capture the 10-team title. The sectional champion will receive a plaque to commemorate the accomplishment, even if there’s no longer a team regional to look forward to next Saturday.
“Unless they get food poisoning or unless a blizzard keeps them from making the trip, Bloomington South will be awfully hard to beat,” Northview coach Dan Mikesell assessed.
Individual advancement will still be hotly contested today, however, as the top four in each weight class go to the Bloomington South Regional.
“Bloomington South could have nine or 10 guys in the sectional finals,” West Vigo coach Scott Rohrbach said. “All but one of its wrestlers should move on to the regional.”
Terre Haute South has three No. 1 seeds — junior Phoenix Adams (29-7) at 138 pounds, junior Ian Newton (29-7) at 145 and senior Cody Helms (32-4) at 152. Adams, who won the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) championship last Saturday, is ranked 13th and Helms 28th in their classes by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association.
“They all have a real good chance of winning their weights,” South coach Gabe Cook told the Tribune-Star. “They’re peaking at the right time and they’re training real hard with each other. You can see the focus in their training.”
South senior Ryan Uppal (28-5) is a No. 2 seed behind Bloomington South’s Griffin Schermer (31-3) in the 106 class.
“Ryan’s had a good week of practice,” Cook said. “He’s going to have his work out cut for him with [freshman Cale] McCoy [the No. 3 seed from Northview], though.”
Another No. 2 seed for the Braves is sophomore Darin Pemberton (24-8) at 113. No. 3 seeds for South include junior Duane Deerwester (28-9) at 170 and sophomore David Lewis (29-8) at 120.
“It’s not going to be easy for any of our guys to get to the [sectional] finals and they know that,” Cook noted.
The Braves’ coach insists there will be no intimidation in the hearts and souls of his athletes when they face Bloomington South wrestlers one-on-one today.
“We’ve got some guys who are competing at a very high level,” Cook summarized. “We’re going to go out there and get after it.”
For Terre Haute North, some of its top-seeded wrestlers are senior Eric Elia (24-9), No. 2 at 126 behind Sullivan junior Cory Orndorff; junior Tyler Gilmore (26-6), No. 2 at 152 behind Helms; and junior Ryan Moshak (20-12), No. 3 after moving up from 170 to the 182 class.
“I think [Elia and Gilmore] are both in a position where they can win,” North coach Mark Frisz assessed.
“Eric has really been working on his takedowns. Once he gets on top, he’s very good. … Tyler knows what to work on. He keeps matches close. He’s never out of a match.”
Frisz predicted that South and Western Indiana Conference (WIC) champion Sullivan will be in the hunt for second place, team-wise. “It would take a great effort for us to get into that mix,” he added.
From the Northview perspective, Mikesell thinks his squad can compete with South, Sullivan and Edgewood for second place. He mentioned McCoy (25-6) at 106, junior Trey Boor (20-14) at 152, senior Jesse Miller (30-5) at 195, senior Zach Williams (22-10) at 220 and senior Justin Sampson (33-0) at 285 — all WIC champions — as some of his top contenders.
Sampson is the Knights’ only No. 1 seed, while Williams is a No. 2 and Miller, McCoy and junior Shane Ryan (16-15 at 113) are No. 3s. Mikesell also warned not to rule out Boor as a No. 4 seed.
“Trey won the conference as a 4 seed, so going in as the 4 seed doesn’t bother him at all,” the Knights’ coach explained.
West Vigo’s best records entering today belong to previously injured senior Jacob Creasey (14-2) at 145, sophomore Casey Noblitt (17-11) at 160, freshman Dakota Short (17-11) at 195 and freshman Doug Wilkins (14-8) at 126.
Rohrbach considers the latter three as potential stars of the future. Creasey, a 2013 WIC champion, is a No. 2 seed behind Newton today.
“Jacob has a very good chance to win,” Rohrbach emphasized. “He’s just gonna have to keep improving this week.”
Noblitt and Short are No. 4 seeds and Wilkins is a No. 5.
Besides Orndorff, some of Sullivan’s top competitors should be senior Nick Byrd (22-4) at 132, senior Colt Thompson (20-4) at 138 and junior Jonathan Sullivan (19-6) at 160.
This sectional formerly consisted of nine teams, but North Knox was added to the group this season.
IHSAA wrestling sectionals
Today
At Northview
Participating schools — Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Edgewood, North Knox, Northview, Owen Valley, Sullivan, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South and West Vigo.
Start time — 9:30 a.m.
Admission — $6.
Advancement — Top four in each weight class will move on to the regional.
At Crawfordsville
Participating schools — Attica, Covington, Crawfordsville, Fountain Central, North Montgomery, North Vermillion, Rockville, Seeger, South Vermillion, Southmont and Turkey Run.
Start time — 9 a.m.
Admission — $6.
Advancement — Top four in each weight class will move on to the regional.
At Avon
Participating schools — Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Cascade, Cloverdale, Danville, Greencastle, North Putnam, South Putnam and Tri-West.
Start time — 8:30 a.m.
Admission — $6.
Advancement — Top four in each weight class will move on to the regional.
High School
Indiana wrestling tourney returns to old-school format
Sectionals get under way today
- High School
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Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
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Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
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Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
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Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
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Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
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North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
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Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
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Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
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Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
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Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
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IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
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Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
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Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
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South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
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Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
- PREP ROUNDUP: Locals to take part in Hoosiers All-Star Game
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South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
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Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
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Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
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Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
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Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
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Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
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Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
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South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
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West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
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South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
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