TERRE HAUTE —
Travis Turpen has coached the West Vigo High School boys golf team for the past four seasons and he’s hoping to begin guiding its girls golf squad in 2012.
West Vigo will recommend Turpen replace previous coach Sylas Smith, who recently resigned, at the next Vigo County School Board meeting in August.
Unofficially serving as coach in the meantime, Turpen explained why he wants the added responsibility.
“I was just looking for the opportunity to help the girls out … kinda teach them fundamentals and skills they can use in golf as they get older,” he told the Tribune-Star.
At the moment, finding numbers appears to be a challenge for the Vikings, who have three returning players from last season — seniors Ciara McClain, Olivia Butterman and Elizabeth Favre. Sophomore Sophie Owen and junior Sarah Dugger also plan to join the squad, but Turpen is still awaiting completed physical examinations from them.
So it may take a while for West Vigo to field a full team. Its originally scheduled first match against Greencastle on Wednesday has been canceled, so Aug. 9 at Sullivan will be the new season opener.
“They’re going to be young and inexperienced,” Turpen said of his girls. “But hopefully I can introduce a lot of fundamentals to them and help them improve, probably starting with their short game.”
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Below is a look at the other Vigo County girls golf teams and Northview as they prepare to start their seasons this week:
n Northview — Second-year coach Bob Treash has four of his top five players back from the Knights’ regional-qualifying team last season.
They are sophomore Keirsten Mikesell, junior Karlie Atkinson and seniors Megan Heaton and Sierra Girton. Treash said the new top-five player is expected to be senior Makenzie Brown.
“We have our top four [players] back and last year we were pretty consistent late in the season with them,” Treash mentioned. “I think we’re going to be pretty good, but you never know. The girls have been working hard all summer and hopefully we’ll have some success this year.”
The Knights will tee off their season Thursday against Edgewood at the Cascade Course.
n Terre Haute North — Beginning his sixth season at the helm, Abe Nasser still wishes his Patriots could have a do-over from the 2011 regional when they tied for third place and barely missed advancing to the state finals.
Repeating that accomplishment in 2012 won’t be easy. His primary returnees specialize in other sports — seniors Anna Potter (tennis) and Nicole Anderson (basketball) — but both are pretty good at golf too.
“It’s a total rebuilding year,” Nasser admitted. “We’re trying to teach these girls, besides Anna and Nicole, the rules of the game, how to play the game, etiquette, etc… It’s just like rebuilding for any other program. In about two or three years, I hope we’re in the same position that we were in last year.”
Nasser figures newcomers to this year’s top five will include sophomore Alex Bryant, junior Alli Farrington and either sophomore Kelli Carney, sophomore Carson Smith or freshman Delaney Cox.
Regardless of which one emerges, Nasser thinks Northview might be the team to beat in the Wabash Valley this fall.
“Northview should be the top dog around here,” he pointed out. “They have some pretty solid players coming back.”
North will make its 2012 debut Monday in the Plainfield Invite at Deer Creek.
n Terre Haute South — Although Cara Stuckey hardly looks old, she is the veteran girls coach of Vigo and Clay counties as she begins her eighth season in charge of the Braves.
She’ll be relying on senior returnees Alexandra Pickens, who recently won the junior city championship for girls 15-17, and Katelynn Gordon to provide consistently good scores, plus she’s hoping junior Taylor Monroe and sophomore Taylor Baugh can make a smooth transition into South’s top five.
“We’re looking for Alex [Pickens] to be our senior leader this year and obviously there are opportunities for others to step up and replace those we lost to graduation,” Stuckey assessed.
Like North, South will begin its season Monday in the Plainfield Invite at Deer Creek.
Vigo County,
Northview schedules
Northview
Thursday — Edgewood Invite at Cascade, 9 a.m.
Saturday — Terre Haute North Invite at Hulman Links, 2:30 p.m.
Aug. 7 — Terre Haute South Braves Invite at Rea Park, 10 a.m.
Aug. 9 — vs. Linton and Cloverdale at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 13 — vs. North Putnam at TBA, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 14 — vs. Terre Haute South at Rea Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 16 — vs. Terre Haute North at Hulman Links, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 — vs. West Vigo at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 23 — vs. Terre Haute South and Terre Haute North at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 25 — Western Indiana Conference tournament at Idle Creek, 11 a.m.
Aug. 27 — vs. Cascade at TBA, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 — vs. Edgewood at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 — vs. South Putnam, South Vermillion and Rockville at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 5 — vs. North Central and Sullivan at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 6 — vs. Greencastle and Crawfordsville at Windy Hill, 4:45 p.m.
Sept. 10 — vs. Owen Valley at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 — vs. Rockville at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 15 — Sectional at Forest Park, TBA
Terre Haute North
Monday — Plainfield Invite at Deer Creek, 10 a.m.
Tuesday — Hamilton Southeastern Invite at Stony Brook, 8 a.m.
Thursday — Gibson Southern Invite at Cambridge, 9 a.m.
Saturday — Terre Haute North Invite at Hulman Links, 2:30 p.m.
Aug. 7 — Terre Haute South Braves Invite at Rea Park, 10 a.m.
Aug. 16 — vs. Northview at Hulman Links, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 — vs. North Central at Hulman Links, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 23 — vs. Terre Haute South and Northview at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 27 — vs. Greencastle at Hulman Links, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 — vs. Terre Haute South and West Vigo at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 6 — vs. West Vigo at Hulman Links, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 — Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tournament at Oak Tree, 9 a.m.
Sept. 11 — vs. Edgewood at Hulman Links, 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 — Sectional at Forest Park, TBA
Terre Haute South
Monday — Plainfield Invite at Deer Creek, 10 a.m.
Saturday — Terre Haute North Invite at Hulman Links, 2:30 p.m.
Aug. 7 — Terre Haute South Braves Invite at Rea Park, 10 a.m.
Aug. 9 — at North Central, 4 p.m.
Aug. 14 — vs. Northview at Rea Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 15 — vs. Linton at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Aug. 20 — at South Putnam, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 23 — vs. Terre Haute North and Northview at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 27 — vs. Edgewood at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Aug. 30 — vs. Terre Haute North and West Vigo at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 8 — Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tournament at Oak Tree, 9 a.m.
Sept. 10 — vs. Greencastle at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 — Sectional at Forest Park, TBA
West Vigo
Aug. 9 — vs. Sullivan at Sullivan Elks, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 13 — at Edgewood, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 20 — vs. Northview at Forest Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 21 — vs. Rockville at Rea Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 23 — vs. Owen Valley at Rea Park, 4:30 p.m.
Aug. 25 — Western Indiana Conference tournament at Idle Creek, 10 a.m.
Aug. 28 — vs. White River Valley at Rea Park, 5:15 p.m.
Aug. 30 — vs. Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 4 — vs. Linton at Rea Park, 4:45 p.m.
Sept. 5 — vs. South Vermillion at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 11 — at Cloverdale, 4:30 p.m.
Sept. 13 — vs. Paris, Ill., at Rea Park, 5 p.m.
Sept. 15 — Sectional at Forest Park, TBA
High School
Turpen nominated to be West Vigo girls golf coach this season
- High School
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West Vigo softball ‘has what it takes’
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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THN girls look dominant at regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
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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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Patriots’ offense stifled in sectional 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.
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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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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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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. -
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. -
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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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. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
- More High School Headlines
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West Vigo softball ‘has what it takes’
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