TERRE HAUTE —
There were no Wabash Valley winners Saturday morning at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course — although you wouldn’t have to stretch far to get one — but that doesn’t mean the annual Terre Haute Savings Bank Invitational wasn’t a high school cross country success.
For one thing, nobody drowned.
Although the course couldn’t be called dry, the footing was generally good. Although most of the races were run in precipitation, the start of the boys varsity race was the only time that precipitation was much more than a drizzle.
The anticipated deluge held off, in other words, good news for the teams that traveled a long way — two schools coming from neighboring states — for some good competition. Four top-20 teams from the Indiana girls coaches’ poll and seven top-20 boys teams participated.
“At the beginning [of our race] we started getting more rain,” noted Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli, “but once you get in the race you have enough adrenaline [to overcome the conditions].”
Bertoli must have had enough adrenaline, because he finished ahead of all the Indiana boys in the race — although a little more than five seconds behind Jacob Thompson of Louisville Holy Cross. The Valley’s state champion for the day, if you will.
“Going into the race I knew [Thompson] was probably the only guy who was on a different level than me,” Bertoli said after his second-place finish. “Some of the best guys in the state were out here … and I had a really solid run, close to a 20-second [personal record] on this course.”
“[Bertoli] impresses me more and more each week,” said South coach Kyle Walsh. “He ran a very smart first half of the race, he found the position he wanted to be in, and when it was gut-check time he stepped up and ran strong all the way through to the finish line.”
The South junior led the 14th-ranked Braves to seventh place as a team, with third-ranked Valparaiso having a dominating first-place performance followed by 20th-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral, fifth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern, 11th-ranked Brebeuf, 19th-ranked Homestead and 12th-ranked Bedford North Lawrence.
Terre Haute North finished 12th, with Greencastle 16th and Northview 19th.
Top-ranked Carmel had three of the top four runners in the girls race — including sophomore twins Haley and Kelsey Harris — to easily hold off sixth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern for first place. Ninth-ranked Center Grove finished third, ahead of a fourth-ranked North team that was competing without two of its best runners, while South was seventh, Greencastle 12th and Northview 19th.
“Chanli [Mundy, North’s team leader] is sick and Katie Loebker has an ankle injury,” coach Mike Dason said after the race, “so I’m very pleased with how the other girls did. We’re all sick … but on this course, in this weather, I was very pleased with our progress.”
Taking her turn at leading the Patriots on Saturday was junior Laura Johnson, who has had her own injury issues in the past but who stepped willingly into the lead role for this race.
“We’ve been nursing her along, so I’m very pleased with how she’s been coming through,” Dason said. “She kicked butt today.”
“It felt pretty good,” Johnson said. “I really liked the weather and I liked the team doing good to stay in a pack and help each other.
“We worked together. There’s definitely room for improvement, but overall I’m happy with the run and how the girls did … it’s nice to run without pain.”
Johnson wasn’t the top runner among the Terre Haute girls, however. That honor went to South’s Nikki Thiede, who placed 17th — even though she didn’t have a familiar rival helping her gauge her progress.
“The run went pretty well. There was a lot of good competition,” Thiede said. “You try to put it in perspective of how you’ll do at state.”
Thiede said she usually tries to measure herself with Mundy. “I always know she’ll be good competition, so I missed not having her out there today,” the South runner said.
The Braves’ team finish was disappointing in only one respect, according to coach Ed Jarvis.
“We were trying to get ahead of [Evansville] Memorial [potentially a key postseason foe] and they got us today,” he said. “But we’ve been working hard, and I hope next week at Brown County [both North and South will send both their teams to the Eagle Classic next Saturday] we’ll go out and do really well.”
South’s boys team showing was also mitigated by some runners — Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler — who weren’t available.
“To place as well as we did while missing two key players is fairly exciting,” Walsh said, noting the work Spencer Danielson did as the Braves’ No. 2 runner for the day. “Our goals are set more for October, when we want to see everyone healthy.”
Coach Tom Dever had similar thoughts about his North boys.
“We’re using these meets early to build to the future,” Dever said, “and I think we’re improving each week. Justin Clapp had a nice run today, and Peter Davis was right behind him [as North’s top two runners]. And when I look at our times today and compare them to how we ran in this race a year ago, I think I’ll be pretty pleased.”
The small-school races were dominated by Mt. Zion of Illinois’ Apollo Conference, with Park Tudor taking second each time.
West Vigo’s girls, with top-10 finishes by Acetha Tolerson and Taylor Bunch, were third and Clay City’s Kelsey Wright ran in second place for most of that race before finishing fourth, the same place her Eels finished.
In the boys race, Eric Johnson and Luke Sweet ran fifth and sixth to lead Shakamak to third place, while North Central’s Dean Danner was seventh, Clay City’s Parker Ames eighth, and Jonah Eckert and Derek Braun led West Vigo to a fifth-place team showing.
Boys results
Team scores — Valparaiso 54, Indianapolis Cathedral 118, Hamilton Southeastern 162, Brebeuf 172, Homestead 202, Bedford North Lawrence 211, Terre Haute South 216, Center Grove 266, Barr-Reeve 266, Plainfield 309, Evansville North 331, Terre Haute North 334, Morgan Township 381, Ben Davis 396, Evansville Memorial 416, Greencastle 423, Culver Academy 436, Castle 480, Northview 485, Louisville Holy Cross 485, Danville 523, Decatur Central 530, Evansville Mater Dei 642, Vincennes Lincoln 682.
Top 10 — Jacob Thornton (LHC) 15:39.0, Jackson Bertoli (THS) 15:44.5, Alec Kostelnik (MT) 15:53.2, Connor Sorrells (BR) 15:58.2, Troy Reeder (HSE) 15:58.3, Zack Snider (Bre) 16:02.4, Peyton Reed (V) 16:04.3, Taylor Bisacchi (V) 16:07.5, Patrick O’Neil (IC) 16:20.4, Alec Sievern (EM) 16:23.1.
Other South — 30. Spencer Danielson 17:01.0, 65. Devon Fuson 17:39.7, 66. Isaac Wonderlin 17:43.0, 79. Jakob Decker 17:56.1, 84. Jack Harbaugh 18:03.0, 93. Kyle Mullins 18:15.6, 97. Dominic Fields 18:22.2, 106. Brice Snowden 18:32.8, 111. Jerad Fuson 18:36.3, 112. Levi Elrod 18:37.3.
Terre Haute North — 38. Justin Clapp 17:08.1, 45. Peter Davis 17:13.5, 94. Stephen Koos 18:16.1, 98. Chase Cresgy 18:24.2, 99. Travis Clapp 18:24.2, 122. Harry Chambers 18:47.6, 138. Nathan Moshos 19:09.0, 143. Tyler Nemeth 19:15.7, 152. Jake Kissinger 19:31.3, 155. Caleb Paauwe 19:34.4, 171. Briar Herb 19:54.0, 178. Grant Potts 20:11.5.
Greencastle — 61. Taylor Secrest 17:34.1, 71. Tyler Hudson 17:49.1, 90. Elijah Brattain 18:12.9, 135. Jacob Lewis 19:06.7, 137. Matthew White 19:08.5, 156. Levi Lewis 19:36.1, 193. Peyton Jones 21:05.6, 196. Cory Lyons 21:07.8, 201. Ichiro Mozawa 21:19.6, 219. Nathan Grzseik 22:10.8, 229. Justin Painter 23:53.0.
Northview — 20. Nic Yocom 16:40.9, 95. Cam Trout 18:16.7, 123. Ian Heffner 18:48.3, 173. Joshua Johnson 19:57.8, 176. Travis Beil 20:07.3, 195. Dawson Nelson 21:06.8, 205. Skyler Aguilar 21:24.7, 206. Christian Herron 21:25.0, 224. Devon McCollum 22:39.1.
Girls results
Team scores — Carmel 32, Hamilton Southeastern 63, Center Grove 135, Terre Haute North 149, Indianapolis Cathedral 199, Evansville Memorial 224, Terre Haute South 246, Perry Meridian 250, Evansville North 260, Plainfield 271, Culver Academy 314, Greencastle 321, Louisville Holy Cross 321, Ben Davis 333, Vincennes Lincoln 336, Decatur Central 420, Evansville Mater Dei 487, Danville 494, Northview 532.
Top 10 — Haley Harris (Car) 18:42.8, Gina Genco (Car) 18:49.5, Rachel Nichwitz (HSEU 18:49.5, Kelsey Harris (Car) 18:56.0, Jessica King (HSEU 19:16.4, Kieran Casey (PM) 19:25.3, Tori Schoettmer (CG) 19:31.3, Jordan Timmons (CG) 19:37.4, Emma MacAnally (IC) 19:39.2, Katherine Free (IC) 19:51.6.
Terre Haute North — 19. Laura Johnson 20:10.6, 29. Lindsay Welker 20:19.8, 31. Jessi Conley 20:23.9, 35. TaPring Goatee 20:36.8, 45. Mallory Sanders 21:04.5, 49. Annie Mullican 21:09.9, 52. Megan Howes 21:19.4, 54. Sydney Dickerson 21:21.1, 55. Erin Buckallew 21:27.0, 74. Keeliegh Stigall 22:10.9.
Terre Haute South — 17. Nikki Thiede 20:06.2, 51. Katie Schmidt 21:11.7, 53. Rachel Stephens 21:20.2, 81. Natalie Shanks 22:19.8, 82. Kirsten Peterson 22:24.6, 84. Aydee Dalina 22:25.9, 87. Sami Holmes 22:30.8, 101. Katie Barton 22:59.9, 126. Nicole Howe 23:47.8.
Greencastle — 26. Colleen Weatherford 20:18.5, 62. Kayla Cash 21:53.3, 89. Alex Stoffregen 22:31.8, 99. Hannah Brattain 22:56.0, 102. Sammi Haynes 23:00.7, 105. Brittany Love 23:02.7, 120. Abigail Wilson 23:25.3, 131. Megan Haynes 24:05.1
Northview — 90. Ashley Kidwell 22:34.4, 115. Emily Conrad 23:15.7, 142. Hannah Zadeii 24:31.1, Eileen Stinnett 26:18.4, Leanna Knight 26:50.4, Josie Stackman 26:58.2, Carrie Duregger 29:28.6, Taylor Simmons 29:54.7, Maegan Pilman 31:48.8.
1A-3A boys
Team scores — Mt. Zion, Ill., 44, Park Tudor 69, Shakamak 96, Mt. Vernon (Posey) 106, West Vigo 124, Clay City 163, Riverton Parke 175, Clinton Prairie 184, Sullivan 209, North Central 236, North Vermillion 285.
Top 10 — Jake Brown (MZ) 16:42.5, Curtis Reed (MZ) 17:47.3, Ryan Betz (PT) 17:52.6, Mohammad Hosseini (MZ) 17:59.2, Eric Johnson (Shak) 18:03.8, Luke Sweet (Shak) 18:07.5, Dean Danner (NC) 18:14.7, Parker Ames (CC) 18:33.5, Dane Wilson (MV) 18:35.3, Jonah Eckert (WV) 18:42.6.
Other Shakamak — 23. Kyle Schubla 19:42.5, 28. Brett Yeryar 19:55.9, 34. Cody Moorman 20:07.4, 40. Samuel Messmer 20:30.7, 57. Clay Reynolds 21:38.4, 63. Sean McNabb 22:10.3, 73. Adrain Storm 23:07.6, 80. Jacob Sevier 24:15.3, 85. Jace French 24:48.1.
Other West Vigo — 14. Derek Braun 19:13.0, 21. Austin Romanelly 19:39.9, 36. Jacob Weir 20:18.6, 43. Blake Benefiel 20:37.6, 56. Davin Donnelly 21:36.8, 66. Clayton O’Neil 22:16.7, 75. Brian Patton 23:38.8, 78. Zac Otte 23:56.0, 96. Caleb Likens 31:57.4.
Other Clay City — 12. Blake Cochran 18:59.6, 29. Paiden Myers 19:57.1, 54. Evan Rogers 21:21.6, 64. Michael Brooks 22:10.5, 65. John Hyatt 22:13.7, 84. Josh Miller 24:35.1.
Riverton Parke — 27. Gabe Hatcher 19:53.7, 31. Matthew Haltom 20:00.0, 33. Luther Mathas 20:05.8, 39. Austin Falls 20:26.6, 45. Brian Obenchain 20:53.1, 46. Adam Wilson 20:55.4, 67. P.J. Tartaglia 22:28.4, 70. Stephen Julian 22:51.1, 82. Anthony Vore 24:27.4, 88. Garrett Oxford 25:21.2.
Sullivan — 32. Ben Short 20:03.7, 38. Cory Orndorff 20:24.5, 44. Michael McKain 20:52.3, 47. Jonathon Rose 20.57.4, 48. Casey Garner 21:00.2, 92. Tristen Nicholaus 27:48.2.
Other North Central — 42. Matthew Fulford 20:34.1, 50. Jeremy Corbin 21:04.1, 68. Logan McDonald 22:31.6, 93. Levi Melchert 27:50.2, 94. Nathan Melchert 28:53.9.
North Vermillion — 24. Jonathan Flanary 19:45.0, 62. Tyler Scott 22:05.9, 71. Tom Osborn 22:55.7, 76,. Michael Mendenhall 23:47.0, 79. Zach Buchhaas 23:59.0, 86. Daniel Ellis 25:08.7.
1A-3A girls
Team scores — Mt. Zion, Ill., 30, Park Tudor 45, West Vigo 70, Clay City 99, Sullivan 110, North Central 142, North Vermillion incomplete.
Top 10 — Megan Bailey (MZ) 21:50.1, Jessica Palmer (PT) 22:18.0, Aiden Gerhardt (MZ) 22:57.6, Kelsey Wright (CC) 23:00.8, Hannah Jordan (MZ) 23:17.9, Acetha Tolerson (WV) 23:18.0, Katelynn Kyker (PT) 23:34.3, Brianna Reif (MZ) 23:38.7, Taylor Bunch (WV) 23:42.3, Hannah Klapper (PT) 23.42.4.
Other West Vigo — 11. Shaelynn White 24:19.5, 25. Shelby Sparks 26:05.0, 29. Katy Jones 26:36.5, 41. Shelby Edington 31:22.1, 47. Delanee Hurst 36:08.5.
Other Clay City — 21. Ashley Reach 25:27.0, 30. Tiara Skaggs 27:25.6, 32. Kayla Sinders 28:05.9, 35. Kiersten Mann 28:35.7, 46. Krista Sinders 31:28.3.
Sullivan — 15. Haleigh Hinkel 24:49.3, 20. Kendyl McDonald 25:18.1, 27. Mackenzie Cox 26:15.7, 33. Caelan Jones 28:16.8, 41. Annalisa Hinkel 30:20.5.
North Central — 24. Brooke Hall 25:56.0, 34. Maddie Bolinger 28:29.0, 39. Galina Carrio 29:34.7, 44. Jessica Hall 31:24.2, 48. Bailey Hayne 35:27.8.
North Vermillion — 31. Paxton Axtell 27:44.9, 38. Whitney Wienke 29:30.7, 50. Abby Lenhart 36:19.5.
High School
Terre Haute South's Jackson Bertoli sets personal record, takes second at State Preview
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Martinsville adavances in Class 4A THS Sectional
Martinsville slipped past Mooresville 4-2 in the only game played Thursday in the Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional for high school baseball.
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South Vermillion pitches team to sectional title, wins for her dad
South Vermillion snapped one streak and extended another Thursday night to win Class 3A Sectional 28 8-5 over Brown County at Edgewood High School.
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Green's grand slam helps Shakamak to sectional win
Patrick Green pitched the first four innings for his seventh win of the year and made things easier for himself with a second-inning grand slam as Shakamak opened the Class A Shakamak Sectional with a 9-1 win over Clay City on Thursday.
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Rockville, Attica winners in Class A sectional baseball action
Host Rockville defeated North Vermillion and Attica came from behind to overhaul defending champion Turkey Run on Thursday in the first round of the Class A Rockville Sectional for high school baseball.
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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. - More High School Headlines
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