TERRE HAUTE —
Forced to play without injured standout Rhett Smith for roughly the first six weeks, Sullivan is still considered a co-favorite with Edgewood to win the Western Indiana Conference title in boys high school basketball this season.
Sullivan coach Jeff Moore said the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Smith, a junior who averaged 17 points per game last season, broke two fingers on his left (non-shooting) hand.
“He’s one of the best juniors in the state,” Moore mentioned. “There’s no doubt about that. We’ll be glad to get him back. But while he’s gone, we’ll be fine.”
Even though news of Smith’s injury has trickled to other WIC schools, coaches aren’t counting out the Golden Arrows to repeat as champions.
“Sullivan and Edgewood return everybody,” Northview coach Ernie Maesch pointed out. “If we progress like we hope … I want to win a WIC title.”
“Sullivan and Edgewood are going to be at or near the top, then the everyone else will be pretty close,” South Vermillion coach Rodney Idlewine predicted. “West Vigo will be strong. It’ll be a competitive conference again.”
With that in mind, below is a look at how the Wabash Valley parts of the WIC appear to stack up heading into tonight’s season openers.
• Northview — Entering his third season in charge of the Knights, Maesch will rely on six players who started at various times last season.
They are 6-1 senior guard Trent Lancaster (who tallied about 16 ppg last season), 5-10 junior guard Dillon Reynolds, 5-10 junior guard Damon Hyatt, 6-1 senior guard Caleb Mershon, 6-1 junior forward Chance Talbot and 6-5 senior forward Jacob Musgrave.
Maesch said his starting lineup could come from those six. Or it also may include 5-11 senior forward Hunter Robertson (who missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament), 6-4 junior forward Jacob Ninesling, 6-4 junior forward Zach Hull and/or 6-4 junior forward Bryant Pestoff.
“I’m wanting to go with height,” Maesch explained. “I’ve got some height and I’m wanting to use it.”
Maesch also sounds pleased that his squad possesses much-needed depth because it is already banged up, although there are no serious injuries — yet.
Northview’s first game will be tonight at Vincennes Lincoln.
“I don’t know much about them,” Maesch said of the Alices. “I know we had a scrimmage at Princeton [on Saturday] and I thought we tried to execute what we practiced. We just have to get better at it.”
• South Vermillion — Fourth-year coach Idlewine has one returning starter from the Wildcats’ 13-10 campaign in 2009-10.
That would be 5-8 senior Dylan Reyher, whom Idlewine named as his starting point guard.
Other starters are expected to be 5-10 senior Dylan Haltom at the other guard, 6-5 junior Phillip Harpenau at center, 6-0 junior Brad Chambers at one forward and 6-3 junior Josh Vaughan or 6-3 senior Dion Scott at the other forward.
Idlewine said 6-4 senior James Craigmyle is another potential starter or at least one of the first substitutes, while 5-11 sophomore Kaden Lawson will be a back-up guard and 5-11 senior Scotty Johansen will be a back-up forward.
“So far this year, we’ve practiced extremely hard,” Idlewine assessed. “They’re very unselfish. They like to share the basketball… Defensively, I’m very pleased with where they’re at, but we’re still trying to catch up on the offensive end.”
South Vermillion will open tonight at Clay City.
“We’ve got a little bit of size and quickness,” Idlewine continued. “We’re just lacking game-time experience. The kids are ready to play, though.”
• Sullivan — In addition to Rhett Smith, the Arrows will look to returning starters David Bedwell (6-0, senior), Caleb Turner (6-1, junior) and James Lisman (6-0, junior) to provide leadership, offensive punch and defensive intensity.
Joining the mix is 6-1 senior Mason Gregory, a move-in from Scottsburg, where he scored about 15 ppg last season. Gregory ended up at Sullivan because he is coach Moore’s new stepson.
“It’s going to be pretty tough,” Moore said of his 21st season at the helm. “Even without Rhett being injured, it would have been tough because we won a lot of close games last year. I definitely think we are a better team this year, though. We still have a lot of talent. We have great kids. They play hard. You really can’t ask for more than that.”
Moore said 6-0 junior Kaleb Pirtle will probably start until Smith is able to return.
“I look at it like we’ve got six starters on this team,” the veteran coach noted.
Sullivan will tip off its season tonight at home against South Knox.
“We’re going to have a target on our backs every night,” Moore acknowledged. “We need to make sure we’re ready to play every night.”
High School
WIC PREVIEW: Sullivan without leader, but still co-favorite with Edgewood
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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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