TERRE HAUTE —
Beginning his 14th season in charge of the girls and 11th with the boys, Terre Haute South swimming coach Jeff Thompson expects big things from the Braves this high school season.
In their season-opening dual meet Tuesday at Greencastle, they posted victories of 136-42 for the boys and 129-54 for the girls.
Next up for South is the seventh annual Hall of Fame Classic today and Saturday at Franklin Community. Other schools competing will be Bloomington North, Castle, Chesterton, Fishers, Fort Wayne Snider, Penn, Zionsville and Franklin Community.
“It’s a great meet for us,” Thompson told the Tribune-Star. “It’s almost like a State Preview meet for some of our more competitive athletes.”
Regarding his boys team, Thompson thinks it could finish in the top three of the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) in 2012-13.
“Carmel and [Indianapolis] North Central, I think, will be tough to beat,” he acknowledged. “Center Grove is tough too … but we’re going to be very good.
“We’ve got a deep boys team with a lot of versatility, a lot of great kids from great families. It’s going to be a great season. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m eager to see just how much these boys can accomplish.”
Thompson named a few of his key returnees — junior Christian Wilhelm (specializing in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, among others); sophomore Dalton Mitchell (100 backstroke, 100 freestyle and others); senior Collin McCord (100 butterfly); and senior Alex Davis (diving).
Wilhelm was a member of South’s state-finalist 400 free relay squad, McCord was a member of its state-finalist medley relay team and Mitchell was a member of both last season, while Davis placed 22nd in the state.
Davis is being heavily recruited by NCAA Division I colleges, Thompson added.
“He spent the entire summer at the IU Diving Camp,” the Braves’ veteran coach pointed out. “He’s very talented. He slipped on the board and hurt his foot against Greencastle the other night, but he’ll be fine. We look for him to have a great season this year.”
Thompson said there will be at least one supremely talented freshman on his squad: Chandler Bray, younger brother of former South standout Addison Bray.
“He’s really good,” Thompson emphasized. “He’s enjoyed a lot of success as a club swimmer and we hope we can continue to see that type of progression at the high school level.”
Thompson anticipates the younger Bray doing well in the 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke and 200 IM.
Turning to the South girls, Thompson mentioned senior Grace Padget (100 backstroke school-record holder, likely to do some 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle as well) as one of the team leaders.
“She has continued to improve year after year, which is difficult for a young lady,” Thompson said of Padget, who recently committed to attend Indiana University as a swimmer next year. “Grace has had a spectacular career of swimming at South.”
In addition to the 100 backstroke, Padget competed on the Braves’ state-finalist medley relay foursome last season.
Among South’s other key returnees are junior Katherine Senseman (200 IM, 100 backstroke, sprint freestyles); sophomore Rachel Senseman (Katherine’s younger sister, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 and 500 freestyles); senior Hannah Stelflug (50 and 100 freestyles, 100 backstroke); sophomore Lillie Padget (Grace’s younger sister, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, sprint freestyles); and sophomore Ashton Dillon (sprint and middle-distance freestyles, 100 breaststroke).
“The girls team, as a whole, we’ve got a lot to figure out,” Thompson admitted. “We’ve got a lot of good swimmers, but they’re all good in the same events for the most part. And you can only swim three in an event. … For the first time in a long time, we’ve got a lot of experimenting to do.”
Thompson thinks the Terre Haute North vs. South girls meet will be close, while his boys should be good enough to contend with Avon for the sectional title.
Important dates in the future include the MIC championships Jan. 5 at Carmel, girls sectional Jan. 31 and Feb. 2 at Avon and boys sectional Feb. 14 and 16 at Plainfield. State finals will be Feb. 8-9 for girls and Feb. 22-23 for boys.
Terre Haute North
Coaches Mike Williams (boys) and John Newhouse (girls) like some of what they see from the North swimming teams this season.
The Patriots served as hosts of the North Quad Dual last Saturday, with each squad going 0-3 against Mount Vernon, Lawrence North and Jeffersonville.
In the Mount Vernon Invitational on Nov. 17, North’s girls placed fourth out of 10 schools.
Junior divers Kelsey Thomas and Carley Young are among the North girls’ key returnees, Newhouse said.
“I think they’re going to be a nice one-two punch for us,” he assessed, adding that senior Nicole Heath should help in that event. “Diving will be one of our strongest events.”
Other potential point scorers are seniors Alexandra Nichols (IM, breaststroke) and TaPring Goatee (sprint freestyles) and sophomore Maria Kline (distance freestyles).
Freshmen who should make an immediate impact are Heidi Mattick (freestyle, breaststroke, IM) and Morgan Breitweiser (distance freestyles, backstroke), Newhouse noted.
“This is the largest team we’ve had, numbers-wise,” the Patriots’ coach continued. “There’s a lot of potential to do well. We have a lot of newcomers, so we’ll have to see how everything turns out at the end.”
North’s girls and boys, who were slated to compete Thursday at South Vermillion, will be back in action Saturday in the Patriot Distance Invitational with three other girls teams and two other boys teams.
Speaking of the North boys, Williams admits that he wished his group could have fared better in the North Quad Dual.
“We didn’t do as well as we wanted to do,” he reflected. “We had some boys who had great swims. But that early in the season, we don’t really look at team scores. In the first half-dozen meets of the season, I’m just looking at my lineup … finding out where it gels.”
Williams figures senior Matt Priester (distance freestyles, IM, breaststroke) will be a big part of that gelling process.
“I look forward to great things from him,” the North coach mentioned. “I’m hoping he can make it to the state meet this year.”
Other key returnees include junior Courtland Jones (formerly a distance swimmer, but now a sprinter and middle-distance swimmer); senior James Welch (described by Williams as “an all-around great athlete” who is improving in the sprints), junior Will Hubbs (backstroke); and senior Stephen Koos (breaststroke).
Divers Garrett Humphrey, a junior, and Josh Dadson, a senior, are back to lead that crew for the Patriots.
Williams named three “immediate impact” freshmen who came up through the Terre Haute Torpedoes program. They are Forrest Gatrell, Andrei Ghejan and Sam McCarter, who are described as being capable in every event, although McCarter most likely will specialize in distance.
“I think those three, in a lot of ways, represent what I would like to see the future teams here be like — guys who like to train, guys who are very competitive and disciplined,” Williams noted. “They fit the mold of what a swim coach is looking for.”
West Vigo
This is Doug Tilford’s 16th season of coaching West Vigo’s girls, but it is his first for guiding the boys after previous coach Dave Cooper retired.
Key returnees for the boys include juniors Michael Vermillion (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly); Jacob Whitford (100 butterfly, 500 freestyle); Alex Solliday (100 backstroke); and Tyson Tolerson (100 breaststroke, diving).
Tilford said he has two seniors, but both are first-year swimmers.
“We’ve got 21 boys on the team, one of the bigger teams we’ve had in a while,” he pointed out. “They’re working hard and looking to do pretty decent. We’ll be a contender in the WIC [Western Indiana Conference].”
Tilford also mentioned sophomore Zack Lebrun, a sprint-freestyler who has improved considerably since last season, and freshman Jacob Weir (100 breaststroke) as potential significant contributors.
The male Vikings won at North Vermillion 137-39 in their opener Nov. 20. They’ll have to wait a while for Meet No. 2 — Dec. 13 to be exact — when they play host to South Putnam, although there’s a chance another meet will be scheduled before then.
Meanwhile, West Vigo’s girls lost to South Vermillion on Nov. 15 and won at North Vermillion 67-59 on Nov. 20. They also may have to wait until Dec. 13 for their next meet against South Putnam.
Tilford rattled off the names of a few returnees — sophomore Amanda Bridgewater (butterfly, IM); senior Elizabeth McGlone (backstroke, IM); senior Kayla Akers (sprint freestyles, butterfly); and senior Stephanie Knoepfel (butterfly, sprint freestyles).
The Vikings’ coach noted that junior Kylee Sereno, a first-year diver, is the team’s only diver.
“We’ve got 11 girls on the team, so it’s kind of a small group,” Tilford explained. “We’ve got four seniors. Mainly because of our [roster] size, we’re going to focus on improving personal-best times.”
High School
South looks strong as prep swim seasons begin
- High School
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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.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. - More High School Headlines
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