TERRE HAUTE —
As Indiana State basketball and tennis legend Duane Klueh pulled names of high schools out of a box one by one Tuesday afternoon at Terre Haute South, pairings for the 13th annual Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic boys basketball tournament became known.
Among the first-round matchups set for Dec. 26 at South:
n Two-time defending Classic champion Terre Haute North will meet Turkey Run at 2:30 p.m.
“I don’t know a lot about them,” North coach Todd Woelfle said of the Warriors from Parke County. “But I’ve known coach [Grant] McVay for a long time and he’s a good guy. He’ll have his team ready to play.”
n The host school will go up against Robinson, Ill., right before the North-Turkey Run clash — at 1 p.m.
“I think they got us in overtime in a summer game,” South coach Scott Ridge said of the Maroons. “They’ve got a really good point guard [in Aaron Siler]. It’ll be a really competitive game.”
Although several coaches present for Tuesday’s drawing luncheon didn’t know much about Robinson — a first-time entrant for the Classic — veteran Marshall coach Tom Brannan is familiar with the Maroons.
“I think all the Illinois teams [competing in the Classic] are really strong this year,” Brannan told the Tribune-Star. “Robinson is bringing a really good team. They’ve got someone who’ll probably be an All-State guard in Aaron Siler. And Casey’s got experience now. They’re pretty strong.”
n Speaking of Marshall, the Lions will tangle with a familar regular-season foe in West Vigo at 4 p.m.
“I don’t know how many times we’ve played them here over the years,” Brannan said. “They haven’t played yet this year, so hopefully I’ll get a chance to go watch them play [before the Classic]. Coach [Joe] Boehler does a great job with them.”
From the West Vigo perspective, Boehler offered plenty of respect for Marshall and its coaching staff as well.
“Last year, we played Marshall in the final four [of the Classic] and they beat us at the buzzer,” he recalled. “We play each other in the regular season [Feb. 9 at West Vigo]. We know each other.
“They’re very well-coached. I think coach Brannan does an excellent job with his basketball team. He gets the absolute most out of his team every year. They’re going to be a very tough opponent for us to open the tournament with.”
n Class A powerhouse Rockville will battle Casey, Ill., at 5:30 p.m.
“I don’t really know what to think of the draw, to be honest,” Rockville coach Dave Mahurin said. “I’m just glad we play in the afternoon or evening. I don’t really like morning games. … I don’t know anything about Casey. We played them a few years back. I know they’re always well-coached [by Steve Hawkins] and play hard. It won’t be easy, I’m sure.”
n The other first-round Classic games are Owen Valley vs. Shakamak at 10 a.m., Northview vs. Monrovia at 11:30, South Vermillion vs. Riverton Parke at 7 p.m. and Linton vs. Sullivan at 8:30.
“I think it’ll be another exciting tournament,” Woelfle assessed. “There are some very good teams and some excellent individual players.
“Rockville played for a [Class A] state championship [last season], so they obviously have to be a favorite. We had a chance to play Robinson a couple of times over the summer and they have a couple of very good players and are well-coached [by Mack Thompson]. Casey-Westfield is very talented and whoever comes out of the Sullivan-Linton game will be tough.
“On our side of the bracket, I think Terre Haute South obviously is very capable. … I don’t know a lot about Northview’s personnel, but they have a new coach in Clint Weddle and he always does a good job. There are some very good teams this year — from top to bottom.”
Riverton Parke coach Charlie Martin echoed some of Woelfle’s sentiments.
“I think it’s a pretty balanced draw,” he noted. “I think you’ve got some real strong teams in each half of the bracket, so I think the semifinals will pan out to be really interesting.
“I think, obviously, North and South are always going to be big favorites. I think Sullivan, Linton, Rockville and Casey would all be considered favorites too and they’re all in our half of the bracket. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out of that.”
“I think the field is probably the deepest it’s been in the last five, six, seven years,” Ridge emphasized. “I’d say there are seven or eight teams that have a legitimate shot of winning it. You can’t always say that when you’ve got some big powerhouse schools. Sullivan’s been really good. Rockville’s been really good. You’ve got sectional champions, state-finals teams.”
“I think it’s a pretty balanced field,” Brannan added. “Of course, Terre Haute North is a team you always have to figure will be in the mix. Rockville was [Class A] runner-up in Indiana.”
“I think every year the tournament gets better and better and better,” Boehler chimed in. “As I look at the draw, there are several teams that have a legitimate chance to win this tournament. Obviously, Terre Haute North — being the biggest school here and being the two-time defending champ — might be a little bit of a favorite. But there are a lot of teams here that bring a lot to the table.
“I think the Illinois schools are all very good. Rockville’s coming off a state-championship run last year. So there are a lot of quality basketball teams here.
“It’s going to come down to which one can put together a good four-day tournament run.”
Gary Fears is again serving as tournament chairman. More information about the tournament can be found online at www.wabashvalleyclassic.net.
• Classic tickets — Tickets for the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic are now on sale at the South athletic office and at the other participating schools.
Cost of all-tournament passes (good for all 28 games) is $20 and they will remain on sale until Dec. 22. Daily tickets will be sold for $7 apiece.
For more ticket information, contact the South athletic office at (812) 462-4265.
High School
Robinson a new name in Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic draw
Pairings announced Tuesday at Terre Haute South
- High School
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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. -
North boys make it three consecutive Vigo County golf titles
Terre Haute North made it three in a row in Vigo County boys high school golf championship action Wednesday at Hulman Links.
The Patriots shot 161 to edge Terre Haute South with 165. West Vigo carded 222. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Wolf homers as North baseball wins 16th game
Terre Haute North erupted for seven runs in the third inning on its way to routing visiting White River Valley 14-1 in 41⁄2 innings of high school baseball Wednesday afternoon at Don Jennings Field.
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Northview's Carter strikes out 19 in 10-inning win against South Vermillion
Northview’s Taylor Carter and South Vermillion’s Daphne Dunegan locked into a 10-inning all-star softball pitching duel Tuesday night at Northview High School.
Unfortunately, one of them had to lose. -
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: South Vermillion 4-0 in WIC after 4-3 win at Northview
Jordan Branz won his ninth game of the season, scattering six hits over eight innings to lead South Vermillion to a 4-3 victory at Northview in a Western Indiana Conference battle.
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Thompson going into Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame
Former Terre Haute North High School standout Anthony Thompson is the newest member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis wins against Oldenburg Academy
Playing on Ben Davis’ courts, Terre Haute South pulled out a 4-1 victory over Oldenburg Academy in girls high school tennis Tuesday.
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