Tom Reck
Special to the Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Thomas Goss soon will enroll for his senior year at Terre Haute South High School and his final season of high school golf.
He said recently that he wanted to make his decision on college and college golf before school began and he did that last week. He told the coaching staff at the University of Dayton that he will attend the Atlantic 10 Conference school.
Goss has had a super high school career so far and figures to add to those stats in the spring.
He has been to the state finals three times, going with the South team twice and as an individual qualifier this season. He qualified for the match-play action in the Boys State Junior Championships last week at Purdue and won three matches to advance to the quarterfinals, where he lost to the player who took runner-up honors. In addition to being second medalist in the regional this year to qualify for the state, Goss has been medalist in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference action and was sectional medalist his freshman season.
He shot 69 in that sectional played at Rolling Meadows. That mark was his best for 18 holes in high school until this past spring, when he carded 67 in the Northview Invitational at Forest Park.
He has been stellar in the city junior tournament, winning his age group five straight times.
• Changes at NC — Some changes have been made in the athletics staff at North Central High School in Sullivan County.
Nancy Liston will not be the athletic director after serving 11 seasons in that capacity. Boys basketball coach Ryan Kamman is serving as acting AD and is an applicant for the position.
Jerry Willard is retired from teaching but will coach the girls basketball team. He has done that before and has coached or been an assistant for just about every sport at the school, including boys basketball, track and cross country.
Elsewhere in Sullivan County, Doug Boyd will coach the girls golf team at Sullivan. The Arrows are slated to meet South Vermillion today.
In other high school action around the state, Ernie Clark has resigned as boys track coach at Bloomington North to be the boys track coach at Columbus North, and Jason Engelbrecht has been named the athletic director at Princeton, replacing Andy Elkins. Engelbrecht has been the baseball coach at Evansville Central.
• On the gridiron — Two football players from this area in Illinois had the chance to play in the Illinois Coaches Association Shrine Temple game at Peoria.
Taylor Duncan of Marshall and Dalton Brooke of Casey were in the contest that was halted with 11 seconds left in the first half due to lightning.
Brooke was a regular at center for Casey but moved to left tackle for the East team, which won 15-7. Duncan was at his usual quarterback role on offense and had a 39-yard touchdown pass that put the East up 15-0.
Duncan will report to Eastern Illinois for practice this week.
• Tom-Cattin’ It — Fans of the Chicago Cubs may not be pleased that Jim Hendry has signed a contract good through 2012 to be general manager of the club, but it is not guaranteed.
• Jonny Marlin of Center Grove says he will play college basketball at IP-Fort Wayne. He averaged 15 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 steals as a junior.
Derek Johnson says he will transfer from the University of Evansville, probably to a school closer to his home. The 6-foot-7 player was hampered by injuries his freshman season.
Maurice Creek has not been cleared to resume full practice at Indiana but the guard offered good news for IU fans when he began playing in some pickup games. He was sidelined by an injury incurred against Bryant in December.
• Eli Manning and wife Abby have donated $1 million to Ole Miss for a scholarship.
• The Kentucky Racing Commission has authorized horse racing tracks to use machines resembing slots, i.e. video games, at their facilities.
The season at Ellis Park near Evansville will end with Labor Day racing.
• Dan Dakich has been host for a radio sports show in Indianapolis and did work for the BIg Ten Network last year. He will do some college game day work for ESPN in the future.
• Kevin Coble incurred a broken foot early last season in basketball at Northwestern and missed basically the entire season. The Chicago Tribune reports that he has decided not to play his senior season.
• Paris and Marshall American Legion baseball teams played a game at St. Louis on Sunday following the Pirates-Cardinals clash.
• Great golf was played in The Golf Headquarters Senior City Championship.
Bennie Kiburis was the oldest player in the field of 130-plus players at 81 and shot better than his age both days with scores of 75 and 76.
George Wolfe was the second oldest at 80; Jack Myers and Carl White were next at 77.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
