Huskies (9-0) Win Mid-Indiana Conference Title
Published October 15, 2010 | On a night when three Hamilton County schools claimed conference championships, only one won it all – lock, stock and barrel. While Hamilton Southeastern, which beat McCutcheon 35-14, and Fishers came from behind to upend visiting Brownsburg 22-21 and share the Hoosier Crossroads Conference title for the second straight year with its in-town rival, the overflow crowd was singing, dancing and chanting to the music of “We Are The Champions” at Hamilton Heights’ Husky Stadium.
As the Huskies gathered in front of the stands with helmets held high, displaying their championship banner, and singing their school song, they were as loud as the statement they may have made from one end of the state to the other in Class 3A.
They’re ready. Bring on the postseason, the second season.
The Class 3A No. 2 Huskies made it look easy, dismantling Peru 61-7 en route to the Mid-Indiana Conference championship, which it shared a year ago with Cass. They also went 9-0 to record the school’s first unbeaten regular season since 2001.
Other than a 14-13 conference test aganst Cass, Hamilton Heights has not been challenged this season. Continue reading
Lady Tigers Celebrate 1st HCC Volleyball Title
Published October 15, 2010 | A near capacity crowd watched the Lady Tigers volleyball team make history. Fishers won the school’s first Hoosier Crossroads Conference volleyball championship.
The Lady Tigers defeated the Brownsburg Bulldogs 25-19, 27-25 and 25-21 on Senior Night at FHS.
The Lady Tigers, led by Shannon Gillespie’s 24 kills, upped their season record to 27-4.
Powerful Hounds Sweep Sectional XC Titles
Published October 12, 2010 | In what was arguably the strongest cross country field assembled this season, the top-ranked Carmel girls and No. 2 Greyhounds boys ran past runner-up Noblesville in both team races to capture championships in the Noblesville Sectional.
The Greyhounds also had the top individual winners. Junior Renee Wellman set a new course record in 18:21 for the girls, and senior Chris Walden was tops among the boys in 15:37.69.
Led by Wellman, the Lady Greyhounds won four of the top places among individuals. Hamilton Southeastern junior Brooke Morgan, the reigning Hamilton County champ and previous sectional record holder in 18:48, was fourth.
Junior Allison Jacobsen, flanked by freshmen Gina Genco and Kelcy Welch, were close to Wellman throughout the race along with Morgan. Over the final 1500 meters, Wellman proved to be too strong for the rest of the field, finishing 20 seconds ahead of second place. Genco made a mad dash in the final 300 meters to take second place. Jacobsen finished third, Welch was 5th, junior Aya Tomozawa finished 12th, Michelle Bastardo was 20th, and Cami Trachtman 24th for the Hounds.
The top five teams and top 15 individuals advance to the Brebeuf Jesuit Regional on Oct. 16.
‘Doc’ Loves Being Part of Game
Published October 11, 2010 | Probably not too many people know as much about Fishers and Hamilton
Southeastern sports as Jeff “Doc’’ Franciosi.
He works 10 hours a week for both Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern. He’s Mr.
Hamilton County when it comes to athletic training. He’s been overseeing the well-being of athletes while being an advocate of promoting athlete training for 25 years. He works for the Methodist/Clarian network.
There’s an interesting twist to this story, too: Franciosi teaches at Noblesville High School. “I guess you could say that I’m sort of spread out through Hamilton County,’’ he said, laughing, while working the Fishers-Noblesville football game, where he wore a Fishers red logo shirt.
On Aug. 27, Franciosi worked the Fishers-Hamilton SE football game. Since that was an HSE home game, he was wearing the Royals’ blue logo shirt. Continue reading
No. 1 Hounds Punch Ticket To Tennis State Finals
Published October 9, 2010 | Top-ranked Carmel is headed for the Indiana high school boys tennis finals.
The Greyhounds earned their ticket with a 5-0 victory over No. 7 Center Grove at North Central Semistate.
The Hounds, now 18-0, meet Canterbury in the first quarterfinals match on Oct. 15 at Lawrence Central. The other two quarterfinals are at Park Tudor. The semifinals (10 a.m.) and state championship match (2 p.m.) will be played Oct. 16 at North Central.
Carmel seeks the school’s sixth boys state tennis championship. The Greyhounds won two under current head coach Mike Bostic in 2003 and 2004.
“I am just so thrilled for the guys. We are in the state finals and it feels really good after what we have been through the past couple of years,” coach Mike Bostic said.
“Everybody looked sharp today and ready to play. I can see our confidence growing with every step of the tournament. We will enjoy the week and get ourselves ready for Fort Wayne Canterbury on Friday.”
Semistate results:
1-Mihir Kumar d. Luke Anderson 6-0, 6-1; 2s-Elliott Yee d. Austin Ruddell 6-2, 6-0; 3s-Conor Cunningham d. Connor Whiteside 6-2, 6-2; 1d-Chris Bertolini/Patrick O’Neill d. Cam Hardin/Sam Price 6-0, 6-4; 2d-Connor Dunn/Alex McMahan d. Ethan Raker/Brandt Smith 6-0, 6-1.
Mihir Kumar and Elliott Yee, both juniors remain unbeaten on the season. Allso unbeaten is the Greyhounds’ No. 2 doubles team of Alex McMahan and Connor Dunn.
CHS Girls/Boys Dominate MIC Cross Country Meets
Published October 6, 2010 | The Carmel girls and boys dominated the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference cross country championships at Ben Davis.
The Greyhounds scored 52 points, 18 better than runner-up Terre Haute North. It was the Carmel’s 11thMIC title since the conference formed in 1995, and the first time any team in the conference has placed six individuals in the top 11.
Rene Wellman, the individual winner in a meet-record 18:05.4, finished first for the second year in a row. Wellman broke from the back just after the 3k marker and never looked back. Teammate and runner-up Sarah Bennett started to chase after the 4k mark, but Wellman would not relinquish her lead and, in fact, increased it over the final kilometer. Bennett was clocked in 18:11.03.
Alex Chitwood, another strong Carmel runner, started the race, but after completing 1300 meters dropped from the competition with an irritated foot issue.
The Carmel team had a gap time of 52 seconds from 1-5 and a 5k average time of 18:35.
For the boys, Carmel scored 56 points, while Terre Haute North and North Central tied with 72.
North Central’s Futsum Zeinasellassie ran a course-record 15:08.2, outdistancing Carmel’s Chris Walden, Carmel ( 15:10.1).
Next up is the Noblesville Sectional on Oct. 12. Carmel is ranked No. 1 in the state among the girl and No. 2 among the boys.
Soccer: Golden Eagles On Mission
Published October 5, 2010 | There’s something special going on in the Guerin Catholic High School girls soccer program.
It runs deeper than winning. Though the Golden Eagles are enjoying their share of success, and they expect more to come.
More success this season? Possibly. Next season? Probably very likely when the Indiana High School Athletic Association switches the state tournament format from one to two classes.
“We have a lot of heart and the family aspects are real,’’ said junior Kristen Broadbent, the team’s top scorer. “We’re the best of friends and we do a lot of things together off the field. Our togetherness is real, and it’s important.’’
The Guerin Catholic girls are only in their fifth season of fielding a varsity soccer program. Already, they’ve won back-to-back sectionals and regionals in 2008 and 2009. The Golden Eagles’ current No. 10 ranking in the Coaches’ Association poll also is the highest ranking for the program.
“The growth of our program has been phenomenal,’’ said coach Jonathan McClure, a young, energetic coach who is in his second coaching position. He took over a small rural program at North Miami High School right out of college. He had that program for one year before moving to Indianapolis. He served as a junior varsity assistant with Westfield HS for a year, and then started coaching at Westfield Select SC, where he remains active on that staff.
McClure said he had 24 players come out for the team in 2008, his first year at Guerin Catholic. The number is now 42 strong. “We can now field three teams,’’ McClure said with a smile and a lot of pride in his voice. “And our coaching staff has grown to five. Such support really helps us as we look to the future.’’
The future appears to be especially bright. There are only four seniors on the team, and McClure said he’s been able to rotate seven freshmen, which is indicative of just how young the team is.
“What we have accomplished as a team is no small step, but we hope to take bigger steps,’’ said McClure. “The kids want to play the best and be tested and they want to win and they want to beat the best.’’
Broadbent said they are looking forward to next year because of being in a lower class, though she said they all like the fact they’ve been able to play the bigger schools.
“Had there been a two-class system I think there’s a very good chance we could have two state titles,’’ said Broadbent. “We lost to a big school, 4A Fort Wayne Snider two straight years in the semistate.’’
Can you win next season in a lower class? “Absolutely,’’ she said. “But right now our goal is to win state . . . win it this year . . . win it against the bigger schools.’’
Guerin Catholic enjoys the luxury of having eight players on the roster that were part of those two sectional and regional-championship wins.
Back to join Broadbent in search of obtaining the ultimate championship goal are Vanetta Poppas, Katie Virgin, Meaghan Schneider, Allison Trusler, Kelly Sexton, Hannah Barker and Ericka Lindley.
(Cover photo: Virgin, Poppas, Broadbent, Schneider and Trusler pictured from left of coach McClure.)
Poppas, a talented senior who has committed to Campbell, an NCAA Division I school in North Carolina, agreed that the move to two classes will be somewhat bittersweet for her teammates next year.
“We defeated big-school Center Grove this season and we played defending state champion Cathedral to a tie,’’ so we know we can compete with the bigger schools,’’ the midfielder said. “I personally like the way it is, the one-class system. It gives us a chance to prove we can compete with the best. All of the girls like the opportunity we now have.’’
Said Broadbent: “We feel like we have something to prove, and we have the talent and experience to win. We’d love to make our mark on high school soccer while it’s still a tournament that crowns one champion. It would be a great statement to make for all of the smaller schools.’’
Especially for Guerin Catholic, a school of about 400 students.
No. 2 Lady Greyhounds Win Another MIC title
Published October 4, 2010 | Senior Night went well for Carmel coach Frank Dixon’s Lady Greyhounds, who topped Ben Davis 5-0, getting two goals from junior Brooke Backes.
It marked the first unbeaten regular season for Carmel since 2002.
It also was the fourth straight Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championship for the lone four seniors – Erin Sullivan and team captains Allie Auscherman, Jade Schwarting and Kelsie Strout.
They have helped Carmel post a 56-5-10 record (28-0-0 in the MIC) during their
high school career, and still have the postseason tournament ahead of them.
Carmel is 14-0-3 overall and 7-0-0 (MIC), and Dixon has won eight state championships – five in this decade.
“With all of the success our program has had through the years, this is still a very special accomplishment,” said Dixon. “We will miss the leadership of the seniors, but they will have a chance to add a few more titles to their resume in the coming weeks.”
No. 1 Hounds Dominate Sectional Tennis Showdown
Published October 4, 2010 | Carmel High Schools’ top-ranked boys tennis team has a full head of team heading into the North Central Regional this week.
Carmel boys celebrate sectional championship/HC Sports Daily photo: Mark Morrow.
And based on their performance in the Carmel Sectional, the unbeaten Greyhounds look like they could be mighty ornery customers the rest of the way.
They got things done in a methodical manner against the second-ranked Royals in the highly anticipated battle of unbeatens.
“This is a really good team. We have a lot of momentum,’’ said junior Nol. 1 singles standout Mihir Kumar after the Hounds stunned previous unbeaten Hamilton Southeastern 5-0.
“They (Southeastern) brought out the best in us and we had to go to take it up a notch to the next level,’’ said Carmel coach Mike Bostic. “Our kids had been waiting for this match all year. They wanted it badly.’’
It was a game of motivation and momentum. Boy, did the Greyhounds have it. They hit on all cylinders.
They lost to HSE a year ago in the sectional, the highly successful Carmel program’s first sectional setback since 1990.
Probably no one wanted this championship more than Kumar, who avenged last year’s loss to talented Austin Woldmoe, defeating the senior in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Continue reading
Tailgating Is About Fun, Food . . . And Football
Published October 2, 2010 | This is for all the diehard fans who love to have fun, love to eat, love to mingle prior to a football game . . . love to tailgate.
Tailgating at high school football games in Hamilton County is in vogue. Most of you know it, though.
Tailgating is a happening on Friday nights. It’s a form of social networking and a way to simply hang out with friends and family and possibly make new acquaintances.
Tailgating first became a way of life many autumns ago on big-time college campuses and then at NFL sites, but the high school football nation in Hamilton County certainly does not need many pointers on how to create a party atmosphere of its own.
The best place to tailgate? Carmel.
There’s a college campus atmosphere at Carmel. Granted, it’s on a smaller scale . . . but still pretty impressive. Continue reading
Lady Royals Deliver HSE’s 3rd State Golf Title
Published October 2, 2010 | The 2010 Hamilton Southeastern high school girls golf team went from early-season hopefuls . . . to Hoosier Crossroads Conference titlists . . . to state championship contenders . . . and finally to state champions!
The Lady Royals, whose play was up and down early on, according to coach Steve Guenin, got the job done when it counted the most. They made an especially strong statement in Day 1 and pretty much stayed the course en route to the crown after two days of steady play at Legends of Indiana in Franklin. It was the school’s third girls golf championship and the first since 2008. The first title was won in 2003.
HSE went from No. 5 in the state rankings to No. 1 in the state meet, the only ranking that counts. The Lady Royals posted a 661 total, five shots better than Hamilton County neighbor Carmel, and seven better than Roncalli, which held down the top spot in the Coaches’ Association poll most of the season.
Guenin, who has coached the past two championship teams, thought his squad played a gutsy final round because of the awful conditions (wind and rain). “We started off really well – had a rough patch of holes, and then really pulled together at the end,” he said.
Carmel, the 2009 runner-up to Martinsville, made a major move after being 19 shots off the lead after the opening round. The Lady Greyhounds were led by Briana Midkiff (right photo). The junior tied for third for individual honors. She fired a second-day 71, nine shots better than her first 18-hole round for a 151 total. It was also the tournament’s low round on the final day. Freshman Mackenzie Curtis followed with a 165 (80-85) for coach Ken Kelly.
The Lady Royals, led by Brooke Beegle – a freshman on the school’s 2008 state championship tream – finished fifth in the state a year ago. And the junior led the way again this time. She had rounds of 77-78 for a 155, and tied for ninth among the top scorers.
Other Lady Royals scores: Anne Leighty (81-85–166), Mary Ellen Romero (81-89–170), Kelsey St. John (82-88–170), Carolyn Kraus ( 89-93–182).
Other scores from the Lady Greyhounds three seniors: Brooke McKay (88-81–169), Elise Kelner (92-89–181) and Taylor Backes (101-96–197).
Looking ahead to next season, the immediate future looks bright for the Lady Royals. All five players return for coach Steve Guenin. Like Beegle, who has an impressive resume in state and national competition, Leighty, St. John and Kraus will be seniors in 2011, and Romero, the Anderson Sectional medalist, will be a sophomore.
“Yes, to know all five girls will be returning next year is exciting, but there are some awfully good young players in the state. We are going to have to keep working hard to do well again next year,” Guenin said.
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