Diving for the IHSAA Regionals will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hamilton Southeastern.

The first four divers from each sectional qualify for regionals. Five from Hamilton County qualified.

Local divers advancing include Fishers’ state-ranked No. 1 Shelby Bartlett, who won the Fishers Sectional, and Noblesville sophomore Meme Sharp, the Carmel Sectional champion.

Fishers’ Bethany Jones placed second 1-meter diving, while Southeaster’s Courtney Wilder and Jaya Brown placed third and fourth, respectively.

The top eight divers from each regional qualify for the state meet.

Carmel-Hamilton SE Showdown Moved To Feb. 9

The regularly scheduled Carmel-Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball game on Feb. 8 has been moved to Feb. 9 to accommodate the girls Sectional 8 games on Feb. 8 at Carmel.

Class 4A Carmel vs. top-ranked HSE at 7:30 p.m.

Hamilton County Freshman Hoops Tourney Set

The Hamilton County boys freshman basketball tournament will run Feb. 8 through Feb. 11.

The final two dates are scheduled for  The Mill in Noblesville. First-round games are at 6 p.m. ubless otherwise noted; semifinals at 9 a.m. on Feb. 11, with the consolation and championship games scheduled for 11:30.

First-round games on  Feb. 9:

HSE at Carmel

Guerin Catholic at Hamilton Heights, 5:30 p.m.

Westfield at University

Noblesville at Fishers

Noblesville’s Willman Set To Sign For Ohio State

Hamilton County girls cross-country champion Helen Willman, of  Noblesville, will sign her national letter to attend Ohio state on Wednesday.

Boys HS Basketball Hype Night At Southeastern

Everyone is welcome to hang out with the Hamilton SE boys basketball team at Hype Night, on Monday, Feb. 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Main Gym. See players in shooting contests, a performance by the Pacers’ Boomer, win autographed items, and more.

Admission is $1 per person and one canned food item per family to go to the Fall Creek Township Trustee Food Pantry.

The lineup for the fun  family night:

> Autographed raffle items

> High school dunk & shooting contests

> Indiana Pacers’ Boomer performance

> HSE coach & players’ remarks & autographs

> HSE basketball cheerleaders

> Concessions

> Hall of Fame tourney trophy presentation

                     —  Hamilton County Sports Daily

Coaches' quotes, player facts & figures, sectional site schedules: click on continue reading.

Hamilton County Girls

          Basketball

Records/Season Averages                                                                                                                                                             

Here are a few things that appear likely for Hamilton County Teams:

>>>Class 4A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern (20-0) will be and should be cast as the favorite at Sectional 8, arguably the toughest schedule in the state.

>>>3A No. 6 Hamilton Heights (18-4) is the team to beat at in Sectional  24 at Yorktown.

>>>Guerin Catholic (16-7), winner of six games in succession, should get a shot at No. 2 Mt. Vernon (17-5) in the championship game if the Lady Golden Eagles can avenge a season loss to Bishop Chatard in a 2A Sectional 26 semifinal bye game.

>>>Sheridan (14-5), which has won eight straight games,  would appear to have an excellent shot of surviving 2A Sectional 38 at Delphi. The Lady Blackhawks have beaten three sectional opponents, but they meet first-time foe Fountain Central in the opener.

>>>University, despite  a 4-15 record, is 2-1 against sectional teams in Class A Sectional 58 at Bethesda Christian (and the loss was by one point to Deaf School), could spring a surprise.

>>>Tuesday night’s Noblesville-Westfield winner in Sectional 8 at Carmel would meet Zionsville in a semifinal, and likely should have a good shot at reaching the championship game (Westfield beat Zionsville 75-54 on Dec. 10, and Noblesville beat Zionsville 78-50 on Jan. 21).

And, oh yes, Southeastern coach Chris Huppenthal probably won’t like to hear this, but on paper and with the Bull’s-Eye squarely on his Lady Royals, Sectional 8 must be considered theirs to lose.

However, the only team in the field HSE has not played is North Central (16-5), the team the Lady Royals open against in Wednesday’s first game. That winner would meet Wednesday’s second-game winner between Carmel and Fishers, a game that should be as competitive as the Lady Greyhounds’ three-point victory was on Dec. 9.

“It has been a great season up to this point, but unfortunately, that season is done and gone. We have no time to celebrate what was done  . . . we have to look forward to what is ahead,’’ said Huppenthal , whose team is shooting 55.09 from the field, averaging 29.5 rebounds, right at 11.0 steals and 15.4 assists.

Yep, it’s a new season. Make that a one-and-done season for many teams.

Noblesville meets Westfield in the sectional for the third straight year, and the Lady Millers hope to avoid a third straight loss. They also have lost five games in a row to the Lady Rocks.

“(About the rematch),  we are both very different teams from the ones that played back in November.  We were so young and still finding our way at that point in the season.  We have improved dramatically since.  They, too, have evolved into a different team.

“Playing a third straight year means nothing to this group. We have three sophomores and five freshmen who are playing on our varsity.  Many of them are playing in their first sectional. So the history between these programs is really limited for them.’’

Westfield won the regular-season Hoosier Crossroads Conference battle 44-34.

“Noblesville is playing extremely well right now.  We play them early in the season and I’m not sure that game even matters much.  Also, what we’ve done in the past against them means nothing,’’ said Westfield coach Shane Sumpter, who won the sectional two years ago and was runner-up to Carmel last season.’’

Here are some thoughts the Sectional 8 coaches shared (listed by the tourney lineup):

Donna Keck, Noblesville

“The talent level of the sectional is unbelievable.  It should make for some outstanding basketball.  They have moved Brown off the point and are playing the freshman Slagle at point.  This has really improved their team.  It allows (Kayla) Brown to be in her more natural position on offense.  They are a very good team with a future Indiana All-Star in (Jenn) Anderson.  They are well coached and will be a big challenge for us.  Our kids will just go play and not think about any of that other stuff.  Overall , our kids have improved so much throughout the year.  We are playing extremely well right now.  I am incredibly proud of our team and love how hard we are playing.  We have learned what it takes to compete night in, night out.’’

Shane Sumpter, Westfield

“Sectional 8 will again be extremely tough.  They (Noblesville) has a lot of young players that have gained valuable experience this year.  They are a team that plays very hard and will compete for 32 minutes.  As always, this will be a big challenge for us . . . Our kids are playing very hard right now and looking to improve each day.  We are excited about the tournament and the challenges ahead.”

Scott Bowen, Carmel

“Our first game with Fishers was fun,” said Carmel coach Scott Bowen. “because of the up-tempo, especially with all the pressure Fishers applies. We need to try to replicate the things that helped us beat them … take care of the ball, locate all of their shooters, contest their 3-point shooters, rebound, and have our kids play with confidence. That ‘s really a microcosm of our season. (Blaire) Langlois and (Abby) Dean do a good job handling the ball and getting us into our offense and they, along with (Katelyn) Nordhoff and (Steph) Irwin, have been pretty consistent shooters. We have gotten a good jolt of energy, especially on defense, from freshman Abby Abel and Amanda Shaw.’’

 Michael Gaines, Fishers

“Our sectional is highly competitive.  In the rematch vs. Carmel we will have to play much better than we did in our first encounter.  Our shooting will need to be more efficient and we will have to find a way to limit Langlois and Dean from the scoring outbreaks that they brought to the table in December.  To this point, our season has been a tremendous learning process full of achievements that we hope to replicate, flaws that we want to avoid, and challenges that we’ve strived hard to conquer.  Our  top scorers thus far are (Destiny) Washington, (Mallory) King, (Brooke) Sugg, and (Taylor) Potts with those players receiving the most open looks and opportunities to score.  (Devin) Ferguson and  (Adrianna) Murphy have be key catalysts to our style of play with their abilities as point guards and the selflessness and team mentalities of the entire group are what have created the success that these young ladies have earned this season.’’

Chris Huppenthal, Hamilton SE

”Every team is probably playing their best basketball. North Central’s win against Mount Vernon has them where they want to be heading into Wednesday. Carmel, Fishers and Westfield also played well in their last games and Noblesville may be the MOST improved team from the beginning of the year. North Central is a very talented, quick and athletic team. They have had periods where they have had trouble scoring, but they may have figured that out Friday against Mount Vernon. (Nariah)Taylor (6-5) is a big presence for them inside. (Rachael ) Gregory may be the most athletic player I have seen all year, plus I love her disposition on the floor. She is always calm. (Celeste) Edwards is catlike quick and has a quick release on her jump shot. If we give (Tia) Ewing any space at all, she will be burying jumpers all night. (Jasmine) Falcon rounds out their starters and she is long and can be explosive to the basket with a nice jump shot.’’
DeeAnn Ramey, North Central

“This is why we play the game because on any given day any team can win!  There is no doubt in my mind that our players will be ready to step up to the challenge!”
Andy Maguire, Zionsville

“We are looking forward to the sectional.  We have improved over the last three or four weeks and are excited about the opportunity to play the winner of the Noblesville & Westfield game.  This is an outstanding field and there should be some excellent basketball games.’’

Facts & Figures

Top Scorers, pertinent facts (County schools, plus other Sectional 8 teams):

Carmel —Blaire Langlois (18.6, 4.0 rpb, 3.4 asp, 2.4 spg) set school’s 3-point career record this season;  Abby Dean  (16.1ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 2.7 spg).

Fishers — Destiny Washington (14.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.6 blks), Mallory King (11.7 ppg), Brooke Sugg (9.9 ppg), Taylor Potts (9.6 ppg.)

Guerin Catholic — Colleen  Frost (16.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.5 blks), Kelly Fox (9.0 ppg, 5.3 rbs, 2.6 spg), CC Cotter (8.6 ppg, 4.5 spg, 4.3 apg), Kristen Schneider (7.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg).

Hamilton Heights —Dakota Weatherford (23.1 ppg, 10.5 rpb), Haley Cook (12.8 ppg, 3.2 spg) and Kiley Walters (9.5 ppg, 3.9 apg).

Hamilton SE — Taya Reimer (20.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.5 blks), Jordin Alexander (14.7ppg, 4,7 apg), Jessica Pongonis (10.7 ppg, 5.5 rpb, 2.5 spg), Jessica Stewart (8.2ppg, 2.6 spg).

Noblesville —Jessica Kiser (12-1, ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.0 spg), Cassidy Cain (11.4 ppg, 2.6 asp, 2.4 rpg), Becca Bergman (8.2 ppg).

Sheridan — Jaidlin Delph (22.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) became school’s career scoring leader this season; Savanna Sears (9.9 ppg).

+North Central —Rachael Gregory (13.0 ppg, 6.7 rbs), Celeste Edwards (12.5 ppg), Nariah Taylor (10.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg).

University — Cassidy Stowe (7.4 ppg),  Emily Johns (6.4 ppg), Hannah Meinen (5.9 ppg)

Westfield —Jenn Anderson (21.0 ppg, 11.3 rpg), went over 1,000 career points  this season.

+Zionsville — Maddy Yott (7.2), Grace Maguire (6.1)

+-Other 2 Sectional 8 teams.

SECTIONAL SCHEDULES

Feb. 7-8, 10-11

CLASS 4A

Sectional 8 At Carmel

(Championship games Feb. 11, 7 p.m.)

Feb. 7

Noblesville (9-11) vs. Westfield (12-8), 7 p.m.

Feb. 8

North Central (16-5) vs. Hamilton SE (20-0), 6 p.m.

Carmel (10-10) vs. Fishers  (13-8), 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 10

Zionsville (4-16) vs. Game 1 winner, 6 p.m.

Game 2 winners, 7:30 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Sectional 24 At Yorktown

Feb. 7

Delta (15-5) vs. Muncie South (7-13)

Hamilton Heights (18-4) vs. Yorktown (9-11)

Feb. 10

Muncie Central (2-18) vs. Game 1 winner

Blackford (8-12) vs. Game 2 winner

Sectional 26 At Indpls. Arlington

Feb. 7

Brebeuf Jesuit (7-13) vs. Mt. Vernon (17-5)

Feb. 10

Howe Academy (5-14) vs. Game 1 winner

Guerin Catholic (16-7) vs. Bishop Chatard (9-12)

CLASS 2A

Sectional 38 At Delphi

Feb. 7

Fountain Central (13-7) vs. Sheridan (14-5)

Clinton Central (8-13) vs. Delphi (11-10)

Feb. 10

Seeger (16-5) vs. Game 1 winner

Carroll (11-9) vs. Game 2 winner

CLASS A

Sectional 58 At Bethesda Christian

Feb. 7

Fall Creek (6-13) vs. University (4-15)

Bethesda Christian (7-10) vs. Indiana Deaf (16-4)

Feb. 10

Intl. School of International (16-4) vs. Game 1 winner

Tindley (14-8) vs. Game 2 winner

 Welcome to the 2011-12 season, folks.

We’re seeing possibly the most parity since the IHSAA scrapped the single-class system in the 1997-98 season.

Is there really all that much difference in talent? Arguably not  as much as one might have expected coming into the current season.

Class A No. 1 Park Tudor put a butt whipping on then-Class 4A No. 1 North Central in late December.

Class 2A Bowman Academy lost to North Central and Cathedral each by three points, and beat 4A No. 8 Lawrence Central by eight points.

Last Friday night, Bowman Academy, the 2010 Class A state champion, gave 4A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern fits in the first half; but the Eagles, who scored 72 points, could not overcome the combined 71 points by Zak Irvin and Gary Harris and Jacobby Bledsoe.

Muncie Central is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A. The Bearcats have beaten several 4A teams (they lost twice to Southeastern, one loss coming in overtime; North Central beat them by four and Pendleton Heights beat them by four in OT). Pretty competitive team I’d say, and I think the Bearcats could do quite well if we still had a single-class tournament.

Actually, I can’t imagine Muncie Central not winning the 3A title this season. Yeah, the Bearcats are that good.

Same must be said for fourth-ranked Bowman Academy. After seeing the Eagles, I can understand why the private Gary school has trouble scheduling opponents and is forced to travel distances to find quality competition. It stands to reason that not many teams want to play them.

They also travel with a huge entourage. Five busses made the trip to Southeastern.

I don’t know much about Class A. Those supposedly in the know think Barr-Reeve is the ticket to win it. Certainly, defending 2A champion Park Tudor with IU-bound Yogi Ferrell would appear to have a great shot at making a third straight trip to the State championship game.

And what about 4A?

Well, Southeastern, unbeaten Homestead, North Central and Carmel certainly could receive some favorable odds. Pendleton Heights could also be a factor. The Arabians probably have the state’s best pure shooter in Butler-bound Kellen Dunham, who averages a state-best 29.9 points.

The Royals might play the best defense. They certainly arguably have the best player — on offense and defense — in the state, and it would be hard to argue that Harris and Irvin aren’t the best 1-2 punch on one team in Hoosier land.

For sure, the draw in the sectional could have a big impact on who will come out of Sectional 8. The Feb. 9 Carmel-HSE game could possibly be a good measuring stick in a season that has provided many teams measuring sticks.

At this point in the season,   I really believe Southeastern or North Central has the best chance to come out of Sectional 8 and cause a lot of commotion on down the tournament trail, but Carmel is skillful handling and shooting the ball and the Hounds possess a lot of sound basketball intelligence. They’ve beaten North Central; Southeastern and North Central split their two meetings.

HSE and North Central each has at least two Div. I players, and overall they would appear to have the most talent and experience in Sectional 8, if not the state.

Still, that Carmel-HSE showdown on Thursday, Feb. 9, should be a game a lot of folks won’t want to miss. It promises to provide a tournament atmosphere.

Another thing that seems pretty certain to me is that, if we’re going to continue on in Class Basketball, then Bowman Academy should move up to 3A . . . at least . . . though talent-wise,  the Eagles are certainly talented enough to be a 4A program.

The Eagles are tall (they go 6-5, 6-10, 6-6 across front line) and physical and can shoot the rock. Some of the players look like college kids.

Can they win 2A this season?

Oh yeah . . .  But for sure a match-up with Park Tudor undoubtedly would be worth the price of admission in the finals. Park Tudor, I’m guessing, is more disciplined. Despite all of that talent and athleticism, I would say that Bowman Academy was lacking in some other areas.

Bowman Academy, currently on probation for its part in a brawl a few weeks back in Detroit, was missing 12-point scorer and top defender Carlos McCormick, who stayed back in Gary because of a rules violation. Coach Marvin Rea said his guard would have made a difference (against the Royals).

Hmmm . . .

Still, the Eagles have three Div. I players  who played against Southeastern. DeJuan Marrero, a terrific penetrator and scorer who can beat a steady tattoo on the glass, had 15 rebounds (and 29 points against HSE). But that’s not unusual. He’s been an amazing player since he came onto the scene in the State Finals game and averaged 22.1 and 15.3 rebounds his sophomore year.

If you’re wondering just how good Bowman Academy is now, and probably how much better it could be by tournament time, for sure the Eagles won’t lack for swagger and confidence.

In regard to the Southeastern game, Marrero was quoted in the Hammond Times about playing the Royals that,  “In a best of 7 series, we’d take ‘em.’’

Hmmm . . . Really?

Class 4A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern and No. 4 Carmel survived close games, while 3A No. 7  fell to Lapel on Saturday.

Southeastern's Gary Harris scored 40 points, upping his season scoring average to 24.8. He also made 24 straight free throws in two weekend games/HC sports Daily photo: Steve Risley.

Lapel handed host Guerin Catholic a 60-42 loss, snapping the Golden Eagles’ seven-game winning streak.

The red-hot Bulldogs also handed the Golden Eagles (15-4) their worst loss this season.

“Trailing by a point at halftime, the Golden Eagles could not stop Lapel on offense and could not make a shot on defense. That’s not a good combination,’’ GCHS coach Pete Smith said.

Sophomore Aaron Brennan had 13 points and blocked 2 shots, and Adam Hufford added 19 points and 8 rebounds for the Golden Eagles.

>>>At Southeastern, Lawrence North (4-10) played HSE (16-2) tough, but the Wildcats had no answer for Gary Harris in a 70-64 loss that saw the Royals extend their winning streak to 11 games.

Harris scored a single-game 40 points. He made 6-of-11 shots from 3 points range, and also mad 12-of-12 free throws for the second straight night. The 6-foot-5 senior added 7 rebounds, 3 steals  2 assists and 1 block.

Zak Irvin scored 14 points and pulled down 5 rebounds, while Jacobby Bledsoe had nine points and 6 assists.

>>>At Zionsville, Carmel found itself in quite a battle before pulling away for a low-scoring 39-36 decision. The Greyhounds, who visit Southeastern next Thursday, improved to 14-2 and are riding a five-game winning streak.

The Hounds only led 25-23 at halftime. They held the Eagles to four fourth-quarter points to escape.

No Greyhound reached double figures in scoring. Ben Gardner and Michael Volovic each had nine points, while Zach McRoberts netted seven and Sam Curts had six point s on a pair of treys.

Joe Retic was one of three Tigers to score 14 points in the 73-39 victory on Saturday night.

Fishers lowered the boom in a big way on visiting Southport on Saturday night.

The Tigers pretty much hit on all cylinders and shot down the Cardinals 73-39.

They also centered  14 of their 19 free-throw attempts and made 27 field goals compared to only 13 for Southport.

The Tigers came out hot. They held a 22-13 after one quarter and 36-19 at intermission. They hit the cardinals with 22 more points in the third and were home free at 58-32 going into the final eight minutes of play.

The Tigers (10-7) have won two straight games.

They were all about balance. CJ Johnson, Tyler Alderman and Joe Retic had 14 points apiece, and J.P. Pena, Jon Fleming and Forrest Schneider each netted seven points.

Johnson pretty much pulled the trigger that got the Tigers going. The junior scored nine first-quarter points.

Six of Alderman’s points came in the final quarter, while Retic helped  Fishers pull away with his eight third-quarter points.

Thomas Kellon’s 17 points topped Southport.

Westfield's Ajay Lawton tseemed to stumble while trying to keep from getting his shot blocked/HC Sports Daily photos: Shawn Barney.

Westfield bounced back from Friday’s 48-47 loss at Brownsburg to register a resounding 70p-36 victory over visiting Hamilton Heights.

The Huskies' Alex Etherington drives for two of his game-high points. Wade Burtron is in the background.

The Rocks are now 8-7 on the season, and Hamilton Heights is 6-11.

Westfield outscored the Huskies 41-15 in the second half, with a 19-4 third-quarterback scoring  advantage opening up a 48-25 lead for the Rocks.

Matt Liebbe led the Rocks with 16 points, and Wade Burtron netted 12.

Westfield’s  depth played a prominent role.

Three Rocks players scored eight points, while Ajay Lawton had nine markers.

Lawton also had five steals and 3 rebounds, and Dejuan Simmons had four of the Rocks’ 14 steals.

Dejuan Simmons goes up for a shot against Heights' Grant Weatherford.

Westfield shot just a tad under 50 percent from the field, and also made 18-of-23 free throws.

Junior Alex Etherington, a 24-plus scorer on the season, led Hamilton Heights with 18 points. He also had three rebounds.

Freshman Grant Weatherford was next with nine points for the Huskies.

Weatherford also added 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.

Fishers' Shelby Bartlett took first place in 1-meter diving. She's ranked No. 1 in the state. She smashed her previous state-best 484.54 point total with 486.80 points in the Fishers Sectional.

Fishers' Bethany Jones, who was second in diving, performs one of her dives/HC Sports Daily photos; Jeff Engel.

Hamilton County Sports Daily

Carmel  scored 520 points en route to setting an all-time record by winning 28 straight sectional championships.  Noblesville was second (440) and Westfield third (381).

The Lady Greyhounds had shared the all-time standard with Columbus North, which won 27 in a row from 1983 to 2010.

Carmel sophomore Hanna House was a double winner, capturing the 100-yard butterfly and 100 backstroke for Carmel.

House set a pool record in the fly, while defending state champion Lacey Locke also set a pool record in the 200-yard individual medley.

Westfield’s Kayla Effinger also won two events, the 50 and 100 frees, and set a pool record in the 100. Noblesville  sophomore Meme Sharp set a pool record in diving.

At Fishers, the host Lady Tigers outdistanced runner-up Hamilton Southeastern 536 to 457.

Freshman Abbegayle Schneider was a double winner for Fishers. She won the 200-yard IM and the 500 free. Shelby Bartlett and Bethany Jones placed 1-2 in 1-meter diving for the Lady Tigers. Bartlett’s top mark of 486.80 ranks No. 1 in the state. Southeastern’s Courtney Wilder and Jaya Brown placed third and fourth, respectively.

Diving regionals are Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Hamilton Southeastern.

Qualifiers move on to next week’s state meet. The preliminaries are Friday and the finals are on Saturday. Both sessions are at IUPUI.

Carmel seeks its 26^th consecutive swimming and diving championship.

“The team was terrific today and is poised for a terrific state Championship next week,’’ Carmel coach Chris Plumb said.

Team scores/event results on Scoreboard

Talk about a complete turnaround.

Carly Osinski (11) had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for 16-7 Guerin Catholic/HC Sports Daily file photo.

The Guerin Catholic girls basketball team polished off host Muncie South 87-59 on Saturday, finishing the regular season portion of its 2011-12 schedule with a school-best  16-7 record.

It’s also the most single-season victories and fewest number of losses in the private Noblesville school’s six seasons of varsity competition.

The Lady Golden Eagles, who were 12-9 in the 2009-10 season,  improved on last season’s 10-13 record in coach Scott Miller’s second season.

Guerin Catholic will ride a six-game winning streak into Class 3A Sectional 26 next week. The Lady Golden Eagles will play the Bishop Chatard-Arlington winner in the second semifinal game on Friday, Feb. 10.

Against Muncie South, GCHS had an incredible 33 steals and 60 rebounds.

Sophomore Carly Osinski, freshman CC Cotter and senior Colleen frost had huge games. Osinski  had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals; Cotter had 14 points, 6 assists and 6 steals; and Frost finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Kelsey Fox also chipped in 10 points and 4 steals, and Kristen Schneider added nine points and 9 boards.

Fishers' 195-pounder Mitch Sliga is No. 1 in the state and 41-0. He's the highest-ranked wrestler from Hamilton County moving on to the New Castle Semistate/HC Sports Daily file photo.

Hamilton  County Sports Daily

Hamilton County wrestlers did well in the Individual Regional championships on Saturday.

The county was represented by nine champions.

Hamilton Southeastern won four championships, Westfield took three first-place finishes, and Fishers won two events.

The top four finishers from North Montgomery and Pendleton Heights now advance to the New Castle Semistate on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Southeastern’s wins came from Chase Watson (126, 36-3), John Tatom (145, 35-2), Matt  Irick (170, 36-3) and Hayden Janney (285, 31-3).

Westfield’s wins came from AJ Belden (113, 42-6), Logan Floor (160, 38-10) and Lukas Schaeffer (182, 46-0).

Fishers got wins from Jordan Lile (120, 39-1) and Mitch Sliga (195, 41-0).

Sliga is ranked No. 1 in the state, and Schaeffer is  No. 2 in his class.

At Pendleton Heights, Noblesville failed to land a winner.

Sophomore Niko Barrantes (106, 26-8) Mitch Hensley (170, 29-8) finished second and were the highest finishers for the Millers.

Results on Scoreboard

HSE's Gary Harris finds a way to score even with a player in his way.

Gary Harris and Zak Irvin do what stars are supposed to do.

Jacobby Bledsoe dishes off for one of his game-high seven assists/HC Sports Daily photos: Steve Risley.

Jacobby Bledsoe just goes about business and does what the team’s vocal leader and playmaker needs to do to set the table.

And  what they do, they obviously all do it quite well.

Hamilton Southeastern’s Big Three combined for 71 points, leading the Class 4A No. 1 Royals over a very good 2A No. 4 Bowman Academy team 84-72 on Friday night.

Dejuan Marrero (1) can't get there in time to stop Zak Irvin from scoring.

The 6-7 Irvin and 6-5 Harris combined for 55 points, with the junior scoring 28, 23 coming in a second half that saw the Royals (15-2) explode for 49 points while extending their winning streak to 10 games.

It was a career-high performance by two points for Irvin, who also had seven rebounds.

“When Zak gets going, he can really get going. He was in a zone in the second half, and was able to knock down some big shots. You could just see how confident he was getting with each shot he made,’’ coach Brian Satterfield said. “He can shoot over anybody. He has great length.

“We got several stops off deflections in the second half. Zak scored a lot off transition, and got some great looks. But he also got better looks than he did in the first half. He tried to attack in the first half, but sorta jumped away and didn’t initiate things in the first half, like he did in the second half.’’

As good as Irvin and Harris were (Harris also made all 12 of his free throws, grabbed 14 rebounds, came up with 6 steals and 3 assists, and 2 blocks), Bowman Academy coach Marvin Rae said he thought Bledsoe was the key to the game for Southeastern.

Southeastrn's Gary Harris leaps high to swat the ball away in 84-72 victory over Bowman Academy.

“Bledsoe is my MVP for this game,’’ said Rae, who led the Eagles to the Class a state championship two years ago. “He controlled the tempo and dished the ball well.’’

Bledsoe, a 5-9 senior guard, finished with 16 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds.

“It all comes back to our team concept,’’ Satterfield said. “The guys know their roles. They understand what they can do and what we need them to do. But when those three (Gary, Zak and Jacobby) get going, well, there’s no question: we can be pretty good and we’re hard to stop.’’

Bowman Academy, with a great deal of size, caused problems inside, led by 6-5 DeJuan Marrero (29 points and 15 rebounds), and 6-9 Elijah Ray (22 points and 9 rebounds).

“They are a very solid team. Their size concerned us. I can tell you this . . . Marrero has my vote for the Indiana All-Stars.

Mr. Basketball?

“No, I’ve got someone else in mind for that,’’ said Satterfield, smiling.

Harris, who has the inside track on the Mr. Basketball award, got 16 of his 27 points in the first half, as HSE led 35-33. Irvin scored 14 points in succession in the third quarter, sparking a 24-16 scoring edge and a 59-49 lead.

A 20-3 run was the final nail in Bowman’s coffin.

Southeastern, leading 59-55 with 6:47 left in the fourth quarter, used a 6-0 run by Irvin (2 baskets coming off Harris passes off rebounds) for a 65-55 lead at the 5:16 mark, at the lead grew to 79-58 with two minutes remaining. Three baskets in that run came off deflections.

“Our defense really got us going,’’ Satterfield, whose team takes on visiting Lawrence North tonight. “We were really good in transition, I thought.’’

HSE forced 16 turnovers and finished with nine steals.