Prep roundup for Monday, May 6
May 6—Northwestern's boys golf team swept the team and individual titles in the Howard-Tipton counties meet on Saturday at Chippendale Golf Club.
The Tigers had a team score of 333, edging Western by three strokes for the title. Kokomo was third (370), Eastern fourth (380) and Tri-Central fifth (394). Tipton did not compete this year as it was invited to the prestigious Spring Preview at Prairie View G.C., site of the IHSAA State Finals next month.
Northwestern senior Sammy Shotwell fired a 6-over 79 to win medalist. Lucas Miller added an 84 for the Tigers, and Hudson Whaley and Brayden Applegate each shot 85.
"Very proud of the way they played. It was a great team effort," Northwestern coach Kurt Koetter said. "Sammy played phenomenal. I am excited to see what this team can do if we get everyone playing well at the same time. We are playing very consistently right now, but I am anticipating we haven't seen our best golf yet."
Ethan Fisher (81) and Callen Szerdy (83) led Western and finished 2-3 overall. The Panthers also counted Brody Fisher's 85 and Brody Hobson's 87.
"I don't think we necessarily played terribly, just a couple mediocre swings here and there really hurt us. Those swings at Chip mean penalty strokes. Have to tighten that up, and we will," Western coach Blake Conklin said. "Congrats to [Koetter] and his boys. He does a great job with them. They are definitely the sectional favorite. If we want that trophy, we have to go through them."
Gabe Gomez led Eastern with a score of 88. Bryce Barker shot a 95, Sam Torivo 96 and Cohen Johnson 101.
Damian Kunz led Kokomo with an 86. William Nelson followed with an 89, Ashtyn Goff 96 and Mitchell McClelland 99.
Tanner England led TC with an 89, Jay Jankoviak shot a 98, Ethan Tragesser 102 and Aiden Salsbery 105.
SPRING PREVIEW
Tipton shot 324 to take 10th in a field of 18 at the Spring Preview at Prairie View G.C., site of the IHSAA State Finals next month. Guerin Catholic won the meet with a plus-8 296. Evansville North was second (304) and Hamilton Southeastern third (305).
Calvin Condict led Tipton with a 77, Gavin Hare shot 78, Preston Lancaster 80 and Sam Quigley an 89.
"It was a loaded field and the boys persevered through a tough setup," Tipton coach Justin Palmer said. "Feel like we are trending in the right direction as we head into the teeth of our schedule. Very proud of how much this team has grown and matured over the past month. Calvin Condict played a solid round."
PIONEER INVITE
Cass shot 353 to take first place in Pioneer's Invitational at Pond View G.C.
Garrett Helvie led Cass with an 85, Michael Myers shot 87, Brody Hillis 90, and Rylan Stoller and Nolan Hines each shot 91.
"The boys struggled early on, but were able to keep battling to come out on top," Cass coach T.J. Miley said.
GIRLS TENNIS
HHC MEET
Eastern's girls tennis team won every position at the HHC individual tourney.
Comet No. 1 singles player Emily Princell beat a Rossville opponent 7-6 (2), 6-2, and beat a Delphi rival 6-2, 4-6, 10-7 in the title match. At No. 2 singles, Claire Wavra beat a Delphi opponent 6-3, 6-3 in the first round, and beat a Rossville foe 6-4, 6-2 in the final. And at No. 3 Morgan Kaiser beat a Carroll player 6-3, 6-0 in the opening round, beat a Clinton Prairie player 6-0, 6-2 in the second round, and beat a Delphi rival 6-0, 6-2 in the final.
In doubles, Eastern's No. 1 team of Julia Salkie and Reagan Princell beat a Carroll team 6-1, 6-0 in the opener, then beat Delphi's tandem 6-1, 6-2 in the final. And at No. 2 doubles, Kenzie Eagle and Emma Budde topped Carroll's duo 6-2, 6-0 to open, then beat Delphi's team 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
"Just a great day for this entire team; was a great group effort," Eastern coach Pat Rice said. "It's always great to get a clean sweep at this event and we were able to do it for the third time in four years.
"Fantastic effort from Emily Princell at 1 singles after dropping a tough second set to refocus, and I felt like everyone else just took care of business in straight sets. This is a great stepping stone to the stretch run of the season and our next goal of winning the conference [team] championship."
NCC MEET
Kokomo went 1-1 to take second place in the North Central Conference. Kokomo beat Marion 3-2 in the semifinal round before falling to No. 9 Harrison 4-1.
SOFTBALL
CAVEMEN CLASSIC
Mishawaka beat Class 3A No. 2-ranked Western 3-2 in the championship of Mishawaka's Cavemen Classic, ending the Panthers' unbeaten start to the season.
The Panthers began Saturday by winning two games to finish 3-0 in pool play. First, Western beat Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger 9-1, and then Western beat South Bend Riley 13-0 in six innings.
Against Dwenger, Brynley Erb went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBI, Chloe Linn also drove in three runs, and Lucy George pitched a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts and one walk.
Against Riley, Erb went 3 for 4 with another home run and two RBI, Linn was 2 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI, Sienna Stone was 2 for 3 with two RBI and Kylie Miller was 1 for 2 with a triple and two RBI. Miller pitched a complete game, held Riley to two hits, struck out eight and walked three.
In the championship, Mishawaka won with a walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh. Linn pitched three innings, allowed one hit, struck out five and walked four. George pitched 3.2 innings in relief, allowed one hit, struck out nine and walked one. Stone had an RBI and a run and Erb scored a run.
The Panthers are 18-1.
PANTHER CLASSIC
Eastern (10-7) took second at Elwood's four-team tournament, topping Marion 18-3 in five innings in the opening round, then falling to Jay County 11-7 in the final.
Against Marion, nine Comets drove in runs with Ellie Winger driving in two. The Comets drew 10 walks. Lilli Shrock got the win in the pitching circle, allowing just one hit and six walks with one earned run while striking out seven.
In the final, Katie Hendricks was 2 for 3 for Eastern with a double, Marly Coan was 2 for 4, and Emillia Andrews and Kenzie DeGraaff each homered. DeGraaff pitched all seven and took the loss with four earned runs and two strikeouts.
"We battled to the end in a great game against a solid-hitting Jay County team," Eastern coach Carly Shively said.
DELPHI TOURNEY
Kokomo (9-10) went 1-1 in the second and final day of the Delphi Tournament. The Kats opened Saturday's action with a 13-12 win over Maconaquah, then fell 8-0 to Tipton.
Ava Federspill had a big game against Maconaquah, going 3 for 4 with two RBI. Taylor Reed was 2 for 3 with an RBI and Emma Lees doubled and drove in three runs. Liliana Lamberson doubled and had an RBI.
On Mac's side in the Kat matchup, Sydney Barnes went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI. Bailey Carson was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI. Amaya Rader was 3 for 4 with an RBI. Anna Clifton doubled and had two RBI. Shaela Brazzel was 2 for 5 with a triple, a homer and two RBI. Kasey Murry was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. And Blayklee Bauman was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Lucy Goad and Lamberson had Kokomo's hits in the Tipton matchup.
BASEBALL
MAC 10, TAYLOR 0, 5 INN.
Maconaquah's Adam Cannon pitched all five innings for the win. He gave up just two hits and a walk with one strikeout in a shutout effort.
Braxtin Birner was 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI for the Braves. Bennett Isenburg was 2 for 4 with a double. Kaleb Shelton doubled and drove in two runs. And Damion Torres also drove in two.
FRANKFORT WINS 3-TEAM GATHERING
Peru hosted Frankfort and Class 3A co-No. 7 Western for a three-team gathering. Frankfort went 2-0, Peru went 1-1 and Western went 0-2.
Peru beat Western 12-9. Jackson Rogers, Lucas Musser and Matthew Roettger led Peru. Rogers went 3 for 4 with two RBI, Musser was 2 for 3 with two doubles and Roettger was 1 for 3 with three RBI. Jaxson Manriquez pitched four innings for the win and Ryne Butt pitched three innings for the save.
For Western, Peyton DeWeese was 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBI, Peyton Kauble was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Ryan Rodman had a double and Kyler Norman drove in a run and scored two runs. Western's pitchers walked nine batters, hit another batter and threw four wild pitches. The Panthers' defense committed five errors.
Frankfort beat Peru 6-3, ending Peru's 11-game winning streak. The Bengal Tigers (13-3) were held to four hits. Gavin Eldridge had two hits and an RBI.
In the finale, Frankfort beat Western 13-4 in a rematch of last year's Northwestern Sectional final. DeWeese drove in two runs for the Panthers and Jason Dickison had an RBI. The Panthers' pitchers and defense struggled again — the pitchers walked 10 batters, hit another batter with a pitcher and three five wild pitches and the defense committed eight errors.
Western coach Ryan Berryman pointed to freshman Jaiden McNulty as a highlight "for throwing in both games and competing."
Western (13-4) has lost three in a row.
FROM FRIDAY
GIRLS TRACK
HC MEET
West Lafayette scored 171 to win Friday's Hoosier Conference meet, which had nine teams. Western was third (95), Northwestern fourth (70) and Tipton eighth (16).
Lacy Rathbun and Ellyse Walden had big meets for Western. Rathbun took titles in the 100-meter hurdles (:15.94) and 300 hurdles (49.28). Walden was first in discus with a toss of 123-10, winning by more than 12 feet.
"I think our volleyball coach would agree that when Lacy steps onto the field of play, a tiger shows up. She's a fearless competitor," Western coach Gary Jewell said.
"Ellyse nearly pulled off the shot put-discus double. She had three outstanding throws over 39 feet. However, the top-seeded girl from West Lafayette got off one great throw and won by only 3 1/2 inches, which is a little less than the width of the shot. It would have taken a school record effort to win and she's only 7 inches away from that," Jewell added.
"Everyone stepped up, even our athletes who weren't expected to score. On the day we recorded six lifetime bests and three season bests."
Northwestern's Lexi Hale won the high jump with an effort of 5 feet, 2 inches and Ayla Jackson third (5-0). Hannah Moore won the 3,200 (11:12) with Courtney Adams third (11:59). Moore was second in the 1,600 (5:13).
"We had an excellent meet," NW coach Josh Perry said. "We had a lot of season bests all on the same night. We have been building nicely all season and it is great to see that it's coming together in May when we get to championship season. We had several girls score better than their seed and that goes a long way. Good teams scrap for extra points in as many events as possible."
NCC MEET
Harrison ran away with the team title by posting a score of 224. Kokomo was seventh in the nine-team field with 36.5.
Kokomo had a pair of third-place showings. Jhazlyn McKay was third in the 300 hurdles (:50.63) and McKay, Abrashia Moore, Mia Castillo and Ma'kaela Young-Drake took third in the 4x100 relay (:50.38).
HHC MEET
Carroll won the Hoosier Heartland Conference meet with a score of 135. Clinton Central was second with 110 points. Eastern was fifth with a score of 53.5. Tri-Central was eighth (41) and Taylor ninth (3).
Skyler Brooks and Eva Kantz led Eastern. Brooks was second in the 100 and third in long jump. Kantz was second in the 800 and third in the 1,600. Kantz and Brooks teamed with Cora Gunderson and Zoey Sexton to take third in the 4x400 relay. And Gunderson was third in high jump.
"I was pleased with the balance of scoring from both our sprint and distance events," Eastern coach Anne Kantz said. "We do lack the depth of other teams, but our girls gave what they had. Jocelyn Rogers scored in pole vault for the first time — and great to happen at your conference meet. Skyler, Cora and Zoey are also freshmen [with Rogers] so I am looking forward to what they can achieve in the future."
Tri-Central's Lilly Stewart swept the throws. She won shot put with an effort of 35-6.5 and uncoiled an effort of 110-7 to win discus. Jackie Trujillo was third in the 400 (1:04.63) and fifth in the 200. Noelle Carpenter was fourth in the 3,200 (14:20). Katelyn Maruszewski was fifth in shot put (30-0).
BOYS TRACK
HHC MEET
Carroll won the nine-team meet with a score of 137. Eastern was fourth with 77, Tri-Central seventh with 47 and Taylor eighth with 21.
Eastern's Braylen Word had a strong meet with four top-five finishes. He won the 100 and 200 dashes, was third in long jump and fifth in high jump. Andrew Cavazos won the shot put and was second in discus. Obadiah Greene was second in the 400 and second in the 3,200. Chase Roseberry was fifth in the 800.
"We had a great day as a team, scoring more points than we were projected," Eastern coach Blake Donson said.
For TC, Luis Jimenez-Vazquez was second in the 800 (2:11) and fifth in long jump. Tate Strebin was third in shot put and fourth in discus. Slater Farmer was fifth in the 100 and 200 (:25.11). Tyler Gibson was fifth in the 1,600 (5:12). Jimenez-Vazquez, Hayden Hight, Gibson and Aiden Rummel were third in the 4x800 relay (9:16). Jimenez-Vazquez, Hight, Gibson and Farmer were fifth in the 4x400 relay (3:53).
NCC MEET
Kokomo totaled 41.2 points to finish seventh out of nine teams in the North Central Conference meet at Marion. Harrison won with a score of 153.
Jeremiah Young provided Kokomo's biggest highlight by winning the long jump with a leap of 21-8.
Also for Kokomo, Cooper Cage was third in the 1,600 run (4:30.15) and Rondell Greene, Malachi Harper, Lukas Degraffenreid and Tracy Dowling took third in the 4x100 relay (:43.52).
HC MEET
West Lafayette cruised to the title of the nine-team Hoosier Conference meet Friday night with a score of 165. Rensselaer was second at 104. Tipton was fifth (61), Northwestern sixth (43.5), and Western seventh (38.5).
For Northwestern, Ryland Barnes was second in the 1,600 run (4:41.18). Peyton Tarrh was third in the high jump (5-8) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (:42.5). The team of Tarrh, Michael Groves, Sam Craig and Nicolo Puglia were fourth in the 4x100 (:45.63), and Nicolo Puglia was fifth in the 200 (:24.22).
"Strong showing from the boys," NW coach Alex Pier said. "There are a great number of very good athletes in our conference and the boys did not shy away. Moving up to a sixth-place finish this year was a major team improvement."
For Western, Camden Raab won the 3,200 run (9:56.04). Aden Yeary placed third in the 800 run (2:02.90) and Raab, Maddox Carver, Lincoln McKillip and Yeary were third in the 4x800 relay.
"We're a very young team that got hit by an injury bug. It's hard to put a good product on the line during championship season when a lot of your points are getting treatment in the training room," Western coach Gary Jewell said.
"Our distance group scored well. Camden ran a patient race behind two West Lafayette runners, waiting for the right moment to hit the 'over-take' button. When he made his move it was decisive."
