News

DEFENDING CHAMPS RETURN TO CROSS COUNTRY STATE FINALS
Both defending individual champions as well both team winners from a year ago will be among the field at the IHSAA Boys and Girls Cross Country State Finals this Saturday in Terre Haute.

 

Twenty-two individual runners will join 24 full teams in the girls race while 29 individuals compete with the 24 boys teams. The 5,000 meter competitions at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course begin at 1 pm ET.

Half of the last year’s top 20 boys finishers return while 12 of 20 return for the girls.

The boys defending champ is junior Futsum Zeinasellassie of North Central (Indianapolis). Zeinasellassie has won each of his post-season races in convincing fashion and appears primed for a repeat performance on Saturday. He finished second in this event as a freshman two seasons ago and also has won the 3200 meter race each of the last two years at the state track meet.

Other semi-state winners expected to challenge include James Martin of Carroll (Fort Wayne), (at New Haven), John Mascari of Terre Haute North (at Brown County) and Kyle Overway of Logansport (at New Prairie).

Martin became the first boy and second individual overall to win four semi-state races in his high school career last Saturday at New Haven. Alex Banfich won four girls semi-state races from 2004 to 2007. Semi-States were introduced to the state tournament format in 1979.

Terre Haute North sophomore Tapring Goatee is the defending girls state champion but hasn’t hit the tape first in any of the tournament’s three races she’s competed in this post-season. She finished seventh at the Brown County Semi-State last Saturday.

Waverly Neer of Culver Academies, the winner at New Prairie last Saturday, Brianna Johnson of Carroll (Fort Wayne) (at New Haven), Renee Wellman of Carmel (at Carmel) and Nicole Lucas of Bloomington South (at Brown County) should all be in contention for state championship honors.

In the girls team competition, defending champion and No. 2 Columbus North placed second to top-ranked Carmel last Saturday. Other semi-state winners included Valparaiso (at New Prairie), Terre Haute North (at Brown County) and Carroll (Fort Wayne) (at New Haven).

On the boys side, top-ranked and 2009 winner Columbus North won out at the Carmel Semi-State edging No. 2 North Central. North Harrison took home honors at Brown County, Valparaiso emerged at New Prairie and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger took the top spot at New Haven.

Of note, Chesterton, which finished as the runner-up at New Prairie, will advance a boys team to the state finals for the first time since 1961 while Mishawaka, the second place team at New Haven, will make its first appearance as a squad since 1983.

65th Boys and 30th Girls Cross Country State Finals
Date: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010.
Times: Girls 1 pm ET; Boys 1:45 pm ET.
Admission: $8.00 per person.
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, Wabash Valley Sports Center, 599 S. Tabortown Road, Terre Haute, Ind. | Course Layouts and Driving Directions

Boys: Lane Assignments | Roster | Girls: Lane Assignments | Roster

State Finals Media Credentials – The 2010-11 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential issued previously for the girls golf and boys tennis state finals is good for admission. For those outlets without credentials and planning to cover the cross country state meet, please apply by e-mailing your request (with name of individual applying) to IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille (jwille@ihsaa.org). E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted. Approved requests will be available for pickup at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center adjacent to the course beginning at 11 am ET. Please have media identification available and enter the grounds using the east gate nearest the Sports Center.

Media Services – IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille will be on site to assist in your coverage of this year’s state finals. Official programs will be available at the Family Center along with computer-generated results following the races. Electrical power, phone lines and wireless access will be available in the Wabash Valley Sports Center adjacent to the course for filing stories and photographs. Please be aware that the building will close promptly at 7 pm ET.

Notables

Girls Teams Qualified (24)
Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Carmel, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Columbia City, Columbus North, Crown Point, Culver Academies, DeKalb, Evansville Memorial, Fort Wayne Concordia, Franklin Central, Huntington North, Lake Central, Noblesville, North Central (Indianapolis), Portage, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Valparaiso, West Lafayette, West Noble, Westfield.

Girls Teams Returning from 2009 Field (19 of 24)
Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Carmel, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Columbia City, Columbus North, Crown Point, Culver Academies, DeKalb, Evansville Memorial, Franklin Central, Huntington North, Lake Central, Noblesville, Portage, Terre Haute North, Valparaiso, West Noble.

Girls Qualified without a Team (22)

Angola	Ericka Rinehart (10)
Boone Grove	Jordan Chester (12)
Bremen	Hope Jordan (12)
Brownstown Central	Hope Lockman (11)
Center Grove	Victoria Schoettmer (10)
Eastern (Greentown)	Bethany Neeley (10)
Fort Wayne North Side	Tiffany Rauch (11)
Fort Wayne Northrop	Emma Mirwaldt (11)
Fremont	Anna Aldrich (10)
Fremont	Abby Hostetler (9)
Hobart	Celena Guerrero (9)
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard	Mary Davis (11)
LaPorte	Elena Lancioni (9)
New Palestine	Courtney Edon (12)
Northridge	Skylair Hilton (12)
NorthWood	Cynthia Medina (11)
Perry Central	Cathryn Peter (10)
Perry Meridian	Kieran Casey (9)
South Bend St. Joseph	Darby Mountford (11)
South Knox	Taurie Whitton (11)
Trinity Lutheran	Taylor Royalty (11)
Warsaw Community	Anna Bearss (9)

Most Consecutive Girls Team Appearances
30 by Carmel, 1981-current.

Active Streaks of Girls Team Appearances (Three or more years)
30: Carmel.
18: Valparaiso.
7: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Terre Haute North.
6: DeKalb.
5: Bloomington North, Lake Central.
4: Bloomington South, Columbus North, West Noble.
3: Crown Point, Franklin Central, Huntington North, Noblesville, Portage.

Former Girls State Champions in the Field
Tapring Goatee, 10, Terre Haute North (2009).

Boys Teams Qualified (24)
Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington South, Carmel, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Chesterton, Columbus North, Crown Point, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Snider, Hamilton Southeastern, LaPorte, Lawrence North, Martinsville, Mishawaka, Munster, Noblesville, North Central (Indianapolis), North Harrison, South Bend St. Joseph’s, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Valparaiso, West Lafayette, West Noble.

Boys Teams Returning from 2009 Field (16 of 24)
Bloomington South, Carmel, Columbus North, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Snider, Hamilton Southeastern, LaPorte, Martinsville, Noblesville, North Central (Indianapolis), North Harrison, South Bend St. Joseph’s, Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Valparaiso, West Lafayette.

Boys Qualified without a Team (29)

Barr Reeve	Connor Sorrells (10)
Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory	Jason Hoard (12)
Carroll (Flora)	Blake Mills (12)
Center Grove	Austin Mudd (12)
Evansville Mater Dei	Tyler Schickel (11)
Evansville North	Caleb Kerr (11)
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers	Billy McManus (12)
Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran	Jacob Reinking (10)
Frankfort	Javier Vasquez (12)
Franklin Central	Jason Crist (11)
Fremont	Keigan Culler (11)
Goshen	Tyler Wynn (12)
Guerin Catholic	Kent Garrett (11)
Highland	Jacob Baranowski (11)
Homestead	Kodi Mullins (12)
Logansport	Kyle Overway (12)
Maconaquah	Jacob Bingham (12)
McCutcheon	Morgan Welsh (12)
Merrillville	Dylan Harrison (12)
New Prairie	Blake Lawson (12)
Northeast Dubois	Josh Genet (12)
Penn	Devin Duffy (12)
Portage	Anthony Best (9)
South Bend Clay	Steven Dennig (12)
Union County	Tate Schinebein (11)
West Vigo	Andrew Kump (11)
Westfield	Connor Martin (12)
Whitko	Brian Menzie (12)
Zionsville	Samuel Berger (11)

Most Consecutive Boys Team Appearances
35 by Carmel, 1976-current.

Active Streaks of Boys Team Appearances (Three or more years)
35: Carmel.
5: Bloomington South.
4: Columbus North, LaPorte, Noblesville, Terre Haute North.
3: North Central (Indianapolis), North Harrison, Valparaiso, West Lafayette.

Team Appearance Droughts Broken (10 or more years)
49 years: Chesterton (1961).
27: Mishawaka (1983).
12: Terre Haute South (1998).

Former Boys State Champions in the Field
Futsum Zeinasellassie, 11, North Central (Indianapolis) (2009).

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CATHEDRAL GIRLS RETURN TO DEFEND SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
The 17th Annual IHSAA Soccer State Finals, which begin Saturday, feature the defending girls state champion, three repeat entries from 2009 and three first-time participants among the eight squads.

Two girls semifinal matches begin the day at 10 am ET / 9 am CT at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis to be followed by two boys semifinals at 12 pm ET / 11 am CT. The girls state championship begins at 6 pm ET and the boys at 8 pm ET.

One girls semifinal is a rematch of last year’s early round as third-ranked South Bend St. Joseph’s (20-1-1) takes on No. 7 Indianapolis Cathedral (16-3-4). Cathedral won last year’s meeting, 2-1, and went on to capture its second state championship that night. Last Saturday, St. Joseph’s edged No. 11 Penn on penalty kicks to win its 19th straight match while Cathedral topped fifth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern, 2-1 in its semi-state opener, the only goal it’s surrendered this post-season.

The other semi features two schools new to the state finals as unranked Columbus North (16-5-2) battles No. 12 Guerin Catholic (18-3-1). Guerin Catholic beat No. 9 Fort Wayne Snider and No. 14 Carroll (Fort Wayne), both by 2-0 counts in the semi-state to advance to the school’s first state championship event in any sport. Columbus North, unbeaten in its last 10 outings, is led offensively by junior Kayleigh Steigerwalt who has 39 goals this season, third-most in the state.

The boys semifinals feature No. 8 Evansville Memorial (16-4-3) and No. 10 Lake Central (19-3). Memorial returns to Indianapolis for the fifth time in six seasons having carried the big trophy home to the Pocket City in 2007 and 2008. After falling in last year’s state semfinals, Lake Central returns for the third time in six seasons and will attempt to reach its first championship match. Senior Chad Rigg has 21 goals and 16 assists on the year for the Indians.

Sixth-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral (19-3-1), with its boys team joining its girls team in the state finals, will meet No. 7 Warsaw (20-2-1) in the other pairing. Cathedral has toppled four consecutive ranked opponents – No. 9 Noblesville, No. 2 Carmel, No. 4 Avon and No. 12 Pike – to reach this level of the tournament for the first time since 2004. Warsaw has won 13 straight contests having shut out 12 in a row, their most recent against No. 14 Carroll (Fort Wayne) in the semi-state final.

Both state championship matches will air live at www.ihsaatv.org beginning at 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT.

17th Annual IHSAA State Finals
Kuntz Stadium, 1502 West 16th St., lndianapolis, Indiana, 46202 | Website | Map
Date: Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010.
Admission: $8 per session; $12 all sessions.
Webcast: Both state championship matches may be viewed live at www.ihsaatv.org.
Meet the Teams

Girls Semifinals
Columbus North (16-5-2) vs. Guerin Catholic (18-3-1). 10 am ET
South Bend St. Joseph’s (20-1-1) vs. Indianapolis Cathedral (16-3-4). 10 am ET
Girls State Championship, 6 pm ET

Boys Semifinals
Evansville Memorial (16-4-3) vs. Lake Central (19-3). 12 pm ET
Indianapolis Cathedral (19-3-1) vs. Warsaw (20-2-1). 12 pm ET
Boys State Championship, 8 pm ET

State Finals Media Credentials – The 2010-11 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential issued previously for the girls golf and boys tennis state finals is good for admission. For those outlets without credentials and planning to cover the event, please apply by e-mailing your request (with name of individual applying) to IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille (jwille@ihsaa.org). E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted. Approved requests will be available for pickup at the Kuntz Stadium Ticket Building.

Media Services – IHSAA Communications Director Chris Kaufman along with Assistant Toni Polizzi will be on site to assist you in your coverage on Saturday. Official programs will be available along with computer box scores following the championship matches. Interviews may be conducted with players and coaches on the sidelines following the semifinals and after the award ceremonies in the evening. Electrical power, phone lines and wireless access will be available in the press box for filing stories and photographs.

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AVON SOCCER OFFICIAL TO BE HONORED SATURDAY
Pete Alveal of Avon is the recipient of the 2010 Interscholastic Athletic Official Association Award for excellence in the sport of soccer.  Pete will be honored in a special ceremony at the state finals on Saturday.

Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year.

An active member of the Crossroads Officials Association, Alveal has officiated soccer for 16 years.  During his career, Alveal has worked 14 sectionals, 12 regionals, 12 semi-states, and eight state finals. He has served as a rules interpreter and clinician for seven years.

Alveal was selected for this honor by a committee representing the official’s associations.  In Indiana there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student athletes in our state.  Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports. 

Alveal is a 1986 graduate of Perry Meridian High School and a 1993 graduate of IUPUI.  He is a Commercial Real Estate Agent for Meridian Real Estate in Indianapolis. He has three children: Hannah (15) Emma (12), and Lydia (6).

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VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP START TIMES REVISED
The start times for next Saturday’s state volleyball matches in Muncie have been revised due to television. The Class A final will still begin at 2:30 pm ET as previously scheduled. The 2A, 3A and 4A matches have been updated and will not begin earlier than 4 pm, 5:30 pm and 7 pm, respectively. All four matches will be televised live throughout the state on the IHSAA Champions Television Network. Additional details will be provided next week.

Volleyball State Finals Media Credentials: Deadline is Thursday, Nov. 4, 4 pm ET. The 2010-11 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential is good for admission. For those outlets without credentials and planning to cover the volleyball state finals, please apply by e-mailing your request (with name of individual applying) to IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille (jwille@ihsaa.org). E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted. Approved requests will be available for pickup at the Worthen Arena Will-Call. Enter the arena at Lower Level, Gate 1. Will-call will be at the ticket windows just inside the building.

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NFHS MESSAGE REGARDING BASEBALL BATS
The following message from the National Federation of State High School Associations is being relayed to member schools with regard to the use of certain baseball bats. Athletic directors, please share this with your coaching staffs.

The recent action of the NFHS Board of Directors in regards to the moratorium of composite baseball bats has created interest and dialogue from a number of interested parties.  This interest is shared with a number of groups: umpires, coaches, schools, players, and parents.  It is necessary that all these groups assist in reducing the risk associated with interscholastic baseball.

It is our recommendation that school staff members and coaches help the officials, players and parents with identifying bats that are approved for the 2010-11 high school academic school year.

Our goal is to provide a comprehensive list of approved bats for this school year and we are very close to completing this task.  Once it is compiled, we would strongly recommend that school coaching staffs have the list of approved bats available for any bat that might be questioned by the game umpire(s).  In the interim, some key points to recognize regarding the compliance of bats are the following:

For the 2010-11 academic school year the following types of bats will be legal. 
1. Any aluminum BESR baseball bat
2. Any aluminum barrel BESR baseball bat
3. Any BESR non-hollow (filled core) composite bat
4. Select approved composite BESR baseball bats that can be found on the NFHS website, http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=4155.
5. Any solid (one-piece) wood baseball bat
6. Any aluminum or composite BBCOR baseball bat (anticipated delivery date to retail stores or online outlets late fall/early winter)

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STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
The following lists of statistical leaders are compiled by VarVee.com, the IHSAA’s official statistics gathering partner. The IHSAA encourages each of its member schools to participate by registering at www.varvee.com and updating statistics by each Monday through the end of the season. Weekly reports will be issued each Tuesday throughout the season.

Football: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report 
Volleyball: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Boys Soccer: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Girls Soccer: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Boys Tennis: State Statistical Leaders
Girls Golf: State Statistical Leaders

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NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE STATE
Have an interesting note? A conference or school record, coaching milestone or something else of interest? Please e-mail IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org for consideration.

This is the first year since the current state football tournament format was initiated (1985-86) that Ben Davis, Center Grove and Warren Central each lost in the opening round. Those three schools account for 14 of the 25 Class 5A state championships.

Warsaw sophomore Meredith Hollar set a school record with 27 goals this year, including 11 in three sectional matches helping the Tigers win their first girls soccer championship since 2003. Hollar’s father, Steve, portrayed “Rafe” in the movie, Hoosiers.

Six-time defending state volleyball champion Marquette Catholic saw its 42-match state tournament win streak come to an end during last Saturday’s sectional at Triton. South Central (Union Mills) defeated Marquette during the semifinal round, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21, and went on to win its first sectional since 1991.