News

ESPN3.COM TO STREAM GIRLS, BOYS BASKETBALL FINALS
IHSAA Basketball State Finals Also Will Be Televised on the IHSAA Champions Television Network
The upcoming IHSAA girls and boys basketball state championship games presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance will be televised live throughout the state on the IHSAA Champions Television Network and carried exclusively on ESPN3.com, ESPNs 24/7 live broadband sports network.

 

This Saturday’s four girls state championship games will originate from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne while the March 26 boys event will take place at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The IHSAA Champions Television Network is comprised of seven, over-the-air affiliates providing coverage throughout the state and anchored by flagship station WTTV-4 in Indianapolis.  Other IHSAA Champions Network affiliates include WTTK-29 in Kokomo, WEHT-25 in Evansville, WNDA-9 in Clarksville, WISE-18 in Fort Wayne, WHME-46 in South Bend, and WYIN-17 in Merrillville.  The network is poised to reach more than 2.5 million viewers in Indiana.

ESPN3.com is distributed in more than 65 million homes nationwide, and will carry the live feed from each of the girls and boys contests, which can be accessed via www.ESPN3.com.  The IHSAA’s web-streaming portal, www.IHSAATV.org, will not carry the games live, but will have each contest archived after its conclusion.

ESPN3.com delivers thousands of live, global sports events annually. It is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or cable TV subscription from an affiliated service provider, and is currently available in more than 65 million households nationwide.  It is available via dozens of affiliated service providers, including Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Cox, Charter, Windstream, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more.  It is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers connected to on-campus educational networks and on-base military networks. Interested viewers can check to see if they currently receive ESPN3.com or if it is available in their area by visiting http://espn.go.com/espn3/affList.

 

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BASKETBALL OFFICIAL JUDY PHILLIPS TO BE HONORED AT GIRLS STATE FINALS
Indianapolis native Judy Phillips is the recipient of the 2011 Interscholastic Athletic Official Association Award for excellence in the sport of girls basketball and will be honored in a special ceremony at Saturday’s girls basketball state finals.

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.

During her career, Phillips has officiated 14 sectionals, 10 regionals, four semi-states and three state finals.

Phillips was nominated for this award by the Indiana Officials Association, one of 26 associations in Indiana 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.  This honor comes as a result of Phillips’ selection by a committee representing those 26 associations.  Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports.

Phillips has served as a rules interpreter and clinician for the IHSAA.  She has volunteered for Tamika Catching’s “Catch the Stars” basketball camp and is a volunteer official for the Special Olympics and the Indiana Fever during practices and scrimmages.

Phillips is a 1984 graduate of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis.  She obtained her degree from New Mexico State University and is now a sergeant with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, where she has worked for 14 years.

 

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GYMNASTICS TOURNAMENT BEGINS SATURDAY WITH SECTIONAL COMPETITION
The 39th edition of the IHSAA Girls Gymnastics State Tournament Series begins with sectionals this Friday and Saturday (March 4-5), at eight sites around the state. At each location, the top three teams will advance their entire squads to the regional level. Individually, the top six in each event, the top six all-around participants and all entrants who receive the score of the sixth place gymnast in a respective event at the previous state meet will advance. Those standards include:

Floor Exercise – 9.50
Balance Beam – 9.350
Vault – 9.675
Bars – 9.350
All-Around – 37.475

Regionals are scheduled for Friday, March 11, at four sites and the state finals, for the first time, will be contested at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena on Saturday, March 19.

Results from each sectional will be posted to the IHSAA website as they become available.

Sectionals
Date: Saturday, March 5, 2011.
Admission: $5.
Advancement: The top six place winners in each event advance to the regional tournament; the top six place winners in the all-around competition advance to the regional tournament; all gymnasts who receive the score of the sixth place gymnast at the previous state finals meet advance to the regional tournament (Bars – 9.350; Beam – 9.350; Vault – 9.675; Floor Exercise  –  9.50; All-Around  –  37.475); the three teams compiling the highest number of points at each sectional shall advance as a complete team to the regional tournament; individual ties for advancement of the last position in the tournament series shall stand.
1. Chesterton (12) | Sat, 12:05 pm CT
Chesterton, Crown Point, Hobart, Lake Central, LaPorte, Lowell, Merrillville, Michigan City, Portage, South Central (Union Mills), Valparaiso, Washington Township.
2. Columbus East (8) | Fri, 7 pm ET
Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Columbus East, Columbus North, Jeffersonville, Martinsville, Owen Valley, Seymour.
3. Connersville (7) | Sat, 12 pm ET
Cambridge City Lincoln, Connersville, Hagerstown, New Castle Chrysler, Richmond, Rushville Consolidated, Tri.
4. Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran (11) | Sat, 12 pm ET
Carroll (Fort Wayne), Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Heritage, Homestead.
5. Lafayette Jefferson (8) | Fri, 6:30 pm ET
Crawfordsville, Lafayette Jefferson, Logansport, North Montgomery, Northwestern, Peru, Southmont, Western.
6. Muncie Central (11) | Sat, 11 am ET
Blackford, Blue River Valley, Cowan, Daleville, Huntington North, Jay County, Marion, Muncie Central, Muncie Southside, Oak Hill, Wapahani.
7. New Palestine (10) | Sat, 10:30 am ET
Franklin Central, Morristown, New Palestine, Noblesville, Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Southport, Tindley, Triton Central.
8. Wawasee (12) | Sat, 11 am ET
Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, Elkhart Central, Fairfield, Hamilton, Lakeland, Plymouth, Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw Community, Wawasee, West Noble.

Notables

Defending Sectional Champions: Columbus North, Elkhart Central, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Hagerstown, Huntington North, Roncalli, Valparaiso, Western.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
7: Valparaiso.
3: Columbus North, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Hagerstown.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
23: Wawasee
22: Marion
18: Valparaiso
16: Connersville
15: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Merrillville.
14: Columbus East.
13: Perry Meridian.
12: Columbus North.
11: Chesterton, Lafayette Jefferson.

 

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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.

Girls Swimming & Diving: State Leaders
Boys Swimming & Diving: State Leaders
Wrestling: State Leaders
Girls Basketball: State Leaders
Boys Basketball: State 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.

Brownstown Central girls basketball player Sammie Bane scored her 1,000 point in the sectional championship game on Feb. 12, a 53-49 victory over Class 2A defending state champion Austin.

Brownstown Central boys basketball coach Dave Benter won his 200th career game on Jan. 14 as the Braves defeated Silver Creek, 67-54. Benter is in his 13th season at Brownstown Central.

The state championship won by the Carmel boys swimming and diving team last weekend was the 100th state title won by a MIC Conference team since the league was formed in 1996-97.

Hamilton Heights’ Austin Etherington scored his 1,000 career point in the Huskies’ 84-66 victory over Madison-Grant on Feb. 10. He is the school’s 10th 1,000 point scorer.

After 14 years leading the Pioneers, L. Bernie Meyer, CAA, will be stepping down as the Athletic Director of Boonville High School at the end of the school year.  During his tenure, Meyer has served student-athletes throughout the state as President of the IIAAA, as well as hosting 40 sectionals, 10 regionals and one semi-state.  He has also taught classes on coaching, sportsmanship and being an athletic administrator, in addition to twice being named IIAAA Athletic Administrator of the Year.  Under his leadership, the Pioneers have made six trips to the state finals, won several regionals and sectionals, as well as numerous Big 8 Conference championships. Meyer will be succeeded by Pioneer baseball coach, Kevin Davis, who is the son of former South Spencer HS Athletic Director, JC Davis.

Forest Park girls basketball coach Marty Niehaus picked up her 300th win on Feb. 11 when her Rangers defeated Perry Central, 56-25, in the sectional semifinals. Through 20 seasons, Niehaus is 301-137.

In pinning all four of his state finals opponents at last weekend’s Individual Wrestling State Finals, Indian Creek’s 215 pound state champion Trey Reese became the first to do so since 1998. D.J. Radnovich of Gibson Southern pinned all four 215 pounders he faced that year. Others known to have accomplished that feat include: Ray Frankowski, Hammond (165, 175), 1936-38; Sam Lamb, Evansville Bosse (132), 1973 and; James Dickerson, New Castle (Hwt.), 1995.

Warren Seaborg, who played for John Wooden at South Bend Central in the 1930’s and later was the head basketball coach at South Bend Adams High School from 1950 to 1965, passed away at age 89 in North Carolina where he lived with his family.  Seaborg compiled a record of 186-148 in 15 years at Adams and led the Eagles to a sectional championship in 1958 and earned one ENIHSC title in 1960. He later served as Principal at South Bend Riley from 1972 to 1980 and served as President of the N.I.C. (Northern Indiana Conference) during the 1972-73 school year.

Castle brothers Doug and Chad Welch won the 152 and 160 pound wrestling state championships respectively, at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis last weekend. They became the third set of twins to win a state championship in the same year and the first since 1963. The first were Henry and James Moore of Bloomington in 1943 (112 and 133) and Daniel and David Mudd of Hammond in 1963 (127 and 133).