News

WRESTLING STATE TOURNAMENT BEGINS SATURDAY
The start of the winter state tournament season is marked this Saturday at 32 sectional sites in the 74th Annual IHSAA Wrestling State Tournament Series.

Three hundred and twenty schools will be represented this weekend by 6,342 athletes with the top four contestants in each of the 14 weight classes advancing to one of 16 individual regionals on Saturday, Feb. 4.

While competing as individuals, participants also will be accumulating points for their school on Saturday as the championship school will advance its entire team into the separate team tournament. The 17th annual team tournament begins with regionals on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at eight locations. Pairings were announced last Thursday.

Results from Saturday’s wrestling sectionals will be posted at www.ihsaa.org as they become available from the host sites.

74th Annual Individual Wrestling State Tournament
Sectionals
Date: Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012.
Admission: $5.
Advancement: The top four place winners in each weight class advance to the regional tournament. Also, the championship team in the individual sectional tournament advances to the regional round of the team tournament.
Individual State Tournament | Team State Tournament

Notables

Defending Sectional Team Champions
Avon, Bellmont, Bloomington South, Carroll (Fort Wayne), Castle, Columbus East, Crown Point, Delphi, East Central, Eastern (Greentown), Evansville Mater Dei, Fort Wayne Snider, Franklin Community, Hamilton Southeastern, Huntington North, Jasper, Jeffersonville, Jimtown, Lawrence North, Logansport, Merrillville, Munster, New Castle, Noblesville, Penn, Perry Meridian, Portage, Prairie Heights, Roncalli, Southmont, Warsaw, Yorktown.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (3 or more years)
35: Evansville Mater Dei.
21: Bellmont.
12: Perry Meridian.
9: Castle, Crown Point.
7: Merrillville.
6: New Castle, Yorktown.
4: Avon, Munster.
3: Bloomington South, Jeffersonville, Portage, Roncalli.

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships
35 by Evansville Mater Dei, 1977-2011.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
41: Evansville Mater Dei.
37: Bellmont; New Castle.
34: Bloomington South (Bloomington).
31: Logansport.
30: Castle, Indianapolis Cathedral, Lafayette Jefferson.
29: Hobart, Jasper.

 

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GIANTS TRIO RETURNS HOME FOR SUPER BOWL XLVI IN INDY
Three New York Giants players who prepped in Indiana high schools, two from Indianapolis, will return to their home state for Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

Sixth year linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka (6-5, 267) will make his first appearance in the Super Bowl after being placed on the injured reserve list for the Giants’ last trip in 2008. He was born in Indianapolis, attended Cathedral High School and Boston College before being drafted 32nd overall by the Giants in the 2006 NFL Draft. While at Cathedral, Kiwanuka was part of Cathedral’s 4A state championship teams during his sophomore and junior seasons in 1998 and 1999. Kiwanuka picked off a Goshen pass in the final seconds of the 1999 championship game that preserved a 24-21 come-from-behind victory for the Irish. He also tallied five tackles and a pass reception in the game.

James Brewer (6-6, 323) is a backup tackle in his rookie season after being drafted in the fourth round (117th overall) out of Indiana University (2006-10); Brewer  was named 5A All-State as a senior at Indianapolis Arlington High School (2005) in his only year of high school football.

Seventh year punter Steve Weatherford is in his first year with the Giants organization. The Terre Haute North High School alum was a two-time all-state kicker for the Patriots and went on to set the school record at the University of Illinois for career punting average (43.5). Weatherford tied an NFL record in 2010 as a member of the New York Jets by placing 42 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Eleven others have in-state ties either as a player or coach at the collegiate or professional level.

New York Giants

• Justin Tuck: Seventh year defensive end; played at Notre Dame (2001-04).
• Tony Ugoh: Fifth year offensive tackle; played first three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2007-09).
• Andre Brown: Second year running back; played for the Indianapolis Colts (2010).
• Michael Coe: Fifth year defensive back; played for the Indianapolis Colts (2007).
• Justin Tyron: Fifth year defensive back; played for the Indianapolis Colts (2010-11).
• Jerald Ingram: Eighth year as the Giants’ running backs coach; coached six seasons at Ball State, first as a tight ends coach and then as the running backs coach (1985-90).

New England Patriots

• Sergio Brown: Second year backup strong safety with the Patriots; played collegiately at Notre Dame (2006-09).
• Niko Koutouvides: Eighth year backup linebacker/special teams player; played collegiately at Purdue (2000-03).
• Matt Light: Two-time Pro Bowl selection at tackle in his eleventh NFL season; played at Purdue (1996, 1998-2000).
• Rob Ninkovich: Sixth year outside linebacker; played at Purdue (2004-05).
• Patrick Graham: Third year linebackers coach; former graduate assistant at Notre Dame (2007-08).

Thanks to IHSAA Athletic Administration intern Joe Hoffman, a Clinton Prairie High School and IUPUI graduate, for researching this information from each respective team’s NFL website.

 

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GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS SHOW THIS SUNDAY
First round sectional matchups in the 37th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance will be announced this Sunday (Jan. 29), beginning at 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT.

The state tournament pairings shows may be seen on television, heard on radio or viewed via webstream at www.ihsaatv.org.

Six affiliates of the IHSAA Champions Television Network (listed below) will air the 90-minute show throughout the state originating from the Indianapolis studios of WTTV-4, the network’s flagship. Legendary announcer Jerry Baker along with Columbus North girls basketball coach and former Indianapolis Star sportswriter Pat McKee, will host the program. Jeremiah Johnson of Indianapolis’ Fox 59 and IndySportsNation.com will conduct coach and player interviews.

Four coaches will be part of the broadcast – Tim Young, Vincennes Rivet; Janora Holmes, Bowman Academy; Julie Shelton, Mt. Vernon (Fortville) and; Chris Huppenthal, Hamilton Southeastern.

Detailed radio coverage information on the IHSAA Champions Network will be available later this week.

At approximately 8:30 pm ET / 7:30 pm CT, complete brackets will be available on the IHSAA website.

The boys basketball tournament draw is scheduled for Sunday, February 19 at 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT.

IHSAA Champions Television Network Affiliates
Clarksville: Indiana 9
Evansville: News 25
Fort Wayne: Indiana's News Center 33
Gary: Lakeshore Public Television 56
Indianapolis: Indiana's 4
South Bend: WHME 46

 

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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.

On Jan. 4, Elwood senior Korbin Buster tied the school single game record by scoring 51 points vs. Madison-Grant during the second round of the Madison County Tournament. The 51 points also set the single game tournament record.

Tippecanoe Valley senior Staci Groom scored her 1,000th career point in a 67-57 loss to Rochester Jan. 14. Groom scored 20 points on the night to give her 1,014 for her career. She is the fifth player in Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball history to achieve the milestone.

Hamilton Southeastern girls basketball coach Chris Huppenthal picked up his 300th career win on Jan. 17 at Lawrence North. He's 125-8 in seven seasons at HSE and 300-66 in 16 seasons overall.

Brownsburg junior Stephanie Mavunga scored her 1,000th point on Jan. 6.  Mavunga is the sixth Bulldog girls' basketball player to reach the milestone including her head coach Amy Brauman (1991).  Mavunga's brother, Julian Mavunga, also was a 1,000 point club member for the Bulldogs and a 2008 Indiana All-Star.

South Dearborn's boys basketball team overcame a 29-point fourth quarter deficit to nip East Central 55-54 in boys basketball last Friday. It was the largest fourth quarter comeback in state history. Read more from SEILocalSports.com: http://t.co/iPG8Brjt

 

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About the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA)
Founded in 1903, the purpose of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA) is to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between its 408 member schools. The Association provides state championship tournament series in 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Approximately 160,000 student athletes participate in IHSAA sports on an annual basis.

Media Contacts
Jason Wille, Sports Information Director or Chris Kaufman, Communications Director
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
PO Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0650
317-846-6601
jwille@ihsaa.org or ckaufman@ihsaa.org