News

RECORD NUMBERS ENTERED IN FIRST TWO-CLASS SOCCER TOURNAMENTS
A field of 292 boys teams and 253 girls teams, both record highs, are entered as pairings for the 18th Annual IHSAA Soccer State Tournaments were announced this evening by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

For the first time, both state tournaments will be contested in two classes based on enrollment size.

Boys sectional action at 64 sites – 32 in each class – will be played Monday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 8. Sixteen regional sites – eight in each class – will host two rounds each on Thursday, Oct. 13, and Saturday, Oct. 15. Semi-states will be played at four sites on Saturday, Oct. 22 in a two-round format with the survivors squaring off in the state championship matches on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Indianapolis.

In Class 2A, the top-ranked Evansville Memorial boys team will open with Mt. Vernon in Sectional 32 at Evansville Harrison while Class A No. 1 Fort Wayne Canterbury will host Manchester in Sectional 40. Lake Central, the defending state champion and ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, will host Hammond Gavit in Sectional 2.

The girls sectionals – 32 in Class 2A and 16 in Class A – will also run Oct. 3-8. Regionals will be played Wednesday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 15 with Class 2A matches in a two-round, Wednesday-Saturday format. The Class A contests will differ as a one-match affair played that Saturday. Semi-states in both classes will be played Saturday, Oct. 22 in a two-round format with the winners advancing to the two state championship matches on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The Class 2A, No. 1 Carmel girls team will face No. 9 Zionsville in Sectional 17 while Class A No. 1 Providence will begin its post-season against Switzerland County in Sectional 45 at Rising Sun. South Bend St. Joseph’s, No. 8 in the Class 2A state coaches poll, will begin defense of its state championship against home-standing Michigan City in Class 2A, Sectional 5.

Guerin Catholic’s girls team, the only program to opt to play up one class in any sport, drew Lebanon in the opening match of Sectional 17 at Carmel. The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 2A state coaches poll.

Boys Pairings | Girls Pairings

Notables

About the Draw
To conduct the random drawing for the state tournament, the IHSAA places ping-pong balls representing each school in a given sectional into a lottery-style air mix machine. A motorized fan in the bottom of the machine blows the balls around the inside of the transparent container and air then forces each ball up through a tube in random order. For example, the first ball retrieved from the machine will be the visiting team in game one with the second ball representing the home team in game one. The third ball to come out is the visitor in game two and the fourth ball the home team in game two. That same method is followed through all sectionals, regionals and semi-states to determine every team’s placement in the bracket.

Boys Sectionals
Dates: Oct. 3, 5, 7, 8, 2011.
Times: Determined by host schools and available from the IHSAA website later this week.
Admission: $5 per session; $8 all sessions.

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships
10 by Center Grove (1994-2003).

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
9: Munster.
8: East Central, Lake Central.
7: Evansville Memorial.
6: Center Grove.
5: Bloomington North, Brownsburg, Culver Academies, Homestead, Marion, Noblesville, Pike, Roncalli, Vincennes Lincoln, Washington, Zionsville.
4: Columbus North, Jennings County, Kankakee Valley, Madison.
3: Avon, Brebeuf Jesuit, Crawfordsville, Gibson Southern, Jay County, Lakewood Park Christian, New Albany, Park Tudor, Warsaw.

Most Sectional Championships Last 10 Years
9: Bloomington North, Center Grove, Munster, Washington.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
16: Center Grove.
15: Logansport, Washington.
14: Brownsburg.
13: Lake Central.
12: Bloomington North, Evansville Memorial, Fort Wayne Canterbury.
11: Carroll (Fort Wayne), East Central, Richmond.

***

Girls Sectionals
Dates: Oct. 3, 4, 6, 8, 2011.
Times: Determined by host schools and available from the IHSAA website later this week.
Admission: $5 per session; $8 all sessions.

Most Consecutive Sectional Championships
15 by Center Grove (1995-2009).

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
7: Fort Wayne Snider.
5: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Indianapolis Cathedral, New Palestine.
4: Brownsburg, Columbus North, Penn.
3: Culver Academies, Guerin Catholic, South Bend St. Joseph’s.

Most Sectional Championships Last 10 Years
9: Center Grove, Fort Wayne Snider.

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
15: Center Grove.
13: East Central, Lake Central.
12: Carmel, Evansville Memorial, Homestead, Valparaiso.
11: Brownsburg, Indianapolis Cathedral, Washington.