Wes-Del’s volleyball team won the Class A state championship Saturday at Worthen Arena. When the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association All-State teams were released Tuesday, the Warriors were the most represented squad on the Class A first team.

Wes-Del’s Alysa Sutton, Kristen Lansing and Kennedy Petro were each named to the first team, while no other school had more than two players on the Class A first team.

Kennedy Petro

Sutton, an outside hitter, led her team in kills, finishing the year with 455. She was also second on her team in digs with 324. Lansing played defensive specialist for the Warriors and finished the year with 271 digs. Petro was the Warriors’ setter and finished the year with 990 assists, while also providing 218 digs.

Alysa Sutton

A fourth Warrior, libero Chloe Kinsey, was named to the second team. Kinsey led her team with 530 digs.

Wes-Del went 35-3 en route to the state title, sweeping (New Albany) Christian Academy in the state championship match.

Warriors coach Biff Wilson was unable to conduct an interview Tuesday due to illness. He provided an e-mail to The Star Press sharing his thoughts about his team’s All-State honorees.

Kristen Lansing

“I’m extremely pleased with the Warriors’ representation on the All-State team,” Wilson said. “Chloe, Kristen, Kennedy and Alysa have worked very hard for the volleyball program and are deserving of the recognition. I’m very proud of them and the rest of the girls in the Warrior volleyball program.”

Along with Wes-Del’s three first-team selections, two other players from East Central Indiana were named to first teams. Delta’s Teaghan Dishman and Central’s Micah Leavell were each selected to the Class 3A first team.

Leavell led Central with 358 kills. Dishman, the Eagles’ libero, had 645 digs for her team this season.

Micah Leavell

Along with Kinsey, five other players from East Central Indiana also earned second-team honors.

Union’s DeAnn Kauffman joined Kinsey on the Class A second team, finishing with 423 kills and 403 digs.

Both Dishman and Leavell had a teammate on the Class 3A second team. Delta’s Audrey Woodin was named to the second team after a season in which she logged 426 kills. Central setter Lacee Adams was also honored after a season that included 1,124 assists and 164 digs.

Wapahani’s Addie Reynolds joined Woodin and Adams on the Class 3A second team. Reynolds had 354 kills and 174 digs this season.

Yorktown’s Karli Acree was named to the Class 4A second team. Acree had 368 kills and 285 digs this year.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

ICGSA All-State Volleyball Selections

Class 4A Second Team

• Karli Acree, Yorktown

Class 3A First Team

• Teaghan Dishman, Delta

• Micah Leavell, Central

Class 3A Second Team

• Audrey Woodin, Delta

• Lacee Adams, Central

• Addie Reynolds, Wapahani

Class A First Team

• Alysa Sutton, Wes-Del

• Kristen Lansing, Wes-Del

• Kennedy Petro, Wes-Del

Class A Second Team

• DeAnn Kauffman, Union

• Chloe Kinsey, Wes-Del

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Central opened its season by beating Delta 61-29 after opening a 26-point halftime lead. Savannah Jackson sparked the Bearcats with game highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jayla Scaife added 15 points. Micaya Richardson had 15 points to lead the Eagles.

Jay County beat Monroe Central 54-28. Abigail McGrath led the Golden Bears with 12 points.

Randolph Southern stopped Wes-Del 61-30. Abbie Rooker led the Warriors with 11 points.

VOLLEYBALL

Delta and Yorktown each had three players selected to the All-Delaware County team. Audrey Woodin, Teaghan Dishman and Allyson Buckner were named from the Eagles, joining Karli Acree, Carson Malapit and Mimi Arrington from the Tigers. Alysa Sutton and Kennedy Petro were named from Wes-Del, and Addie Reynolds and Hannah Smith were picked from Wapahani. Valorie Flick of Cowan and Lindsay Ingenito of Daleville rounded out the team. Wes-Del’s Biff Wilson was coach of the year. Honorable mention: Katie Foster, Skyler Van Note of Wapahani; Chloe Kinsey, Kristen Lansing of Wes-Del; Caitlyn Kimbrough of Cowan; Kaylee Nichols of Delta; Kendall Murr of Yorktown.

SOFTBALL

Yorktown senior Morgan Masters signed to play at St. Joseph College in the 2015-16 school year. She helped the Tigers to three sectional championships the past three seasons and a state runner-up finish in 2013.

VOLLEYBALL

Yorktown’s Karli Acree signed a letter-of-intent to play at Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, next fall and major in pre-professional biology. She was a four-year varsity player for the Tigers, helping them to four Hoosier Heritage Conference titles, a state championship and a state runner-up.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Yorktown defeated Alexandria 49-34. Jenna Irelan led the Tigers with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Katy Johnson had 10 points.

Union City defeated Union 66-51. Rylee Davis and DeAnn Kauffman each scored 25 points for the Rockets. Davis also added 11 rebounds.

Blackford remained undefeated after stopping Southern Welss 44-41. Maggie Weeks-Foy led the Bruins with 18 points. Hannah Simmons added six points.

Pendleton Heights held Monroe Central to eight or fewer points in each of the final three quarters to claim a 54-32 victory. Abigail McGrath had 12 points and eight rebounds to lead the Golden Bears, and Emmarae Roberts added 11 points.

Cowan defeated Irvington Prep 81-15. Mariah Rumfelt led the Blackhawks with 18 points. Brittany Fueston added 10 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Heritage Hall topped Fishers Christian Academy 62-33. Grant Prewitt led the Patriots with 33 points. Tyler Beeson added eight points. Beeson and Prewitt each had seven rebounds on the night.

VOLLEYBALL

Cowan’s Valorie Flick will play volleyball next season at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. She was a member of the Blackhawks’ 2012 state championship team and a two-time All-State pick.

Northside High School’s 1974 and ’75 state championship teams will be recognized with a banner celebration between the Central-Yorktown JV and varsity boys basketball games Nov. 29 in Muncie Fieldhouse. Members of those teams included Elizabeth Albright Engelking, Jane Amlin Weaver, Barb Cass Burgauer, Cindy DeWitt, Debbie DeWitt Disney, Joni Ewing Newman, Carole Hagen Barry, Perri Hankins, Polly Hankins Riddell, Tricia Liston Kitchell, Sandy Lounsbury, Melissa Meredith, Cindy Parker Nestel, Sandy Schneiter, Christy Wagner Huhn, Shelley Walker Ahlersmeyer and Perri Williams Byrne. Coach Debbie Millbern Powers also will be honored. Powers recently published her memoir – Meeting Her Match: The Story of a Female Athlete-Coach, Before and After Title IX – about growing up as a female athlete in Indiana and coaching at Northside. She will have a book signing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 28 at Concannon’s Cafe & Coffee Bar on Baker Lane.

BOYS BASKETBALL

No ECI teams were ranked in the preseason AP poll. Wapahani was the closest, finishing five spots out 10th in 2A with 41 points. Winchester had 13 in 2A. In 3A, Central had 37 and Yorktown had 7.

VOLLEYBALL

Victoria Bauer (Blackford), Lindsay Ingenito (Daleville), Hannah McKinney (Daleville), Katarina DiBiasio (Monroe Central), DeAnn Kauffman (Union), Beth Jenkins (Union), Isabel Gothard (Burris), Kloie McGrew (Burris), Mallory Green (Union) and MacKyndsea Burke (Union) will be participating in the POSTYOURT All-Star matches Saturday at the Munciana Complex.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Heritage Hall pulled away to a 68-45 win against Suburban Christian. Brayden Karnes scored 12 points for the Patriots, and teammates Tyler Beeson and Grant Prewitt each scored 11. Isaac McKee had a team-high six rebounds.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Central is receiving votes in the Class 3A poll.

Blackford picked up a 48-36 win against Monroe Central. Three Bruins scored in double-figures, led by Maggie Weeks-Foy with 14 points. Faith Morris added 13 and Lauren Godfrey scored 11. Abigail McGrath scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Monroe Central.

Wapahani pulled away to a 99-29 win against Wes-Del. Annie Schuck led the Raiders with 22 points, and Payten Lee was close behind with 20 points. Malorie Gill scored eight points for Wes-Del.

GIRLS SWIMMING

Jay County cruised to a 221-76 win against Adams Central. Alex Bader, Katy Smeltzer, Anne Vormohr and Sophie Bader each won two individual events and were on two winning relays.

Central will be honoring members of the 1974 and ’75 Northside volleyball teams, 40 years after the group won the first of two consecutive state titles and laid the foundation for Delaware County’s dominance of the sport in the IHSAA state tournament.

The ceremony will be held before the Bearcats boys basketball game Saturday against Yorktown, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Muncie Fieldhouse.

The IHSAA was offering its third volleyball state tournament in 1974, and Northside’s title was the first for a team from Delaware County. When Wes-Del won the Class A state title this month, it was the 42nd state championship for a team from the county.

Central athletic director Suzanne Crump said she and Central principal Tom Jarvis were approached by the coach of the 1974 and ’75 teams, Debbie Millbern Powers, during the summer about the idea of holding such a ceremony. She said she and Jarvis quickly agreed a ceremony was a good idea.

“Really that group of players was the ground-level group that started the volleyball, I would say, in Delaware County, and the success we’ve had in Delaware County,” Crump said. “So we just thought it would be a great opportunity to do that.”

The 1975 team defeated a South Bend Clay squad that included two male players before the IHSAA later prohibited boys from playing girls sports.

Following the consolidation of Central and Southside, Central is the only high school for Muncie Community Schools. Crump said that as efforts were made to honor past Southside accomplishments at Central, it made sense to shine a light on past Northside feats as well.

When Central had a ceremony with past boys basketball players during the last Central-Southside game, that event included former Northside players.

“It’s important that now that we’re one high school, that we recognize those former athletes, and some great athletes at Northside, Southside, as we’ve come together,” Crump said. “So I think it is an important thing, and we’ll look to try to do that more as we move forward.”

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Volleyball

Athlete: Alysa Sutton

School: Wes-Del

Year: Junior

The performance: Sutton was a six-rotation player critical in leading Wes-Del to its second state title in school history. She led her team in kills, finishing the season with 455. She also finished second on her team with 324 digs, behind only the libero. She was an Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association Class A first-team All-State selection.

Quick notes: Sutton also participates in club volleyball and will spend this season playing for Munciana’s 17 Open Raptors. She is also involved in other activities, including community service and retreats, through the youth group at her church.

The future: Sutton plans to play college volleyball, but has yet to commit to a destination. Northern Kentucky, Ohio and Fairfield are among the schools with which she’s been in contact, but her options remain open.

Sutton said: “It was a great feeling, we were really proud of ourselves for working all season, all through the summer, every single day. We just were glad it ended that way. Not many teams had to say, ‘Well, we went through our season, we played every game we could.’ So it was a great feeling.”

AOY Riley Neal

Football

Athlete: Riley Neal

School: Yorktown

Year: Senior

The performance: Neal quarterbacked the Tigers to their first 11-win season in school history, a campaign that included a sectional championship. He threw the ball for 2,888 yards and 29 touchdowns, mixing in just five interceptions. Over the course of the year, he also became his team’s primary rushing option, and ran the ball for 1,351 yards and 27 touchdowns. He was an Associated Press Class 3A First-Team All-State selection.

Quick notes: Neal is also a member of the Tigers’ basketball team.

The future: Neal has orally committed to continue his football career at Ball State. He plans to sign with the Cardinals during the next signing period in February. He said he hopes to study business.

Neal said: “It was fun, it was definitely some of the most fun times I had here, and something I’ll be able to look back on. We did some stuff that hasn’t been done around here in a while. We won 11 games, and no team has ever done that before. And we won sectionals, and that wasn’t our only goal, by any means, but it’s still an accomplishment.”

AOY Madeline Aul

Girls Cross Country

Athlete: Madeline Aul

School: Yorktown

Year: Freshman

The performance: Aul burst onto the scene in her debut season, winning the Delaware County championship with a time of 21:35.4. She ran a time of 20:02.81 to finish third at the Pendleton Heights Sectional, then turned in a 19:47.69 to finish sixth at the Delta Regional. She finished her postseason by finishing 61st at the New Haven Semistate with a time of 20:39.59. She was the top finisher from East Central Indiana at each of her three postseason meets.

Quick notes: Aul is a three-sport athlete, also participating in basketball and track. She enjoys softball as a recreational activity.

The future: Being a freshman, Aul’s future goals are focused on her time as a Tiger. She lists her goals as maintaining the No. 1 position in her team’s lineup and chasing the Yorktown school record (19:39) which was set by Carly Trulock in 2013.

Aul said: “I just think for as young of a team as we had, we did really well, compared to how we were expected to do.”

AOY Blake Brooks

Boys Cross Country

Athlete: Blake Brooks

School: Cowan

Year: Senior

The performance: Brooks won both the Mid-Eastern Conference (17:32.8) and Delta Sectional (17:22.74) titles. He was also the top finisher from East Central Indiana at the Delta Regional, where he ran a time of 17:20.80 to finish 11th.

Quick notes: Brooks is a three-sport athlete for the Blackhawks. He participates in basketball in the winter, and said he plans to join the track team this spring after previously competing in baseball. He said he hopes competing in track will help him find a home as a college runner. He also serves as a mentor to a junior-high student at Cowan.

The future: Brooks hopes to run in college, but is undecided on a destination. He said he has visited Indiana University East, but is still keeping his options open. He is considering nursing as a possible major.

Brooks said: “That MEC was the best feeling I ever had until sectionals and then that was the best feeling I ever had. So it was back-to-back, it was awesome. I was feeling hot.”

AOY Courtney Denney

Girls Soccer

Athlete: Courtney Denney

School: New Castle

Year: Senior

The performance: Denney helped guide New Castle to its first undefeated regular season in school history, including running the table in its first season in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. She finished her career with 131 goals, the most in school history. She was selected to the All-Hoosier Heritage Conference team.

Quick notes: Denney is spending her club season playing with Indy Fire Juniors. She is also involved in National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The future: Denney plans to continue her soccer career at Marian University. She hopes to study elementary education.

Denney said: “Oh, it was an amazing season. We had so many accomplishments. From winning conference, going undefeated the whole season… We went to Bloomington to play Hoosier Cup and we won all three of those games and we were in a high bracket. So we went down thinking we weren’t going to win, just because they were just such good teams, but we ended up winning all three of them, and so that was a big accomplishment too.”

AOY Gabe Coleman

Boys Soccer

Athlete: Gabe Coleman

School: Burris

Year: Senior

The performance: Coleman is a midfielder who provided key contributions both offensively and defensively as Burris completed its first undefeated regular season with one draw and no losses. He was named a District 3 First-Team all-district selection. He finished the year with 14 goals and eight assists.

Quick notes: Coleman is also involved in Boy Scouts, and said he has completed his Eagle Scout project and is awaiting the ceremony. For the project, he remodeled a church kitchen that was deemed a fire hazard, giving it a safer configuration. He is also involved in club soccer.

The future: Coleman plans to continue his studies at IUPUI. He has decided not to play college soccer and instead focus on academics. He hopes to study business, possibly accounting or finance. He said he plans to continue playing soccer at the intramural level.

Coleman said: “Oh it’s amazing, because that’s one of the things I’m going to look back on, and be able to claim on my own as a captain of the team, is that we went through that whole season, this whole last season undefeated.”

AOY Rachel Johnson

Girls Golf

Athlete: Rachel Johnson

School: Yorktown

Year: Senior

The performance: Johnson narrowly missed qualifying for state in her senior season. She shot 78 at the New Castle Regional, while several players shot 77s and played off for the last spot at state. She shot 68 to win the Hoosier Heritage Conference individual title and shot 73 to win the Delaware County title.

Quick notes: At the urging of a friend, Johnson is serving in her first year as a manager for Yorktown’s diving team. She was previously unfamiliar with the sport, and said she has enjoyed learning about it.

The future: Johnson has signed to play golf at Chicago State. She plans to study business and hopes to pursue a golf-related career.

Johnson said: “My senior season was good, for the most part. We didn’t make it to state, and I fell a little short at regional. But I don’t think it took away anything from the numbers I posted earlier in the season.”

AOY Ian Landwehr

Boys Tennis

Athlete: Ian Landwehr

School: Yorktown

Year: Junior

The performance: Landwehr went 30-1, falling in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Danny Rayl (Park Tudor). Landwehr has advanced to the state semifinals in each of his three seasons at Yorktown, and he has lost to the eventual state champion each time. He was a first-team All-State singles selection.

Quick notes: Landwehr spent the second semester of his sophomore year at Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine, California. He said he does not plan to embark on a similar adventure this year and that he plans to spend the remainder of his high school days at Yorktown. He said his reasons include focusing on academics and trying to achieve more success as a Tiger.

The future: Landwehr plans to play tennis in college but has not decided on a school. He lists the Big Ten and ACC as conferences of particular interest. He said he hopes to study engineering.

Landwehr said: “Playing more matches than my freshman and sophomore year, I think it was a great success. I feel like as a team we were able to accomplish a lot as well.”

When Ryan Jones saw interest on the other side, that strengthened the interest on his end. The New Castle kicker recently made a visit to the University of Cincinnati. As he worked on his kickoffs, he said he routinely drove the ball into the end zone while kicking from the 35-yard line as college rules dictate.

A member of the Bearcats’ coaching staff told him he was the kicker they wanted, and Jones was struck by the interest in his services. He recently verbally committed to Cincinnati and plans to sign with the Bearcats on National Signing Day in February.

Cincinnati split its kickoff and field goal/PAT duties last season, with a senior handling the kickoffs and an underclassman handing the field goals and extra points. Jones said he was told the coaching staff envisions him having a chance to take over kickoff duties while also competing for the field goal/PAT job with the incumbent.

Once he realized how much he factored into the Cincinnati coaches’ plans, Jones said he decided he wanted to be part of that vision.

“I did field goals about a month earlier there,” Jones said. “And (a member of the coaching staff) told me to come back for kickoffs. And after he saw that, he said I was the guy he wanted. And after he said I would be the starter and everything, that won me over.”

Jones, whose career-long is a 52-yard field goal, said he also considered Purdue, Indiana and Rutgers. He said he plans to study sports administration at Cincinnati.

Jones isn’t the only New Castle athlete who recently made a commitment to play sports at a Division I school. Classmate Kiley Lingenfelter signed to play volleyball at Fairfield, a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school in Connecticut.

Lingenfelter, a setter, said she originally envisioned herself going to a southern school with warm weather and easy access to a beach.

When she visited Fairfield, she found it to be a perfect fit, with close proximity to New York City and a beach. It just lacked the warm weather she originally imagined herself enjoying.

Lingenfelter visited in November, then signed soon after to take advantage of an early signing period.

“It’s beautiful. It’s the prettiest place I’ve ever seen,” Lingenfelter said. “It’s just cold.”

Lingenfelter said the decision also made sense from a volleyball perspective. She found coach Todd Kress’ style to fit what she was looking for in a college coach, and his vision for her also jelled with what she wanted.

Fairfield plans for her to be a six-rotation setter in a 5-1 system. She puts her own height at 5-foot-4 (Fairfield’s news release is more generous at 5-7), and she said some other schools pictured her as a back-row setter in a 6-2 system.

“(Kress) has an incredible amount of confidence in me, which is something to be happy with,” Lingenfelter said. “That’s hard to find.”

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Kiley Lingenfelter

It’s no secret, Delaware County produces a lot of really good volleyball players, and those players tend to rack up a lot of accolades.

Sometimes, those players go on to bigger things, and those accolades keep coming, well beyond the borders of the county.

This year was no different, and a pair of locals claimed the title of becoming college All-Americans. Burris’ Taylor Morey, now a junior libero for Wisconsin, and Delta’s Morgan Bergren, now a junior setter at Kentucky, both made the 2014 AVCA Division I second-team All-American team named in mid-December.

Morey helped lead the Badgers to a 31-3 record, a Big Ten title and an Elite Eight appearance. She led the conference with 5.12 digs per set and was second on the team with 20 aces.

In high school, Morey was Indiana’s 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2011 first-team Under Armour All-American.

Bergren posted 1,291 assists for the Wildcats, second-most in program history. She helped the team to a .272 hitting percentage and 14.25 kills per set, the latter number leading the SEC. She was second on the team with 91 blocks, third with 28 aces, fourth with 214 digs and fifth with 158 kills.

She helped lead her team to the NCAA tournament, where it fell to Ohio State in the second round. She was a three-time all-state player and All-American in high school with the Eagles.

2013 Volleyball Photo Day on Monday, August 12, 2013. Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

GASTON – Kyle Mealy is running his team through a fast-paced drill, one that will test his players’ physical fitness level. As the Wes-Del girls basketball coach conducts this drill during a recent practice, he tells his players it’s designed to help them be better in the fourth quarter. As he sees it, the fourth quarter is crucial to the next step his team needs to take.

Mealy and the Warriors have won four games this season, with the first victory breaking a 76-game losing streak that had been in place since December 2010. After defeating Anderson Prep on Dec. 8, the next win didn’t take long after, as Wes-Del recorded a victory against Fall Creek Academy on Dec. 13.

But each of those first two wins came by at least 30 points, and each of the first four victories has been by at least 17 points.

For their next step, the Warriors want to win a close game, a back-and-forth contest that requires fourth-quarter heroics. The last time Wes-Del won a game by a single-digit margin was a 54-52 victory against Eastbrook on Jan. 28, 2010.

Senior Haleigh Greer, speaking after the first two wins but before the two most recent, said things have been more energized at practice since breaking the losing streak, but the Warriors have a newfound confidence and want more victories. She too covets a tight win in an evenly-matched game.

“That will make us even more energetic,” Greer said.

Greer had never experienced a win in her high school career until the Anderson Prep game broke the streak. As she talks about it, she looks back on the ‘blood, sweat and tears,’ that went into building up to that day.

She talks of summer workouts each year and all the time spent in the gym as a team building bonds. Winter breaks were sacrificed to practice almost every day, and that all seemed to come to a crescendo with the 52-22 win against the Jets.

“It was amazing,” Greer said. “I’ve been waiting for that moment since my freshman year. It felt nice that I went through all that work and we finally got it as a team.”

Junior Abbie Rooker remembers looking up at the scoreboard that night, seeing her team’s early lead and developing a confidence that she and her teammates could break the streak. Rooker’s memory then jumps to the end of the game, when she looked over at her teammates and saw smiles all around.

Greer said she’s always had a healthy optimism that day was coming. But when this season began, she sensed something was different.

Mealy, who is an assistant principal at Wes-Del, is in his second season coaching the team. Greer said one source of optimism came from building on the things Mealy had implemented in his first season. And after focusing heavily on defense last year, she said the Warriors have been able to mix in more work on offense this year.

The offensive improvement has been tangible. The Warriors have scored at least 30 points in 11 of their first 12 games this season. Last season, Wes-Del scored 30 points for the first time in its 12th game of the year.

“Now we’re just building up and building up,” Greer said.

The Warriors also have several new players this season that have been able to help the cause. Some are transfers or freshmen, and two senior volleyball players, Mariah Berry and Mackenzie Whitehead, elected to join the squad this year after their volleyball team completed its state title run.

Berry and Whitehead provide some valuable height in the post, but Greer they are also an asset to the team culture. They are accustomed to winning and are able to impart that mentality onto their teammates.

The two new players also allow the Warriors to better utilize the 5-foot-10 Rooker. Despite her height, Rooker can also play guard, and the addition of Berry and Whitehead allows Rooker to showcase her ability to play in the backcourt.

“I like that a lot,” Rooker said. “Because I used to be the tallest player on the team, so I was constantly, always post. And I like coming out and having a variety.”

Rooker shared Greer’s view that something seemed different this year when the season began, that she and her teammates were closer to that elusive win than they had been in the past.

The win-loss record is one indicator that the 2014-15 Warriors are better than those previous teams that didn’t win a game. But Rooker said that, outside of wins and losses, their improvement is seen in their attention to detail in summer workouts paying off.

“We really needed to work on the little things,” Rooker said. “Not just the big picture of ‘We need to win.’ We needed to work on little ballhandling skills, and defensive stance and things like that, not the big things. And as we mastered the little things, then it came together.”

But that improvement means more work for Mealy. Scouting reports had never been part of the Warrior coaching staff’s duties in recent years. But now that they can enter games with the confidence that they have a chance to win, and that it might be a close game, they seem more necessary. Mealy has also added in some film study of his team’s own play. Preparing all of that material takes time.

“It’s a good problem,” Mealy said. “It does kind of irritate my wife, I think, a little bit. Because it causes me to work a little bit more and takes time away. But she’s very supportive. So, yeah, the girls are ready for a lot of new things.”

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Blake Brooks

GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD

Blue River finished third at the Randolph Southern Small School Invitational with 57 ¹/₂ points Saturday. Wapahani was fifth at 31 points, Cowan had 16 points and finished sixth, and Union was seventh with six points. Blue River’s Hope Crabtree won the 100 hurdles and teammate Logan McRoberts won the 3,200.

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

Wapahani finished second at the Randolph Southern Small School Inviational with 52 points Saturday. Cowan was third with 50 ¹/₂, Union was fifth at 34, and Blue River was sixth at 31. Union’s Kaulen Jenkins won the 100 with a time of 11.53 seconds. Cowan’s Blake Brooks won the 3,200 with a time of 10:43.0 and the long jump with a mark of 19-0, and finished second in the 1,600 at 4:50.1.

SOFTBALL

Union swept Cowan in a doubleheader Saturday, taking the first game 9-2 and the second game 9-7.

Blackford defeated Central 10-5 on Saturday and fell to Homestead 15-8. Hannah Simmons had three RBIs on three hits for the Bruins in the win against the Bearcats.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wapahani went 2-2 at a tournament it hosted, defeating Fishers and Scecina and falling to Brownsburg and Noblesville. Central went 0-4, with losses to Cathedral, Noblesville, Lutheran and Fishers.

Cowan’s Luke Miller pictured against Wes-Del, pitched a complete game for Cowan against Monroe Central.

BASEBALL

Wapahani held off Wes-Del 7-5 in Mid-Eastern Conference play. Taylor Shroyer had a three-RBI double in the sixth for the Raiders, while teammate Hunter Stanley posted two hits and scored two runs. Calvin Carmen led the Warriors, going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Behind Spencer Horsley’s five-inning no-hitter, Daleville topped Liberty Christian 10-0. Corbin Maddox led the Broncos (5-5) offense with a 3-for-4 day with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Cowan edged out Monroe Central 2-1. Leading the Blackhawks defensively was Luke Miller, pitching a complete game and allowing two hits. Cole Kramer led Cowan offensively, hitting a double that knocked in two RBI.

SOFTBALL

Daleville topped Randolph Southern 14-0 behind a massive day from Kaitlyn Ewing. She tossed a no-hitter and hit three home runs. Kaely Hendricks added three hits and four RBIs.

Cowan fell 14-3 at Tri. Casey Creek hit a double for the Blackhawks (2-7).

Was-Del pulled ahead early and held off Union 6-3. Maddie Richards earned the win in the circle and hit a double for the Warriors (2-6).

Blackford fell to Elwood 11-0.

BOYS GOLF

Wapahani topped Cowan 180-242. Connor Hensley medaled with a 37 for the Raiders (2-0)

Wes-Del fell to Eastern Hancock 185-225. Jared Routh led the Warriors, shooting a 51 while teammate Nathan Russell followed close behind with a 52.

GIRLS TENNIS

Delta remained undefeated after defeating Alexandria 7-0. Maggie Thompson won No. 2 singles for the Eagles, 6-1, 6-0. Grace Belangee won No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-1 as well.

Burris swept New Castle 5-0. The Owls’ Hannah Komanapalli took a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles.

Yorktown shut out New Palestine 5-0. Kate Avila led the Tigers, winning No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-0.

Central swept Anderson, dropping only five games across the five matches. At No. 2 singles, Tylor Rabel picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win.

Winchester lost 4-1 to Union County. Emily White picked up the lone Falcons win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 against Lacey Chambers.

Elwood topped Blackford 4-1. Sarah Gregory led the Bruins, winning No. 3 singles 6-0, 6-4.

GIRLS TRACK

Monroe Central finished in first place with 84 points over Wapahani (35) and Cowan (24). Katarina Dibiasio led the Golden Bears with individual wins in the 100, 200, 400 and long jump.

Wes-Del finished with 56 points behind Knightstown (70) and above Burris (30) in a three-way meet. Emi Minnich led the Owls finishing first in the 1,600 and second in the 800.

BOYS TRACK

Monroe Central finished in first place with 89 points over Wapahani (43) and Cowan (24). Marcus Drummer, Josh Randall and Javarion Burtley were all double winners for the Golden Bears.

Centerville defeated Winchester 71-48. Allan Brutchen led Wes-Del, finishing first in the 100 and 200.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wapahani topped Fishers 25-9, 25-10, 25-22 Wednesday. Raiders coach Ben Sabin got his 100th win with the program.

Gabby Zgunda

When Delta volleyball player Gabby Zgunda first talked to the coaches from Mississippi State, she found it was easy to develop a rapport. When Zgunda made her visit to the university’s campus in Starkville, Mississippi, she came to like the school even more. Even though Zgunda is in the spring of her sophomore year, she decided to go ahead and take the leap. Zgunda verbally committed to Mississippi State on Thursday.

“I just fell in love with the campus, I fell in love with the coaches. The coaches have great energy, they’re fiery, they’re amazing,” Zgunda said. “And also competition. It’s the SEC, and I want to be as competitive as I can.”

Zgunda said the Bulldog coaching staff told her they envision her playing libero in her college days. She has played defensive specialist in her first two seasons at Delta, and she was second on the Eagles with 362 digs in her sophomore season. Following the graduation of Teaghan Dishman, Delta coach Heidi Zickgraf said Zgunda is expected to move over to the libero position for the Eagles in her junior year.

“When Teaghan was out at the beginning of last season, Gabby stepped in that role and we didn’t miss a beat,” Zickgraf said. “So I’m very confident in her ability to take over that libero position.”

Zickgraf said Zgunda’s work ethic has stood out in her first two seasons in the Delta program.

“She’s just a kid that would do whatever you wanted, whatever it takes to be on the floor,” Zickgraf said. “She’s going to be that first kid in the gym and the last one out, to get better at what she needs to do to help the team. It’s not all about her. She’s not an individual, she’s a team player.”

Zgunda said she also considered Western Kentucky, North Carolina State, Ball State and Miami University. She said committing during her sophomore season was a bit earlier than she envisioned, but once she visited Mississippi State, she decided she was ready. She said having a commitment in place allows her to focus on improvement for her future as a Bulldog, and also for her more recent future playing for her Munciana club team and for Delta, likely as the Eagles’ libero.

“I’m really excited to get started on all that,” Zgunda said.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Kaija Aikman

BASEBALL

Central picked up a 12-5 win against Burris. Storm Rollins pitched a complete game for the Bearcats, and teammate Xavier Cleaves had two hits, including a double. Burris’ Christian Combs had two hits, including a double, and teammate Matt Armstrong also had two hits.

Wes-Del picked up a 12-1 win against Liberty Christian in five innings. Calvin Carmin went the distance on the mound for the Warriors, with the run he allowed being unearned. Adam Routh went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Payton Waters was 2-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs.

Jay County defeated Woodlan 11-1 on Thursday. Levi Long hit a a three-home home run in the victory.

SOFTBALL

Wapahani held on for a 1-0 win against New Castle. Kaija Aikman pitched a complete game for the Raiders, striking out 15. Teammate Angelica McKibben hit a double. McKinley Duvall hit two doubles for New Castle.

Yorktown defeated Central 9-3. Haley Hill connected for two home runs for the Tigers, while Morgan Masters and Jenna Irelan each hit one. Grace Lumpkin struck out 13 in the circle. Central’s Madyson Rhoades connected for a home run.

Greenfield-Central edged Delta 4-3 with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Haille Workman and Tabitha Thornburg each had two hits for Delta, and the Eagles’ Logan Bland hit a double.

Jay County defeated Woodlan 13-8 on Thursday. Larissa Boles struck out 12 batters in the circle, and Gabby Hart had four hits, including two doubles.

GIRLS TRACK

Blue River split a triple dual on Thursday, defeating Anderson Prep 89-34 and falling to Randolph Southern 87-36. The Vikings’ Hope Crabtree won both hurdle events and teammate Mallery Sharp won the 200.

New Castle picked up 72 points to win a triangular on Thursday against New Palestine (52) and Anderson (42). The Trojans’ Gabby Watson won the 100 and 200, Macy Broyles won both hurdle events, Anna Smith won the 800 and long jump and Cate Brock won the 1,600 and 3,200.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wapahani defeated Zionsville 25-16, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 15-13 on Thursday.

File photo

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wapahani went 2-1 at a home tournament Saturday, sweeping Covenant Christian and Columbia City but falling 17-25, 25-20, 17-15 to Franklin. The Raiders will host Lawrence North on Monday.

Kate Avila

Kate Avila will be taking a familiar path in her family. Her father, Ramon Avila, played volleyball at Ball State and the Yorktown junior recently committed to do the same.

“It just kind of came down to being close to family, being close to home,” she said. “And my dad played at Ball State. And it was just a really good opportunity; I get to kind of follow in his footsteps. So it just seemed really like the right fit for me.”

Kate Avila’s connection to MAC volleyball goes beyond her father. Her older sister, Laura Avila, played at Bowling Green.

Kate Avila, who played libero at Yorktown as a junior, led the Tigers with 409 digs last fall. She said she projects as a back-row player with the Cardinals. She played a variety of positions in her earlier volleyball career, but she knew her stature (estimated between 5-foot-5 and 5-6,) would ultimately lead her to the back row.

She said she has a defensive-oriented mindset, with a simple passion for not letting the ball hit the ground. She also enjoys the thought that her passing can be the key to starting a successful play for her team. But she readily admits that she still does enjoy hitting when she gets the occasional chance.

“I knew defensively would be her strong suit,” Yorktown coach Stephanie Bloom said. “And I think giving her the opportunity to win out that (libero) spot just elevated her play. I think it elevated her confidence, which in turn elevated her play.”

Avila said she liked her future teammates when she visited Ball State, then liked what she saw when she looked in on a practice. She recognized some of the drills, and said she felt comfortable there.

Before she’ll join the Cardinals, though, she has one more season on the volleyball court as a Tiger.

“My goals are just to focus on backcourt, just really focus on just making the ball better with every touch,” Avila said. “Passing the ball to the setter like a magnet, getting it there every time and just working on my consistency and defense.”

Gillis transferring

Former New Castle standout Lauryn Gillis has elected to transfer to Wisconsin. She spent her freshman year at Southern California, where she played in 21 matches and averaged 2.14 kills per set. Gillis had double-figure kills five times, including three 15-kill performances as a Trojan. She will have three years of eligibility to play for the Badgers.

Gillis will be one of two players from East Central Indiana on the Badger roster. Burris graduate Taylor Morey will be a senior at Wisconsin in the fall. Morey began her college career at Notre Dame before transferring to Wisconsin. The Badgers are coached by Burris and Ball State graduate Kelly Sheffield, who led them to the elite eight last season.

“I’ve watched Lauryn play for years and the first thing that jumps out at you while watching her on the court is her competitive drive,” Sheffield said in a news release. “A lot of Muncie kids have that, but hers always seemed to be at a different level.”

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Central will compete in a Class 4A basketball sectional with Jay County, Huntington North and Fort Wayne schools.

The IHSAA released its sectional pairings for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years on Monday. Central’s boys basketball team will compete against Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Homestead, Huntington North and Jay County in Class 4A sectional play. The IHSAA did not release sectional sites in Monday’s announcement.

Central is moving up to Class 4A in the fall as the IHSAA’s enrollment numbers reflect the school’s consolidation with Southside.

In Class 3A boys basketball, Blackford, Delta, Hamilton Heights and Yorktown will remain together in the same sectional. They will be joined for the next two seasons by Marion and Tipton after previously competing against Central and Southside at the sectional level.

In football, Central is moving up to Class 5A from Class 4A. Central’s new sectional on the gridiron will include Anderson, Huntington North and Kokomo.

Delta is moving up to Class 4A football after playing in Class 3A the last two seasons. Connersville, Greenfield-Central, Jay County, Mt. Vernon, New Castle, Pendleton Heights and Richmond will join Delta in that sectional.

Central boys basketball coach Jeff Holloway

Monday’s announcement also revealed that three Delaware County volleyball programs with state titles in their history will be competing in the same Class 2A sectional. Burris, Wapahani and Wes-Del will be competing in the same sectional, with Frankton, Lapel, Monroe Central and Sheridan also playing there.

Wes-Del is moving up to Class 2A due to the IHSAA’s tournament success factor. Wapahani competed in Class 3A the last two years due to the tournament success factor, but is headed back down to Class 2A for the next two years after not accumulating enough points to remain in Class 3A.

This story will be updated with more sectional pairings released Monday.

Jeff Holloway

Central can cross off another unknown resulting from its consolidation with Southside. The Bearcats knew they would be moving up to Class 4A in most sports as a result of their larger enrollment, and on Monday they learned who their sectional opponents will be. The answer to the question depends on the sport.

Both basketball teams and the volleyball squad will enter sectionals dominated by the Fort Wayne area. The baseball and softball teams will be in sectionals loaded with teams to the south. The football team will be in a Class 5A sectional with other teams with past and present connections to the North Central Conference. And the soccer teams’ alignment in Class 2A will remain unchanged, with teams exclusively from Delaware and Jay counties.

For the boys basketball team, it means a Class 4A sectional with Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, defending state champion Homestead, Huntington North and Jay County. Central has played against Jay County in the regular season in recent years, and Huntington North is a departing member of the North Central Conference, but otherwise there isn’t much tradition between Central and the other sectional schools. Sites were not released with Monday’s announcement of team pairings.

When Central was last in Class 4A, in the 2010-11 season, it competed in the New Castle Sectional. Monday’s announcement included a very similar sectional, with Connersville, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon, New Castle, Pendleton Heights and Richmond, but the IHSAA elected to pair the Bearcats with opponents from the north.

“We know about a couple of these teams, Jay County is on our schedule every year and Huntington North was part of the conference,” Central coach Jeff Holloway said. “And just knowing Homestead and Fort Wayne Wayne and South, you know about them, but you’re not that familiar with them, because they’re not traditional teams that you play. So it’s going to be exciting again, just because it’s something new we’ve got to do our homework on and play the games. But I still think it will be fun, I think the kids will be excited about just doing something new, a new adventure, a new challenge.”

Central’s girls basketball team will have the same sectional opponents as the boys squad. The Bearcats’ volleyball team will have those same five opponents, plus Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran as a seventh team in its sectional.

Central’s baseball and softball teams will have Anderson, Connersville, Greenfield-Central, New Castle, Pendleton Heights and Richmond as potential sectional opponents. The Bearcats’ football team will be in a sectional with Anderson, Huntington North and Kokomo. Both soccer teams will be in sectionals with Delta, Jay County and Yorktown.

Central athletic director Suzanne Crump said the sectional sites for various sports will be determined through discussions among the member schools. She said she planned to pursue the possibility of a basketball sectional in Muncie Fieldhouse.

“I would offer it up to be the host sectional site. Now whether we can get that done or not, I don’t know,” Crump said. “But it’s historically just kind of a fun place to play. We can accommodate a good crowd. So we’ll see how the conversations go, and if we can host it, that’d be great. And if we don’t then I wouldn’t mind hosting the regional level as well. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The Class 3A boys basketball sectional Central formerly played in will remain mostly intact, with Blackford, Delta, Hamilton Heights and Yorktown all staying together. Marion and Tipton will jump in to bring that sectional back up to six teams, while it previously had Central and Southside.

Following its Class A state championship, the Wes-Del volleyball team is moving up to Class 2A by virtue of the IHSAA’s tournament success factor. It will join a 2A sectional in which it won’t be the only school with a state championship history, as Burris and Wapahani will also be in the mix. Wapahani had moved up to Class 3A via the success factor, but is headed back to 2A after not maintaining enough points to remain in 3A. The sectional will also include Frankton, Lapel, Monroe Central and Sheridan.

Wes-Del coach Biff Wilson said he suspected his team would either go east to play those historical powers, or go west and face the likes of Alexandria and Madison-Grant, which would also present a challenge.

“The biggest difference for me was go east and we knew we were going to be more familiar with those teams,” Wilson said. “And go west and there’s a little less familiarity in terms of who we play during the season. In the sectional (announced Monday) we play every team but one during the season. So we’re again real familiar with that.”

Yorktown’s volleyball team spent the last two years in Class 4A via the success factor, but will be returning to Class 3A this fall. It learned Monday that Blackford, Delta, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights and Tipton are potential sectional opponents.

The Delta football team will be returning to Class 4A based on enrollment numbers, and it learned Monday that it will be in a sectional with Connersville, Greenfield-Central, Jay County, Mt. Vernon, New Castle, Pendleton Heights and Richmond. Yorktown will now be joined by Fort Wayne Bishop Luers in a Class 3A football sectional, after Luers defeated Yorktown in a regional championship last fall. Bellmont, Fort Wayne Concordia, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Norwell and Peru will join the Tigers and Knights in that sectional.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Central’s Chase Clasby passes against Wapahani during their game Thursday evening. Central rebooted its club volleyball team following the Southside High School consolidation.

MUNCIE – A familiar scene played out in the Central gymnasium earlier this week: Balls bouncing, kids going up for layups and trying to block each other’s shots. All of this took place just a parking lot’s walk from historic Muncie Fieldhouse, where the Bearcats’ eight state championship banners are proudly displayed.

But as soon as Adam Havice started to assemble two volleyball nets, the jump shots turned to jump serves.

While Central is known for its storied hoops program, Havice is part of a rejuvenation of a club boys volleyball program that was once successful but has been absent for the last decade.

“This has been needed in Muncie Community Schools for a long time,” said Havice, the team’s coach. … “Kids have always been asking, ‘Can we have a boys volleyball team?’”

In a volleyball-rich area – East Central Indiana teams have won at least one girls state title every year except one since the IHSAA expanded to four classes in 1997 – the time is right for Central, which got a boost in enrollment from the consolidation of Southside this school year. It is the second area school with a club team, joining Wapahani.

“It’s something I always thought and my dad always thought: ‘Why isn’t there any guys volleyball here?’” said Clark Tinder, a junior setter. “We’re like a hotbed for volleyball in Delaware County, so it’s great to finally be able to compete.”

Tinder grew up playing volleyball in the yard, volleying with sisters Anne and Ellen – both of whom played for Central. But up until now, he hasn’t had the chance to play competitively.

Boys volleyball isn’t a sanctioned sport in Indiana, and the 32 teams around the state compete through the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association rather than the IHSAA. Central made appearances in the state finals in 2000 and 2001, but the program was discontinued about 10 years ago because the team’s coaches, Don Shondell and Tom Jarvis (now the school’s principal) no longer had time to run it.

As Wes Lyon coached the Central girls volleyball team in the fall, Wapahani boys coach Ben Sabin – also the IBVCA president – approached him and Havice with the idea of restarting the boys program. Maybe with all of the Southside kids coming over, they said, there would be a few athletes unable to continue playing their primary sports.

“We just thought there were a lot of good athletes walking around, a lot of kids coming to our girls matches,” Lyon said. “It was a good time to start it back up.”

Shortly after winter break, it became official that boys volleyball was back. Havice tried to market the program through announcements around school, but he feared no one would show up. At the first open gym, he had 36 kids. Now with Lyon as his assistant, Havice has 22 players in the program – enough for a varsity and junior varsity.

The team has struggled this season, which isn’t entirely surprising considering the team doesn’t have anyone with any organized experience. But there is some raw talent. Chase Clasby has brought some of his soccer skills to the middle, David Lavanchy is a rapidly-improving outside hitter and Bobby Cunningham wowed teammates by playing in a tournament and competing in a sprint triathlon in the same day. The Bearcats may be 0-14, but they have athletes. And with Kailor Padgett as the lone senior, they envision doing more than just sticking with teams in the future.

“It’s our first year,” freshman Nicholas Johnson said, “but we’re competing with teams that have been playing for years.”

Added Havice: “They’re getting better. It’s exciting and it’s fun. It’s cool to see them go from nothing to something.”

Club teams face different challenges than the sanctioned sports, with expenses including gas to and from each match, uniforms and officials. They have to fundraise on their own so be able to afford to play, and sometimes that isn’t even enough.

“I’m paying to do this, and I’m fine with that,” Havice said. “If we’re short on gas, I’ll fill up the mini bus. It’s not the school’s responsibility; that’s the challenge of being a club.”

In order to become sanctioned, volleyball would need about 70-80 schools total. And Title IX is also an obstacle, as schools would need to add another girls sport to match. So to make costs more affordable in the meantime, more area teams would help. Sabin thinks there’s a chance Yorktown might have a program next year, and from there he’ll see where it goes.

“We’re a hotbed for volleyball with Ball State having a men’s team and then Munciana,” Sabin said. “We just want to grow it.”

Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.

Maggie Thompson

FOOTBALL

Union City High School’s is searching for a head varsity football coach. For more information contact athletic director Mike Thornburg at 765-546-1251 or mthornburg@resc.k12.in.us.

VOLLEYBALL

Union City is looking for a head varsity volleyball coach. For more information contact Mike Thornburg at 765-546-1251 or mthornburg@resc.k12.in.us.

BASEBALL

Blue River defeated Hagerstown 3-1. Vikings pitcher Pete Wissel struck out 10.

Central fell short against Mt. Vernon 13-0. Sam Cavanaugh had a hit for the Bearcats, while Branson Koons had two strikeouts at the end of the game.

Yorktown defeated Wes-Del 13-3. Yorktown’s Jake Clawson cranked a home run. Wes-Del’s Connor Townsend hit a two-run double.

GIRLS TENNIS

Delta pulled out a victory against Pendleton Heights 3-2 to win the Hoosier Heritage conference title. Maggie Thompson won at No. 2 singles 6-0, 6-0. Teaghan Dishman and Kaylin Gibson earned the win at No.1 doubles 6-1, 6-0.

Jay County fell to Adams Central 5-0. The Patriots’ Kyra Braun took her opponent at No. 2 singles to three sets.

Winchester fell to Shenandoah 4-1. Emily White earned the win for the Golden Falcons 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

BOYS GOLF

Blue River placed second and Cowan placed third in the Tri Invitational at Memorial Park. Blue River’s Trevor Snavely shot the lowest score for the Vikings with a 47. Cowan’s Austin Smith led the Blackhawks with a 41.

Central edged Wapahani 174-175 at Hickory Hills. Central’s Keegan Bronnenberg was the medalist with a 35.

Jay County lost to Bellmont and Bluffton at Portland Golf Club. Jay Houck led the Patriots with a 43.

Wes-Del lost to Southern Wells 215-225. Despite losing the match, Jared Routh represented the Warriors as the individual medalist with a 48.

New Castle defeated Blackford 151-177. Blake Wheeler and Kole Schofield were co-medalists, each shooting 37 for the Trojans.

SOFTBALL

Winchester defeated Union City 7-3 in the first round of the Randolph County Tournament. Winchester’s Becca Neville pitched a complete game, striking out seven. Josie Fetters, Morgan Friend, Karissa Nance and Patty Newman each had two hits and scored a run. The Golden Falcons will play at 10 a.m. Saturday against Monroe Central.

Jay County fell short to Bluffton 7-3. Chloe Steigerwalt had three hits and scored a run for the Patriots.

Monroe Central defeated Wes-Del 8-3 on Wednesday. Mikaela McGrath gave the Golden Bears an early lead with a single in the first inning. Samantha Roderick scored two runs and hit a triple during the team’s victory.