5 ECI wrestlers on podium at IHSAA State Finals; Ball State gymnastics sets program record
INDIANAPOLIS — The 2022 Indiana High School Athletic Association state wrestling finals saw 12 East Central Indiana athletes compete, five of whom finished on the podium in their respective weight classes.
The 138-pound bracket was loaded with ECI talent, as Daleville's Julius Gerenscer (28-5) finished sixth, Jay County's Cameron Clark (24-5) finished seventh and Delta's Dillon Tuttle (34-9) finished eighth.
At 145 pounds, Cowan's Toby Abbott (36-1), who was defeated by state runner-up Rider Searcy (East Central) in the second round, won both his consolation matches to finish fifth. Delta's Neil Mosier (38-5) also won the first match in the consolation bracket and finished sixth.
Other area competitors included Cowan's Bowen Keith (24-9), Daleville's Jackson Ingenito (28-7) at 195 pounds, Delta's Ayden Bollinger (34-5) at 106 pounds and Braxton Russell (21-6) at 170 pounds, Jay County's Tony Wood (37-4) at 126 pounds, Monroe Central's Hunter Page (42-3) at 182 pounds and New Castle's Brevan Thrine (33-4) at 132 pounds, all of whom lost in the opening round.
While Abbott, Gerenscer, Ingenito and Tuttle all graduate, the future of ECI wrestling is bright as Bollinger, Clark, Keith, Mosier, Page, Russell, Thrine and Wood all have one to three more years remaining in their high school careers.
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Here's what else happened this weekend (Feb. 18-20) in East Central Indiana high school and collegiate athletics:
Ball State gymnastics sets new program record on senior day
Competing for the final time at Worthen Arena, Ball State gymnastics' seniors helped the Cardinals set a new program record with a team score of 196.325, marking the first time Ball State eclipsed the 196.000 threshold in program history.
Ball State won three of four events on the day, including the second-best floor routine (49.400) in program history.
On vault, Ball State scored a 48.875 and was led by sophomore Victoria Henry (9.850). On bars, Ball State notched a 49.100 and was led by junior Megan Teter and sophomore Hannah Ruthberg, who each scored 9.850. On beam, Ball State, led by senior Lauren Volpe's and junior Taylor Waldo's 9.850s, scored a 48.950. On floor, the Cardinals scored a 49.400 and was led by Teter, whose 9.925 ties for the seventh-best individual floor rotation in program history.
In the all-around, Ruthberg won with a 39.200 while senior Sandra Elsadek scored a career-best 39.000.
High school boys basketball
Monroe Central downs Cowan
Monroe Central beat Cowan 59-27. The Blackhawks were led by Mason Kidd (12 points) and Cole Duncan (six points, six blocks).
Wapahani tops Daleville
Wapahani outscored Daleville 33-11 in the second half en route to a 68-36 victory. The Raiders were led by Isaac Andrews (25 points), Aidan Franks (24 points, nine rebounds) and Nathan Nelson (10 points, nine rebounds). The Broncos were led by Camden Leisure (18 points, four assists) and Trevion Johnson (10 points, eight rebounds).
Tournament: Sectional draws, takeaways for East Central Indiana teams
Muncie Central beats McCutcheon
Muncie Central topped McCutcheon 52-43. The Bearcats were led by Daniel Harris (12 points) along with Malik Hasani, Princeton Young and Jaion Childress, who all finished with nine points apiece.
Northeastern beats Winchester
Winchester fell to Northeastern 56-41.
Delta tops Shelbyville
Delta defeated Shelbyville 57-44.
Muncie Burris beats South Adams
Muncie Burris defeated South Adams 60-53.
Eastern Hancock defeats Union
Eastern Hancock beat Union 83-12.
Pendleton Heights beats Shenandoah
Shenandoah lost 51-15 against Pendleton Heights.
Blue River beats Wes-Del
Blue River defeated Wes-Del 77-61. The Warriors were led by Evan Whitesell (21 points) and Zack Todd (19 points).
Greenfield-Central tops New Castle
New Castle lost to Greenfield-Central 73-64.
Norwell tops Jay County
Jay County lost to Norwell 71-47.
Cowan beats Elwood
Cowan rallied late to beat Elwood 47-42. The Blackhawks were led by Bradley Terrell (18 points), Mason Kidd (10 points) and Blaine Marlatt (eight points, seven rebounds).
Wapahani beats Yorktown
Wapahani beat Yorktown 44-38 after outscoring the Tigers 15-4 in the fourth quarter. The Raiders were led by Aidan Franks (15 points) and Isaac Andrews (11 points, eight rebounds). The Tigers were led by Kieran Tewari (16 points), Mason Moulton (nine points) and Jacob Grim (seven rebounds).
Jay County edges Muncie Central
Jay County topped Muncie Central 37-32. The Bearcats were led by Tim Arnold (14 points) and Jaion Childress (11 points).
New Castle beats Brebeuf Jesuit
New Castle defeated Brebeuf Jesuit 51-44.
Wabash tops Blackford
Wabash defeated Blackford 72-44. The Bruins were led by Dawson Hundley (15 points) and Gage Baker (nine points, six rebounds).
Hamilton Southeastern beats Shenandoah
Shenandoah lost to Hamilton Southeastern 56-41.
High school gymnastics
New Castle wins four-way
New Castle score a 101.6 to win a four-way against Rushville (99.725), Shelbyville (97), and Jay County (71.475). The Trojans were led by Emma Troxell (first, beam; second, bars) and Kasi Martin (second, vault; third, all-around).
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Ball State men's volleyball drops 1st MIVA match to Loyola
Ball State (9-2, 3-1 MIVA) dropped its first Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association match to Loyola (8-5, 4-0 MIVA) 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-20). The Cardinals were led by Kaleb Jenness (18 kills) and Quinn Isaacson (42 assists).
Ball State baseball starts season 2-2
Ball State (2-2) opened up its 2022 campaign with wins over Bucknell (8-7) and Army (10-6) and losses against Iowa (11-1) and Air Force (9-0). Andrea Oselli and Jake Lewis picked up wins on the mound while Amir Wright (.333, five hits) and Ryan Peltier (.300, three hits, three RBIs) powered the Cardinals' offense.
Ball State softball goes 3-2 at Winthrop Eagle Invitational
Ball State (4-6) picked up wins over Towson (3-2 (8)), Western Carolina (7-6) and Winthrop (7-5) but lost to Robert Morris (8-5) and Albany (3-2 (8)) at the Winthrop Eagle Invitational.
Madison Taylor picked up two wins in the circle while Emma Eubank earned one. Faith Hensley had the game-winning walk against Towson. Against Western Carolina, Delanie Johnson (1 RBI) and Hensley (3 RBI) homered in the seventh while Kayla Lissy hit the go-ahead RBI single to earn the win. Against Winthrop, Amaia Daniel and Trinity Eckerty each had to RBIs as Ball State rallied to a 7-5 win.
Ball State women's basketball falls at Toledo
Ball State (14-10, 7-7 MAC) dropped another close game to Mid-American Conference front-runner Toledo 69-66. The loss, the Cardinals' third straight, puts them at sixth in the MAC. They were led by Annie Rauch (14 points), Sydney Freeman (11 points), Ally Becki (11 points), Marie Kiefer (10 points) and Chyna Latimer (eight points, nine rebounds).
Ball State men's tennis splits against Xavier, IUPUI
Ball State (5-3) split a pair of matches, falling to Xavier 5-2 but beating IUPUI 6-1. Against IUPUI, Ball State's No. 1 doubles team of Danilo Kovacevic and Chris Adams and No. 2 doubles team of Thibault de Negri and Eli Herran won 6-4. In singles play, de Negri, Nathaniel Webster, Herran, Vince Orlando and Petar Petrovic all won.
Ball State women's tennis splits road matches
Ball State (4-2) beat Western Kentucky 5-2 but lost to Middle Tennessee 4-3. Against Western Kentucky, the Cardinals saw wins from their No. 1 doubles team of Mariya Polishchuk and Emma Peeler, No. 2 doubles team of Amy Kaplan and Hannah Davies, Peeler at No. 1 singles, Polishchuk at No. 3 singles, Kaplan at No. 4 singles and Elana Malykh at No. 6 singles.
Hole-in-one reported at Sun-N-Lake
A hole-in-one was reported at Sun-N-Lake Golf Club in Sebring, Florida on Feb. 2, 2022. Gary Nale, a Yorktown native, recorded a hole-in-one in Sebring, Florida on the second hole with an 8 iron from 148 yards out. It was witnessed by Gary Brown, Steve Johnson and Larry Windmiller.
Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school athletics for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com, on Twitter @rgeneraljr or phone at 765-283-8864.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: ECI wrestlers compete at state; Ball State gymnastics sets record
