High school sports blog, highlighting the best from around South Bend

The South Bend Tribune's high school sports blog chronicling the accomplishments of student-athletes and topics surrounding high school sports:

June 15

Schrock new NorthWood golf coach

Kirsten Schrock is the new NorthWood High School girls golf coach.

Schrock takes over the highly-successful program for former coach Adam Yoder, who resigned following the 2021 season to pursue another job opportunity. Yoder was 160-21 in 14 seasons with six trips to the State Finals, including each of the past four seasons.

Schrock played for NorthWood and was a two-time state finalist under teams coached by Yoder. She was a team co-captain from 2017-19 and played on the 2019 team that finished a program best sixth at the State Finals. She also played at Taylor University.

Schrock, a first-time head coach at age 20, has been volunteering with the NorthWood Middle School girls golf team recently.

The Panthers finished 13th at the State Finals last fall, led by star senior Cybil Stillson, who is now at Butler University.  The NorthWood team this fall is set to include Kira Schrock, who will be a senior and is the younger sister of Kirsten. Kira played No. 4 last season for the Panthers.

Boessler resigns at Concord golf coach

Concord High School girls golf coach Tara Boessler has stepped down.

Boessler coached Concord the past seven years, amassing an 85-27 mark in dual matches.

Boessler guided Concord to its first-ever Northern Lakes Conference title in 2020. She also directed that team to the program's first-ever appearance in the State Finals, where they finished in 14th place.

Boessler was the NLC Coach of the Year in 2020.

June 6

Buchanan baseball dominates all-BCS team

League champion Buchanan placed five players on the BCS all-Red Division baseball team.

Named to the squad for the Bucks were Matthew Hoover, Murphy Wegner, Macoy West, Cade Preissing and Drew Glavin.

Brandywine had two players honored in Jamier Palmer and Jeramiah Palmer.

Bridgman's Jayce Warren was named the divisions most valuable player.

AREA HONORABLE MENTION

Hunter Carrington (Buchanan); Owen Hulett (Brandywine); James Barnes (Brandywine)

FINAL DIVISION STANDINGS

Buchanan 7-1, Bridgman 5-3, Brandywine 4-4, Berrien Springs 3-5, South Haven 1-7

Bucks softball honored

Four members of the league champ Buchanan were named to the BCS all-Red Division softball team, headed by league most valuable player Hannah Herman.

Also selected from the Bucks were Hailee Kara, Christin Cooper and Camille Lozmack.

Chloe Parker and Kadence Brumitt of Brandywine were also first team picks.

AREA HONORABLE MENTION

Alea Fisher (Buchanan); Adelyn Drotoz (Brandywine)

FINAL DIVISION STANDINGS

Buchanan 7-1, Bridgman 5-3, South Haven 4-4, Berrien Springs 2-6, Brandywine 2-6

May 22

Hoskins’ blistering 67 leads No. 10 Warsaw to Northern Lakes boys golf tournament title

Cal Hoskins shot a five-under-par 67 to lead coach Jack Carpenter’s No. 10 Warsaw boys golf team to the Northern Lakes Conference tournament championship with a 303 total Saturday at Black Squirrel Golf Course in Goshen.

Hoskins, a senior who will play for the Indiana Hoosiers beginning this fall, started with three straight birdies and overcame bogeys at Nos. 5 and 7 with an eagle 3 on the par-5, 480-yard ninth hole to turn in three-under 33. After losing a stroke to par on the 11th hole, Hoskins finished with birdies at Nos. 13, 16 and 18 to capture medalist honors by six shots over Northridge’s Brock Reschly, who shot 73 for coach Todd King’s runner-up Raiders (316).

Also breaking 80 for the Tigers was Aiden Bowell (77) and Ben Brander (79). Carpenter was named the NLC coach of the year.

Host Goshen, led by 80s from Chase Meyer and Todd Kauffman, finished third with 332. Plymouth, led by Bennett Christy’s 79, finished fourth at 344, four strokes better than NorthWood, which got a 77 from Earl Williams.

Sixth place went to Wawasee (359) which got an 87 from Robbie Finlinson. Concord totaled 367 for seventh place led by Charlie Deuel’s 87. Mishawaka (417) was led by Andrew Smith’s 102.

NORTHERN LAKES TOURNAMENT

GOSHEN – Results from Saturday’s Northern Lakes Conference boys golf tournament at the par-72, 6,525-yard Black Squirrel Golf Club:

1.    WARSAW (303): Cal Hoskins 33-34—67, Ben Brander 37-42—79, Aiden Bowell 39-38—77, Lewis Turley 40-40—80, Jaxson Gould 39-44—83 

2.    NORTHRIDGE (316): Brock Reschly 37-36—73, Ty Miller 41-39—80, Coby Hochstetler 42-38—80, Conner Hochstetler 41-42—83, Brayden Maxey 45-48—93 

3.    GOSHEN (332): Chase Meyer 42-38—80, Jacob Moyer 40-41—81, Zach Subera 49-42—91, Todd Kauffman 41-39—80, Braxten Sheets 46-46—92

4.    PLYMOUTH (344): Bennett Christy 38-41—79, Eli Schramm 42-45—87, Fitz Holm 42-47—89, Carter Snyder 44-45—89, Easton Tapia 45-44—89 

5.    NORTHWOOD (348): Earl Williams 41-36—77, Cooper Wiens 41-45—86, Brady Chupp 45-52—97, Ashton Hochstetler 46-46—92, Trevor Barrett 50-43—93

6.    WAWASEE (359): Jay Finlinson 46-45—91, Robbie Finlinson 47-40—87, Myles Everingham 48-43—91, Vaughn Dyson 46-44—90, Caleb Clevenger 45-49—94 

7.    CONCORD (367): Charlie Deuel 43-44—87, Liam McDowell 46-49—95, Lucas Prough 45-47—92, Dillon Shaffer 48-45—93, Nate Schraw 51-56—107

8.    MISHAWAKA (417): Andrew Smith 48-54—102, Bren Dickerson 52-53—105, Brady Fisher 48-56—104, Justin Fisher 58-51—109, Owen Holtsclaw 54-52—106

Miller’s back-nine comeback for 73 helps Falcons finish third in NECC tourney

ANGOLA – The Fairfield boys golf team totaled 326 to finish third behind champion Lakeland (322) and runner-up Westview (325) in the Northeast Corner Conference Tournament Saturday at the par-71, 6,384-yard Zollner Golf Course at Trine University.

Coach John Kauffman’s Falcons, who finished the regular season with an 11-0 record in dual competition, were led by freshman Brayden Miller, who shot a two-over 73 that included a back-nine, four-under 32. The 73, good for a tie for third place, was matched by Nate Keil of Lakeland and Carter Demske of Garrett. Tommy Curtis of Lakeland was medalist with a two-under 69, two strokes better than Silas Haarer of Westview.

Sixteen players received all-NECC honors for the performances Saturday. Miles Nine of the Falcons shot 76 to finish solo seventh, while teammate Carter Kitson shot 86 to join Miller and Nine on the all-conference team. Andrew Miller of Fairfield had a 91 to complete the team’s scoring.

NECC TOURNAMENT

Results from Saturday’s Northeast Corner Conference boys golf tournament at the par-71, 6,384-yard Zollner Golf Course:

1. LAKELAND (322): Tommy Curtis 69, Nate Keil 73, Ben Keil 74, Tucker Klopfenstein 106

2. WESTVIEW (325): Silas Haarer 71, Wade Springer 77, Carl Miller 86, Landon Bennett 91

3. WESTVIEW (326): Brayden Miller 73, Miles Nine 76, Carter Kitson 86, Andrew Miller 91.

Others: Fremont 345, Garrett 352, Angola 359, West Noble 366, Prairie Heights 369, Eastside 398, Churubusco 428, Hamilton 487, Central Noble 548.

May 15

No. 18 Cathedral beats No. 14 Warsaw for CMA Invitational title at ND

No. 18 Indianapolis Cathedral totaled 287 to win the 60th Culver Academy Invitational boys golf tournament Saturday at the par-71, 6,346-yard Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame. The Cathedral Fighting Irish beat No. 14 Warsaw by 12 shots.

Coach Jack Carpenter’s Tigers, who jumped into the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association Top 20 on Friday night, were coming off a victory in the 86th Uebele Invitational at Beechwood Golf Course in LaPorte.

Warsaw senior Cal Hoskins, who is headed to Indiana University in the fall, had six birdies during his round and won medalist honors with a four-under 67 on the course designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw that hosted the 2019 U.S. Senior Open. Three golfers from Cathedral – Ryan Ford, Rocco Browning and Max McGinley – tied for second place with rounds of two-over 73.

Host Culver Academy, led by Jordan Larese’s 74 and Rory Sullivan’s 75, finished third at 301, eight shots ahead of South Bend Saint Joseph, which was led by Zach Toul’s 75 and Thomas Raster’s 78. The Indians were two strokes ahead of NorthWood, which was led by Earl Williams’ 75 and Cooper Wiens’ 78.

A total of 16 teams competed in the tournament which featured all five players on the team playing together and four of their scores being counted in the scoring.

Wawasee, which was sixth with a 321 total, had a pair of 81s from Myles Everingham and Vaughn Dyson.  Goshen, which totaled 330 for seventh place, got a 78 from Jacob Moyer. Freshman Steven Webb’s 75 led eighth-place Elkhart (335), which edged Mishawaka Marian by a shot. The Knights were led by freshman Charlie Tamashasky’s 86.

Plymouth, led by Bennett Christy’s 77, finished 10th at 338. South Bend Adams was 12th at 345 with David Fulcher shooting 81. Mishawaka, led by Ben Pamachena’s 80, finished 13th with a 362 total. Jimtown, led by freshman Tatsu Gravender’s 98, totaled 452.

BROWNSBURG INVITATIONAL: Penn, ranked No. 15 in the latest state poll, was one of nine ranked teams competing in the Brownsburg Invitational Saturday at the par-72 Trophy Club in Lebanon. The Kingsmen, led by senior Maddox Snyder’s 76 and sophomore Dylan Mounts’ 78, totaled 324 to finish 10th in the tournament. No. 4 Bloomington South, led by medalist Happy Gilmore’s four-under 68, won with a 292 total, 11 strokes ahead of No. 3 Zionsville. No. 5 Carmel finished third at 309. Host Brownsburg, ranked No. 8, finished sixth at 318.

May 8

Area golf teams shine in three Saturday tournaments

Unranked Warsaw was sixth and No. 18 Penn was 10th in the 21-team Spring Preview Tournament Saturday at the par-72 Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, the site of the IHSAA state finals June 14-15.

Sixteen of the Top 20 teams in this week’s Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association boys poll competed, with No. 2 Guerin Catholic capturing the title with a 307 total that was one stroke better than host Westview, ranked No. 1 in the state coming into the tournament. No. 7 Zionsville finished third at 312 followed by No. 6 Bloomington South (315) and No. 5 Carmel (317).

Warsaw, led by Cal Hoskins’ 73, totaled 330 for sixth place ahead of No. 16 Evansville North (333) and No. 13 Valparaiso (334). Then came No. 9 Hamilton Southeastern and the Kingsmen, who each totaled 335, with the Royals being awarded the ninth spot because of a lower fifth-man score. Ryan Hahaj led Penn with a 77 which finished tied for ninth individually with six others.

Northridge (319) edged Saint Joseph by a stroke to capture the 15-team Concord Invitational at Elkhart’s par-72 Bent Oak Golf Course. NorthWood (329), which finished fourth, was led by Earl Williams’ one-under 71 round which was three strokes ahead of Aiden Hibbard of Elkhart Christian and Saint Joseph’s Thomas Raster. Leading Raiders was Ty Miller, who shot 77 to match Jordan Larese of Culver Academy (324).

Other area schools competing included Wawasee (336), Goshen (342), Trinity School of Greenlawn (343), Mishawaka Marian (344), Fairfield (344), Concord (355), Mishawaka (370), Elkhart (372), Elkhart Christian (376) and Bethany Christian (no team score). Trinity’s Jacob Palmer, Fairfield’s Brayden Miller and Elkhart’s Steven Webb shot 78s. Wawasee’s Jay Finlinson shot 79. Cameron Heinisch led Bethany Christian with an 80. Goshen’s Chase Meyer shot 81, Mishawaka’s Ben Pamachena shot 83, Jackson Horvath led Marian with an 84, the same score posted by Liam McDowell that led the host Minutemen.

Cole McKinney shot a one-over 73 for medalist honors to lead Triton (338) to the team title in the Marshall County Invitational on the Silver Course at Swan Lake in Plymouth. Bremen and Culver Military were second in the six-school event with 387 followed by John Glenn (389), LaVille (507) and Culver (no team score). Joshua King shot 83 to lead Bremen, while Shane Gee’s 94 led John Glenn and Kyle Walker’s 113 led LaVille.

May 2

Clay throws no-no/perfect game double

South Bend Clay's baseball and softball had historic outings against South Bend Washington. In a 13-0 win, Jimmy Fox completed the Colonials second no-hitter in three days (strikeouts unknown). In a 15-0 softball win, Faith Hyduk threw a five-inning perfect game striking out 11 batters.

May 1

Clay baseball throws no-hitter

In South Bend Clay's 11-0 win over South Bend Career Academy, Michael McSorley threw a five-inning no-hitter, striking out 14 batters.

April 28

Ben Gregory throws no-hitter for Penn

In a 10-0 baserwin over Clay, last year's Northern Indiana Conference MVP tossed a no-hitter, striking out 13 batters. Gregory, who was celebrating senior day, also recorded a hit in the game.

Grace Lueking blasts two home runs  for Northridge

Lueking went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI and home runs, helping Northridge softball to a 15-0 win over Warsaw.

April 27

Penn softball blanks Concord

The Kingsmen got a stellar pitching performance from freshman Olivia Signorino in their 6-0 win over Concord. She pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just two hits, no walks and striking out 11 batters.

Bremen softball bats explode in 21-0 win over Riley

Ten batters collected RBI for Bremen in its big win over South Bend Riley, but nobody had more than senior Jaylin Swint. She recorded one hit in four at-bats, but tallied a game-high four RBI. Fellow senior Naomi Flores also added three RBI in the game.

April 26

Hannah throws no-no for Glenn

Brycen Hannah threw Glenn's second no-hitter of the season, blanking Clay 12-0. In five innings, the junior only walked two batters and struck out seven. Colin Stephens also collected five RBI in the win.

Zache gets it done at plate, Hamilton on mound for Saint Joe

In the Indians' 10-2 win over Bremen, Riley Zache collected three RBI on two home runs, while Savannah Hamilton pitched seven innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one walk and added 14 strikeouts.

April 22

Zache finds perfection

Saint Joseph freshman Berkeley Zache pitched a perfect game in the Indians' 9-0 softball victory over Clay Thursday.

Zache struck 18 of the 21 batters she faced in the seven-inning performance.

Quinn shuts out Marian in Holy War

South Bend Saint Joseph baseball's Jack Quinn pitched a complete-game shutout in the Indians' 1-0 win over Mishawaka Marian. Quinn, a senior, allowed just one hit, two walks and struck out seven batters in the dominant performance.

Buchanan's West strikes out 11 in one-hitter

Buchanan pitcher Macoy West had a huge first game of a basedoubleheader against South Haven Thursday. West, a senior righthander, struck out 11, walked just one and gave up only one hit as the second-ranked Bucks blanked South Haven 10-0 in a game halted after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule. West also was 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk. Buchanan also won the nightcap of the twin bill 12-2 and is 4-0.

April 21

South Bend Saint Joseph baseball scored 26 in win

Saint Joseph's game against South Bend Washington was over after three innings thanks to back-to-back 12-run innings and 16 drawn walks leading to a 26-0 win.

Three players, Holden Hardisty, Mattux Tarwacki and Marvin Lopez recorded three RBI in the win.

New Prairie Softball throws perfect game

For the second day in a row, a local pitcher was untouchable. New Prairie freshman Ava Geyer threw a five-inning perfect game in the Cougars' 12-0 win over South Bend Clay. Geyer struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced.

April 20

Penn baseball throws perfect game against South Bend Washington

Fifteen up, 15 down. Penn's Ian Hernandez went down in the record books, throwing a five-inning perfect game in the Kingsmen's 19-0 win over the Panthers on Tuesday. Hernandez struck out 11 of the 15 batters he faced.

Saint Joe softball throws no-hitter against Marian

Saint Joe's Berkeley Zache and Savannah Hamilton were untouchable in the Indians' 11-0 six-inning win over Mishawaka Marian, combining to throw a no-hitter.

Freshman Zache pitched four innings, allowing just one walk and striking out 12 batters. Junior Hamilton pitched two innings, walking two and striking out two in the win.

Senior Haley West slugged a three-run homer and sophomore Riley Zache belted a two-run blast to lead the Class 3A No. 4 Indians offense.  The Indians improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the NIC with the win.

April 19

Laubach lands on two All-State teams

Macey Laubach of Edwardsburg earned second team honors on both the Detroit Free Press and Associated Press Girls Basketball All-State Teams.

Laubach averaged 15.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 5.1 steals per game while helping the Eddies to a 24-1 record and district and regional championships.

Edwardsburg coach Jon Pobuda was second team Coach of the Year on the Associated Press team.

Edwardsburg's Ella Castelucci was honorable mention on the Associated Press team and Amara Palmer of Niles was honorable mention on the Free Press squad.

In Division 3, Ellie Knapp of Brandywine and LaBria Austin of Buchanan were honorable mention on the Associated Press team. Austin was also honorable mention on the Free Press squad.

April 17

Top performers from Saturday

Nathan Marshman threw a no-hitter in Glenn's 14-0 baseball victory over Knox, pitching five innings, walking one batter and striking out 14.

Faith Hyduk hit a triple and pitched a complete game in South Bend Clay softball's 12-2 win over Hammond Bishop Noll. Hyduk allowed two runs on seven hits in the win.

April 16

Top performers from Friday

Ava Geyer threw a no-hitter in New Prairie's 10-0 softball win over South Central, pitching six innings and striking out 13 batters. She also hit a home run.

Max Horner had a monster day at the plate for Northridge in its 14-8 baseball win over Westview. Horner went 4-for-5 with a grand slam, three doubles and eight RBI in the win.

April 15

Top performers from Thursday

Evan Tuesley finished Penn's 19-8 baseball win over Glenn with two hits, a three-run homer and five RBI

Kaelynn Howell finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a team-four RBI and a home run in Riley's 15-1 softball victory over Elkhart Christian Academy. Howell also pitched five innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, four walks and striki

April 13

Top performers from Tuesday

Evann Schmidtendorf had a career performance In Marian's 9-4 baseball triumph over South Central, the freshman went 1-for-2 at the plate with a triple, three RBI and two walks drawn.

Aubrey Zachary was dominant in the circle in Penn's 2-1 softball win over Northridge. She pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits, one unearned run, walked five and struck out 14 batters.

April 12

Top performers from Monday

In Glenn's first baseball game, Colin Stephens recorded seven RBI in a 30-1 win over Oregon-Davis. In Monday's 1-0 win over South Bend Adams, he was dominant on the mound. Stephens pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout, allowing just four hits, walking one batter and fanning 10 Eagles along the way.

Freshman Ava Zachary had two hits and four RBI as Penn opened its softball season with a 15-1 win in five innings at Riley in NIC play.

Saint Joseph's freshman Berkeley Zache fired a one-hitter as the Saint Joseph beat New Prairie 4-0 in its NIC softball opener. Zache had 13 strikeouts and one walk as Saint Joseph improved to 4-0.

The pair of pitchers, Kiyla Eberhart and Emily Gletty, combined to toss a no-hitter as  Jimtown blanked Elkhart 6-0 in NIC play.  Jimtown improved to 2-0 with the win.

April 11

Top weekend performer: Kaelynn Howell, Riley

In South Bend Riley's 9-1 win over Corunna, Mich., on Saturday, the freshman pitcher had herself a performance. Howell threw a complete game, allowing three hits, one unearned run and recording 11 strikeouts.

Howell also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBI and one stolen base. Riley (2-0) hosts Penn in a Northern Indiana Conference Monday night game

April 9 

Washington softball wins first game since 2019

In the Panthers' first game in three years, they dominate their way to a 13-7 win over LaVille.

Basketball stars Mila and Kira Reynolds, daughters of head coach Steve Reynolds, were the stars with Mila striking out 14 batters and allowing one earned run, while Kira hita home run and double.

March 31

Marian girls, Penn boys to play in 2022 Hall of Fame Classic

Two area schools will be represented in next year's Raymond James Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.

The Mishawaka Marian girls basketball team, who lost to South Bend Washington in the 3A sectional finals, will play Bedford North Lawrence, while the Penn boys, who advanced to the 4A regional finals before losing to Chesterton, will play Ben Davis.

The other matchup on the girls side of the field is 4A champion Noblesville vs. East Central and Class A champ, North Daviess will play NorthWood, who lost to Leo in this year's 3A regional final.

South Bend Washington won this year's girls event on its way to its second 3A state title in program history.

March 30

Zache leads Saint Joe to opening day win

Berkley Zache, a freshman on the South Bend Saint Joseph softball team led the Indians to 4-2 opening day win over Mishawaka on Tuesday.

Zache went 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBI, while also pitching five scoreless innings, walking one batter and striking out 13.

Haley West and Morgan Sandor each hit a home run for the Indians.

Saint Joe's next game is scheduled for April 8 at Fort Wayne (Carroll).

March 29

Hannah named District 1 coach of the year

Glenn's Travis Hannah was named Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's District 1 coach of the year after a historic season.

Hannah, with his son Brycen on the team, led the Falcons to their first ever Northern Indiana Conference title this past season. Glenn finished the year 24-2, the second consecutive season with 20-plus wins for the first time in school history, and moved as high as No. 1 in the 3A poll.

The Falcons' season came to an end in the sectional championship against No. 2 Marian, who advanced to the 3A state title game for the first time in program history, before losing 53-43 to Beech Grove.

MHSAA tweaks some basketball rules

An increase in the number of regular season games high school basketball teams are allowed to play was the most visible action taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual winter meeting March 25 in East Lansing.

The Council approved a Basketball Committee proposal that will allow, beginning with the 2022-23 season, high school basketball teams to play up to 22 regular season games at all levels. Teams previously were limited to a maximum of 20 games. Additionally, as part of that proposal, mandatory preseason practice was reduced by one week, allowing teams to begin playing games after 14 days instead of 21.

All-Wolverine basketball

BOYS

Three area players were named first team on the Wolverine Conference all-league boys basketball team.

Area honorees were Jake Moore and Luke Stowasser of Edwardsburg and Henry Weller of Dowagiac.

AREA SECOND TEAM

Cole Weller, Dowagiac

AREA HONORABLE MENTION

Ethan Hannapel, Dowagiac; Jordan Hardin, Dowagiac; Jacob Pegura, Edwardsburg; Austin Bradley, Niles; Dimetrius Butler, Niles; Elijah Hester, Niles; Mike Phillips, Niles

GIRLS

League champion Edwardsburg placed two players on the Wolverine Conference all-league girls basketball team.

Earning first team honors were Ella Castelucci and Macy Laubach for Eddies.

They were joined on the first team from the area by Amara Palmer of Niles and Alanah Smith of Dowagiac.

Edwardsburg coach Jon Pobuda was named Coach of the Year.

AREA SECOND TEAM

Katie Schaible, Edwardsburg; Kamryn Patterson, Niles

AREA HONORABLE MENTION

Maggie Weller, Dowagiac; Averie Markel, Edwardsburg; Caitlin Tighe, Edwardsburg

March 28

SB Clay switches girls hoops, boys soccer coaches

CJ Superczynski's tenure as South Bend Clay's girls basketball coach is over. Superczynski has stepped down from his position to take over the school's boys soccer coach for next season.

Superczynski will be replaced on the hardwood by former Clay International Coach, Warren Bynum, who takes over on an interim basis, according to a news release.

Bynum has been head coach for numerous sports at Clay International, including girls and boys basketball and baseball in 2009, and volleyball 2016. In 2021 Bynum also added head volleyball coach at Clay.

March 15

All-Conference teams rolling in

NLC tabs top boys basketball players

A trio of players from league champion NorthWood highlight the All-Northern Lakes Conference team.

Tabbed from the Panthers, who went 7-0 to claim the conference title, were Cade Brenner, Ian Raasch and Cooper Wiens.

NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe, who guided the Panthers to a Class 3A sectional title, was honored as NLC Coach of the Year.

Also named to the All-NLC team were Malachi Emmons and Zaven Koltookian of Concord, Jaxson Gould and Judah Simfukwe of Warsaw, Drew Hogan (Goshen), Easton Strain (Plymouth), Arthur Jones (Mishawaka), Blake Jacobs (Northridge) and Keaton Dukes (Wawasee).

Earning honorable mention honors were Quinn Bechtel (Goshen), Micah Hochstetler (Northridge), Brendan Williams (Mishawaka), Davis Wray (Plymouth), Nolan Bales (Northridge) and Drew Heckaman (Warsaw).

NorthWood won the league title at 7-0. Warsaw was second at 5-2, followed by Goshen (4-3), Mishawaka (4-3), Northridge (4-3), Concord (3-4), Plymouth (1-6) and Wawasee (0-7).

HNAC salutes players

A quartet of area players have been honored by the Hoosier North Athletic Conference.

Selected as All-HNAC were LaVille freshman Collin Czarnecki, along with Triton seniors Ashton Oviedo and Tyson Yates. Triton sophomore Cole Shively was an honorable mention selection.

Caston senior Joey Spin was tabbed as HNAC MVP.

Caston won the HNAC title at 7-0. North Judson was second at 6-1, followed by Triton (4-3), Knox (4-3), Winamac (2-5), Culver (2-5), LaVille (2-5) and Pioneer (1-6).

HPC honors players

The Hoosier Plains Conference has tabbed its all-conference boys basketball team.

Named to the All-HPC team were Matt Burns (Elkhart Christian Academy), Beck Willems (Bethany Christian), Seth Martin (Lakeland Christian Academy), Tyvon Henry (South Bend Career Academy), Michael Richard (Argos) and Henry Lee (South Bend Trinity).

Earning honorable mention status were Tyson Chupp (Bethany Christian), Andrew Stevens (Elkhart Christian Academy), Dylan Kindig (Argos), JJ Morris (Argos), Kevin Carouthers (South Bend Career Academy) and Aiden Hibbard (Elkhart Christian Academy).

Argos and Elkhart Christian Academy were conference co-champions.

The HPC also named its All-Academic team with the following players saluted: Michael Richard (Argos),  JJ Morris  (Argos), Aden Mills (Argos), Jake Stults  (Argos), Teddy Redinger  (Argos), Beck Willems  (Bethany Christian), Matthew Burns  (ECA), Beau Cox (ECA),  Tony Maxwell  (ECA),  Andrew Stevens  (ECA),  Hunter Rice  (LCA),  Nate Reimink  (LCA),  Gavin Cullinan  (Trinity),  Henry Lee  (Trinity),  Peter Loughran (Trinity),  Zach Roeder (Trinity),  Josh Rose  (Trinity) and Teddy Skendzel  (Trinity).

March 14

Area gridders named to North All-Star squad

A large contingent of area seniors have been chosen as part of the North team for the 56th Annual Murat Shrine North/South Football All-Star Classic.

Named to the North team by the Indiana Football Coaches Association were Greg Atkinson and Setafano Sete of Marian, Kanaan Jewett of Mishawaka, Colton Thode of LaPorte, Clint Walker of Northridge, Giovanni Laurent of Michigan City, Zaven Koltookian of Concord, Ben Fronk of New Prairie, Julius Jones of Warsaw and Brennen Benson of North Judson.

Merrillville coach Brad Seiss, a former star player at Warsaw, will serve as head coach of the North team. Serving as assistant coaches will be Will Hostrawser of LaVille, Bret Bajdek of Marian and Brett Lambert of North Judson.

The game will be played on July 15 at 7 p.m. at North Central High School in Indianapolis.

March 9

Josh Shattuck leaving Elkhart football program

Josh Shattuck is leaving his position as head football coach at Elkhart after five seasons.

Shattuck, who spent the majority of his 13 year coaching career in Michigan at Gladwin High School, as well as Seymour High School in Indiana, took over at Elkhart Central in 2017, where he increased his win total in three straight seasons (from four, to six, to nine in 2019).

After the combining of Elkhart schools, Shattuck guided the Lions to a sectional title in 2020 and a 5-5 record last year, before falling to Penn, 21-7, in the 6A sectional semifinals.

March 4

Lee to be named Riley football coach

Darrick Lee will be named the new Riley football coach pending school board approval on Monday.

Lee is a South Bend Washington graduate. He was 3-24 in three seasons as the football coach at Muncie Central.

Lee will replace Justin Kinzie, who resigned as Riley coach in December. Kinzie was 4-13 in two seasons as head coach of the Wildcats after taking over the program as interim coach in 2019.

The Wildcats went 1-6 overall last fall, including 1-3 in conference play.

March 3

Several area basketball players named to Hoosier Magazine First Team All-State

Fresh off a 3A state title, South Bend Washington's Amiyah Reynolds, Rashunda Jones and Mila Reynolds were named to the 39-player list. It also features Penn's Jada Patton and Mishawaka Marian's Nevaeh Foster and MaKaya Porter.

Penn set to face Carmel in football starting in 2025

Two of the true heavyweights in Indiana high school football history will start a series in 2025.

Carmel athletics announced today that the Greyhounds will play a four-game series versus Penn starting in 2025.

Carmel has won nine state championships, with the latest a Class 6A title in 2019. Penn owns five state titles, with the last coming in Class 5A in 2000.

Carmel was 9-2 last fall, losing in a sectional final. The Kingsmen went 6-6 and won a Class 6A sectional crown before losing in the regional.

Feb. 22

Brandywine's Hood gets 400th career win

Ellie Knapp scored 12 points as Brandywine's girls basketball team got past Lawton 39-25 Tuesday to give coach Josh Hood his 400th career victory. The sixth-ranked Bobcats, now 17-2, led just 13-11 at halftime, but outscored Lawton 18-5 in the third period to take control.

Feb. 22

Adams' Ethan Mihut signs with Bethel for soccer

The son of South Bend Adams boys soccer coach, Cristian Mihut signed to play his college soccer at local Bethel University. This past season, Mahut was named South Bend Adams' Most Valuable Player, along with Connor McKenna, and was a first-team Northern Indiana Conference All League selectio

Feb. 19

South Bend Washington boys down No. 1 NorthWood

One night after falling at home to South Bend Saint Joseph, Washington (14-8) pulled off one of the upsets of the season, beating NorthWood, No.1 in  3A, 54-31.  The Panthers (21-2) had won 13 consecutive games before Saturday afternoon’s loss.

Feb. 17

Up-to-date Thursday's cancellations

Feb. 15

NLC honors girls cagers

The Northern Lakes Conference has saluted its top girls basketball players for the 2021-22 season.

Earning first-team All-NLC honors were Kacilyn Krebs (Warsaw),  Julia Mantyla (Northridge),  Abby Sanner (Warsaw),  Eva Fisher (Northridge),  Bailie Stephens  (Warsaw),  Colleen Miller (Northridge),  Taylor Delp (Plymouth),  Asiah Shaffer  (Mishawaka),  Clare Sheedy (Plymouth),  Joselyn Edwards (NorthWood),  Kyra Hill (Goshen) and  Kennedy White (Wawasee).

Named honorable mention were Zoe Bergan (Warsaw),  Morgan Cross (Northridge),  Lena Jones (Plymouth),  Jadyn Handley (Mishawaka),  Claire Payne (NorthWood), Jada Carter (Wawasee) and  Aliyah Hershberger (Concord).

Warsaw coach Lenny Krebs was named NLC Coach of the Year.

Warsaw won the league title at 7-0. Northridge was runner-up at 6-1, followed by Plymouth (5-2), Mishawaka (3-4), NorthWood (2-5), Wawasee (2-5), Goshen (2-5) and Concord (1-6).

Feb  9

Local athletes sign NLI's in delayed ceremonies

Last Wednesday was National Signing Day, but due to poor weather across the area, local schools delayed signing ceremonies. Here is a list of local athletes who signed to play college athletics:

Concord: 

Olivia Bieganski, Volleyball, Manchester University

Jack D'Arcy, Football, Taylor University

Jalen Moton, Football, Arkansas Baptist University

Penn 

Payton Adkins, Basketball, Hillsdale College

Mariano Retzloff, Track/Cross Country, IUPUI

Brendan Arendt, Football, University of Indianapolis

Joe Goralczyk, Football, DePauw

Jamie Hurst, Tennis, Ohio Northern

Mishawaka Marian 

Greg Atkinson, Football, Marian University

Drew Geiger, Football, Anderson University

South Bend Saint Joseph 

Carson Collins, Baseball, Baldwin Wallace University

Ella Scott, Soccer, Centre College

Lucy Smith, Soccer, Saint Mary's College

Haley West, Softball, Cleveland State University

If there are any athletes missing please email jfrommer@sbtinfo.com

Feb. 4

Penn sectional semifinals postponed

The girls basketball Class 4A Penn Sectional semifinals scheduled for Friday night have been postponed to Saturday with the championship moving to Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

Concord (18-4) will play Elkhart (12-12) in the first semifinal at 6 p.m., followed by Warsaw (16-6) against host Penn (17-6) at 7:30.

Games were shifted due to travel restrictions for Warsaw due to the weather.

Also, due to weather complications, Class A semifinals at Culver have been moved to Saturday. South Bend Trinity (8-11) will play Argos 12-8) at 6 and Triton (13-8) vs. Culver (4-16) will follow at 7:30. West Central (5-14) will play Oregon-Davis (6-13) on Monday at 6, followed by Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner with the final scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Feb. 3

Up to date Thursday events canceled due to weather

Feb. 2

Sectional hoops contingency plan

Mishawaka, Penn and South Bend Washington, who are all hosting girls sectional tournaments this week have all developed contingency plans if scheduled games must be delayed due to weather conditions.

Currently, all three host sites are scheduled to play semifinal games at 6 and 8 p.m. with championships tipping off Saturday night. If Friday's games can't be played, the semifinals will be pushed to Saturday and the championships to Tuesday.

At Mishawaka, the Cavemen play Michigan City, while LaPorte plays Plymouth in 4A sectional semifinal action. At 4A Penn, Concord plays Elkhart and the Kingsmen play NLC champion Warsaw. And at 3A South Bend Washington, the Panthers play South Bend Saint Joseph and Mishawaka Marian plays South Bend Clay.

At 2A Fairfield, Bremen plays South Bend Academy and the Falcons play Westview in Friday action.

Foster sets new scoring mark at Marian

Earlier this season Nevaeh Foster joined the 1,000 point club at Mishawaka Marian. During Tuesday night's 3A sectional opener at South Bend Washington, Foster became the first player in program history to eclipse the 1,500 point mark.

Her 23 points led Marian to a win over Glenn, as the Knights will now play against South Bend Clay Friday night in the sectional semifinals.

Feb. 1

Football: Slew of local commitments ahead of Wednesday's National Signing Day

Donye Higgins, Elkhart, University of Saint Francis 

Higgins began his high school football career at Elkhart Memorial before the schools merged. Then, he was the only returning starter on Elkhart's offense for his senior year. Still he was able to separate himself on the field with his speed and blocking ability to pick up some college offers.

"My plan was to be ahead of everyone in anything," Higgins said. "Play-wise, skill-wise and weight room-wise, so I didn't come in as rusty as I do, like any other year of high school."

In eight games last season (Higgins battled some injuries), he recorded 10 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns, according to Maxpreps.

Greg Atkinson Jr, Mishawaka Marian, Marian University 

Atkinkson was one of the premier playmakers in the Northern Indiana Conference throughout his career at Marian.

In four varsity seasons, Atkinson recorded 64 catches for 1,253 yards and 15 touchdowns (34 total touchdowns). His production skyrocketed as a senior, recording 40 catches for 842 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns, adding seven on the ground, during Marian's run to last year's semi-state.

Clint Walker, Northridge, Davenport University

Walker was a key piece to Northridge's run to the IHSAA State championship game last season as a tight end and linebacker. On offense, Walker recorded 39 catches for 620 yards and four touchdowns, two of which came in a win over South Bend Saint Joseph.

He added 68 total tackles as linebacker, as well as one interception in a win over Goshen and a fumble recover in a loss to Concord.

Javin Lowe, Elkhart, University of Saint Francis

Elkhart's start defensive tackle recorded 71 tackles, five sacks and forced one fumble during his senior football season

Jalen Moton, Concord, Arkansas Baptist College

Moton, who played offensive guard and defensive tackle for Concord, recorded nine total tackles and forced one fumble during his senior season with the Minutemen.

Jan. 31

NIC announces all-league boys wrestling team

Jimtown's Landon Buchanan and coach Jerimiah Maggart were named Northern Indiana Conference's Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year, as Penn and New Prairie led the way with the most players on the All-League boys wrestling team.

Penn's Ryann Schmidtendorff, Dylan Bennett, Matteo Vargo, Bryce Denton, Wesley Harper and AJ Steenbeke were all named to the All-NIC first team. New Prairie's Clayton Deutscher, Christian Carroll and Hunter Whitenack joined the list for the Cougars. Also on the team were Jimtown's Aaron DeLaLuz, Conner Watts and Buchanan, and Riley's Ryan Burns and Braxton Garza.

Honorable mention second place wrestlers included: Glenn's Brody King, Elkhart's Josh Corona, Cam Dews, Ethan Freedline, Nash Shupert and Brayden Jellison, New Prairie's Jayden Lewis, Jimtown's Mikey Kallimani, Noah Eberhart and Connor Mcphee, Penn's Zymarion Hollyfield and Grant Mallery, Riley's Hector Garcia and Saint Joseph's Jack Aronowski.

Honorable mention third place wrestlers included: Jimtown's Alex Moyer, Glenn's Walter Drews, Bentley Whitmer and Mason Kobelt, Penn's Jake Petras, Dylan Quimby and Peyton Kendall, New Prairie's Hayden Whitenack, Daniel Lukowski and Aidan Ziegler, Bremen's Bailey Moser and Lane Moser, Adams' Will Kennedy and Riley's Jeirmi Scales.

Jan. 30

Penn hockey upsets top Ohio team

Penn's boys hockey team picked up a 4-2 upset win on Sunday over St. Edwards, Ohio's No. 3 ranked team.

Matt Savage, Jacob Lee, Clay Pica and Matt Laware each scored a goal for the Kingsmen, while Trey Thompson, Avery Rivard and Bryce Crawford each added an assist.

La Lumiere girls hoops upsets South Bend Washington

La Lumiere girls basketball coach, Matt Marvin said his program is on the cusp of becoming a Midwest, and perhaps national power.

That was never more evident when the Lakers strolled into South Bend and upset a legitimate-Indiana state champion contender in Washington, 55-54. Marvin called the win over the 3A No. 1 Panthers the highlight of his team's season.

"It was a gritty team win," Marvin said. "Our point guard Denim DeShields got into foul trouble early...They (Washington) are the best team we have played all year by far."

The Lakers did what only two other teams this season could do (North Central, Homestead), beating the Panthers by limiting their star players. Senior forward Mila Reynolds was held to just 11 points in Saturday's game, her second lowest output this year. Her sister's Kira and Amiyah Reynolds combined for 25 points.

"The Reynolds sisters, you can’t teach 6-3, 6-3 and 6-foot," Marvin said. "They are just so good and so lengthy and our girls just did the little things like and won the battle in the trenches, boxing out and getting the big rebounds for us."

Washington begins its post season Tuesday by hosting Jimtown (3-17) in its sectional opener.

Jan. 29

Mishawaka's Fisher picks up walk-on offer from Notre Dame

After a stellar football career at Mishawaka, Justin Fisher now has a chance to play college football close to home. The former Cavemen quarterback announced over his Twitter he received a preferred walk-on position offer from first-year Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman.

Fisher led Mishawaka to an 8-3 record this season, before falling 48-25 to Michigan City in a Class 5A Sectional championship game.

According to Fisher's Twitter, he also has walk-on opportunities at Miami (OH) and an offer from Ball State.

Jan. 28

Penn's Burton joins 1,000-point club

All-State candidate Markus Burton became the eighth player in Penn boys basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark as the Kingsmen sprinted past South Bend Riley, 76-57, Friday night in a Northern Indiana Conference contest.

Burton, a 6-foot-0 junior guard, scored 31 points and had eight rebounds. He scored his 999th and 1,000th points on a drive and spin move, then elevating for a jumper in the lane.

Burton was 12-of-20 shooting - including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He also had three steals and three assists.

Jan. 27

Ben Downey returns to coach Saint Joseph football

South Bend Saint Joseph's new football coach is a familiar face.

Ben Downey has returned to coach the Indians after leaving the program in 2016. He takes over for Bryon Whitten, who resigned from his position on Dec. 17. Whitten was 23-45 in six seasons, including a 4-8 record during the 2021 season, which ended in a 35-3 loss to New Prairie in a Class 4A sectional championship game. Saint Joseph was 0-5 in the Northern Indiana Conference this past season.

In six seasons with the Indians, from 2010-16, Downey took Saint Joseph to two IHSAA state title games, in 2010 and 2011, coached in five sectional games and accumulated a 51-26 record during his tenure.

He left the program to spend more time with his kids, who at the time were 7, 9 and 5 years old.

"This is definitely a break in my career," Downey told WSBT-TV in 2016, "instead of an end."

“Next fall I'll have a 9, 7 and 5-year old,” Downey told WSBT sports. “They each have their extracurricular activities and they need rides and parents in the stands.”

"I want to be a part of it."

Jan. 24

Barron to take over Glenn football program

John Glenn has turned to a familiar face to area high school football fans to take over its program.

Glenn announced in a press release Monday morning that former longtime Plymouth coach John Barron will be their new coach. Barron will take over the Falcons, pending his approval at the Glenn school board meeting Feb. 1.

Barron was 126-70 in 17 seasons at Plymouth before resigning there earlier this month. He guided the Rockies to six NLC titles, one sectional crown and four undefeated regular seasons.

Barron replaces Austin Foust, who resigned in December. Foust was 16-34 in five seasons in Walkerton, including 5-5 last fall.

Barron, according to the release, will also teach at Glenn beginning in the 2022-23 school year.

Buchanan fans a finalist, again

Buchanan again a finalist in the Michigan High School Athletic Association "Battle of the Fans," recognizing the top high school student cheering section in Michigan, as awarded by the MHSAA's Student Advisory Council.

Buchanan is a three-tie champ in 2013, 2018 and 2020. The other two finalists are Traverse City West, which won in 2016 and Midland Dow.

Members of the MHSAA staff will visit all three finalists over the next three weeks, producing articles about each section and videos of those sections in action, all to be published on the MHSAA's Second Half website. The winner will be selected by another vote of the 16-member Advisory Council, with consideration given to a public vote on the MHSAA's social media channels.

The MHSAA will visit Buchanan and their cheering section "The Herd" for the South Haven at Buchanan game on February 4.

This year's winner will be announced Febuary 18 and recognized March 25 during the boys basketball semifinals at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Jan. 23

Ellia Foster tops Bremen scoring list

Bremen's Ellia Foster now stands alone as the top scorer in program history. By scoring 20 points in the Lions' Bi-County Tournament game against New Prairie, won 52-41 by the Lions, Foster surpassed former Bremen star, Erin Coffel as the all-time leading scorer in Bremen history.

Jan. 22

Riley boys swim wins city championship

The Riley Wildcats claimed first place at this weekend's South Bend City Swim Meet, edging out Adams, 679-446. Saint Joseph claimed third place with 282 points, while Clay finished fourth and Washington rounded out the schools in fifth.

Some Riley event winners included: Ike Ruszkowski, Jarek Ruszkowski, Joel Kricheff and Cooper VanDriesschee in the 200-yard medley relay (1:41.00); Jarek Ruszkowski in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.97); Paddy Chapman in the 200-yard individual medley (2:05.20); Zondre Riles in 1-meter diving (466.75); Alistair Hollis in the 100-yard butterfly (56.05); Chris Bartness in the 500-yard freestyle (5:13.05); Alistair Hollis, Paddy Chapman, JT Riem and Jared Flora in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:35.25); Jarek Ruszkowski in the 100-yard backstroke (57.01); Ike Ruszkiwski in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:02.58);Ahston Mauerer, Jarek Ruszkowski, Abram Debew and Joel Kricheff in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:31.67)

Other school's winners included: Saint Joseph’s Sam Sierra in the 50-yard freestyle (22.12) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.64)

Jan. 21

Adams' Shelton reaches 1,000-point mark

Marissa Shelton has been one of the best players in the Northern Indiana Conference this year, averaging over 22 points a game.

Friday night, in South Bend Adams' loss to Mishawaka Marian, she hit a major mark in her career, reaching the 1,000-point mark.

Shelton is the third notable girls basketball player in the South Bend area to reach that mark this season, joining South Bend Saint Joseph's Kelly Ratigan and Marian's Nevaeh Foster.

Jan. 21

Washington girls claim NIC basketball crown

The Washington girls basketball team won its first outright conference championship Friday without playing a game.

The Class 3A No. 1 ranked Panthers finished Northern Indiana Conference play at 10-0 after its final league game at Jimtown Friday night was canceled due to COVID protocols within the Jimtown program. The game will not be rescheduled.

Coach Steve Reynolds' team wins the program's first outright NIC title since 2009. The Panthers were in a three-way tie for the league crown in 2015.

Washington, the Class 3A state runner-up in 2021, is 19-2 overall this season.

Marian is in second place in the NIC at 8-1 with league games left to play versus Adams and Glenn. Penn is in third place at 8-2 with an NIC contest remaining versus Clay.

Washington will host Class 4A No. 3 and defending state champion Crown Point Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Panthers then host La Lumiere on Jan. 29 in their final regular-season game before hosting the Class 3A Washington Sectional starting on Feb. 1.

Jan. 20

Tom Wogomon reportedly to take over Goshen football

Tom Wogomon's retirement appears to be ending early. After one season off of the sidelines, the former Wawasee and Northridge head coach is reportedly taking the vacant Goshen head football coach position, according to The Goshen News.

Wogomon retired after eight years coaching at Northridge, where he became the winningest coach in program history. Last year, under first-year coach Chad Eppley, the Raiders advanced to the Class 4A state championship game for the first time in school history.

In November, Kyle Park resigned as head coach at Goshen after the Redhawks finished 4-6. He was the head coach at Goshen for the last eight years. Now, Wogomon will be tasked with reviving a program that hasn't won more than five games since 2016.

Area football players make IFCA Region 2 All-area Team

After a football season that saw one South Bend-area team in Northridge reach Lucas Oil Stadium for the IHSAA finals, numerous players around were named the Indiana Football Coaches Association Region 2 All-area team.

From that Raiders team, which lost to Mt. Vernon in the Class 4A finals, included athlete Clint Walker and linebacker Ridge Howard. Marian had two entries in wideout Greg Atkinson and linebacker Setefano Sete, while Mishawaka had three players in quarterback Justin Fisher, defensive end Beau Brown and safety Kanaan Jewett.

Other areal players include: offensive linemen Brevin Miller (NorthWood), Lane Moser (Bremen), Seth Jankowski (Penn),  wideout Jack D'Arcy (Concord), running back Alec Hardrict (Penn), kicker Ryan Kingston (South Bend Riley), athletes Hunter Dutton (Concord), Landon Buchanan (Jimtown), Nathan Creed (Glenn),  defensive lineman Brendan Arendt (Penn), linebackers Benjamin Fronk (New Prairie), Zavern Koltookian (Concord) and kicker Jacob Deahl (South Bend Saint Joseph)

Jan. 15

Penn girls wrestling wins state title

The Penn girls wrestling team secured its fifth state title in the last sixth years, edging out Southport and Jay County to claim the trophy.

The Kingsmen totaled 63 points to Southport's 61 and Jay County's 46. Penn also had the most qualifiers in tournament history from one school.

Placing for Penn was Mackenzie Konanz in second place (170) ; Nunarai Helepa (182) and Kassandra Smith (195) in third; Madison Hazeltine (182) in fourth; Sophie Brown (145) in fifth; Emma Batten (160) in sixth; Maia Centilli (132) in seventh; and Heidi Selils (138), Seleash Ngufi (126) and Haylee Selis (138) in eighth.

Other area finishers in the finals include Mishawaka's Kaylee Smith (120) in sixth, Nyisha Gindelberger (138) of Riley in seventh and New Prairie's Samantha Clemons (113) in seventh.

Jan. 13

Panthers earn share of NIC crown

The Washington girls basketball team celebrated Senior Night in style by claiming at least a share of the Northern Indiana Conference championship Thursday night.

The Class 3A No. 1 Panthers rolled to a 74-26 win over city foe Adams in league play at Washington.

The Panthers, winners of seven in a row, improve to 17-2 overall and move to 10-0 in the NIC. Washington can win the NIC title outright with a win at league foe Jimtown on Jan. 21.

Marian is 7-1 in the NIC and in second place.

Senior star and Maryland recruit Mila Reynolds scored 30 points to lead the Washington win over Adams (7-7, 4-4). Reynolds, along with fellow seniors Shamarah Allen and Lauren Gillon, were honored prior to the game.

Washington, which last won the NIC title in 2015 when it shared it with both Penn and Saint Joseph, led 31-8 after the first quarter Thursday night.

The Panthers, who were state runner-up a year ago, beat Penn 49-36 at home back on Nov. 19 to snap Penn's 48-game NIC winning streak.

Washington, ranked No. 18 nationally by ESPN, is scheduled to play Saturday and Monday in the Classic in the Country Challenge at Berlin Hiland (Ohio).

Team of the weekend (Jan 8-9)

South Bend Adams girls swimming

The Eagles claimed first place at this weekend's South Bend City Swim Meet, edging out South Bend Riley, 563-518. Saint Joseph claimed third place with 465 points, while Clay finished fourth and Washington rounded out the schools in fifth.

Some event winners include: Elisa Nerenberg, Adele Zyniewicz, Sofia Frazee and Addison Skube in the 200-yard medley relay (1:55.23); Adele Zyniewicz in the 50-yard freestyle (24.67); Katie Hensell in the 1-meter diving event (425 pts); Adele Zyniewicz in the 100-yard butterfly (59.04); Sofia Frazee in the 100-yard breastroke (1:13.19);

Jan. 8

Penn girls claim wrestling regional title

The Penn High School girls wrestling team claimed a regional championship Friday night.

The Kingsmen totaled 192 points to earn the team title in the North Regional contested at Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill. Jay County was second with 136 points with Columbia City third with 134.

The trio of Maia Centelli (132), Mackenzie Konanz (170) and Nunarai Helepa (182) were individual champions to lead Penn. Konanz was a state runner-up in 2021.

The Kingsmen had 13 wrestlers place in the top five, including runner-ups Heidi Selis (120) and Sophie Atwood (132).

The State Finals are set for Friday at Memorial Gymnasium in Kokomo.

Goshen's Drew Hogan reaches 1,000-career point mark

Drew Hogan's final three points of his 16 in Goshen's Friday night Northern Lakes Conference win over Concord put him in the record books.

Hogan reached the 1,000-career point mark as the Redhawks defeated Concord, 53-32, winning their eight game in a row. Hogan leads Goshen in scoring this season, averaging 13.8 points per game and will look to add to his scoring when Goshen plays a road game against Warsaw on Jan. 14.

Jan 7

Plymouth Head Football Coach John Barron resigns

After 17 seasons at the helm of the Plymouth football program, John Barron resigned from his position, the school announced Friday afternoon, finishing with a 126-70 record.

During his tenure, Barron led Plymouth to six Northern Lakes Conference titles, including in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014 and most recently in 2019. He also tallied four undefeated regular season (2005, 2008, 2009 and 2014) and guided Plymouth to a 2015 Sectional title.

“Plymouth High School will forever be grateful to Coach Barron for his constant pursuit of building championship qualities in both in his football teams and the young men that played for him," Plymouth athletic director Michael Delp said in a statement. "Coach consistently modeled a belief in his players/staff and instilled a toughness in all his teams culture Those who know him best, know he cares deeply about the players he coached, the amazing staff he coached with and the school/community he has served for all these years."

The school announced it will immediately begin its search for the next coach.

Player of the weekend (Jan 1-2)

Kelly Ratigan, South Bend Saint Joseph

Kelly Ratigan, South Bend Saint Joseph's star senior guard, became the second notable player in the area to score her 1,000th-career point this season, during this weekend's 52-44 win over Gary West Side at the Mac Jelks Invitational.

Ratigan, who signed to play college ball at Loyola (Maryland), has been the key force behind the Indians' 11-6 start to the season.

From Dec. 29

Panthers win Hall of Fame Classic Title

The South Bend Washington girls basketball team took home the 2021 Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic Tournament title with its 52-50 win over Westfield Wednesday night in the championship contest in New Castle.

Junior guard Amiyah Reynolds was named the Tournament's MVP. The Maryland commit had 15 points and four assists in the title game win for the Panthers, now 15-2.

Freshman Kira Reynolds had 20 points to go with 12 rebounds and three blocked shots for the champions in the title game win. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Washington won the title despite missing starters Mila Reynolds and Shamarah Allen. Senior Reynolds, a Maryland recruit and Miss Basketball candidate, missed the tourney after suffering a sprained knee in practice last Friday. Senior Allen is still sidelined due to a high ankle sprain.

Mila Reynolds is averaging a team-high 24.5 points per game to go with 8.8 rebounds per contest.

Washington coach Steve Reynolds said that the MRI on Mila's knee came back "clean" and they hope to have her back in probably another week. He added that Allen is "day to day" with her ankle injury.

Washington returns to action Jan. 7 with an NIC game at Bremen.

"I couldn't be more proud of them than I am right now," coach Reynolds told the Indianapolis Star following the title game win. "She (Mila) wanted to play, but I told everyone else that this is an opportunity for us to step up and those kids did. They were amazing."

Washington also won the Hall of Fame Classic championship in 2006, led by MVP Skylar Diggins.

Reynolds had high praise for daughters Amiyah and Kira in the absence of their older sister Mila.

"Amiyah was big time," said coach Reynolds of his junior guard via text Thursday morning. "She had a huge impact on both ends. It was a coming out party for her. Kira is really maturing. She's put together a great month. She's playing like the best freshman in the state."

Earlier in the day Washington rolled to a win over Washington High School 56-28 in semifinal play.

Amiyah Reynolds paced the Panthers with 20 points. Kira Reynolds had 12 points and Lauren Gillon 11 for the winners.

South Bend Washington, the top ranked team in Class 3A, improved to 14-2.  Washington, ranked No. 7 in Class 3A, dropped to 13-2 and saw its 13-game winning streak snapped.

Westfield beat Class 4A No. 2 Franklin 42-40 in overtime in the first semifinal contest Wednesday.

From Dec. 27

Successful Niles volleyball program needs new coach

Jenny Nate has resigned as Niles volleyball coach to become the new Southwestern Michigan College women's volleyball coach.

Nate directed the Vikings to a 327-162-31 record in 10 years at the helm, including three conference championships, two district crowns and the only two regional titles in school history, in 2017 and this past year. Her 2018 squad won a school single-season record 48 wins. This past fall Niles was 47-9.

From Dec. 22

Player of the night: Kenndall Bethel, Marian

Another night this week that featured a South Bend-area player putting up career numbers. This time it was Bethel, who scored a career-high 24 points in the Knights' 65-62 win over Northrop, as Marian improved to 11-2 on the year.

From Dec. 21

Players of the night

Girls: Marissa Shelton, South Bend Adams

The Eagles split two Tuesday games, defeating Fort Wayne Concordia 52-42 before falling to Fort Wayne South Side, 78-67 in overtime. Despite the loss, senior Shelton scored a career-high 39 points to lead South Bend Adams, while adding 19 points in the Eagles' win, which was their third win in a row before South Side put an end to it.

► More: Power ranking the top South Bend area high school girls basketball teams

Boys: Marcus Northern & Jawan Agnew,  South Bend Washington

The Washington duo led the way for the Panthers, scoring 18 points each in their 65-53 win over Northridge to bounce back from last week's loss to Glenn. Washington (6-2), has won five of its last six games and looks like it could be a sneaky team in the Northern Indiana Conference this season.

From Dec. 20

Player of the night: Kila Foster, Bremen

The Lions' freshman guard was one of two players in her team's 52-45 win over Triton to record 17 points, joined by Ellia Foster. Kila's 17 was a career-high, passing the 16 points she scored against South Bend Clay on Nov. 12.

In the win she made four of her seven 3-pointers, another career-high, and finished 5-for-8 from the floor, for a career-high 63% from the field.

►More: Power ranking the top South Bend area high school boys basketball teams

Player of the weekend (Dec. 18-19)

Markus Burton, Penn

Burton has been on a tear all season for the Kingsmen, but this weekend he was exceptional.

On Friday night, Burton led Penn in its 73-48 conference win over previously undefeated Bremen, with 22 points, six assists and five steals. His performance against Michigan City on Saturday was even more impressive.

In the Kingsmen's 86-81 win, which improved the team to 7-0 on the year, the junior guard scored a season-high 41 points. He hit 14-of-27 shots, including a 3-pointer, and also went 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Burton also dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.

Friday, Dec. 17

News of the day: Saint Joseph looking for new football coach

Bryon Whitten's tenure as the Saint Joseph football coach has came to an end on Friday when he resigned after six seasons in charge of the Indians.

“We are grateful for Coach Whitten’s service to the football program and to our student athletes," said Saint Joseph principal John Kennedy in a release issued by the school Friday. "For six years, he led the program with integrity and a commitment to the values of Saint Joseph High School.”

Whitten was 23-45 in six seasons, including a 4-8 record during the 2021 season, which ended in a 35-3 loss to New Prairie in a Class 4A sectional championship game. Saint Joseph was 0-5 in the Northern Indiana Conference this past season.

The Indians became the second South Bend school to lose its football coach this month, after Riley's Justin Kinzie resigned after two seasons last week.

Player of the day: Tommy Snyder, South Bend Adams

Snyder and the Eagles put up an offensive showcase in their 82-50 win over South Bend Clay. Snyder scored a team-high 26 points for Adams, with 21 of them coming in the second half, as the Eagles quickly pulled away from the Colonials to move to 3-1 on the year.

Junior guard Jeremiah Love also had a big night, hitting five 3-points in the second quarter on his way to 17 points.

Thursday, Dec. 16

Moment of the day: Foster sets all-time scoring record at Marian

Mishawaka Marian's Nevaeh Foster has been a scoring force throughout her basketball career. Currently in her junior season Foster, a Western Kentucky University commit, is averaging over 21 points per game.

Her accomplishments with the Knights hit a new level Thursday night as she became the program's all-time leading scorer in a 56-40 win against Elkhart (finishing with a team-high 19 points), passing Meghan Urbanski, who's record of 1,278 points was set in 2018.

Now, it is Foster on top with an entire year still to play.

Performance of the night: Ellia Foster, Bremen

The Lions fell to Penn 60-52 in Thursday night basketball action, but that didn't stop Foster from putting up big numbers. Foster finished with a game-high 24 points in the losing effort, going 6-for-11 from the floor.

All of her made shots were 3-pointers, which was a season-high for the senior guard. She also added three rebounds, four assists and one steal to her statline.

Maryland women's hoops coach visits Washington

South Bend Washington's Mila Reynolds has goals of winning the Panthers a state title this year before heading off to University of Maryland. Thursday, it was Maryland who came to South Bend after Washington's 72-31 win over Glenn.

Maryland head coach Brenda Frese was available for a Q&A session with Reynolds and Washington coach Steve Reynolds, celebrating Mila Reynolds' career in Washington and talking about how she will fit in to the Terrapins' plans, a current top-10 team in the country, when she arrives to College Park next season.

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This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Tracking the best of South Bend's high school sposrts from today blog