YEAR IN REVIEW: Top-5 moments of Zionsville sports for 2021-22
Jul. 6—After a hectic 2020-21 sports year, in which crowds were limited and there were COVID restrictions in place, the 2021-22 high school sports year got back to normal.
Crowds were back in full force, and there were less restrictions on coaches and athletes throughout the state.
It was also a great year for the three Boone County public high schools athletically.
There were plenty of highlights from Lebanon, Western Boone and Zionsville, and with the official IHSAA calendar done for the season, it is time to look back at some of the top moments from each school.
Today we will look at Zionsville's year. The Lebanon review ran on Tuesday and the Western Boone review ran on Thursday.
The lists were comprised after discussions with athletic directors and coaches, and some tough choices had to be made, but here is the list.
5. Baseball team makes run to semi-state
The Zionsville baseball team came into the season with high hopes, but midway through the season, it didn't look like those dreams would be fulfilled.
The team sat at 8-9 in late April, and had to figure out things quickly. The Eagles did just that, winning 9 of their final 11 regular season games.
They carried that into the post-season, topping Noblesville, Westfield and Fishers to win the school's first sectional title since 2018.
"Our mentality has been the big difference," senior Drew Dickson said after the sectional title game. "We have all bought into the mentality that we are going to compete every at bat, no matter what the score is or what the count is. We are going to compete every at bat and play for each other. That's been the difference."
The Eagles continued to play well the next week, topping Harrison and Homestead to win the regional title.
They battled with eventual state champion Penn in the semi-state, but lost a 4-2 game in the late innings.
Brody Chrisman was named an Indiana All-Star after the season, batting .414 on the year with 20 runs scored, 24 RBIs and 12 doubles.
Drew Dickson led the pitching staff with a 1.19 ERA, striking out 84 in 53 innings. He also hit .344.
Caleb Everson (1.11 ERA, .307 BA), Aidan Fitzsimmons (1.59 ERA, 44 Ks), Chase Wagner (1.69 ERA) and Aidan Hatcher (1.93 ERA, 54 Ks) all had strong years on the mound as well.
The Eagles graduate a good senior group, but have a lot of young talent in the ranks as well.
"The seniors have been great," Zionsville head coach Jered Moore said. "They are great baseball players, but more importantly, they are quality kids and are going to go on to be successful. They have been a really fun group to have. For the younger guys — they saw the leadership and work ethic of the seniors. They looked up to them and being around them all the time, they know what they need to do."
4. Girls Track continues success
The Zionsville girls track and field team has shown they are among the state's best over the past few seasons.
They showed that again this year, with a memorable year and a third-place finish at the IHSAA State Finals.
The Eagles started the season over the winter, placing third at the Hoosier State Relays Finals, and senior Michelle Nazarov winning the indoor state title in the long jump.
The Eagles carried that momentum into the spring, with several solid performances, and finished third in the HCC with conference titles from Kennedy Merrill in the pole vault and Katelyn Makinde in the shot put.
The next week at the sectional, the Eagles battled back-and-forth with Brownsburg, securing the sectional title with a win in the 4x400 relay — one of six sectional champions.
"A number of girls stepped up tonight," Zionsville head coach Drake Sterling said. "We had a good number of champions, were setting sectional records left and right — it was just phenomenal across the board."
3. Football team returns to Lucas Oil Stadium
For the second-straight season, the Zionsville football team had a memorable post-season run that ended at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Eagles had a 4-5 regular season, but battled injuries and lost a couple of close games they could have won. One of the highlights of the regular season was a 52-49 win over Avon, where Colin Price rushed for 405 yards and five touchdowns.
Once the post-season started, the Eagles started putting it all together.
They topped McCutcheon, Harrison and Kokomo to win the sectional. They then topped Fort Wayne Dwenger 35-14 to win their second-straight regional title, the first time in school history that the Eagles won back-to-back regional titles.
The following weekend they went all the way up to Michigan City, and topped the Wolves to punch their ticket to Lucas Oil Stadium.
"It's a bit of a relief for me because I wanted this so badly for them," Zionsville head coach Scott Turnquist said. "I don't want this to end with this group. Obviously it has to next week, but we wanted to finish this this way. I couldn't be happier for these guys. They have bought in the last three years, had my back the whole time and given everything they had and worked so hard."
In the State Finals, the Eagles faced Cathedral for the second-straight year.
The Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but Cathedral rattled off 24-straight points and the Eagles could never get back within a score.
Joey Tanona earned All-American honors as an offensive lineman for the Eagles.
Colin Price (1698 yards, 22 touchdowns), Trey Firestone (939 yards receiving, 11 touchdowns) and Otto Kyler (117 tackles) earned all-region honors.
Joe Cannedy, AJ Vinatieri and Owen Rossell earned all-state recognition.
Quarterback Christian Abney was 70/126 for 1006 yards, 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on the year, battling an injury that cost him a majority of the regular season.
Turnquist said he was proud of everything the team accomplished during the season.
He said the senior class in particular will be a tough group to replace.
"I am going to remember how far they've taken us," Turnquist said. "From the time we got them three years ago, they did everything that we asked them to and they advanced our program so much. They are extremely talented, extremely hard working and they just did so much for the program and they gave so much back. I think they are going to go on to do so many good things after this and this will just be a highlight along the way."
2. Tennis teams advance to state
Both the boys and the girls tennis teams at Zionsville had memorable runs this past year.
The boys kicked it off in the fall. going 19-4 and reaching the state championship match.
The Eagles started the regular season 4-3, but won seven-straight matches to end the regular season, and won their third-straight HCC title.
Cole Chappell and Sebastian Lisiak were both named all-conference.
In the post-season, the Eagles swept their way to their 16th sectional title in the last 17 years.
The Eagles then topped Avon and Brebeuf to win the regional, and bested Center Grove 4-1 in the semi-state to advance to state for the second time in three seasons.
The Eagles topped Covington 5-0 in the state quarterfinals, and topped Jasper 4-1 before losing to top-ranked Carmel in the championship match.
"This run showed us we could compete with the best in the state," Zionsville head coach Earl Allen said. "We got down to the last two and ran into a really great Carmel team. We beat all the teams we were supposed to beat and this should give us a lot of confidence. Hopefully this continues to instill that hard work pays off and our kids continue to work hard like they did this year."
In the spring, the girls team took the court and had an equally as impressive season.
Under first-year coach Alex Wittenbaum, the Lady Eagles went 14-3 in the regular season and won the Zionsville Invite.
In the sectional, they topped county rivals Lebanon and Western Boone to win their 21st-straight title.
At the regional, the Eagles topped Covenant Christian and Park Tudor, winning their first regional title since 2012.
Zionsville then topped Terre Haute South in the semi-state, reaching the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
There they ran into eventual state Carmel and lost 5-0, but everyone who played in that match will be back for the Eagles, including all-state No. 1 doubles team Lucy King and Natalie Black.
"I am so proud of the girls and what we did this season," Zionsville head coach Alex Wittenbaum said. "This group set the standard for years to come. We completely changed the culture of Zionsville tennis, and this is always going to be the group that set the foundation of that."
1. Swimming teams have tremendous success
The Zionsville swimming and diving team are among the best in the state.
They showed that once again this year, with fantastic performances on the girls and boys side.
Both teams won the Hall of Fame Meet, and at the HCC Meet, the boys placed second and the girls placed third.
Devon Kitchel set two conference records for the girls, winning the IM and the breaststroke. Will Modglin set the conference record in the backstroke, and also won the IM.
Charlie Krone won the butterfly at conference, as did the boys medley relay and 4x400.
Both teams continued long sectional streaks, and sent loads of events to state.
At State, the girls placed fifth.
Kitchel won the IM for the third-straight year, claiming the title in 1:57.82. She also won the breaststroke, her sixth career title, in a time of 1:01.18.
"It's really hard to put into words what she means to the team, because really it's everything," Zionsville head coach Scott Kubly said. "She's an emotional leader, she's a leader out of the pool, she's a leader in the water, and is overall just a great person. When you meet Devon Kitchel, what you see is what you get — she is just her. It was great for her to get those two titles today."
The Eagles medley relay team of Kitchel, Molly Simmons, Madelyn Akin and Katie Buroker placed third. The 200-free relay team of Kitchel, Avery Christian, Annabelle Swiney and Reagan Mattice placed seventh, and the 400-free relay team of Mattice, Buroker, Swiney and Simmons placed eighth. Simmons was fourth in the backstroke.
The boys were even better, placing second overall behind Carmel.
"I am just really happy for the guys," Zionsville head coach Scott Kubly said. "They have really worked hard for this. It's been on their radar since a year ago this time to leave here with some hardware. This was a great, great afternoon for them."
It was the best finish for an Eagle team since 2017.
Will Modglin won the IM and backstroke for the second-straight year, and set the state record in the IM with a time of 1:44.10 in the prelims.
Will Raches was the state runner-up in the 100-free and fifth in the backstroke.
Charlie Krone was third in the butterfly and sixth in the 500, and Jack Donovan was fifth in the 200-free and eighth in the breaststroke.
The medley relay team of Modglin, Donovan, Krone and Raches placed second, as did the 400-free relay team of Modglin, Krone, Gabe Berry and Walker Mattice.
Raches, Donovan, Mattice and Berry were fourth in the 200-free relay and Mattice was eighth in the 100-free.
"I am just really happy for the guys," Zionsville head coach Scott Kubly said. "They have really worked hard for this. It's been on their radar since a year ago this time to leave here with some hardware. This was a great, great afternoon for them."
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.
