With three runs in each of the first two innings to go up 6-0 you'd think Rochester felt plenty comfortable in Saturday's 2A sectional semifinal at Wabash.

The nine runs posted by the Zebras in the third inning left no doubt.

Rochester (20-6) blitzed Manchester to earn a berth in Monday's sectional championship game, 17-2.

Third baseman Tanner Reinartz led the team with three RBI and two doubles with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.  Teammate Carson Paulik drove in two and was 1-for-3.

Hunter Campbell also drove in two runs.  Tarick McGlothin, Brayden Zink, Ethan Medina and Landen Bumford each drove in a run for Rochester in the semifinal.

A nice additional sidenote, Zink this week was announced as the Salutatorian of the Senior class.

Aaron Huffman worked the first three innings to earn the win.  

Rochester will play Bremen in Monday's 7 p.m. sectional championship at Wabash. Bremen (10-14) upended Laville in the other semifinal, 5-1. The Lions scored four times in the sixth to break open a 1-1 game.

Rochester defeated Bremen just a few days ago in a regular season meeting on May 18, 14-4.

Caston has consistently been ranked in the top 10 of the 1A softball rankings. But the  program was still seeking postseason success going into sectional play this week.

Last season, Caston was knocked out in the sectional championship by North Miami.  Many expected a highly anticipated rematch this season between #3 North Miami and #8 Caston before the Warriors were beaten by Southwood earlier in the week in the quarterfinal.

That left Southwood as all that stood between Caston and its first ever softball state title.  The Comets scored two in the first and added a run in the second for a 3-0 lead.  They then answered a Southwood fourth inning run with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning and held on for the championship game win, 4-1.

Kinzie Mollenkopf got the win, striking out 13 and allowing two hits. Mollenkopf went 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, a single, and had two RBI. 

Alexa Finke and Kylee Logan each had an RBI single. Annie Harsh and Bailey Harness each went 2-for-3 with two singles.

Addison Zimpleman added two singles.

Haley Logan and Isabel Scales each went 1-3 with a single.

Macee Hinderlider, Mollenkopf, Scales, and Zimpleman each scored a run.

The Lady Comets will play the winner of Fremont - Elkhart Christian in the regional on Tuesday. That sectional championship game is at 5 p.m. Saturday at Lakewood Park Christian.

Last year, Kennedy Jackson was a Rochester state shot put competitor. This year, Kennedy Jackson will represent Culver after a third place finish in the shot put at the Goshen Regional with a throw of 40' 2". The throw broke the Culver school record at the Goshen regional and advancesd to the IHSAA state finals.

Jackson also finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 113' 1" at the Goshen regional.

Rochester's Zoe Seward came in eighth in the 3,200 meters. Teammate Macie Nelson tied for tenth in the pole vault.

Tippecanoe Valley's Betty Shepherd was sixth in the 300 hurdles.

Softball sectionals

1A – North Miami

#8 Caston 10, #10 West Central 4

Game was tied at 2-2 in the third

Kinzie Mollenkopf 2-run HR.  Annie Harsh went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a single, and had three RBI. Isabel Scales went 3-for-4 with a double, two singles, and had two RBI.

Southwood 12, Northfield 6

Southwood vs. Caston, 5:30 p.m. Thursday at North Miami in the sectional final

2A - Rochester

Pioneer 12, Winamac 10

Lewis Cass 6, North Judson 5 (9 inn)

Lewis Cass vs. Pioneer, 6 p.m. Thursday in the sectional final

3A – Kankakee Valley

Knox 16, Culver Academy 2 (final/5 innings)

Knox will play Rensselaer Central and Kankakee Valley vs Tippecanoe Valley in the semifinals

1A - Westville

Triton 26, Oregon-Davis 0

Marquette Catholic vs. Triton, Thursday night 

Golf

Twin Lakes 145, Rochester 157, Logansport 166, Winamac 206

Noah Riffle led Rochester with a 35

It’s not everyday that a high school hires a basketball coach that has a national championship as a part of his resume.

Winamac has done just that.

The Warriors boys basketball program has a new head coach.  Mike Springer was selected to replace Cameron Bennington who departed after one season to become the new head coach at Western.

Springer has several years at Eastern (Greentown) where he has coached both girls and boys basketball.  He also had the opportunity to coach with the Indiana Wesleyan women’s team.

Springer says Winamac checks off items on his list and he feels it’s a great fit.

Springer becomes the third coach in three years for the Winamac boys program.  Before Bennington, Alan Huggler was the head coach for five seasons.

Springer says he'll look to employ a style and type of play that fits the personnel available.

Rochester finished fifth with Culver Academies capturing the team title at the Plymouth boys track and field sectional Thursday.

Advancing to the regional for Rochester:

Senior RJ Keranko won the sectional championship in the 800 in 2:02.18

Senior Chris Rohr finished third in the 3200 in a time of 10:29.97

and the Zebras 4x800 Relay consisting of Rohr, Keranko, Grant Bailey and Wesley Steininger finished second to advance

Tippecanoe Valley

Wade Jones won the 200 meters and finished second in the 100

Nathan Parker was third in the 400

Eric Burke took second in the high jump

Dalton Alber finished second in the shot put

and the Vikings 4x100 relay team advanced with a third place finish

Caston

Brady Evans placed third in the 300m hurdles and will also advance to the regional

Overall team scores 

An offseason of conference realignment in Indiana high school athletics continues with two more schools announcing new affiliations.

A press release pictured below announces that the Hoosier North Athletic Conference members - Caston, Pioneer, North Judson, Triton, Winamac and Culver - are soon to be joined by Argos and Oregon-Davis.

The conference recently lost two members with decisions by LaVille and Knox to team up with Tippecanoe Valley, Bremen, John Glenn, Jimtown and a school not-yet-named to create a new conference for the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Argos is a member of the Hoosier Plains Conference that formed in 2017.  Argos is the only public school in the conference that also features Bethany Christian, Elkhart Christian, Lakeland Christian, Career Academy and Trinity.

Oregon-Davis athletics have been an independent since the Northland Conference disbanded in 2008. The Northland formed in 1998. Westville left the Porter County Conference and joined with four independents: Argos, Michigan City Marquette, Oregon-Davis and South Central (Union Mills).  River Forest, previously in the former Northwest Hoosier Conference, was the other member.

When the Northland Conference shrank to four members when Marquette and River Forest left to co-found the Greater South Shore Conference after the 2006–07 school year, the remaining schools decided to disband the Northland after the 2007–08 school year.

Tennis

Sectional 50 at Culver Academies

Rochester and Culver Academies were winners in the four-team field to advance to a championship meeting.

Culver Acad. defeated Knox, 5-0.

Rochester 5, North Judson 0

Singles

Ella McCarter (RHS) def. Sophia Frasure (NJ), 6-1, 6-1

Rily Holloway (RHS) def. Olivia Burkett (NJ), 6-0, 6-1

Rylee Clevenger (RHS) def. Sao Susuki (NJ), 6-1, 6-1

Doubles

Olivia Bailey-Audrey Bolinger (RHS) def. Grace Craig-Emily Grundlach (NJ), 6-4, 6-1

Taylor Howard-Elizabeth Weaver (RHS) def. Rose Hileman-Sandy Roblero (NJ),6-0, 7-5

Baseball

Rochester 7, North Miami 6

Finishing off an undefeated TRC campaign didn't come easy for the Zebras.  The Warriors maintained a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. 

#6 (2A) Rochester (17-5, 9-0 TRC) captured the lead, 7-4, with a four-run inning.  But North Miami didn't go quietly.  The Warriors scored two in the top of the seventh before Rochester closed the door and secured the win.

Tarick McGlothin pitched two innings of shutout ball with three walks and three strikeouts to get the win.  

Bremen was a host site for an 11-team field girls track sectional won by Culver Academies on Tuesday.

The top three individual places in each event advance on to the regional.

Culver Community senior Kennedy Jackson finished second in both the shot put and the discus to Whtko's Gwen Howard.

For Rochester, senior Macie Nelson finished second in the pole vault.  Teammate

Zoe Seward finished third in the 3,200 meters.

Betty Shepherd, a Tipecanoe Valley freshman, brought home a second place finish in the 300 hurdles.

Softball

Caston 11, Pioneer 5

Kinzie Mollenkopf got the win, with three strikeouts. She allowed 9 hits.

At the plate,  Mollenkopf went 2 -or-3 at the plate with a double, single, and had two RBI.

Kylee Logan had 3 RBI on two singles.

Haley Logan went 2 -or-3 with a double, single, and had an RBI.

Winamac 9, Triton 4

Winamac jumped out to 3-0 lead in the first and broke it open with a five-run fourth.

Corrin Combs 3-for-4 with four RBI

North Miami 10, Northfield 0

N. Miami finished with an 8-0 TRC record

Baseball

Caston 16, Triton 0 (5 innings)

No-hitter for Talon Zeider.  Nolan Herd five RBI.

LaVille 13, Culver 1  (5 innings)

Pioneer 10, Winamac 0  (5 innings)

Golf

Rochester 180, LaVille incomplete

Rochester's Noah Riffle was the medalist with a 37.olf

Northfield 159, Tippecanoe Valley 177, Wabash 214

TVHS’ Greg Miller and Northfield's Tyson Baer were co-medalists with a 38.

Culver Academy 155, DeMotte Christian 171, Pioneer 200, Caston 201, Winamac 205, West Central 240

A.J. Dague led Caston with a 37.

Beginning next year, high school basketball teams will shoot two free throws for common fouls when in the “bonus.” This change to Rule 4-8-1 eliminates the one-and-one scenario and sets new foul limits each quarter for awarding the bonus free throw.

Rules changes were approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee at its annual meeting April 24-26 in Indianapolis. The recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

In addition to awarding two foul shots for all common fouls, teams will reach the bonus when their opponent commits five fouls in each quarter and team fouls will reset at the end of each quarter. Previously, teams were awarded the one-and-one bonus when their opponents committed seven fouls in a half and two foul shots when 10 fouls were committed each half.

“The rules committee studied data that showed higher injury rates on rebounding situations and saw this as an opportunity to reduce opportunities for rough play during rebounds,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS Director of Sports and liaison to the Basketball Rules Committee. “Additionally, resetting the fouls each quarter will improve game flow and allow teams to adjust their play by not carrying foul totals to quarters two and four.”

The throw-in procedure for front-court violations was simplified in Rules 7-5-2 through 7-5-5. When the ball is in team control in the offensive team’s frontcourt and the defensive team commits a violation, a common foul prior to the bonus, or the ball becomes dead, the corresponding throw-in by the offensive team will be at one of four designated spots determined by where the infraction took place. The designated spots are either the nearest 28-foot mark along each sideline or the nearest spot 3 feet outside the lane line on the end line. The one exception is when the defensive team causes a ball to be out of bounds, the throw-in shall be the spot where the ball went out of bounds.

Throw-in administration was also addressed in a change to Rule 7-6-6. When an official administers a throw-in to the wrong team, the error can be fixed before the first dead ball after the ball becomes live unless there has been a change in possession.

Other approved rules changes include:

• Rule 2-1-3 establishes the official placement of a shot clock operator at the scorer’s table for those states utilizing the shot clock.
• Rule 3-4-5 clarifies that multiple styles of uniform bottoms may be worn by teammates, but they must all be like-colored and adhere to uniform rules outlined in Rule 3-6-2 regarding logos and trademarks.
• Rule 3-5-6 addresses undershirts and allows teams to wear a single solid color or solid black for visiting teams with dark jerseys. This provides an opportunity for schools with hard-to-find colors to have all players wear a black undershirt.
• Rule 9-3-3 was amended to allow a player to step out of bounds and return to the court if the player gains no advantage. A player is penalized only if, after returning inbounds, the player is the first to touch the ball or avoids a violation.

A complete listing of the basketball rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Basketball.”

According to the 2021-22 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, basketball is the third-most popular high school sport for boys with 521,616 participants in 18,428 schools nationwide. It is the fourth-most popular girls sport with 370,466 participants in 17,901 schools.

Manchester has named Eddie Fields as its new Varsity Head Football Coach. 

Fields is coming back home to Indiana from Hannah Pamplico High School in South Carolina where he was the defensive coordinator.  Fields is a graduate of Whitko High School  and IPFW. He has been involved in coaching football for almost 20 years including stops at Manchester University, head coach at FW South Side and various high schools in Indiana and Florida.  

Fields replaces Alyx Brandwie who departed after three seasons to become the head coach at Eastside.

Aaron Huffman and three Zebra relievers combined on a nine-hit shutout of Maconaquah to stay undefeated in Three Rivers Conference play.

The Zebras (14-4) scored three times in the first and then added four ore runs in the fifth and a final insurance run in the sixth to go to 6-0 in the TRC with an 8-0 win.

Tarick McGlothin, Jake Seuferer and Brayden Zink each drove in two runs.  Seuferer hit the game's only home run.

Huffman worked four innings to earn the win.

Tennis

Tippecanoe Valley 4, Rochester 1

Baseball

Tippecanoe Valley 5, Maconaquah 4

Caston 20, Argos 5

North Judson 10, Winamac 9

Softball

#9 (1A) Caston 17, Winamac 3

Kinzie Mollenkopf starred in the pitching circle and at the plate.

Mollenkopf struck out nine, walked one, and gave up four hits. At the plate, she had 4 RBI on a home run and a single.  

Also for Caston, Addison Zimpleman had 4 RBI on 3-for-4 hitting. She had a home run and 2 singles.

Isabel Scales added 2 RBI on 3-for-4 hitting with a double and 2 singles.

Bailey Harness had 2 RBI on 2-for-4 hitting with a home run and a single.

Kylee Logan had 2 RBI on 2-for-4 hitting. She had a double and a single.

Annie Harsh was 2-for-2 with 2 singles, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI.

Macee Hinderlider was 2 for 3 with 2 singles and an RBI.

Haley Logan was 2 for 4 with 2 singles and an RBI.

Plymouth 12, Argos 1 (5 inn)

For Plymouth, Lilly Runyan went 3-3 with a single, double, and a triple while also scoring 3 runs.  Haylee Busse and Aubrey Ferguson drove in 3 runs each. 

Ferguson was the winning pitcher as she gave up three hits over the five innings. 

Golf

Knox 198, Caston 205

A.J. Dague led Caston with a 41.

The City of Noblesville has announced a transformational partnership with Pacers Sports & Entertainment to bring the Mad Ants, the company’s affiliate in the NBA G League, to Noblesville.

To accommodate the move, Noblesville plans to build a new 3,400 seat, 85,000-square-foot arena on the east side of the city.

“We are excited to welcome Pacers Sports & Entertainment to Noblesville along with the players, coaches and staff of the G League team,” Mayor Chris Jensen said. “The Pacers are an iconic brand with deep roots in central Indiana. Partnering with such an impactful organization opens numerous opportunities for our community and drives forward our efforts for a larger sports and entertainment district with enhanced partnerships.”

The new arena is anticipated to open during the 2024-2025 season, and the team would play at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in the interim. City and team officials are working through due diligence steps with local partners and plan to build the arena at Finch Creek Park near the Mojo Up Sports Complex, which generates nearly 1 million visits per year. The city expects to draw 65,000 fans annually to Noblesville and Finch Creek just for games, which is already the second most visited area in Hamilton County for sports visitors.

“We are working with the Pacers and other partners on programming options for the arena on days it is not used by the Pacers. The facility would be available for events like IHSAA tournaments and competitions, concerts, conferences, corporate events and graduations,” Jensen said. “Further steps are being taken to finalize development and programming partners, which may also incorporate additional project features and recreational amenities.”

The franchise will remain the Mad Ants through the 2023-2024 season. A new mascot will be unveiled prior to the 2024-2025 season and Mad Ants, a name with a special tie to Fort Wayne, will be retired.

“The G League is world-class basketball, and PS&E is proud to bring that to Noblesville as we strengthen our basketball operations and enhance player development in one of the state’s most vibrant and growing communities,” Pacers Sports & Entertainment CEO Rick Fuson said. “We are excited about the way this partnership fits into the bold vision for economic development Mayor Jensen has laid out, and we can’t wait to continue growing our NBA and G League fan base right here in Hamilton County.”

At the Noblesville Common Council meeting on May 9, a 10-year partnership agreement between the City of Noblesville and Pacers Sports & Entertainment will be presented. The agreement includes $5 million in cash investment from PS&E, which will also lead an effort to secure another $5 million in naming rights and signage over those 10 years, as well as $36.5 million from the city in building the arena.

“We welcome the new partnership with the Pacers,” said Noblesville Common Council President Aaron Smith. “The administration and council have made proactive, smart investments to assist with the financing of this partnership. We are excited to continue the strategic growth on the east side of our city and provide a new attraction for our residents and guests.”

Featuring 30 teams — 28 with one-to-one affiliations with NBA franchises — the G League offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.

“Fifty-four percent of NBA players have G League experience. Noblesville will compete in 27 media markets in 21 other states, plus Mexico and Canada,” Jensen said. “Noblesville also has a proud history of being a basketball community, including 1998 Mr. Basketball Tom Coverdale and the 2022 Millers Girls Basketball State Champions. Adding our partnership with the Pacers only cements us as a destination for basketball and youth sports.”

Rochester Zebra baseball is on a hot streak.

And the streak comes after a modest 3-2 start through the first handful of games this season.

The Zebras scored five each in the first and second innings to race out to a lead and never looked back in Wednesday’s 20-0 TRC victory over Manchester.

Rochester (12-3, 4-0 TRC) has won nine of ten and is the only unbeaten team remaining in Three Rivers Conference play.

The only loss in that stretch was a 3-0 decision to a 14-win Logansport club.  And that game was scoreless through four innings.

Sophomore Tanner Reinartz starred at the plate with a 5-for-5, five RBI, three runs scored performance. Carson Paulik picked up three hits while driving in two and scoring five times. Ethan Medina was 2-for-4 with a 3-run home run and four RBI.

Aaron Huffman recorded the win with five innings of shutout work on the mound.

Rochester travels to Northfield (4-7, 1-3 TRC) today.

Softball

#9 (1A) Caston 15, Manchester 0

Kinzie Mollenkopf pitched a one hit shutout with 12 strikeouts. Mollenkopf was also 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, a single and three RBI.

Also for Caston, Isabel Scales went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI.  Alexa Finke had a couple of hits and drove in three. Kylee Logan contributed two hits and a couple of RBI.

Argos 7, Triton 4

Kadyn Baughman drove in four in the Argos win. Aleasia Sarver picked up the win.

Winamac 12, Culver Academies 5

Culver Comm 20, Oregon-Davis

Luci Overmyer had three hits and three RBI for Culver who took over with a 16-run 2nd inning.  Oregon-Davis pitching gave up 16 walks.

Baseball

Pioneer 2, Caston 1

Triton vs Culver ppd

Tippy Valley at Argos ppd

Track

Rochester / Triton at Tippecanoe Valley, ppd. It's been escheduled for Tuesday, May 9

Maconaquah at Caston ppd

Boys golf

Rochester recorded a 344 team score and and finished fourth out of 10 teams at the Warsaw Invitational. 

Tippecanoe Valley was a stroke back at 345 in 5^th place.

During its annual review of the by-laws Monday, the Board of Directors of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. tabled a proposal that changes the way schools are classified in the four-class sports.

The board, led by President Chris Conley of Delta High School and Vice President Kye Denney of Wes-Del High School, approved 12 proposals, three failed to receive enough support, and several others were tabled during the meeting in Indianapolis.

All proposals are considered in the order that the rule appears within the current by-laws. The Board of Directors has four options on each proposal: affirm, deny, table or amend a rule. A simple majority is necessary to act on any measure and all approved measures become effective immediately unless otherwise noted.

After lengthy conversation, the board opted to table the proposal for further study which would begin classifying schools in the four-class sports of baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball using fix enrollment figures. Since 1997-98, the rule has required equally distributing schools among the four classes.

The proposal, which will now be taken up at the June 22 Executive Committee meeting, was submitted by Commissioner Paul Neidig on behalf of the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA). It calls for the following breaks:

• Class 4A – 1,400 enrollment and up
• Class 3A – 600-1,399 enrollment
• Class 2A – 325-599 enrollment
• Class A – 324 enrollment and down

Due to the tabling of the four-class proposal, the other proposals affecting the Tournament Success Factor were subsequently tabled as well.

In other items:

• The board unanimously approved (17-0) of reducing the necessary number of schools participating in an Emerging Sport (currently girls wrestling and boys volleyball) from 150 to 100 before that sport would become officially sponsored and a state tournament implemented. The minimum of 40 schools per district was also struck from the rule.
• The proposal that required schools to notify the Association of their intention to play up one or more classes for the next reclassification cycle with a deadline of September 1 was approved 18-0.
• An amendment to Rule 9-14 that reduces the number of practices required after missing consecutive days was approved 18-0. Students missing 8-14 consecutive days will now need two practices (previously four) while those missing more than 14 consecutive days will now need three practices (previously six).
• Clarifying language to Rule 14-8 that high school students with a provisional officiating license may officiate any contests other than those at the high school level (grades 9-12) was approved 18-0.
• An amendment to Rule 14-9 that extends the deadline to renew an officiating license from May 31 to June 30 was approved 18-0.
• A proposal from the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association requesting the first authorized practice date for girls tennis in the spring did not pass (1-17).
• Amendments to Rules 50-1 and 50-1.2 (Pre-Participation Practice) that reduced the number of practices required both passed unanimously (18-0).
• Two proposals from Austin Principal Dr. Ryan Herald that would reduce the maximum number of games that a baseball and softball team may play both failed to receive any support.
• The elections of next year’s leadership of the Board and Executive Committee were also held. Stacy Adams of Valparaiso High School was voted president of the 2023-24 Board of Directors and Chad Gilbert of Charlestown High School was elected vice president. Chris Conley of Delta High School was named chairman of the 2023-24 Executive Committee and Tom Black of East Central High School was confirmed as vice chairman.

It didn't take long for the Three Rivers Conference to replace a departing member.

Lewis Cass will join the Three Rivers Conference.

Lewis Cass will replace Tippecanoe Valley after the Vikings athletic programs announced their departure from the conference and intent to join a newly formed conference to start the 2024-25 season.  In reply, the TRC voted to have Tippecanoe Valley leave at of the end of this athletic season.

The following information was released on the Twitter account of the Hoosier Conference.

The IHSAA baseball and softball state tournaments do not begin until late May.

On Sunday, area teams will learn their postseason draw as pairings shows for both tournaments will air live on IHSAAtv.org.

The 38th Annual IHSAA Girls Softball State Tournament Pairings Show will broadcast at 7 p.m. The show will be hosted online by Greg Rakestraw. Complete pairings will be available at IHSAA.org following the broadcast.

Sectional tournaments across the state will run from May 22-27.

Baseball

At 8 p.m. on IHSAAtv.org, Greg Rakestraw will host the 56th Annual Boys Baseball State Tournament Pairings Show. Complete pairings will be online at IHSAA.org following the broadcast.

Sectional tournaments run from May 24-29.

Ahead of Tippecanoe Valley’s planned departure from the Three Rivers Conference the principals of the conference have voted to remove the Vikings athletic programs a year early.

Tippecanoe Valley recently announced its intent to enter a partnership with Bremen, John Glenn, Jimtown, Knox and Laville to create a new (yet to be named) conference.

Tippecanoe Valley has been a member of the TRC since 1974.

In response, the TRC gave Tippecanoe Valley three options per the TRC bylaws. The options were:

1. Finish two years, which would be ‘23-’24 and the ‘24-’25 school years, as a part of the TRC.

2. If Tippecanoe Valley leaves for the school year of ‘24-’25, they would pay each remaining TRC School $1000 by May 5, 2023.

3. If Tippecanoe Valley does NOT want to use Options one (1) or two (2), they will be voted out effective at the end of the ‘22-’23 School year.

Tippecanoe Valley responded on Friday, April 21, that they were standing firm with their decision to join the new conference at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

From this letter, the TRC met to discuss the future of the conference. During this meeting, the TRC voted to remove Tippecanoe Valley from the TRC effective at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The vote was 8-0-1.

A letter was sent to Tippecanoe Valley explaining the timeline and Tippecanoe Valley’s removal from the TRC.
 

All the members of the TRC noted in a written press release that they wish Tippecanoe Valley the best in their future conference.

Markus Burton has earned the top individual award in Indiana high school boys basketball.

Burton, a 6-1 guard from Penn High School, has been named IndyStar Indiana Mr. Basketball for 2023 in online voting of media and boys’ varsity coaches conducted by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and All-Star game director Mike Broughton, it was announced Wednesday (April 19) as part of the IndyStar Indiana Sports Awards program.

The Mr. Basketball result means Burton will wear the No. 1 jersey for the Indiana All-Stars in their annual series with Kentucky. The Mr. Basketball award goes to the top boys’ basketball senior in the state. The Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball awards are part of the IndyStar Indiana All-Star program that dates to 1939. The Miss Basketball award, along with the girls' All-Stars, was added to the All-Star program in 1976.

The complete 2023 boys' All-Star team was announced on April 4. The complete 2023 girls' All-Star team was announced on March 14. Laila Hull of Zionsville previously was announced as Miss Basketball for 2023.

Burton earned the boys' top honor after being named on 171 ballots submitted to Broughton in balloting that ran from March 14 through March 29. Xavier Booker of Cathedral was runner-up with 20 votes. Zane Doughty of Ben Davis and Joey Hart of Linton-Stockton each received six votes. Myles Colvin was fifth with five votes followed by Mason Jones of Valparaiso with three votes. In total, 16 players received at least one Mr. Basketball vote.

A Notre Dame recruit, Burton averaged a state-best 30.3 points as well as 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.6 steals while leading Penn to a 28-2 season that included Northern Indiana Conference, Elkhart Sectional and Michigan City Regional championships. He converted 58.2 percent on field goals (348 of 598), including 42.5 percent on 3-point attempts (65 of 153) for the Kingsmen. He also sank 87.1 percent on free throws (148 of 170).

For his career, Burton totaled a school- and St. Joseph County-record 2,273 points as well as 533 rebounds, 512 assists and 329 steals while Penn amassed an aggregate record of 74-31 over his four seasons (10-14, 12-12, 24-3 and 28-2). He also holds the school record for points in a season (909 as a senior) and produced a triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in this year's sectional opener against Elkhart on Feb. 28.

Burton is the first boys' player and the eighth overall player from Penn to be named an Indiana All-Star. Those chosen as All-Stars previously from Penn, all girls, are Jessica Reiter (2000), Lily Svete (2009), Alex Morton (2012), Taylor Lutz (2013), Caroline Buhr (2014), Camryn Buhr (2016) and Kaitlyn Costner (2021). Also, Penn's Kristi Ulrich is the head coach of the 2023 girls' All-Stars.

In going to Notre Dame, Burton joins Chris Thomas of Pike (2003) and Luke Zeller of Washington (2005) as Mr. Basketball honorees to join the Irish program. Burton, Thomas and Zeller are among 24 Indiana All-Stars to play for the ND men's basketball program.

Burton also is the third Mr. Basketball winner from St. Joseph County. He follows John Coalmon of South Bend Central in 1957 and David Magley of South Bend LaSalle in 1978. Burton also becomes the third Mr. Basketball recipient coached by Al Rhodes. The Penn mentor also guided 1985 winner Jeff Grose and 1996 winner Kevin Ault while he was the coach at Warsaw.

While in high school, Burton has been recognized as 2021 IBCA Large School All-State, 2022 IBCA Underclass Supreme 15, 2022 AP third-team All-State, 2023 IBCA Senior Supreme 15 and 2023 AP first-team All-State. He also was named the NIC's most valuable player in 2022 and 2023 after earning honorable mention all-NIC accolades in 2021.

Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball traditionally wear No. 1 jerseys for the respective Indiana Boys All-Stars and Indiana Girls All-Stars in the annual series with Kentucky. The All-Stars will face the Indiana Junior All-Stars in an exhibition doubleheader on June 7 at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis. The All-Stars follow with their home-and-home doubleheaders with Kentucky -- June 9 at the Owensboro SportsCenter in Owensboro, Ky., and June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. 

Indiana Mr. Basketball honorees

1939: George Crowe, Franklin

1940: Ed Schienbein, Southport

1941: John Bass, Greenwood

1942: Bud Brown, Muncie Burris

1943: not awarded (World War II)

1944: not awarded (World War II)

1945: Tom Schwartz, Kokomo

1946: Johnny Wilson, Anderson

1947: Bill Garrett, Shelbyville

1948: Bob Masters, Lafayette Jeff

1949: Dee Monroe, Madison

1950: Pat Klein, Marion

1951: Tom Harrold, Muncie Central

1952: Joe Sexson, Indianapolis Tech

1953: Hallie Bryant, Indianapolis Attucks

1954: Bobby Plump, Milan

1955: Wilson Eison, Gary Roosevelt

1956: Oscar Robertson, Indianapolis Attucks

1957: John Coalmon, South Bend Central

1958: Mike McCoy, Fort Wayne South

1959: Jimmy Rayl, Kokomo

1960: Ron Bonham, Muncie Central

1961: Tom VanArsdale, Indianapolis Manual, and Dick VanArsdale, Indianpolis Manual

1962: Larry Humes, Madison

1963: Rick Jones, Muncie Central

1964: Dennis Brady, Lafayette Jeff

1965: Bill Keller, Indianapolis Washington

1966: Rick Mount, Lebanon

1967: Willie Long, Fort Wayne South

1968: Billy Shepherd, Carmel

1969: George McGinnis, Indianapolis Washington

1970: Dave Shepherd, Carmel

1971: Mike Flynn, Jeffersonville

1972: Phil Cox, Connersville

1973: Kent Benson, New Castle

1974: Steve Collier, Southwestern (Hanover), and Roy Taylor, Anderson

1975: Kyle Macy, Peru

1976: Dave Colescott, Marion

1977: Ray Tolbert, Anderson Madison Heights

1978: David Magley, South Bend LaSalle

1979: Steve Bouchie, Washington

1980: Jim Master, Harding (Fort Wayne)

1981: Dan Palombizio, Michigan City Rogers

1982: Roger Harden, Valparaiso

1983: Steve Alford, New Castle

1984: Delray Brooks, Michigan City Rogers, and Troy Lewis, Anderson,

1985: Jeff Grose, Warsaw

1986: Mark Jewell, Lafayette Jeff

1987: Jay Edwards, Marion, and Lyndon Jones, Marion

1988: Woody Austin, Richmond

1989: Pat Graham, Floyd Central

1990: Damon Bailey, Bedford North Lawrence

1991: Glenn Robinson, Gary Roosevelt

1992: Charles Macon, Michigan City Elston

1993: Maurice “Kojak” Fuller, Anderson

1994: Bryce Drew, Valparaiso

1995: Damon Frierson, Ben Davis

1996: Kevin Ault, Warsaw

1997: Luke Recker, DeKalb

1998: Tom Coverdale, Noblesville

1999: Jason Gardner, North Central

2000: Jared Jeffries, Bloomington North

2001: Chris Thomas, Pike

2002: Sean May, Bloomington North

2003: Justin Cage, Pike

2004: A.J. Ratliff, North Central

2005: Luke Zeller, Washington

2006: Greg Oden, Lawrence North

2007: Eric Gordon, North Central

2008: Tyler Zeller, Washington

2009: Jordan Hulls, Bloomington South

2010: DeShaun Thomas, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers

2011: Cody Zeller, Washington

2012: Gary Harris, Hamilton Southeastern

2013: Zak Irvin, Hamilton Southeastern

2014: Trey Lyles, Indianapolis Tech

2015: Caleb Swanigan, Homestead

2016: Kyle Guy, Lawrence Central

2017: Kris Wilkes, North Central

2018: Romeo Langford, New Albany

2019: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Center Grove

2020: Anthony Leal, Bloomington South

2021: Caleb Furst, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian

2022: Braden Smith, Westfield

Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (TVSC) and the Tippecanoe Valley Athletic
Department would like to formally announce that Tippecanoe Valley has begun the process of exiting our affiliation with the Three Rivers Conference (TRC).

While the TVHS Vikings have enjoyed and will fondly recall the long-standing traditions and rivalries of the TRC, the Vikings are excited to announce that we have entered a partnership with the following schools to create a new (yet to be named) conference: Bremen, John Glenn, Jimtown, Knox and Laville.

The plan is for the new conference to take full effect at the start of the 2024-
2025 school year.

Tippecanoe Valley believes this new affiliation will open up a wider range of competition for our student-athletes and allow for greater development across different sport teams. We believe this is in the best interest of our student athletes and all the stakeholders in our community.

Further details regarding the new conference formation are currently in progress. These details will be released as they become available by all members of the new conference.

Tippecanoe Valley and Plymouth will be represented at a special IHSAA scholarship presentation.

Cato Memorial Scholarships will be presented to 12 seniors.

The student-athletes will be recognized April 19 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

DNR is stocking nearly 50,000 trout throughout Indiana for trout season opening day, April 29.

Lake trout stocking has already begun as trout fishing on lakes is open year around. Stream trout stocking is expected in the weeks before opening day, the first day anglers can legally catch trout from streams.

One site is Mill Creek in Fulton County with 400 rainbow trout  being stocked there by DNR.