Four of the eight HHC teams began sectional play Thursday
evening and it was a good night to be a cat. The Tigers of Yorktown and Cougars
of Greenfield-Central advanced to second round action on Saturday. They will
join the other four conference schools that are there by virtue of the
tournament draw.
Greenfield’s victory cam in
the 4A Muncie sectional against league rival PendletonHeights. It was an unwelcome rendition
of Groundhog Day for the Arabians as the fell in three games by identical
scores of 25-22.
Highly regarded Yorktown
began play in their own 3A sectional by downing Blackford in three games. The
Tigers were also incredibly consistent, winning 25-16, 25-16, 25-15. New Palestine saw action in the 3A HamiltonHeights
sectional and was defeated by the host Huskies in four games. The Dragons won
the opener 25-21, but dropped the next three 25-14, 25-22, 25-21.
Pendleton Heights’ Nathan Hendershot gave his team a boost at the Delta cross country regional Saturday morning by winning the boys individual title. Pendleton Heights was one of the top schools at the meet with a second place finish for the girls cross country team and a fourth place finish for the boys.
Both Pendleton Heights teams will advance to the semistate meet next Saturday at New Haven.
Hendershot was not alone during his 5K run. Derek Stinefield (Wapahani), the Delta Sectional champion, kept up nearly the entire time. At two miles, the two were shoulder-to-shoulder.
Hendershot was able to create a gap soon after. He noticed Stinefield slowing slightly, so he took the opportunity to gradually speed up. That gap remained stable through the end as Hendershot finished 13 seconds faster than Stinefield.
Hendershot’s final time was 15:52.98.
Although Hendershot won the race, he was slightly disappointed with his time. He had finished his previous 5K run in 15:41. He plans to pick it up, though, for a fast race at the semis.
The New Palestine Dragons earned their third sectional title in a row after defeating Pendleton Heights in a close game Oct. 18. In a 1-1 tie game, NP’s Jessica Box scored on a penalty kick to give the Dragons a 2-1 victory over favored Pendleton Heights.
Pendleton Heights easily beat the Dragons in the regular season, and the Arabians’ record was incredibly strong (15-1-2) going into Saturday night’s championship game. In fact, the Arabians owned the first half and were on the board early with a goal in the first 12 minutes.
But at halftime, the Dragons decided to kick it up a notch — if they could go on to victory in the two years previous, they could surely do it again. And they did.
NP’s other goal came from freshman Lauren Kehrt as she scored on an open net against Pendleton Heights’ freshman goalie Kinzie Davis, who was unable to get back to her post in time for a block. The Dragons’ defense, meanwhile, had just as much to do with the win.
Goalie Amanda Curry sealed the deal with a tough block just 35 seconds after her team’s successful penalty kick, and Britney Shull added to it by hindering an Arabian goal attempt shortly thereafter.
New Palestine (14-3-2) moves on to face top-ranked Noblesville (16-0-2) Oct. 22 in the Zionsville Regional, with the survivor advancing to the North Central (Indianapolis) Semistate on Saturday.
Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, HHC mens’
teams dominated the Delta regional Saturday. At the head of that list is Mt.Vernon
which claimed the team championship. Yorktown and PendletonHeights
also advanced to semi-state competition.
Mt. Vernon won the tem
competition with a total of 60 points. The Marauders were led by Michael Mead
who finished fourth individually. Yorktown was
close on the heels of their conference rival. The Tigers ended second with a
total of 76. Their effort was led by Martin Buss who cme in fifth among the
runners.
Pendleton Heights also advanced,
finishing fourth with a score of 95. The Arabians also claimed the individual
champion on the day. Nathan Hendershot took the individual crown in a time of
15:53.
It was a banner day for the Hoosier Heritage Conference in
regional competition Saturday. Moving to the semi-state round, four conference
teams are still alive in the team competition. The HHC also boasted an
individual regional winner.
It was a dominating performance at the Delta regional. PendletonHeights finished second in the team
competition totaling just 77 points. The Arabians were led by the seventh place
run of Hannah Douglas. Mt. Vernon was right behind
in third with a team score of 95. The Marauders also placed a runner in the top
ten as Amanda Jones came home ninth. The host Delta eagles also qualified
through to semi-state competition by ending fourth with a total of 98. The
Eagles were led by Jami Carter who finished tenth individually.
Despite the tem success by HHC schools, the big story from
this site may have been the individual performance of Yorktown’s
Alexis Hunt. Hunt claimed the individual championship in a time of 19:43.
At the Rushville regional site, New Palestine continued
their strong postseason campaign. The Dragons finished third behind highly
regarded Franklin Central and Warren Central. They registered a team total of
93 points and were led by Courtney Deon’s fourth place finish in the individual
standings.
Pendleton Heights headlined a big
day for Hoosier Heritage Conference schools in the girls’ crow country
sectionals this week. Seven of the eight league schools advanced to regional
competition. The Arabians head that list after claiming the team title of their
own sectional with only 29 points. Pendleton Heights placed four
runners among the top ten individual finishers in the race.
Two other HHC schools advanced out of the PendletonHeights
sectional. Mt.Vernon gave a strong second place
performance, ending the evening with 72 points. Yorktown
was fifth at this site with 134 points.
Delta ended second in their sectional with a total of 72
points. The eagles trailed only an impressive JayCounty
team. In the very tough New Palestine sectional, the host Dragons managed a
third place finish. They compiled a total of 64 points in running behind #4
ranked Franklin Central and Warren
central. Greenfield-Central ended fifth in that same sectional field with a
total of 164. Rushville was the seventh qualifier out of the conference,
finishing fifth at the Connersville
site with a total of 116.
Processing your request, Please wait....
