Guerin Catholic has a new leader for its boys basketball team. 

The school's athletic department announced Wednesday the hiring of Bobby Allen as varsity boys basketball head coach. Allen also joins the staff at Guerin as an english teacher.

“I am truly blessed and excited for the opportunity to be the head boys basketball coach at Guerin Catholic High School,” said Allen. “Coaching and teaching have been my true passions for fifteen years. Becoming a head basketball coach at a school where I can create lifelong relationships and develop student athletes based on Catholic values is my professional goal, and I look forward to having a positive impact on the players, school, and entire community.”

The IHSBCA No. 2 Fishers Tigers defeated the Cathedral Irish 4-3 at Victory Field on Friday night to claim the school’s first state championship in baseball.

The Tigers and the Irish were tied at No. 1 in the IHSBCA Preseason Poll, so it was fitting for the two schools to face each other in the championship game.

The Irish struck first scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the first. After a one-out walk, the Irish runner stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error from catcher Kiel Brenczewski, and continued home on the same play when centerfielder JJ Woolwine overthrew third base. 
Like they have done all year, however, the Tigers answered.

A Noblesville High School graduate put a stamp on an outstanding high school career over the weekend at the annual Indiana-Kentucky All-Star series.

Emily Kiser scored six points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in Indiana’s 83-70 victory over Kentucky Saturday at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. The victory helped Indiana salvage a split, as Kentucky won 92-87 Friday in Frankfort, much to Emily Kiser’s delight.

“We did not play well as a team Friday, so it was good to come back and get the win Saturday in Indiana,” she said. “I felt I played well but being on an all-star team where 13 other players were the star of their team, it is important to learn how to play with them and just focus on doing other things, like rebounding, that will help your team win, and that was nice to contribute in that way.”

Emily Kiser, who will continue her playing career at the University of Michigan, was honored at halftime by being named the John Wooden MCL Restaurant All-Star Citizenship Award. The award goes to the All-Star who has demonstrated outstanding citizenship in athletics and academics. 

Noblesville senior Kade Gorman came on in relief in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s opening round sectional at Noblesville against Westfield, and it was lights out for the Shamrocks.

Gorman allowed just one hit, striking out three and relied on stellar defense and faced just 13 batters in the final four innings in the Millers’ 5-3 victory over Westfield. The Millers will now face Hamilton Southeastern at 10 a.m. Monday in the semifinal round. The Royals advanced with a 15-10 extra inning victory over Carmel in the opener.

“Kade came in and slammed the door,” Noblesville coach Justin Keever said. “He had all three pitches working tonight. He was able to throw strikes, and we made some great defensive plays behind him.”

In a rematch of the 2017 Regional Finals, the fifth-seeded Noblesville Millers defeated the 12th seed Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles 15-8 on Tuesday for the right to advance to the regional finals for the third year in a row.

The Millers took a 3-0 lead with 19:42 remaining in the first half and maintained the advantage when junior Kylie Morris hit the back of the net off of a pass from junior Kaylin Mertens at the 4:11 mark. The Eagles mounted a comeback, scoring three goals to tie the game with 49 seconds left in the first half. Morris took the draw and drove to the goal to score with only 1.9 seconds left in the half, putting the Millers back up by a score of 6-5.

The Millers started the second half with the hot sticks, scoring four goals, including a pair by freshmen Emma Potter, by the 17:11 mark, making the lead to 10-5. The game was back and forth the remainder of the game, ending with two goals by junior Kayla Kubel in the last two minutes of the game.

The Indiana Pacers announced they have signed Alize Johnson to a contract. Per team policy, the terms of the contract were not released.

The Pacers selected Johnson with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft.

Johnson averaged 15.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game last season as a senior at Missouri State. He appeared in five games for the Pacers in the 2018 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 12.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

Conor Daly will join the Harding Racing team for the Honda Indy Toronto Grand Prix this weekend.

The Noblesville native will pilot the No. 88 car along the streets of the Exhibition Place circuit in downtown Toronto. 

Daly is a veteran Verizon IndyCar Series driver with 40 starts in five seasons. The 26 year old has one podium finish.

“At this point in the season, we are focusing all our attention on the 2019 season,” said Brian Barnhart, Harding Racing team president. “If we can expand to a two-car team, all remaining races and testing will offer driver evaluation opportunities to determine who will become Gabby’s teammate in 2019. Gabby is still fully employed and still under contract with Harding for the remainder of this year and in 2019.”

Few things connect a community more than cheering kids on at the baseball field.

For the Orange Youth Baseball Organization, giving families a place to call their home field is a dream soon to come true. In a new partnership, Orange Baseball will construct its home fields and facility on the property of Noblesville Naz Church, located at 1399 Greenfield Ave. 

Orange Youth Baseball hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at Noble Naz Church in Noblesville Friday. The organization’s two youth baseball fields, team dugouts and fan bleachers will be constructed on the church’s existing grounds. 

The property was once vetted and zoned as a potential youth recreation space by Noblesville Parks and Recreation. The due diligence conducted by Noblesville Parks has helped empower Orange Baseball and Noble Naz to build upon the knowledge gathered to now activate this space to serve the youth baseball community. 

High school soccer teams will be reversing their home and visiting uniforms next season. Effective with the 2018-19 season, the home team will wear dark jerseys and socks, and the visiting team will wear solid white jerseys and solid white socks.

This uniform change was one of nine rules revisions recommended by the National Federation of State High School Association’s (NFHS) Soccer Rules Committee at its January 22-24 meeting in Indianapolis. All changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Previously, the home team was required to wear solid white jerseys and the visiting team wore dark-colored jerseys. The language defines dark as “any color which contrasts with white.”

“This change allows home teams to wear their school-color jerseys at home,” said Theresia Wynns, director of sports and officials and liaison to the Soccer Rules Committee. “It also could provide the opportunity to use an alternative color uniform for special events.”

Matt Sparks, tutor of a series of top-flight distance standouts over his four years as University of Notre Dame associate head coach, has been named the Hatherly-Piane head coach for the Irish men’s and women’s track and field and cross country program.

Originally from Noblesville, Sparks is a 1997 graduate of Indiana University with a degree in science education. He also earned a master's degree from Indiana in 1999 in applied sports sciences. 

Sparks has guided the Notre Dame cross country program, as well as coaching Irish women’s distance runners throughout the indoor and outdoor track seasons during those four years after holding a similar role at Southern Illinois University for 12 years.

“Growing up in Indiana, I have long felt that Notre Dame has always been a place of storied tradition,” said Sparks. “Having now spent four years at Notre Dame, this place is even more special to me. I now fully understand the tremendous pride felt for Notre Dame by students and the alumni of this University. It is with the utmost respect for this University that I look forward to leading the track and cross country program. I would like to thank the search committee led by Claire Leatherwood Slebonick and Reggie Brooks, as well as athletic director Jack Swarbrick and University president Father John Jenkins for believing in my vision for the program.”

Members of the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville presented Colin Kalbfleisch, the general manager of the Fishers Buffalo Wild Wings on Highway 37, with an autographed basketball from Club Kids.

Earlier this spring, Buffalo Wild Wings stores across the country participated in a "Community Day" to support their Team Up For Kids initiative, with a portion of one day's sales going directly to the local Boys & Girls Club. The Fishers store raised $493 for the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville.

Hamilton Heights High School, in cooperation with the Indianapolis Colts, will host a county-wide blood drive Wednesday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the high school gymnasium. Donors must be at least 16 years old and provide a valid ID. All donors will not only help save a life, but also receive a Colts Limited Edition Football.

Schedule your appointment at:https://www.donorpoint.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/119950.

The communities that make up the Hamilton Heights School District are dedicated to the students and the school and have been great donors in past drives. The blood drive coordinators and Indiana Blood Center hope to replicate past success, because each appointment commits blood or blood product to a patient in Hoosier hospitals.