CARMEL – We only a few short weeks away from high school football being back under the bright Friday night lights. One lucky player at the end of the season will have earned the title of Mr. Football in the state of Indiana. Is it way too early to start talking about that? Probably. But let’s do it anyway.

Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star listed his “Way too early” Mr. Football candidates. In the article he mentions two players from Carmel that could potentially bring home the award.

First is senior running back Dylan Downing. Downing last season ran for 1,107 yards and also ran for five touchdowns. Injuries have hampered Downing the past few seasons according to head coach John Hebert. Hebert does talk about what makes Downing so special however.

“He’s very experienced and a very versatile player,” Hebert said. “He has had a really great summer. It looks like he has a spring in his step and is looking to help us win another state championship.”

The greyhounds have depth at the running back position with other guys like Zach White, and Gabriel Davin. One of things Hebert has seen from Downing is his ability to improve his route running abilities and his catching abilities. The Greyhounds want to be more versatile and Hebert is loving what he’s seeing so far.

As we approach the beginning of another athletic season. St. Vincent sports performance would like to remind coaches and parents about the following:

Conditioning is a component of sports and physical fitness for athletes of all ages. Training may positively influence athletic performance and also help prevent injuries. As competitive levels increase in younger age groups, it is important that parents and coaches are knowledgeable about proper conditioning programs and know when to rest athletes to prevent unnecessary, avoidable injuries. Below are a few tips to keep in mind when getting young athletes ready for an upcoming season

CARMEL – With the girls’ soccer season less than a month away, many programs are beginning to gear up for the upcoming season. Four programs here in Hamilton County just wrapped up playing in the DeWayne Akin Summer Showcase which took place on the practice fields at Carmel High School.

Carmel, Noblesville, Geurin Catholic, and Fishers all competed in the tournament. The tournament allows the coaches to see how their player respond when they are put in actual game situations and forced to make tough decisions. With the first official practice scheduled on for August 5^th, coaches can see what they have in their teams and what they can look to work on when practices start.

FISHERS – The Fishers Tigers girl’s golf team will be holding its tryouts for the upcoming 2019 season. Tryouts will be held at Gray Eagle Golf Course and take place over a three day period on August, 2nd, 3rd, and 5^th.

Those interested in trying out for the team must attend all three days of the tryouts and have the following in order to participate:

• Completed IHSAA Physical Form turned into the athletic office
• Complete all required online forms by selecting “Register an Athlete” at fishershs-ar.rschooltoday.com/node/30
• New athletes and parents to Fishers High School must visit the Fishers Athletic Department to complete an IHSAA Athletic Transfer prior to participation (does not include incoming freshman)

Any further questions can be directed to Coach Smith at dsmith@hse.k12.in.us

The Lady Tigers were unable to get past the sectional round of post-season play last season. They placed fourth at the Noblesville Sectional and shot a season-best 390. Caitlyn Kim and Kaitlyn Brunnemer were able to advance to the Lapel Regional as individuals last season.

NEWTON, Iowa — In his first start at Iowa Speedway since 2017, Noblesville native Conor Daly finished a respectable 13th for Carlin Racing in the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet at Sunday Morning’s Iowa 300.

His two appearances at the .875 mile oval in NTT IndyCar Series competition ended prematurely for Daly who was upbeat after finishing just one lap down.

“I’ve never even really made it to halfway in this race before so I’ve always struggled here,” said Daly. “I think we probably should’ve finished 12th or 11th, I think we were running around there most of the day which is a huge accomplishment. I mean, this track is so hard, this track is so dependent on mechanical grip and usually the big teams succeed here. As we saw, Penske dominates. For us as a very young team to come here and do that, I think we can be really proud of it. It was really hard but I’m glad we made it through and had a good day.”

By Codey Emerson

codey@thetimes24-7.com

CARMEL – Potentially the next generation of the Carmel Greyhound baseball team was on display these past few days at the Greyhounds hosted their annual Youth Baseball Camp at Gray Road Park in Carmel. The camp concluded yesterday with three days of instruction from the Greyhound coaches and players.

The camp consisted of kids grades 1-6 and was split up into two two-hour sessions. From 10 a.m. until noon the 1^st-3^rd grade students were being taught, then from 12:30-2:30 is when the 4^th-6^th graders got their turn.

According to head baseball Coach Matt Buczkowski in total there were roughly 120 kids that attended the camp, making it the biggest attended youth baseball camp in Buczkowski’s three years at the school. Buczkowski talked about what he hoped the kids would take away from the camp.

INDIANAPOLIS – The third and final player to represent Hamilton County in the 2019 Indiana Football Coaches Association All-Star game is Nicholas Burnell. Burnell spent his four years playing for one of the most storied football programs in the state, The Sheridan Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are led by hall of fame Coach Larry “Bud” Wright who is the winningest coach in Indiana High School Football History with over 400 career wins.

Burnell was a four year starter for the Blackhawks where he played outside-linebacker. He said that he really didn’t see himself playing in this game, yet there he was.

“I really had no idea that I would even be able to play in this game,” he said. “It’s just a great honor, and a huge accomplishment in my career. I’m just proud to be able to represent Sheridan.”

INDIANAPOLIS – The second Hamilton County player to play in Indiana Football Coaches Association All-Star game was Westfield’s Franklin Bohannon. Bohannon is a ball-hawking cornerback and led the Rocks this past season with five interceptions.

Along with those five interceptions, Bohannon helped anchor the Rocks secondary and even help them capture a state championship back in 2016 when the team went 12-2. This past two seasons have seen Westfield post a 4-6 record but that hasn’t stopped Bohannon from showcasing his talents which earned him a spot on the South All-Star team.

Bohannon became the 25^th player from Westfield to play in the All-Star game. He saw the opportunity to play in the game as a chance that most high school players don’t get during their career.

The Noblesville swim club hosted the 2019 Enchanted Forest swim meet at Forest Park Aquatic Center this past weekend. The meet hosted 962 swimmers from 33 different teams. The meet even included a swim team from Toronto, Canada participate.

Meet director Chris Berger talked about the things that are required to put on a meet this size.

“We started setting up for the event around 6:30 Thursday evening,” Berger said. “We didn’t get done setting up until roughly 10:30. We had 27 tents that needed to be put up to make sure the event ran as smooth as possible.”

INDIANAPOLIS – The annual Indiana Football Coaches Association North South All-Star game is a tradition that has been dating back to 1967. The game offers a chance for High School seniors to play in one final game in the high school career.

For Noblesville Senior Defensive End Dalton Davis, he was selected to represent the Millers in the game. For Davis, not only was he representing his the Millers and his program, but he was representing the entire Noblesville community.

“It’s always great to represent your community,” Davis said. “This is the longest running high school all-star game in the country, so for me this was a tremendous honor and privilege to be out here on this field tonight against the best competition the state of Indiana has to offer.”

Noblesville golfer Clay Merchant recently was invited to participate in the United States Golf Association (USGA) Jr. Amateur Championships at the Inverness Club in Toledo Ohio. Unfortunately for Merchant he will be forced to miss the tournament which will take place July 15-20 as he is currently nursing a broken foot.

Merchant was one of only four kids in the entire state to qualify for the tournament. The field of 156 golfers was determined through sectional qualifying which took place from June 10-25 at 56 locations across the country and in 39 states. Merchant already had received a spot in the tournament as he was in the World Amateur Golf Rankings top 50 age-eligible points leader.

Week six of the Sheridan Horseshoe league is in the books. Noblesville’s very own Jeff Ogle and Mitch Dwigans of Price Heating helped push their team into second place claiming some much needed wins. The rest of the league stayed roughly the same with equal wins. Team Ashpaugh is pulling ahead and sitting nicely on top of the leaderboard at first place. Don Dwigans and Rick Downs helped their teams with solid pitching nights as well.

This weekend the league will be hosting another tournament that O’Reilly AutoParts of Westfield is sponsoring. Anyone and everyone is welcome to pitch, the entry fee is $10. It starts at 9 am at Biddle’s Memorial Park. As mentioned before, O’Reilly has donated money to the prize fund for our winners. Come on out to the pitch on Saturday and have a good time.

In his first year coaching East Central High School football, Justin Roden probably felt like he had been blindsided and plowed over during a blocking drill.

He went from an assistant to head coach quicker than was expected, and then lost his job rather quickly after that season.

“My first year running the program, the head coach just upped and quit, even though the plan was that he would coach 2 more years. The majority of staff quit, just walked away….just ran for the hills. The middle school was in a bad place and they knew what was coming,’’ said the second-year Noblesville football coach.

“And we had graduated 21 of 22 starters in 2012. Then the one returnee tore his ACL during our first practice,’’ said the second-year Noblesville High School football coach.

“I was called in by the principal and athletic director. Under the circumstances, I told them I thought a 4-7 record was pretty good. They looked me in the eye and told me it was not good enough.

It was the school’s first losing season in 23 years.

Take a drive throughout Hamilton County in the spring, summer and fall and you’ll come across many youth baseball and softball and soccer fields.

Grand Park, which features astro turf fields, is quite popular. There’s also a huge infield center for various sports, including soccer.

In Noblesville, the Field of Dreams ballpark is always busy, same for the massive Billericay Park baseball complex in Fishers, and Grand Park, which has been a major addition to the county sports landscape in Westfield.

In the cold weather season when the snow is flying, most high school teams work out in their school gyms.

I’ve lived in Fishers and Hamilton County since 1989, and only recently has high school baseball stood out in a big, big way.

Right now, our county baseball is as good as it gets. Maybe even the best in Central Indiana!

It all started with Noblesville’s state title in 2014, followed by Fishers HS winning in 2018 and Hamilton Southeastern and University stating their cases in 2019….and, guess what, two of the state’s biggest high schools don’t even offer 7th/8th baseball in the City of Fishers.

By the way, Noblesville does have a middle school baseball program, which Noblesville High School head varsity coach Justin Keever is thrilled about.

And first-year HSE coach Jeremy Sassanella would be all in for middle school baseball if it was offered . . . and if he could be involved in the selection of coaches.

Sure, we have middle school football and basketball in Fishers  . . .

But again, no baseball at the middle school level at the Fishers and HSE junior highs.

It’s not for a lack of fields!

So why, then?