Bears claw victory over Millers

INDIANAPOLIS – The Noblesville boys basketball team three-game win streak was cut short but a close Lawrence Central win Tuesday. The Bears rallied from a 40-31 deficit after the third-quarter to a 56-52 score at the buzzer.

Ashley Roberts has signed a letter of intent to play softball at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana this fall. She is the daughter of Ed and Teresa Roberts.

Former Noblesville resident, Dominic Novak, signed with Augustana University to play football. The senior running back will head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota this fall after graduating from Boerne High School in Boerne, Texas.

Novak’s grandparents still reside in Noblesville, Henry and Arla Anderson.

INDIANAPOLIS – Not only is it a state record, it’s a national record – and Carmel doesn’t look like they’re stopping anytime soon.

INDIANAPOLIS – The race was on.

NEW CASTLE – New Castle Fieldhouse, the largest high school gym in the country with a seating capacity of 9,325, was buzzing with spectators from 9 a.m. until nearly 7 p.m. on Saturday as 224 wrestlers competed in the IHSAA Semi-State Wrestling Tournament. Out of this group, 37 Hamilton County wrestlers entered the historic gym with hopes of advancing to the state finals. In the end, seven county wrestlers punched their tickets to the finals by winning at least their first two matches of the day.

Millers pull out yet another 2-point win

The Noblesville boys basketball team likes to make it close. Their past three games have been two-point victories.

ARCADIA – Westfield head coach Shane Sumpter made a change to his starting lineup on Friday night. Based on the results of the game, the change is likely to become a permanent one.

Guerin Catholic’s leading scorer Jack Hansen returned in style Friday.

INDIANAPOLIS – Westfield sophomore Erin Verbrugge is headed to the Saturday swim finals for the second year in a row. Verbrugge qualified for the IHSAA State Girls Swim Finals in the 100 backstroke. The top 16 places advance from the Friday preliminaries to the Saturday Finals.

Royals upset Greyhounds

CARMEL – The Hamilton Southeastern Royals (17-4) soared past Carmel (14-4) Friday night, taking home an impressive 21-point victory over the Greyhounds for their third straight win.

The Noblesville gymnastics team celebrated their seniors Wednesday with a win over Lafayette Jefferson and Harrison.

There are a few similarities between the Noblesville athletes competing in this weekend’s IHSAA Girl’s Swimming & Diving State Tournament this weekend.

Four went to state as freshman, two were alternatives. Westfield’s strong sophomore girls swim class will be represented by Erin Verbrugge, Molly Effinger, Mia Herzog, Katherine Hand, Lily Hunter along with junior Molly Ruggles in this weekend’s IHSAA Girls Swimming & Diving State Tournament.

Verbrugge not only qualified for state last year but was a part of two individual (200 free, 500 free) and two relay events. This year, she made all four of her events again with a state cut in the 100 back, while helping three relays to qualify.

A Guerin Catholic High school senior will be traveling to Europe this summer to participate in the United World Games.

Westfield High School’s Ethan and Evan Heirbrandt signed letters of intent to continue their education and soccer careers at Ancilla College on Monday, Feb. 6.

Eagles rally past Guerin

INDIANAPOLIS – The Guerin boys basketball team started strong in their Monday game against 2A Heritage Christian. However, an Eagle rally thwarted Guerin’s victory as Heritage Christian dropped in a last-second 3-pointer for the 44-42 win.

Michael Tyner, Hamilton Heights’ senior, has signed a letter of intent to play football and run track at Trine University in Angola, Indiana this fall. Trine University is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). He is the son of Tony and Liz Tyner.

The Hamilton County wrestlers competed at the Pendleton Heights and North Montgomery regionals Saturday. A total of 37 county wrestlers advanced onto the New Castle semi-state, which will merge all the county teams together.

Carmel swept Sectional 9, winning all top three spots in each event except two – diving and Verbrugge’s second place were the exception. Carmel will send 14 individuals and three relays to state.

Only two days following a dramatic two-point win over Brownsburg, the Noblesville Millers found themselves in a nearly identical late-game situation.

TIPTON – A jubilant Heritage Christian girls’ basketball team had just started cutting down the nets when Hamilton Heights girls’ basketball coach Keegan Cherry described what it was like in his team’s locker room Saturday after the Eagles had defeated the Huskies in Class 3A Sectional 24 at Tipton.

FISHERS – Amy Dilk and Olivia Christy guided No. 4 Carmel past No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern 62-57 in the final minutes of the Sectional 8 championship Saturday.

SHERIDAN – Cam Weitzel used a big perimeter game and a few key inside shots to give Sheridan a 52-48 victory Saturday.

Hamilton Heights senior Ivy Houser is in it to win it.

Carmel scores 95 on way to sectional championship

FISHERS – The No. 4 Carmel girls basketball team flipped the switch after the first quarter against Sectional 8 foe Anderson Friday.

With 1.5 seconds remaining in a two-point game, Noblesville’s Rico Duncan flashed to the top of the key to deflect a Brownsburg inbound pass and preserve the win. As the buzzer sounded, the Miller players flew towards their bench where head coach Brian McCauley was ready to hand out celebratory hugs. The joy was palpable after a big conference win.

Rachel Sanquetti continued her record-breaking swim season for Heights at the sectional prelims Thursday. She broke the school backstroke record with a 58.97, just two seconds from Carmel’s first place swimmer. She finished fourth in both the backstroke and 500 free.

Tigers sprint past Westfield in HCC matchup

WESTFIELD – The Fishers boys basketball team notched another Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory to their record after a 66-49 victory Thursday.

The Lady Trailblazers blazed past Indiana Math & Science in a 69-22 affair Wednesday in the first round of Sectional 58 play.

Westfield football head coach, Jake Gilbert, ran into T.Y. Hilton this past weekend at the Pro Bowl . . . literally.

Noblesville’s Emily Kiser was honored with the District 2 girls IBCA Player of the Week after her performance against Pendleton Heights last week.

For the ninth season, Guerin Catholic boys basketball coach Pete Smith will coach team barefoot Thursday night against Lapel.

Smith's barefoot coaching raises awareness for over 300 million children worldwide who wake up every day with no shoes. Samaritan's Feet is a non-profit organization serving children in over 72 countries, including children right here in our home city and state with new athletic shoes and socks, while washing their feet and sharing a message of hope with them.

Branham leads Heights past Guerin

TIPTON – The Hamilton Heights girls basketball team had a 5’3” junior step up in the absence of the Huskies leading scorer Kayla Kirtley.

Lexi Branham beat out her average by 10 points, finishing with 15 points in Tuesday’s Sectional 24 match up against county foe Guerin Catholic. Heights came out on top, 37-18.

ZIONSVILLE – The Zionsville wrestling sectional was filled with Indiana talent as Carmel fought Hamilton Southeastern for the sectional title. Carmel finished on top while HSE, along with Westfield, sent multiple wrestlers to the finals but were only able to procure one championship title.

The Noblesville wrestling team switched leads throughout Saturday with Pendleton Heights in the Elwood wrestling sectional. Pendleton won just enough championship and third-place matches to clinch the title while the Millers finished 9.5 points behind them in second place.

FRANKFORT – The Sheridan boys basketball team was a defenseless victim in a three-point onslaught on Saturday evening.  

The Westfield boys basketball team came back from their fourth loss in a row Friday, with a 48-31 win over class 3A Lebanon Saturday.

FISHERS – The Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball team proved their IBCA No. 8 state ranking in Friday’s 61-41 victory over Hoosier Crossroads Conference foe Noblesville.

The Hoosier Crossroads Conference had a few teams jump spots Friday. With Avon’s 62-57 victory, the Orioles move to the fourth spot at an even 2-2 record. Westfield suffered their fourth conference loss and remain in eighth place.

The Hamilton Heights team had been set to play in the fifth-place Hoosier Conference game on Feb. 17. However, their second half play against Tipton concluded otherwise.

The Golden Eagles came out three-points the wiser, 52-49, in their Friday match up against Lafayette Central Catholic.

The Carmel girls basketball team swept past MIC foe Ben Davis Friday with a 59-47 victory. Three Greyhounds led the team with double figures – Blake Smith (16), Tomi Taiwo (15) and Amy Dilk (12).

SHERIDAN – Sheridan had a chance to fight their way back into the Hoosier Heartland Conference semi-final game against Clinton Prairie Thursday.

The Westfield Shamrocks finalized their regular season record at 8-14 after a 63-54 loss to Franklin Central Thursday.

Hoosier Crossroads

Noblesville and Westfield tied for third place in the HCC after Westfield defeated Brownsburg Saturday. Noblesville lost their last game against Zionsville to finish 3-3 and Westfield was in a position to either fall to fifth place or finish in third.

You may have seen her around at the boys wrestling meets – keeping score, cleaning mats or filling water bottles. What you probably haven’t see is her analyzing the matches to get pointers.

The first half left a lot up for question in the Noblesville versus Pendleton Heights game Wednesday. The second half did not.

The Hamilton Heights wrestling team has some serious senior talent and the team celebrated that talent Wednesday with a win over Brebeuf.

Westfield swept past Arsenal Tech 63-37 Wednesday to celebrate their seniors. The Rocks used a 15-6 first-quarter lead to slowly extend their advantage. They got it to a 17-point lead after three on their way to victory.

SHERIDAN – The Sheridan boys basketball team rallied in the four minutes of overtime to overcome their first-round Hoosier Heartland Conference tournament opponent Carroll (Flora), 54-45.

ARCADIA – Hamilton Heights boys’ basketball coach Chad Ballenger warned his team after Saturday’s victory against Sheridan that you can’t allow teams to hang around for a half and expect to turn on a switch in the second half every single game.

There was no better way for the Lady Hawks to finish their regular season Monday. Sheridan tackled Hoosier Heartland (West) foe Rossville 65-25.

The Lady Greyhounds bounced back from their loss against Pike this past weekend and got their 18^th win Tuesday over Indianapolis Cathedral.

ARCADIA – The boys' basketball game between Hamilton Heights and Sheridan Saturday at Heights was a classic tale of two halves.

One night after a one-point victory over Frankfort, the Noblesville Millers found themselves locked up in another tight game in the fourth quarter. This time around the Millers failed to make the key plays late.

Noblesville High School inducted the 2017 Class into the NHS Athletic Hall of Fame during halftime of the Logansport game.

The inductees are from the 2000 to 2010 decade and features seven honorees.

Tri-West perseveres in even battle over Westfield

The Rock, Bruin match up Saturday was an even-keeled fight from the start. The class 3A No. 12 Tri-West team only has three losses on the season and did not give up that number in a 74-69 victory over Westfield.

The Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic boys basketball teams couldn’t be much different.

WESTFIELD – Westfield senior Ian Kristensen scored a game-high 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, not missing a basket inside the three-point range Friday at home against Hoosier Crossroads Conference foe Brownsburg.

The first ever girls wrestling state championship in Indiana took place Friday at Hamilton Heights. A total of 49 schools qualified with 86 wrestlers competing for 16 state titles.

Noblesville High School will be inducting the 2017 Class into the NHS Athletic Hall of Fame this Saturday night during halftime of the Logansport game.

Duncan boosts Millers past Hot Dogs

Down by one with five seconds left. Miller Rico Duncan drew the foul and headed to the free throw line.

Duncan had nine points and was 3-for-4 from the line that night. He’s been in situations like this before . . . multiple times throughout the season.

There was no better way to send him off.

Senior night . . . against Tipton . . . with eight pins . . . and lots of fans.

Noblesville wrestling coach Tom Knotts was honored before the Noblesville versus Tipton senior night dual meet Thursday. It was his last home meet as the Noblesville wrestling coach after 19 years of coaching Miller wrestling and 26 years with Noblesville athletics.

The Sheridan girls basketball team missed their bid for the Hoosier Heartland Conference championship by over 30 points Thursday.

The Hamilton Heights girls basketball team was victorious on their senior night Thursday. They faced Yorktown with a deafening crowd cheering them on. The Huskies finished with a 38-31 victory.

The Noblesville boys and girls swim teams defeated Cathedral Thursday, winning 18 of the 24 events. The girls won 105-78 and the boys won 123.5-55.5.

Both Westfield swim teams defeated two ranked Avon teams Thursday night. The No. 17 boys team defeated No. 38 Avon while the No. 27 girls team overthrew the No. 22 Orioles.

The Westfield wrestling team wrapped up their regular season by beating Greenwood 51-22 Thursday.

CARMEL – The Greyhound wrestling team justified their No. 11 ranking Wednesday with a 30-20 victory over Hamilton Southeastern.

“We were in a spot where we could move people around and they nailed it,” Greyhound head coach Ed Pendoski said.

WESTFIELD – Seven of Westfield’s girls basketball games have come down to five points or less. The Rocks have lost five of them, with two being lost in overtime.

The stage is set – the teams are paired. The 2017 IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament kicked off with the opening week’s pairings Sunday.

ARCADIA – The Hamilton Heights versus Western Boone girls basketball game was the true meaning of a buzzer beater.

With just 11 seconds left in overtime, the Huskies went ahead 37-36 after two Bayleigh Runner free throws.

Hansen shines in Guerin victory

The Guerin boys basketball team got revenge against Roncalli Tuesday. After losing to them 62-54 at the beginning of the season, Guerin fought to a 50-44 victory the second time around.

The Lady Millers dropped their Monday meet against Bloomington South 107.175-92.925.

The Carmel wrestling team came away with the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championship for the first time since 2007 Saturday.

Westfield’s Liam Jagow was one of two Hamilton County wrestlers to come out on top at the Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship Saturday.

University loses fifth in a row

The tough schedule for the Trailblazers boys basketball team saw somewhat of an upset Saturday as class 1A Lutheran defeated 1A No. 7 University 49-44.

The Hamilton Heights swim team broke three school records at the Hoosier Conference meet Saturday at Purdue Univeristy. This along with the Lady Huskies first place finish combined for a historical day for the team.

The Hamilton Heights wrestling team had four conference champions on their way to a fourth place finish Saturday. Three seniors and a freshman were victorious for the Husky grapplers.

WESTFIELD – Westfield’s Ian Kristensen always has the go-ahead to shoot the ball. Head coach Shane Sumpter said he gives his senior leader the green light as soon as he pulls his car into the parking lot. Against Lafayette Jeff, Kristensen probably would have made a shot from the parking lot.

The Noblesville boys basketball team couldn’t have started much better in their Hoosier Crossroads Conference game against Zionsville Friday. The ending was a different story as the Class 4A No. 15 Eagles went on to win 58-39.

The Noblesville girls team put up a fight against Hoosier Crossroads Conference foe No. 4 Zionsville, but the team could simply not withstand the size and athleticism of the Eagles. Zionsville won their fourth conference game Friday, 75-62.

Two Eagles soared above 6-0 while three girls were above 5-10. The Millers, on the other hand, did not have anyone above 5-08 other than Emily Kiser. And Kiser sure did play her part.

Trailblazers fall to Cardinal Ritter

The University boys basketball team faced their fourth class 3A or higher team in the past five games Friday. They dropped 44-49 to Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter.

SHERIDAN – A strong first quarter for the class 2A Sheridan girls basketball team was followed by decent middle quarters and a backbreaker fourth quarter. The Blackhawks dropped 37-49 to class 4A McCutcheon Thursday.

Rocks swim past Guerin, McCutcheon

Westfield won 20 of the 24 events in the three-way meet between the Rocks, Guerin Catholic and McCutcheon Thursday.

WESTFIELD – The Westfield wrestling team had a good outlook on their senior night against No. 15 state-ranked Carmel Wednesday.

Carmel deals loss to Cathedral

The No. 3 Carmel boys basketball team spent two quarters extending their lead against Indianapolis Cathedral Wednesday and the last two quarters keeping it. They held out the victory 76-52.

Westfield High School announced Josh Bryant as the new boys golf coach Wednesday, replacing three-time state champion coach Jon Hoover.

Hamilton Heights swimmer Jared Holder swam the 50 freestyle for the third time this season Tuesday. The third time was a charm as he broke the school record with a time of 22.20 seconds.

The Guerin girls basketball team has a tendency of playing to their level during the last half of their games. Their Tuesday game against Harrison was no different.

Sheridan boys drop first conference game

The Sheridan Blackhawks were in for a rude awakening Tuesday when they traveled to Hoosier Heartland foe Taylor.

Taylor only had three wins on the season and got their fourth, 62-44, against Sheridan

CARMEL – For two quarters Westfield played No. 13 Carmel to a near draw with a suffocating defensive performance. In the third, turnovers and foul trouble mounted for the Rocks, and the Greyhounds pulled away.

Four of Noblesville’ five wins have either been in overtime or within three points. The Millers fifth win Saturday was no exception.

Guerin pulls out OT victory

Down to the last shot.

This summarizes Guerin Catholic boys basketball overtime thriller against Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers Saturday. The Golden Eagles flew away with a 52-51 win.

Golden Eagle Jack Hansen continued his scoring domination in Guerin’s Circle City Conference matchup against Bishop Chatard Friday.

The Lady Golden Eagles played a similar Circle City game against Bishop Chatard from their previous matchup in November.

Sheridan stays atop conference

The Blackhawks got their third conference win against Tri-Central Friday to stay undefeated in the Hoosier Heartland (East) conference.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The Noblesville Millers (Class 4A) have a tough road ahead. But who doesn’t in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference? Noblesville is at 1-1 in the conference, fifth place, and 4-6 overall. They still have the current top three teams to face, HSE, Zionsville and Brownsburg. 4A Westfield lost to Zionsville and Noblesville, with only one win on the season . . . but again, the season is young. No. 13-ranked HSE is the only one with two wins while they supplement that with a 10-1 season so far. Fishers is in the middle at a 5-5, 1-1 HCC record and could definitely throw a few surprises.

Guerin Catholic basketball player Jack Hansen won the IBCA/ Subway Player of the Week from District 2 after his school record of 44 points last week against Howe.

Westfield football head coach Jake Gilbert has put together a pretty impressive coaching resume.

The Lady Millers scored their second-highest game of the season during their senior night against Kokomo Wednesday. They used a balanced offense and pressure defense to sprint away with a 72-37 victory.

Noblesville Swim Club will be holding winter team tryouts on Monday, Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Noblesville High School.

A lot has happened in Noblesville sports in the past six and a half years . . . and Noblesville athletic director Michael Hasch has overseen it all.

Blackhawks drop first conference game

Sheridan girls basketball lost a Hoosier Heartland heartbreaker to Tri-Central, 47-45. Sheridan was undefeated at 3-0 in the HHC while Tri-Central stood at 2-0. The undefeated battle left nothing to the imagination.

WESTFIELD – The Rocks turned a Bishop Chatard 10-0 lead into a close, physical overtime thriller Tuesday.

1. Westfield wins football, golf state championship

The 2016 Westfield football team won the school’s first football state title on Nov. 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium. After a runner up finish in 1992 and 2013, the Rocks defeated Class 5A state foe Columbus East 16-13 this year.

1. Wrights wins 400

The Sheridan Blackhawks celebrated Coach Bud Wright's 400th win on Oct. 7 with a 49-6 blowout over Hoosier Heartland Conference foe Taylor.

VINCENNES – Anytime a team finishes with 51 points and the highest scorer has 10 points, you can bet the whole team contributed.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Franklin Central Invite played host to multiple ranked teams with Westfield girls and boys topping them all.

Noblesville’s strong start was déjà vu. Their second-quarter unravel was also déjà vu.

After a game full of defensive intensity and offensive efficiency, the final three minutes of the Noblesville-Crown Point game came down to a free throw shooting contest.

The Noblesville wrestling team traveled the past two days to the North Montgomery Duals. Wednesday was the individual tournament and Tuesday was the team tournament.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Greyhounds get sixth win

Carmel bounced back from two losses the past two weeks with a 67-57 win over Anderson Wednesday. A close first half gave way to Greyhound domination in the second half.

The Millers have a history of overtime thrillers in the Noblesville Holiday Tournament.

GREENSBURG – The Noblesville girls basketball team had a rough start to their holiday tournament Tuesday. They faced the New Palestine Dragons in the first round of the Greensburg Tournament, vying for a spot in the championship game.

NEW CASTLE – Monica (Cox) Peck, Noblesville, a member of Noblesville’s 1989 and 1990 state finals teams, has been named to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary Women’s Team for 2017.

Carmel sent wrestlers to eight of the 14 championship matches at the Hamilton County wrestling meet Saturday. Five were crowned county champions, leading their team to a title for the second year in a row.

The day after the Noblesville and Westfield boys teams fought a close battle, the girls teams faced off in similar fashion. The Lady Millers pulled off a last-minute victory, winning their third Hoosier Crossroads Conference matchup 37-34.