The Region has some of the best sports action in the entire state of Indiana, and as the basketball season draws closer to its conclusion, athletes are putting in some of the finest performances of their careers. Tune in for an update on what's happening now around the Region!
Check out our galleries from this past weekend and catch up on all the sports news you might have missed!
Coverage Recap
Saturday, February 10
WRESTLING
On Saturday, the IHSAA Boys Wrestling Semi-State competition took place at East Chicago Central High School.
Back from last year, Crown Point High School took another convincing Semi-State team Championship with a score of 257. The Bulldogs also had seven individual winners and 12 total state qualifiers.
Individual champions by weight class (lbs):
- 106: Mason Jones (Lake Central)
- 113: Gavin Lewis (Crown Point)
- 120: Gavin Jendreas (Crown Point)
- 126: LT Hawkins (Crown Point)
- 132: Hayden DeMarco (Chesterton)
- 138: Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point)
- 144: Zar Walker (Mishawaka)
- 150: Wesley Harper (Penn)
- 157: Adrian Pellot (Merrillville)
- 165: Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point)
- 175: Aidan Costello (Hobart)
- 190: Kenneth Bisping (Lowell)
- 215: Will Clark (Crown Point)
- 285: Paul Clark (Crown Point)
Team Rankings:
- Crown Point – 257.0
- Penn – 98.0
- Rochester – 83.5
- Lake Central – 67.0
- Mishawaka – 67.0
View photos from the meet here.
GIRLS BASKETBALL REGIONALS
Class 4A: South Bend Washington vs. Lake Central
Lake Central was victorious with a final score of 54-38 and will move on to play the Homestead Spartans in Semi-State.
Top scoring performances:
South Bend Washington- Kira Reynolds (17 points)
Lake Central- Riley Milausnic (15 points)
View pictures from the game here.
Class 4A: Valparaiso vs. Northridge
Valparaiso was victorious with a final score of 47-46 and will move on to play the Noblesville Millers in Semi-State. Becca Gerdt hit the go-ahead basket with five seconds remaining to send the Vikings to the next round.
Top scoring performances:
Valparaiso: Lillian Barnes (16 Points)
Northridge: Ella Mohamed (12 Points)
View more photos here.
Region Sports Update
Exciting stuff is always happening around the Region! With so much going on, here’s a rundown of a few of our favorites:
Congratulations to Mason Jones of the Lake Central Boys Wrestling team for advancing to the IHSAA State Finals!
Congratulations to Tom Wells, the head coach of the Michigan CIty Boys Basketball team for reaching 400 career wins!
Congratulations to New Prairie High School’s Emma Tulacz, Ava Lux, and Alaina Brison for setting new school records for Girls Swimming!
- Emma Tulacz set the new school record for 50 free
- Ava Lux set the new school record for 100 fly
- Alaina Brison set the new school record for 100 back
In other Girls Swimming news, Reagan Williams, Aylea Sutherland, and Kirstin West of Valparaiso all advanced to State at IUPUI! The girls competed hard against the State's best and can hold up their heads proudly!
One player on the rise around the Region is Junior Marcus Browder, point guard on the Hammond Central Boys basketball team who currently sits at #11 in the state of Indiana in Points Per Game (PPG) with 20.3 PPG.
Westville’s Kaden Pepper hit his thousandth career point at Saturday’s game against Whiting! The community has shown an outpouring of support for the young athlete as he achieves this significant milestone.
Next Week in Sports
Thursday, February 15
Boys Swimming Sectional Prelims begin at Lake Central, Penn, and Valparaiso.
Schools Participating at Lake Central:
Crown Point, East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Griffith, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Highland, Illiana Christian, Lake Central, Lowell, Munster, North Newton, Rensselaer Central, South Newton, West Central
Schools Participating at Penn:
Bremen, Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph, South Bend Washington, Trinty School at Greenlawn
Schools Participating at Valparaiso:
Boone Grove, Calumet, Chesterton, Hobart, Kankakee Valley, Knox, Kouts, LaPorte, Merrillville, Michigan City, North Judson-San Pierre, Portage, Valparaiso, Wheeler
Friday, February 16
There are some Boys Basketball matchups happening in the Region this weekend:
The (16-4) Morgan Township Cherokees host the (10-10) Westville Blackhawks in what should be a good matchup. The Cherokees are 7-0 at home this season and look to remain undefeated on Friday.
The (13-8) Chesterton Trojans host the (16-5) Valparaiso Vikings in a home conference game. The Trojans are 9-3 at home this season, and the Vikings are 3-3 on the road.
The (15-4) Crown Point Bulldogs host the (16-3) Lake Central Indians in a home conference game. The Bulldogs are 6-2 at home and the Indians are 7-2 on the road.
Saturday, February 17
Valparaiso hosts a Girls Duneland Athletic Conference Gymnastics meet.
Schools Participating:
- Valparaiso
- Chesterton
- Portage
- Lake Central
- LaPorte
- Merrillville
- Crown Point
- Michigan City
Girls Basketball Semi-State games begin. The games will take place at LaPorte High School.
- Lake Central Indians vs Homestead Spartans
- Valparaiso Vikings vs Noblesville Millers
Winners of those two games will then play at 7:30 p.m. that night.