Harold’s Picks:
Culver-35 West Central-0
Knox-21 Winamac-14
NJSP-34 John Glenn-14
LaVille-21 South Central-7
Nathan’s Picks:
Culver-21 West Central-7
Knox-14 Winamac-7
NJSP-28 John Glenn-0
South Central-16 LaVille-6
All posts by Nathan
Miss Teen Bass Lake Crowned Saturday Night
A Knox High School Senior was named Miss Bass Lake for 2012 at a Pageant held Saturday night at the Bass Lake Community Center.
Nicole Knutel was selected from seven candidates vying for the title. Paige Baldacci of Tinley Park, Illinois, a student at Culver Girls Academy was named 1st Runner-Up and Emily Novello of Valparaiso was named 2nd Runner-up.
Kyleigh Werner Competes At State
South Central freshman Kyleigh Werner finished her first year of varsity track in fine fashion. The Satellite distance runner placed fourth and cut four seconds off of her mile time to advance out of the Chesterton sectional. She was then able to shave another five seconds off her time a week later at the Chesterton regional earning her a third place finish and a birth in the state finals at Indiana University. Werner ended her season with a 23rd place finish at state, where she was just one of six freshmen to compete in the 1600 meter run.
With three years left in her varsity running career, the future is very bright for Kyleigh who also competes in cross country at South Central. Congratulations to Kyleigh Werner on an incredible freshman year!
Club for Growth Opposes Senator Richard Lugar
If Senator Richard Lugar should lose the Republican Primary race to Richard Mourdock in next week’s primary election, as some recent polls indicate may happen, much of the credit will go to a Culver man who has been instrumental in the race.
Chris Chocola, of Culver, is Director of the “Club For Growth,” a conservative organization which endorsed Mourdock and has pumped millions of dollars into the challenger’s campaign.
Chocola explained about why his organization is working to defeat Lugar.
Kerstin Gierlowski Signs With Ancilla
Knox senior softball player Kerstin Gierlowski has decided to continue her career at Ancilla College next spring. Described by her head coach Ron Kukula as “one of those players that you could put anywhere and she will do a great job. She always knows what to do when she gets the ball”. In 29 at-bats this year, Kerstin is currently batting .448 and has driven in 16 runs while striking out just twice. While she is very excited about making her college choice, Gierlowski is still focused on the remainder of her senior softball season and has very high expectations for the Lady Redskins in the post-season. Kerstin plans to study nursing while attending Ancilla.
Hope Wagner to attend Indiana University Northwest
Knox senior basketball player Hope Wagner has officially committed to Indiana University Northwest where she will begin her college basketball career next winter. Wagner is coming off a year when she not only led the team in scoring and assists, but was also one of the main leaders on a team that won the school’s first sectional championship since 1995.
After graduating most of the scoring off of last year’s team, the Redhawks anticipate Wagner’s aggressive style of offense to make an immediate impact. Hope’s own expectations of herself mirror that of her future coaches, “we lost a lot of scoring, so I’m going to have to do my best going to the basket and looking to shoot as much as I can”. While attending IU Northwest, Hope plans on studying criminal justice.
Ethan Biggs to attend Rochester Community and Technical College
South Central’s all-time leading rusher Ethan Biggs has decided to continue his football career in Rochester Minnesota. The Rochester Community Yellowjackets have one of the top Junior College football programs in the country, having won two national championships in 2000 and 2007, and have suffered just one losing season since 1968.
Holding multiple offensive records at South Central High School, Biggs is unsure which side of the ball he will be playing on this fall. The Yellowjacket offensive and defensive coaches are in a battle to have Ethan at either free safety or running back. When asked which side he would rather play for Ethan said “I love running the ball, but it really doesn’t matter to me as long as I can play and help the team out and hopefully win another championship”. Ethan plans on studying nursing while attending Rochester.
2nd Annual WKVI All-Area Boys Basketball Team Announced
This week we announced the 2nd annual WKVI All-Area boys basketball teams. Here’s who made the cut…
1st Team
Josh Anderson-John Glenn
John Eckert-NJSP
Marcus Kammrath-South Central
Bryan McKinney-Winamac
Winston Yergler-NJSP
2nd Team
Riley Charlesworth-LaCrosse
Elliott Coad-Knox
Trent Elliott-Culver
Kendall Hochstedler-NJSP
Zach Shidler-Winamac
Congratulations to the members of this year’s All-Area teams!
2nd Annual WKVI All-Area Girls Basketball Team Announced
Here are the 1st and 2nd WKVI All-Area girls basketball teams for 2011-12:
1st Team
Ashley Campbell-Oregon-Davis
Marissa Hamilton-West Central
Sarah Redweik-Winamac
Stephanie Shorter-Winamac
Hope Wagner-Knox
2nd Team
Jesse Averone-Oregon-Davis
Shelby Gilbert-Knox
Jordann Frasure-North Judson
Justine Kruger-West Central
Elisabeth White-North Judson
Congratulations to all of the members of this year’s All-Area teams!
Boys Career Scoring Leaders (Current Players)
Boys Career Scoring Leaders: (Minimum 300 points)
- John Eckert-Sr. (NJ): 1,445
- Kendall Hochstedler-Sr. (NJ): 917
- Winston Yergler-Sr. (NJ): 773
- Josh Anderson-Sr. (JG): 745
- Elliott Coad-Sr. (K): 668
- Bryan McKinney-Sr. (W): 605
- Zach Shidler-Jr. (W): 502
- Riley Charlesworth-Jr. (L): 443
- Trent Elliott-So. (C): 419
- Craig McIntosh-Sr. (OD): 419
- Spencer Dobson-Sr. (WC): 416
- Marcus Kammrath-Sr. (SC): 416
- Collin Stevens-Jr. (C): 372
- Micah Budzinski-Jr. (C): 349
- Mitch Fingerhut-Sr. (NJ): 333
- Kyle Krohn-Sr. (W): 314
- Jordan Morning-Sr. (W): 309
Boys Basketball Leaders
Boys Scoring Leaders: (Through 2-21-12)
(Stats as reported to www.etpearl.com)
- John Eckert (NJ): 19.6ppg-374 points (19 games)
- Riley Charlesworth (L): 17.8ppg-304 points (17 games)
- Winston Yergler (NJ): 17.8ppg-339 points (19 games)
- Elliott Coad (K): 16.8ppg-320 points (19 games)
- Josh Anderson (JG): 16.7ppg-318 points (19 games)
- Marcus Kammrath (SC): 15.6ppg-281 points (18 games)
- Trent Elliott (C): 15.3ppg-291 points (19 games)
- Kendall Hochstedler (NJ): 14.8ppg-282 points (19 games)
- Bryan McKinney (W): 12.7ppg-229 points (18 games)
- Jimmy Rippe (L): 10.2ppg-174 points (17 games)
- Adam Clindaniel (SC): 10.1ppg-163 points (16 games)
- Jake Jones (OD): 10.8ppg-206 points (19 games)
- Sam Culver (L): 10.1ppg-173 points (17 games)
- Zach Shidler (W): 10.7ppg-193 points (18 games)
- Jacoda Anderson (C): 10.0ppg-191 points (19 games)
Coaching Leaders: (Through 2-21-12)
- Dan Warkentien (SC): 259-108 .706 (16 years)
- Todd Boldry (K): 194-117 .624 (14 years)
- Travis Hannah (JG): 145-142 .504 (13 years)
- Bryan Heimlich (WC): 109-88 .553 (9 years)
- Kyle Elliott (C): 39-45 .464 (4 years)
- Kyle Johnson (W): 24-17 .585 (2 years)
- Phil Shabi (NJ): 16-3 .842 (1 year)
- Matt Crawford (OD): 4-16 .200 (1 year)
- Scot Spoljaric (L): 2-15 .117 (1 year)
Team Records: (Through 2-21-12)
- NJSP: 16-3
- Winamac: 12-6
- Culver: 10-9
- South Central: 9-9
- John Glenn: 9-10
- West Central: 6-13
- Knox: 4-15
- Oregon-Davis: 4-16
- LaCrosse: 2-15
Girls Career Scoring Leaders (Current Players)
Girls Career Scoring Leaders: (Minimum 300 points)
- Sarah Redweik-Sr. (W): 855
- Ashley Campbell-So. (OD): 832
- Jordann Frasure-Jr. (NJ): 680
- Marissa Hamilton-Sr. (WC): 655
- Justine Kruger-Sr. (WC): 646
- Jesse Averone-So. (OD): 635
- Elisabeth White-Sr. (NJ): 635
- Hope Wagner-Sr. (K): 562
- Jill Rosenbaum-So. (SC): 503
- Alisha McIntosh-So. (OD): 487
- Stephanie Shorter-So. (W): 463
- Shelby Gilbert-Sr. (K): 456
- Kenley Sanchez-Sr. (NJ): 412
- Danna Timm-Sr. (NJ): 402
- Kayla Shaffer-So. (C): 401
- Katie Schwenk-Sr. (OD): 390
- Jessica Schramm-Jr. (W): 366
- Haley Frasure-Jr. (NJ): 318
- Kaitlin Zachary-Jr. (K): 310
Girls Basketball Leaders (Final Stats)
Girls Scoring Leaders (Final)
(Stats as reported to www.etpearl.com)
- Ashley Campbell (OD): 18.8ppg-491 points (26 games)
- Jill Rosenbaum (SC): 15.7ppg-331 points (21 games)
- Sarah Redweik (W): 14.5ppg-349 points (24 games)
- Marissa Hamilton (WC): 14.2ppg-342 points (24 games)
- Kayla Shaffer (C): 13.3ppg-294 points (22 games)
- Hope Wagner (K): 13.0ppg-327 points (25 games)
- Jesse Averone (OD): 12.3ppg-283 points (23 games)
- Jordann Frasure (NJ): 11.8ppg-249 points (21 games)
- Alisha McIntosh (OD): 11.1ppg-291 points (26 games)
- Elisabeth White (NJ): 11.1ppg-233 points (21 games)
- Justine Kruger (WC): 11.0ppg-266 points (24 games)
- Kyler Columbia (JG): 10.8ppg-227 points (21 games)
- Stephanie Shorter (W): 10.3ppg-249 points (24 games)
- Jessica Schramm (W): 10.2ppg-247 points (24 games)
Career Coaching Records: (Final)
- Terry Minix (OD): 268-140 .657 (19 years)
- Dan Huizenga (K): 121-105 .535 (10 years)
- John Hampton (NJ): 118-79 .599 (9 years)
- Gina Hierlmeier (WC): 94-43 .686 (6 years)
- Tony Scheub (C): 34-15 .693 (2 years)
- Rick Budka (SC): 33-50 .397 (4 years)
- Jeff Wagner (W): 31-16 .659 (2 years)
- Brian McMahan (L): 6-34 .150 (3 years)
- Kyle Amor (JG): 4-17 .190 (1 year)
Team Records: (Final)
- Oregon-Davis: 21-5
- West Central: 18-6
- Winamac: 18-6
- NJSP: 13-8
- Knox: 13-12
- Culver: 9-13
- South Central: 8-13
- LaCrosse: 4-16
- John Glenn: 4-17
West Central Sectional Champions
The West Central Lady Trojans have won their 2nd consecutive sectional title! The Trojans had very little trouble collecting their championship in the all Midwest Conference sectional at North White. In their first game, West Central outscored Pioneer 26-6 in the first half on their way to a 43-22 win, behind Marissa Hamilton’s game-high 15 points. The Trojans came back in their second game to defeat Tri-County 54-39 and put themselves in the championship game. The duo of Hamilton and Justine Kruger combined for 37 of the team’s 54 points. In the championship game, West Central’s smothering defense was too much for Caston as the Trojans defeated the Lady Comets 43-18. Again, it was the combination of Hamilton and Kruger who lead the offensive charge, this time scoring 34 of the team’s 43 points. This sectional championship is the fourth in the six year coaching career of Gina Hierlmeier, proving that tradition never graduates!
West Central (18-5) will be taking on Fort Wayne Canterbury (21-2) in the first round of the Caston Regional. Congratulations to the West Central Lady Trojans on their 2nd consecutive sectional championship!
Knox Sectional Champions
The Knox Lady Redskins have won their first sectional championship since 1995! After starting the year at 2-10, the Lady Redskins have now won 11 of their last 12 games. Their first victory of the Kankakee Valley sectional came against Andrean. The ‘Skins were lead in scoring by Hope Wagner (14) in a 53-38 effort. Knox then came back in the second round and were victorious once again, this time over Calumet 45-26. Once again, Knox was lead by Wagner who scored a game-high 12 points. The Redskins came out in the championship game ready to end the school’s 17 year drought. Knox played an incredible all-around game in a 59-45 win over Hanover Central. Shelby Gilbert was on fire from the start, knocking down four 3-pointers on her way to a 15-point game. Kaitlin Zachary added 12 points and was dominant on the boards, pulling down 15 rebounds. Hope Wagner lead the ‘Skins in scoring with 19 points. Chelsea Combs played solid defense all game long against Hanover’s top player. The Lady Redskins were so focused on being able to cut down the nets, they did not want to wait for the post game championship pictures, immediately going to the ladder after they were given the trophy ready to get their piece of history!
Knox (13-11) will be taking on Western (17-6) in the first round of the Rensselaer Regional. Congratulations to the Knox Lady Redskins on bringing home the school’s first sectional championship in 17 years!
Winamac Sectional Champions
The
Winamac Lady Warriors have won their 13th girls basketball sectional championship! The Lady Warriors began their quest for the championship by defeating North Judson for the second time this season in the first round of the North Judson sectional 59-46. Jessica Schramm lead the team in scoring with 13 points. Winamac then turned around in the second game and overpowered North Newton 61-35 behind Stephanie Shorter’s 14 points. Then in a hard fought championship game against Rochester, the Lady Warriors were able to avenge a 4-point loss suffered in Novemeber, by defeating the Lady Zebras 62-59. Sarah Redweik went out with a bang in her final sectional game by leading the team in scoring (19) as well as steals and rebounds.
Winamac (18-5) will be taking on Bowman Academy (18-6) in the first round of the Rochester Regional. Congratulations to the Winamac Lady Warriors on their 13th sectional championship!
Oregon-Davis Sectional Champions
The Oregon-Davis Lady Bobcats are sectional champions once again! The Lady ‘Cats defeated Culver for the third time this year in the first round of the sectional 55-36 thanks to a great scoring effort by Ashley Campbell who scored a season-high 30 points. In the second round, O-D jumped out to a 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a 69-27 win over Westville. The Bobcats had four players score in double digits (Alisha McIntosh-17; Ashley Campbell-13; Katie Schwenk-11; Jesse Averone-10) to put them in the sectional championship game for the sixth straight year. The championship game was a rematch of last year’s championship with Oregon-Davis taking on Triton. The ‘Cats overcame a 13-point deficit and outscored Triton 34-21 in the second half to capture the school’s 8th girls basketball sectional championship!
Oregon-Davis (20-4) will be taking on Morgan Township (13-10) in the first round of the Caston Regional. Congratulations to the Oregon-Davis Lady Bobcats on their championship effort!!!
Knox J.V. Completes 7-0 Conference Season
The Knox Lady Redskin J.V. team set a school record this year for wins with an overall record of 16-4. Their 16 wins included two championships in both the Hanover Central Tournament and the Northern State Conference where they were a perfect 7-0! The skins had a seven girl rotation and were lead in scoring by six different individuals throughout their 20-game season. Coach Brian Earnest stated “the key to our success this year was togetherness. I have never been prouder of any group of kids in 13 years of coaching. These girls proved what working hard and believing in one another can allow you to achieve”.
The future of Knox Lady Redskin basketball is in good hands with this group. Congratulations to the Lady Redskins on their record-setting, conference championship season!
North Judson J.V. Team Has Perfect 20-0 Season
The North Judson San-Pierre Lady Blue Jays J.V. team had one common phrase this year…”20-0″. Coach Chris McGowen stated that “this was a great group of unselfish girls who were very coachable and truly bought in to what they were trying to accomplish”. Throughout the course of the year the Jays averaged 40.2 points per game while giving up just 22.4 points per game. Proof that this team was a truly unselfish one is in the fact that not a single girl on the team averaged in double figures while the team scored 40ppg! Overall team defense was also a major reason the Jays were able to finish with no losses, as they held teams scoreless in 10 of the 80 total quarters played this season. The Jays had major wins throughout the year against quality opponents including Winamac, North Montgomery, and John Glenn, as well as Starke County rivals Oregon-Davis and Knox.
The future is bright for Lady Blue Jay basketball. Congratulations to the North Judson San-Pierre Lady Blue Jays on their perfect 20-0 season!
Boys Career Scoring Leaders (Current Players)
Boys Career Scoring Leaders: (Minimum 300 points)
- John Eckert-Sr. (NJ): 1,340
- Kendall Hochstedler-Sr. (NJ): 835
- Winston Yergler-Sr. (NJ): 690
- Josh Anderson-Sr. (JG): 653
- Elliott Coad-Sr. (K): 596
- Bryan McKinney-Sr. (W): 521
- Zach Shidler-Jr. (W): 418
- Spencer Dobson-Sr. (WC): 389
- Craig McIntosh-Sr. (OD): 376
- Riley Charlesworth-Jr. (L): 373
- Collin Stevens-Jr. (C): 361
- Trent Elliott-So. (C): 360
- Marcus Kammrath-Sr. (SC): 336
- Micah Budzinski-Jr. (C): 324
