BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
January 17, 2021
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law to create a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow, we honor and remember King's impact as the chief spokesman for the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and his legacy of nonviolent activism to spark positive change. One of my favorite MLK quotes that relates adversity to life goes like this:
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Over the last 9 months, we've all been immersed in a time of challenge and controversy. Where do we stand? How do we measure up? During these times, it's important to remember what it means to be a BRICKIE ... Passion, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Effort. Leaning on each other and exhibiting these strong characteristics enables us to handle anything. WE are 1 TEAM ... WE are HOBART!
This past week in Brickie sports had everything ... struggle, exhilaration, victory & defeat. They say it's just a game, but WE LOVE IT!
It's time for BricksCenter!
Wrestling
The Brickie grapplers wrapped up their regular season this past week with TWWWOOOOOO meets on the road on Tuesday & Wednesday ... then hosted the Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP meet on Saturday. Their performance in all three can be summed up in one word - AWESOME!
Tuesday, Hobart traveled to Munster for the final NCC dual meet of the 2020-2021 season. Our boys entered UNDEFEATED in conference action at 4-0. Competing at Wilbur Wright Middle School in Munster, the Brickies corralled the Mustangs 63-15 and completed their season sweep of the NCC!!
On Wednesday, our boys headed west on the Borman Expressway to the Gladiator Arena for the FINAL home meet in Hammond Gavit HISTORY! Next year, the Gladiators will merge with Hammond Morton. If you recall, the gridiron Brickies DOMINATED Gavit in what turned out to be the final home game in their football stadium in a 1st Round IHSAA Sectional match-up back in October. Well ... this one was no different as Hobart earned their 2nd "W" in as many nights with a 57-19 VICTORY over the Glads!!
Saturday's Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP meet was really more of a CORONATION than a COMPETITION as our boys SHINED BRIGHT right from the start! Freshman Caeden Jones upset the #1-seed in the 1st round of the 220-lb weight class and the rest as they say ... is history!! Here's what Coach Cook had to say about the Brickies' performance on Saturday,
“Winning a conference title is the number one goal of most seasons. We had some tough teams, but our guys came to perform. I’m really proud of them all, just for dealing with so much adversity and so many challenges this year, and I think this was the best we’ve wrestled all year.”
Queen's WEEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ... MY FRIENDS should've been playing on "repeat" as our boys celebrated 7 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS, 4 Runners-Up, and 3 3rd-place finishes out of the 14 weight classes leading to our 7th CONSECUTIVE NCC CHAMPIONSHIP!! That's right ... a 7-peat that saw a Brickie place in the top 3 of EVERY WEIGHT CLASS!! AMAZING!! Hobart finished the day with 297 team points and beat 2nd place KV (192.5) by over 100 points! The #BRICKRODE has been an uphill battle all season for our boys in purple & gold, but clearly the adversity faced has made them STRONGER and Saturday was without a doubt a GREAT DAY TO BE A BRICKIE!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO COACH COOK, HIS ENTIRE STAFF AND ALL OF OUR BOYS ON ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP! YOU MAKE US VERY PROUD!!
Here are the weight class results from Saturday:
106 lbs - junior Jayson Mejia - RUNNER UP
113 lbs - junior Trevor Schammert - NCC CHAMPION
120 lbs - junior Donovan Ruiz - NCC CHAMPION
126 lbs - senior Jaden Skimehorn - 3rd place
132 lbs - sophomore Jonny McGill - RUNNER UP
138 lbs - senior Connor Johnson - NCC CHAMPION
145 lbs - sophomore Trevor Triana - 3rd place
152 lbs - sophomore Gavin Miller-Lane - RUNNER UP
160 lbs - senior Tyler Turley - NCC CHAMPION
170 lbs - sophomore Owen Gniadek - 3rd place
182 lbs - junior Jacob Simpson - NCC CHAMPION
195 lbs - junior Justin Sawyer - NCC CHAMPION
220 lbs - freshman Caeden Jones - RUNNER UP
285 lbs - junior Alex Pickett - NCC CHAMPION
With sectional competition beginning in 2 weeks over at Portage High School, Hall of Fame White Sox announcer Ken HAWK Harrelson might say something like this, "DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!"
#BRICKRODE
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!
2021 NCC CHAMPIONS!
The entire photo gallery from NWI Life can be found below!
Swimming & Diving
As the swim & dive season begins winding down, the Brickies have continued to kick their feet and get as many competitions in as possible! This week, a coed dual with Merrillville and the girls NCC Championship meet were on the schedule!
Girls
On Thursday night, the Lady Brickies hosted our neighbor to the west ... Merrillville! A year ago, Hobart made the Lady Pirates walk the plank on their way to an easy 135-39 victory. This year, our girls won 10 of 12 events and again CRUISED to a 130-48 VICTORY!! Once again, it was a quartet of seniors who stole the show ... with a little help from their friends :). Alivia Ahner won the 100 Back and remained undefeated on the diving board, Delaney O'Brien won the 50 & 100 Free, Emma Wright was victorious in both the 200 Free & 100 Breast ... Ana Tepavcevich joined Wright in both events to go 1-2, and freshman Zoe Johnston (200 IM) & junior Morgan Sanchez (100 Fly) gave the Lady Brickies some added depth in the lineup with individual victories!
Here are results from Thursday's meet with Merrillville:
200 Medley Relay - 1st = senior Emma Wright, senior Ana Tepavcevich, freshman Zoe Johnston & senior Delaney O'Brien
200 Free - 1st = Wright, 2nd = Tepavcevich, 5th = junior Brennis Carrillo
200 IM - 1st = Johnston, 2nd = junior Brooke Blanchard, 3rd = junior Bridget Chavez
50 Free - 1st = O'Brien, 3rd = junior Chelsea Chavez, 4th = senior Julie Hunt
Diving - 1st = senior Alivia Ahner, 2nd = junior Sydney Arias
100 Fly - 1st = junior Morgan Sanchez, 2nd = freshman Marie White, 5th = sophomore Hailey Blood
100 Free - 1st = O'Brien, 3rd = Sanchez, 4th = White
500 Free - 2nd = C.Chavez, 3rd= Blanchard, 4th = Carrillo
200 Free Relay - 1st = O'Brien, Johnston, Tepavcevich & Wright
100 Back - 1st = Ahner, 2nd = junior Meghan Horn, 5th = B.Chavez
100 Breast - 1st = Wright, 2nd = Tepavcevich, 3rd = Johnston
400 Free Relay - 2nd = White, Carrillo, Blanchard & Blood
Saturday, the Lady Brickies were at Munster High School for the Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship meet! In the past, this meet was coed; however, due to COVID restrictions in the bleachers and on deck, the conference decided to split it into two events ... and as it should be, LADIES FIRST! Rihanna, how does that one song go? Oh ya, SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND! That's what our girls did on Saturday as nearly every Lady Brickie registered a PERSONAL BEST performance to help secure a 2nd PLACE FINISH as a team behind state power Munster! Hobart had 2 individual champions ... Senior Emma "Doin It" Wright WON both the 50-yd Free and 100-yd Back in RECORD SETTING TIME!! The 50 Free was a NEW NCC RECORD and the 100 Back a NEW SCHOOL RECORD! INCREDIBLE!! Senior Alivia Ahner was also an individual WINNER as she completed an UNDEFEATED conference season on the diving board!! Overall, our girls were FANTASTIC ... you could say a WAVE of Brickie Pride came over them to inspire such a terrific showing against the BEST in the Northwest Crossroads Conference!
The swimmers & divers listed below earned ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS:
200 Medley Relay - 2nd = seniors Delaney O'Brien, Ana Tepavcevich, Alivia Ahner and Emma Wright
50 Free - 1st = Wright (NEW NCC RECORD - 24.00), 2nd = O'Brien (defeated 3rd place by .02 seconds!!)
Diving - 1st = Ahner, 3rd = junior Sydney Arias
100 Free - 3rd = O'Brien
200 Free Relay - 2nd = O'Brien, Tepavcevich, Ahner & Wright
100 Back - 1st = Wright
100 Breast - 2nd = Tepavcevich, 3rd = freshman Zoe Johnston
The Lady Brickies are 7-3 overall with two regular season dual meets remaining ... Tuesday vs. Wheeler and Thursday vs. Calumet & Gavit. If Hobart can SINK the competition, our girls will match their win total from a year ago. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!
Boys
Does anyone recall last week's edition of BricksCenter when a particular sports writer (who shall remain nameless) noted how much our boys have improved and that the Merrillville meet on Thursday could be their 1st "W" of the season? Nostradamus in the house!!! The Brickie fish earned VICTORY in 9 of the 12 events and SANK the Pirate ship by the score of 107-63!! Juniors Nathaniel Mamushe (200 IM & 100 Fly) and Jeydan Fifer (50 & 100 Free) were each double winners ... classmate Ethan Sy (500 Free) and senior Chad Tomaga (100 Breast) also earned individual wins ... and junior diver Ethan Ferba continued his assault on the HHS record books by amassing over 300 pts in the 1-meter dive for the 2nd consecutive meet and giving the Brick Squad another individual 1st!! Our guys have WORKed WORKed WORKed SO HARD to get to this point ... Thursday was such an AWESOME night to see them perform SO WELL and earn the dub over rival Merrillville!!
Here are results from Thursday's meet against the Pirates:
200 Medley Relay - 1st = sophomore Owen Finch, senior Chad Tomaga, junior Nathaniel Mamushe & junior Jeydan Fifer
200 Free - 2nd = Finch, 3rd = Tomaga
200 IM - 1st = Mamushe
50 Free - 1st = Fifer, 3rd = junior Ethan Sy, 4th = freshman Luke Weinman
Diving - 1st - junior Ethan Ferba, 2nd = sophomore Eian Ferba, 3rd = freshman Ethan Robles
100 Fly - 1st = Mamushe, 2nd = sophomore Noah Bailey
100 Free - 1st = Fifer, 2nd = freshman Brett Herrin, 4th = freshman Travis Balding
500 Free - 1st = Sy
200 Free Relay - 1st = Tomaga, Finch, Fifer & Mamushe
100 Back - 2nd = Finch, 3rd = Bailey
100 Breast - 1st = Tomaga, 2nd = Herrin, 3rd = Weinman
400 Free Relay - 2nd = Bailey, Weinman, Herrin & Sy
The Brickies will compete in the friendly confines of the HHS Aquatics Center 3 times this week ... Tuesday vs. Wheeler, Thursday vs. Calumet & Gavit ... and Saturday as host of the NCC Boys Swim & Dive Championship meet! WE ARE HOBART!!
#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING
Sydney & Alivia have a License to Dive!
Delaney & Emma - The fastest two swimmers in the NCC!
Check out the video links below from Mr. Bob Guerrero and NEW CONCEPT VIDEO SPORTS!
Gymnastics
Talk about a tough opener. Hobart went up against #1-ranked Chesterton on Tuesday and the hard WORK WORK WORK our girls have been putting in at practice over the last 2 months SHINED BRIGHT! A year ago, the Lady Brickies totaled 97.875 as a team in their 1st meet of the season. Tuesday, Hobart scored a WHOPPING 103.55!! HOLY SCHNIKES that's a high score!!! WHAT A START TO THE SEASON!! The Lady Trojans put a 109.1 on the board to earn the win, but the Lady Brickies were PHENOMENAL and garnered some hard-earned places in individual events! Sophomore Haylie Skripac placed 2nd on bars and 4th all-around with 35.10 points. Junior Aisha Arias took 2nd on vault and place 5th in the all-around with 34.850 points. Sophomore Sarah Romeo ... competing in her 1st ever high school meet ... finished 6th on beam and 8th all-around with 33.05 and classmate Daeges Morgan placed 5th on beam and 6th on floor.
On Thursday, Merrillville and Lowell were the opponents as Hobart traveled into the Pirate's Cove for another competition. Showing consistency right out of the gate, the Lady Brickies again surpassed the CENTURY MARK as a team by posting a 101.95! Merrillville squeaked out the victory with a team score of 102.00, but Hobart BLASTED the Red Devils, who finished with 82.25! Junior Aisha Arias placed 1st in 3 events (vault, bars & beam) to take the all-around title with a 35.7! Sophomore Haylie Skripac brought home 2nd place finishes on the vault and bars on her way to 5th in the all-around with a 32.9. Sophomore Daeges Morgan got 3rd on beam and classmate Sarah Romeo placed 5th on the floor and 6th on beam to round out Hobart's podium placers.
This was a GREAT start to the competition season for our gymnasts! The Lady Brickies have a week to fine tune their routines before putting their competition leos on again @ Valpo on January 28th.
#STICKIT
NWI Life was at Thursday's meet - check out the full photo gallery below!
Basketball
Girls
The Lady Brickies played the role of host this past week with a visit from Chesterton on Tuesday and NCC rival Lowell on Friday.
On Tuesday, our girls faced a tough test against the Lady Trojans. Entering the game with a record of 11-5, Chesterton was no doubt one of the best teams Hobart has faced all year. The Lady Brickies came out of the gate with something to prove, PLAYED TOUGH on both ends and trailed by just 3, 15-12, entering the 2nd quarter! The Lady Trojans exited the 1st quarter break with a renewed sense of urgency and took control in the 2nd quarter with some lockdown defense that stymied the Lady Brickies offense ... limiting our girls to just 4 points in the pivotal 2nd period. As hard as Hobart WORKed WORKed WORKed after hafltime, the Lady Trojans were ultimately too much and left town with a 60-31 win. Sophomore Asia Donald once again led the attack for the Lady Brickies, scoring 24 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to register a double-double for the game. Senior Lexi Williams grabbed 7 rebounds to go along with her team-high 5 steals in the loss.
Friday night, Hobart squared off with the Red Devils in NCC play. Competing without some key contributors, the Lady Brickies PLAYED HARD for 32 minutes, but could never quite get going on the offensive end. Lowell's challenging half-court trap and full court pressure kept our girls out of sync all night and enabled them to control the game en route to a 46-19 win. Our girls played with PRIDE and never gave up ... which was evident when freshman Jesse Neace BURIED a shot from halfcourt that just beat the final buzzer. Senior Ariah Rivera led Hobart with 7 points and junior Melanie Leonard added 4.
The Lady Brickies are 5-9 on the season with 5 games remaining. Merrillville visits the Friendly City on Tuesday for our final home game of the season and our girls will need to be ROAD WARRIORS the rest of the way until sectional play begins over at Chesterton in a little more than 2 weeks.
#RISETOTHEOCCASION
Boys
After securing two VICTORIES last week to open the contest season, Hobart hosted AP #14-ranked Chesterton on Wednesday night. The defending Class 4A Sectional 2 Runner-Up Trojans are big, talented and have weapons everywhere. Still, the Brickies came out of the locker room READY and thanks to an early hot hand by senior Max Jancich, Hobart trailed just 14-11 in the 1st quarter! Much like the girls game the night before, Chesterton got the upper hand in the 2nd quarter by turning up the pressure and finding some gaps in the Brickie D-D-D-DEFENSE for open looks. The Brickies BATTLED HARD the entire game, but unfortunately the Trojans went back to Porter County with a 67-27 win. Senior Quinten White scored a team-high 8 points ... Jancich and junior Josh Tejeda each added 7 and sophomore Keith Mullins grabbed 6 rebounds in the loss.
On Saturday afternoon, the Brickie cagers were able to pick up a game @ Marquette Catholic to make up for early season games lost due to COVID-19. The Blazers entered the game on an 8-game winning streak and ranked in the top 20 in Class 2A. Similar to the Chesterton game on Wednesday, our boys came out FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS and trailed only 13-10 in the 1st quarter! Marquette responded and eventually gained control a little more each period over the remainder of the contest and sent Hobart home with a tough 72-46 loss that was much more competitive than the final score indicates.
Our boys currently hold a 2-2 record with 13 games still to play. A tough test at area powerhouse Munster on Saturday is the only game this week. LET'S GO!!
#MAKETHEMBELIEVE
Photographer Haley Weldon from MaxPreps was in attendance @ Tuesday's game. Check out her photo gallery below!
NEXT LEVEL
On Thursday afternoon, Arieyana Morgan (aka "Sharkbait") made her commitment to continue her academic and athletic career at Indiana University Northwest! The Redhawks compete at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) level and are members of the CCAC (Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference). Next fall will be just the 3rd women's soccer season in school history at IUN ... looks like Arieyana will have a chance to be part of the foundation that establishes the program for years to come!! At Hobart, she was a 4-year varsity player and an All-NCC performer for the Lady Brickies!
Friday, when most kids were enjoying a much needed day off, Hannah Camarena signed to continue her career at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL! The Trolls compete in both the NAIA and NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association), and are members of the CCAC (Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference). Hannah has been starting for the Lady Brickie softball team her entire high school career and been an All-NCC performer on the diamond!
CONGRATULATIONS LADIES! WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU AND EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOUR FUTURE HOLDS!!
#ALLMYLIFE
Arieyana Morgan signs to play soccer @ IUN!
Hannah Camarena signs to play softball @ Trinity Christian College!
Alumni Update
David served as a graduate assistant coach for the Knights last fall and will continue climbing the coaching ladder with this promotion!
#ONCEABRICKIEALWAYSABRICKIE
Sports Schedule This Week
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No Events Scheduled
Tuesday
Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Wheeler
Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Wheeler
Girls Basketball vs. Merrillville (Varsity only @ 6PM)
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
Thursday
Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Calumet/Gavit
Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Calumet/Gavit
Girls Basketball @ Hammond Gavit
Friday
No Events Scheduled
Saturday
Boys Swimming & Diving @ NCC Championship Meet (Hosted by Hobart High School)
Boys Basketball @ Munster *
* = NCC Opponent