In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law creating a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tomorrow, we honor and remember Dr. 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."

One of the important aspects of education-based athletics is teaching student athletes how to handle adversity & overcome through hard work, commitment, and playing a role in something bigger than yourself. Keys to finding strength in the face of adversity are also echoed in what it means to have BRICKIE PRIDE ... 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. Our student athletes STOOD TALL! They say it's just a game, but WE KNOW BETTER!

It's time for BricksCenter!

It was a FANTASTIC week to be a grappler in H-town. For the girls, it was a trip to the IHSGW STATE FINALS for the FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY ... and for the boys, it was TWWWOOOOOOOOOO meets - one to put us in position for a Northwest Crossroads Conference title and one to try & seal the deal!

Girls

On Thursday, freshman Joanna Cantu and junior teammate Keirys Click joined the Brickie marching band and cheerleaders for a parade through the halls of HHS ... a proper send-off as they embarked on a "first" for Hobart athletics - GIRLS WRESTLING STATE FINALS!!

Friday morning @ Mooresville High School southwest of Indianapolis, these TWWWOOOOOOOO young ladies laced up their wrestling shoes to compete on the sports biggest stage!!

Joanna & Keirys were each 1 of 16 qualifiers in their respective weight classes.

Jo was up first @ 106-lbs. Her 1st round opponent was Julianna Ocampo from FW Snider, currently ranked #5 in the NATION at 106-lbs. Joanna battled hard, but unfortunately her season ended after falling to the eventual 106-lb state champion. Jo finished her freshman campaign with 19 wins ... 15 by pin ... and served as one of the leaders in Hobart's 1st EVER season of girls wrestling!

Keirys was next @ 152-lbs. After winning the regional championship a week ago, the draw for Click was more favorable and she earned a 1st round VICTORY over Mary Freeman from Centerville!! The 2nd period PIN moved Keirys into the quarterfinals and GUARANTEED her a spot in the top 8!! In the quarterfinal round, Keirys faced the #1-ranked wrestler in the state at 152 ... and SHE LITERALLY GAVE ALL SHE HAD!! Tied 2-2 heading into the final period, Josie Hause from Monrovia got a penalty point to take the lead and tacked on a few more before the final buzzer sounded ... resulting in an 8-2 defeat for Keirys. A tough loss against a very worthy opponent. The loss moved Keirys into the consolation round where she would eventually finish 7th after earning another PIN in her final match of the day over Janiah Juarez from Penn!!! Keirys finished her season with a record of 20-4 ... 17 wins by pin ... and earned IHSGW ALL-STATE HONORS with 7th place!!

CONGRATULATIONS to JOANNA & KEIRYS for literally paving the #BRICKRODE to the STATE FINALS for girls wrestling in H-town! WE ARE SO VERY PROUD of you both and how well you represented the Brickie Nation!!

Boys

On Wednesday night, Hobart traveled to Munster for the final NCC dual meet of the regular season! After losing a heartbreaker to Lowell in the NCC opener back on December 7th, the Brickies had won 3 straight (vs. Highland, Andrean & KV) to stay in the hunt for a 9th consecutive championship. In order to have a shot to win it all at Saturday's NCC Championship Meet, our boys needed a 'W' @ Munster and THEY DELIVERED!! Final score: Hobart 55, Munster 24!!!

Saturday's Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP meet was held at Lowell High School. The host Red Devils entered the day with an NCC dual meet record of 5-0 ... our Brickies came in at 4-1 looking to earn a tie for the conference title. In a day filled with emotions, energy and a whole lotta wrasslin' ... our boys left it all on the mat as they competed with determination and focus!! Hobart scored 3 individual CHAMPIONS, 5 runners-up, and overall put 10 competitors on the podium for ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS!! Unfortunately, Lowell wrestled extremely well ... had 8 individual champions, 2 runners-up and put 12 competitors on the podium - outscoring the Brickies 247.5 - 236.5 to win the crown.

It was not the tally we hoped for, but at the end of the day, we are still SO PROUD of our boys and how they represented us on the mat!!

Here are the ALL-CONFERENCE Brickies from Saturday:

113 lbs - sophomore Seth Aubin - NCC CHAMPION

120 lbs - freshman Daniel Mata - RUNNER-UP

126 lbs - sophomore Daniel McGill - RUNNER-UP

132 lbs - senior Jonny McGill - NCC CHAMPION

145 lbs - sophomore Dominic Rivera - 3rd place

152 lbs - senior Owen Gniadek - 3rd place

170 lbs - sophomore Aidan Costello - NCC CHAMPION

195 lbs - junior Jake Sparks - RUNNER-UP

220 lbs - junior Aidan Olague - RUNNER-UP

285 lbs - sophomore Luke Juris - RUNNER-UP

Dr. King measures men on where they stand in times of challenge. The Brickies STOOD TALL on Saturday and will now make their final push towards the post-season!! 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

Girls

The Lady Brickies were in action twice this past week ... a Tuesday night matchup vs. Chesterton and a Thursday night SENIOR NIGHT SHOWDOWN with the Lowell Red Devils!

On Tuesday, Chesterton paid a visit to The Friendly City for a non-conference game. Early on, our girls jumped out to an 8-2 lead prompting a TO from the Chesterton bench!! Hobart held a 10-6 advantage after 8 minutes of play! After that, the Lady Trojans shot 3-pointers like it was their job and they were getting paid by the attempt ... launching 22 for the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Brickies, all those 3-point attempts opened up driving lanes and once Chesterton got it going, they kept it going ... outscoring our girls 57-14 over the final 3 quarters and leaving town with a 63-24 win. Junior Cailey Weber led Hobart with 10 points in the loss.

Thursday, Hobart celebrated SENIOR NIGHT against NCC rival Lowell. Prior to tip-off, seniors Niko Latinovic & Asia Donald and their families were recognized for their hard work and dedication devoted to Lady Brickie basketball over the last 4 years. The Red Devils gained an advantage on the scoreboard in the first period and looked to continue controlling the tempo through the 2nd, but our girls had other plans! Hobart put the virtual clamps on with a smothering FULL COURT PRESS and the D-D-D-DEFENSE got our offense going! An 8-0 run early in the 2nd quarter gave the Lady Brickies a lead they would never relinquish!! Every time Lowell tried to mount a comeback, our girls had an answer to gain a HUGE VICTORY by the score of 58-47!! Donald poured in 32 points ... junior Jesse Neace added 8 and Latinovic netted 6 in the win!

Boys

The Brickie cagers had just one contest scheduled this past week ... a Saturday night SHOWDOWN with Illiana Christian! The Vikings entered the game with an impressive 7-2 record ... their only setbacks on the season were against are powerhouses Crown Point and Munster. Hobart put a 5-5 record on the line in front of a GREAT home crowd in attendance to cheer our boys on to a possible victory!

Early on, it was all Vikings as Illiana hit nearly every shot they took during the first 4 minutes and held a solid 17-7 advantage after 1 quarter of play. After an inspiring speech from Coach Butcher, the Brickies came out with a renewed enthusiasm in the 2nd stanza ... turned the D-D-D-DEFENSE up a notch ... and torched the twine - outscoring Illiana 15-5 to take a TIE GAME (22-22) into the halftime locker room!! The game remained LOCKED in a tug-a-war BATTLE as each team fought desperately for control in the 3rd. Our boys stayed within reach down just 33-30 heading into the final period of play. Ultimately, it was Illiana who was able to regain control, clamped down on the defensive end, and left town with a hard fought 50-35 win over the Bricks. Senior Vonzell Strayhorne led the Brickies with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks ... junior Anthony Hnilo added 10 points and senior Keith Mullins chipped in 7 in the loss.

Hobart drops to 5-6 overall, but remains 1-0 in NCC play. This week will put our boys to the test with a Tuesday night matchup against 2022 State Runner-Up Chesterton and a Friday road trip to Class 4A #14-ranked Munster. GOOD LUCK BOYS!! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!

#RISETOTHEOCCASION

FINALLY! The Lady Brickie gymnasts began practice back on November 14th ... and after what has seemed like an eternity, they FINALLY got to compete this past week as they opened the season at home against Chesterton on Tuesday and then tried to balance out the week on Wednesday over at Merrillville!

Tuesday was SENIOR NIGHT! The Lady Brickies lone senior, Haylie Skripac, was recognized along with her family prior to competition getting underway. Teams represented at Hobart's home opener were Chesterton, Lowell, Morgan Township, Knox, Munster and our own Lady Bricks! Due to only having two competitors, Hobart did not have a team score, but Skripac (2nd on vault, 3rd on floor & bars, 4th on beam - 4th All-Around) & sophomore Elizabeth Crespo (10th on vault & beam, 11th on floor) were GREAT in their 1st competition of the season!

No rest for the weary ... or the gymnasts in this case ... as the Lady Brickies turned right around (just like they do on the balance beam) and had another competition at Merrillville on Wednesday! A 2nd night of competition = a 2nd consecutive GREAT SHOWING by our girls!! Skripac finished 1st on the vault, 2nd on bars and 5th on both beam & floor. Crespo placed 6th on the beam.

The Lady Brickies have over a week to fine tune their routines before putting their competition leos on again @ Valparaiso High School on January 26th. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#STICKIT

Girls

Tuesday, Hobart hosted the final NCC double-dual meet of the regular season as Highland & Lowell visited the Aquatics Center ... and it was a MEMORABLE NIGHT! Senior diver Daeges Morgan set a NEW SCHOOL RECORD in the 6-dive event on the 1m board!!! After winning the 2nd annual Hobart Diving Invite last Saturday, a school record was a FANTASTIC follow-up performance!! In fact, ALL of our Lady Brickies performed well en route to a VICTORY over Highland by a 101-66 score!! The Red Devils earned a double-dual win by outscoring both the Lady Bricks & Trojans.

Here are some other results from Tuesday's meet:

200 Medley Relay - 2nd = senior Marie White, sophomores Brogan McDonald & Evangeline Clay, and freshman Cassie Cohen

200 Free - 2nd = McDonald, 6th = sophomore Nela Robles, 7th = freshman Maliah Christopher

200 IM - 2nd = White, 3rd = senior Hailey Blood

50 Free - 6th = Clay, 7th = sophomore Peyton Leonard, 9th = Christopher

Diving - 1st = Morgan, 2nd = senior Gabby Tomich, 5th = sophomore Alyssa Meinert

100 Fly - 2nd = White, 3rd = Blood

100 Free - 4th = Cohen, 7th = junior Yola Fritz, 8th = Robles

500 Free - 2nd = McDonald

200 Free Relay - 3rd = White, Cohen, Clay & McDonald

100 Back - 6th = Clay, 7th = Leonard

100 Breast - 2nd = Cohen, 5th = Fritz, 6th = Johnston

On Thursday night, the Lady Brickies welcomed Merrillville to The Friendly City for a non-conference meet and earned another W!! Morgan and freshman Cassie Cohen were individual winners to help our girls make the Pirates walk the plank to the tune of an 88-75 VICTORY!!

The Lady Brickies are 4-10 on the season with one meet remaining before the NCC CHAMPIONSHIP & IHSAA Sectional. Hobart will host Calumet & Hammond Morton THIS THURSDAY and celebrate SENIOR NIGHT! BE THERE!!

Boys

The boys also wrapped up the NCC regular season last Tuesday against Highland & Lowell. Senior Eian Ferba & junior Ethan Robles were once again the DYNAMIC DUO on the DIVING board by placing 1st and 2nd for the 5th consecutive meet!! AWESOME!! In the lanes, senior Owen Finch, junior Brett Herrin and sophomore Christian Kertz all earned individual 2nd place finishes to help our boys WIN over Highland 102-82!! Following the girls lead, the Red Devil boys also defeated the Bricks & Trojans.

Here are some other results from Tuesday's meet:

200 Medley Relay - 2nd = senior Owen Finch, junior Brett Herrin, sophomore Christian Kertz & freshman Jaden Cano

200 Free - 5th = freshman Dylan Whetstone, 6th = freshman Durgon Click, 7th = junior Connor Crofton

200 IM - 3rd = Herrin

50 Free - 2nd = Finch, 3rd = Kertz, 4th = junior Ayden Witting

Diving - 1st = Ferba, 2nd = Robles, 4th = senior Jose Torres

100 Fly - 2nd = Finch, 6th = freshman Lu Cohen

100 Free - 2nd = Kertz, 5th = Witting, 6th = Cano

500 Free - 5th = Crofton, 6th = Click, 8th = junior Travis Balding

200 Free Relay - 2nd = Kertz, Cohen, Herrin & Finch

100 Back - 4th = Cano, 5th = Whetstone, 6th = sophomore Antonio Mandich

100 Breast - 2nd = Herrin, 5th = Cohen, 9th = Balding

On Thursday, Merrillville traversed the bridge over I-65 for a non-conference meet. Ferba & Robles DOMINATED diving for the 6th straight dual meet and Herrin also won an individual event to help Hobart blow the Pirates out of the water 123-57!! AMAZING!!

The Brickie boys are 3-11 with SENIOR NIGHT approaching on Thursday followed by the NCC CHAMPIONSHIP on Saturday right here at Hobart! LET'S GO BOYS!!

#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING

On Saturday night, the Hobart Athletics Hall of Fame committee welcomed three new inductees back to HHS! At halftime of the boys varsity basketball game against Illiana Christian, Mike Kaczmarek, Maureen Manning & Bill Manolopoulos were recognized for their excellence at Hobart and beyond as HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES!!

CONGRATULATIONS Mike, Maureen & Bill!

#ONCEABRICKIE

Congratulations to our December Brickie Athletes of the Month!

Keirys Click - Girls Wrestling

Aidan Costello - Boys Wrestling

Eian Ferba - Boys Diving

Ladan Weinman - Girls Basketball

Keep working hard, Brickies!

#EXCELLENTONPURPOSE

Monday

MLK Day - No Events Scheduled

Tuesday

Girls Basketball vs. Merrillville

Boys Basketball @ Chesterton

Wednesday

No Events Scheduled

Thursday

Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Calumet/Morton - SENIOR NIGHT

Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Calumet/Morton - SENIOR NIGHT

Girls Basketball @ Hanover Central

9th Boys Basketball @ Andrean *

Friday

Boys Basketball @ Munster *

Saturday

Girls Swimming & Diving @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIP (Hosted by Hobart High School)

Boys Swimming & Diving @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIP (Hosted by Hobart High School)

JV Wrestling Invite @ Hobart High School

* = NCC Opponent