American singer and actor Meatloaf, who passed away on January 20th, won a Grammy Award in 1993 for his Billboard Top 100 hit I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That). Here are some lyrics from the song:

And some days it don't come easy
And some days it don't come hard
Some days it don't come at all
And these are the days that never end
And some nights you're breathing fire
And some nights you're carved in ice
Some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before
Or will again

Sports are more about the journey than the destination. Even though we set our sights on the end result (final score of a game, win-loss record, post season finish, etc), the real impact is felt in the journey ... the day-to-day grind that rides like a roller coaster with highs and lows.

Some nights we're "breathing fire" and some nights we're "carved in ice". In the end, we WORK WORK WORK really hard to persevere the twists and turns to arrive at our best when our best is needed.

The goal is to win, but the purpose is to be able to look back once the journey ends and see all we've learned, how much we've grown, and what we can take with us going forward in life.

As we move into the final weeks of the winter sports season, things will get even more exciting as this part of the journey comes to a close. With Meatloaf's help, let's try to keep a clear perspective on the purpose as we strive towards achieving our goals.

As long as the planets are turning
As long as the stars are burning
As long as your dreams are coming true
You better believe it ... it's time for BricksCenter!

It was a HUGE week for the Brickies in the water ... by the way, our bricks float :). The final regular season home meet followed by a trip to Munster for the Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP meet! Like I said ... HUGE!!

Girls

On Thursday, the Lady Brickies welcomed Portage, Calumet and Hammond Morton to The Friendly City and SHINED in the final home competition of the 2021-2022 season! Our girls defeated Calumet and Morton by nearly 100 points each! Junior diver Daeges Morgan was the lone event winner for Hobart as she and seniors Autumn Turley & Sydney Arias swept the top 3 places on the diving board! Portage brought their largest girls team in recent memory and prevented the Lady Bricks from earning a complete sweep.

Saturday, Hobart hit the road for the NCC Championship meet hosted by Munster High School. The Lady Brickies wrapped up the conference regular season with a 3-1 record in NCC dual meets and were looking to finish strong! Our girls were FANTASTIC on the day! The touchpads at Munster saw a lot of season-best performances ... although the brightest star was junior Daeges Morgan on the diving board. Morgan ... in her 1st EVER season diving ... WON the NCC CHAMPIONSHIP in the 1 meter diving competition!! The volleyball player, high jumper and former gymnast exploded for 346.65 points over 11 dives and edged her top competitor from Munster by just 3 points - winning the title on her FINAL DIVE!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Two other noteworthy performances were turned in by senior Chelsea Chavez & freshman Brogan McDonald, who each found the podium in 4 events!! In the end, Hobart finished 3rd in the team standings at the NCC Championship meet and when combined with the regular season, conclude the 2021-2022 conference season in 2nd place!!

Here are the podium spots from Saturday:

200 Medley Relay - 4th = freshman Brogan McDonald and seniors Meghan Horn, Bridget Chavez & Chelsea Chavez

200 Free - 4th = McDonald

200 IM - 5th = C.Chavez, 6th = sophomore Marie White

Diving - 1st = junior Daeges Morgan, 5th = senior Autumn Turley

100 Fly - 6th = C.Chavez

500 Free - 5th = McDonald

200 Free Relay - 3rd = McDonald, C.Chavez, Horn & senior Brooke Blanchard

400 Free Relay - 4th = Horn, Blanchard, White & junior Hailey Blood

Hobart finished the regular season with an overall record of 9-5 and will now turn attention to the post-season. The IHSAA Sectional starts in 11 days. LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Boys

Thursday, Hobart welcomed Portage, Calumet and Hammond Morton to the Aquatics Center. Something else that the Brickies "welcomed" on Thursday were 3 VICTORIES!! Our boys DOMINATED the Indians, Warriors and Governors all over the pool! Seniors Nathaniel Mamushe & Jeydan Fifer, freshman Christian Kertz, and sophomores Brett Herrin & Ethan Robles were all individual event winners on the night!!

On Saturday, the Brickies were at Munster for the NCC Championship meet. During the regular season, Hobart finished an even 2-2 in conference competition ... Saturday offered an opportunity to FINISH STRONG and secure a top 3 overall place. Senior Nathaniel Mamushe was a MONSTER on the day - making the most of this opportunity and placing on the podium in 4 events!! Junior Eian Ferba & sophomore Ethan Robles each brought their license to dive and SHINED with 2nd & 4th place podium finishes in the 1-meter dive!! In all, our boys swam well and earned 4th place in the team standings ... combining it with the regular season finish puts the Brickies in 3rd place for the year! OUTSTANDING!!

Here are your podium finishers from Saturday:

200 Medley Relay - 3rd = seniors Nathaniel Mamushe & Jeydan Fifer, junior Owen Finch and sophomore Brett Herrin

200 IM - 6th = Mamushe

Diving - 2nd = junior Eian Ferba, 4th = sophomore Ethan Robles

100 Fly - 4th = Mamushe

400 Free Relay - 3rd = Mamushe, Fifer, Finch & freshman Christian Kertz

The Brickies finished the regular season with a dual meet record of 7-7. Now they begin the home stretch of training towards the IHSAA post season. Train ... taper ... triumph!

#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING

The Brickie cagers faced some of their toughest competition of the season this past week on the hardwood.

Girls

On Tuesday over at Merrillville, the Lady Brickies battled the Lady Pirates in non-conference action. Merrillville cranked up the pace early and led 24-8 after 8 minutes. Our girls BATTLED BACK in the 2nd quarter ... outscoring the 'Ville 12-4 to get within 8 (28-20) at the break! Unfortunately, the Lady Pirates got back on track over the final two periods and the Lady Brickies couldn't keep up ... ultimately coming home with a 63-46 defeat. Junior Asia Donald netted a game-high 32 points.

Thursday night was not only an opportunity for our girls to BOUNCE BACK after Tuesday's loss, but also a chance to CELEBRATE our SENIORS against Lake Station. The Lady Eagles entered the contest with a 12-6 record and winners in 5 of their last 6 contests. For Hobart, seniors Melanie Leonard, Amarea Donald, Piper Logan and Shanena Knight were all recognized prior to tip-off for their contributions to Lady Brickie basketball over the last 4 years. In the 1st quarter, Lake Station dialed long-distance from 3 and led 13-8 before Hobart junior Niko Latinovic's putback beat the buzzer and cut the deficit to 13-10. In a back-n-forth 2nd quarter of action, our girls took another point off the Eagle advantage and the score was 26-24 at the break. Hobart stayed with the hot-shooting squad from Lake Station in the 3rd quarter and actually got within 1 @ 35-34, but that was as close as it would get. Lake Station scored the next 13 points to finish the 3rd and never looked back. Final score: Hobart 42, Lake Station 59.

The Lady Brickies are currently 9-11 with 2 games remaining in the regular season ... MIDDLE SCHOOL NIGHT @ HOME vs. Wheeler on Tuesday and vs. Hammond Central on Friday. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#RISETOTHEOCCASION

Boys

The 1st game on the schedule this past week for our boys cagers was a trip to area #1 and AP #1-ranked Chesterton. The undefeated Trojans are big, talented and experienced. Chesterton got the upper hand early and showed why they rank as the top team in Indiana by controlling the game at both ends. The Brickies BATTLED HARD the entire game, but unfortunately the host Trojans were just too much to handle and sent our boys home with a tough 75-32 defeat. Senior Jaydon Hence scored 8 pts and junior Keith Mullins notched 7 pts & 7 rebounds in the loss.

On Saturday, Hobart welcomed NCC favorite and NWI Times #3-ranked Munster to the friendly confines. The Mustangs tickled the twine from 3-pt range early and often to take a commanding 26-7 1st quarter lead. The Brickies regained their composure over the next quarter and a half and got within 13 (46-33) after junior Gabe Dickerson sank a mid-range jumper!! Munster responded with a 12-0 run and led 58-35 entering the 4th period. The final quarter was all Mustangs as they ran away with a 79-45 win. Another tough result, but considering the fact that the middle 2 quarters saw the Brickies go toe-to-toe (28-32) with a top area team should give our boys some confidence that we CAN play with anyone. Dickerson (13pts) and senior Anthony Williams (16pts) reached double figures for Hobart in the loss. Freshman Noah Ehrlich pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds while dishing out 3 assists and recording 3 steals ... both also team-highs.

Hall of Fame coach of the Dallas Cowboys Tom Landry used to say, "I've learned that something constructive comes from every defeat." True words ... we can do this boys!!

The Brickies are currently 5-8 on the season and 1-1 in NCC play. A HUGE game at Hammond Morton on Friday is next on the schedule. LET'S GO BRICKS!!

#MAKETHEMBELIEVE

The Lady Brickies traveled across the northern part of the state to compete at Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran High School on Saturday in the Concordia Carter Classic! Out of 14 teams present, Hobart placed 11th overall and had some INCREDIBLE performances! If not for some bad luck and an injury, our girls would've been in the top 5 had all 3 all-around competitors been able to stick each apparatus. Still ... this group continues to show improvement and resiliency - traits that will no doubt help them soar past the competition as the season progresses!! GREAT JOB LADIES!!

Here are some individual results from Saturday in Fort Wayne:

Bars - senior Aisha Arias - 5th, junior Sarah Romeo - 17th

Floor - Romeo - 12th, Arias - 21st

Beam - Arias - 13th, Romeo - 18th & freshman Elizabeth Crespo - 39th

Vault - Arias - 8th, Romeo - 11th, junior Haylie Skripac - 13th & Crespo - 33rd

In the all-around, Arias placed 6th and Romeo finished 12th! FANTASTIC!!

With 2 more meets this week @ Valpo & Merrillville, our girls will be put to the test as they raise the bar to new heights!

#STICKIT

With the IHSAA Sectional occurring next weekend, the varsity wrestling team had the week off from competition to fine tune training & techniques for the post-season. Still, that doesn't mean there wasn't some wrasslin' taking place in H-town! On Saturday, the Brickies hosted the JV Invite and welcomed 12 schools to The Friendly City. With weight classes broken down into 14 different blocks, Hobart had 8 competitors battling for a spot in on the podium. Of the 8 Brickies in action, the following placed in the top 4 of their block:

156-167 = junior Hunter Juris - 4th place

179-188 = sophomore Jake Sparks - CHAMPION

179-188 = freshman Deacon Caesar - 3rd place

189-210 = freshman Luke Juris - 4th place

Next Saturday, the Brickies will travel to Portage High School for the IHSAA Sectional ... aka, the 1st stop on the #BrickRode to Indianapolis! WEEEEEEEEE ... WE BELIEEEEEEEVE ... WE BELIEEEEVE THAT ... you know the rest :)

#BRICKRODE

Brickie senior Isabella Ciesielski recently advanced to the IHSB STATE FINALS! She finished 6th at the Semi-State in Dyer with 180-175-208=563! The State Finals will take place Pro Bowl West in Ft. Wayne in two weeks.

CONGRATULATIONS BELLA & GOOD LUCK @ STATE!

#STRIKEAPOSE

Monday

No Events Scheduled

Tuesday

Girls Basketball vs. Wheeler (^Varsity only @ 6PM)

Wednesday

C-team Boys Basketball @ Lowell *

Thursday

Gymnastics @ Valparaiso

9-10 Wrestling @ Chesterton

Friday

Girls Basketball vs. Hammond Central

Boys Basketball @ Hammond Morton

Saturday

Wrestling @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Portage High School)

Gymnastics @ Merrillville

* = NCC Opponent