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."

For nearly two whole years, 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 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!

The Brickie grapplers wrapped up their regular season this past week with TWWWOOOOOOOO home meets on Wednesday & Friday ... then got up early on Saturday morning and traveled to Lowell High School for the Northwest Crossroads Conference CHAMPIONSHIP meet. No question about it ... our boys STOOD TALL and SHINED in times of both comfort and challenge over the last 7 days and their overall performance can be summed up in one word - AWESOME!

Wednesday, Hobart hosted Hammond Morton for SENIOR NIGHT! After honoring a FINE Band of Brickies prior to the start, Hobart proceeded to impeach the Governors by a final score of 60-24! The Brickies won the 1st 5 matches by pin and never looked back in the CONVINCING VICTORY!!

On Friday, Hobart hosted the IHSWCA Class 4A Team State Champion Crown Point Bulldogs. Truth be told ... the Dogs entered Friday's contest 17-0, ranked #1 in Indiana and #10 in the entire nation! Talk about how we stand in times of challenge ... the Brickies were staring down their most difficult one of the season. Starting at 113lbs, senior Trevor Schammert earned a hard fought VICTORY in 3 periods by a 6-4 margin to give Hobart an early 3-0 lead! Unfortunately, as fierce as our boys battled on the mat, that's as close the the Brickies would be the rest of the night. Crown Point was just too much to handle on this night and the Dogs headed back to the Hub City with a lopsided 67-3 win. Fortunately, the scoreboard doesn't always accurately measure the outcome ... competing against the very best is something that will help our boys down the road in the IHSAA tournament.

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!

Queen's WEEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS ... MY FRIENDS should've been playing on "repeat" as our boys celebrated 6 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS, 5 Runners-Up, and 3 3rd-place finishes out of the 14 weight classes leading to our 8th CONSECUTIVE NCC CHAMPIONSHIP!! That's right ... it's an 8-PEAT!! The Brickies placed in the top 3 of EVERY WEIGHT CLASS!! AMAZING!! Hobart finished the day with 286.5 team points and beat 2nd place Lowell (218) by over nearly 70 points! 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 - freshman Seth Aubin - NCC CHAMPION

113 lbs - senior Trevor Schammert - NCC CHAMPION

120 lbs - freshman Daniel Mata - RUNNER-UP

126 lbs - senior Donovan Ruiz - NCC CHAMPION

132 lbs - sophomore Kaden Miller - RUNNER UP

138 lbs - freshman Cole Weber - RUNNER-UP

145 lbs - junior Auggie Verduzco - 3rd place

152 lbs - freshman Aidan Costello - RUNNER UP

160 lbs - junior Alan Turich - 3rd place

170 lbs - junior Hunter Juris - 3rd place

182 lbs - senior Jacob Simpson - NCC CHAMPION

195 lbs - senior Justin Sawyer - RUNNER-UP

220 lbs - senior Ashton Battistella - NCC CHAMPION

285 lbs - senior 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

"Dribble it ... Pass it ... We Want A Basket!"

Girls

The Lady Brickies shot for 3 this past week ... as in 3 games in 5 days! Perfect tune up for the IHSAA Sectional that begins in just 16 days!

On Tuesday, our girls faced a tough test at Chesterton. The Lady Brickies came out of the gate with something to prove, PLAYED TOUGH on both ends and led 9-8 entering the 2nd quarter! The next 8 minutes were INTENSE as each squad tried to seize control. At the half, the score was knotted at 26 a piece! Chesterton was able to gain a slight advantage - 35-30 - heading into the final period and ultimately secured a 53-36 win. The Lady Brickies STOOD TALL against this challenge, but couldn't quite get over the hump.

Late in the 3rd ... with the score still close ... Hobart junior Asia Donald scored on a put-back. The score gave her 1,000 CAREER POINTS!!! She is the 1st Lady Brickie EVER to surpass the 1,000 pt barrier and currently sits all alone as ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER in Girls Basketball HISTORY at HHS!!! CONGRATULATIONS ASIA!!!

Thursday night, Hobart squared off with the Red Devils in NCC play. The Lady Brickies have been getting closer and closer to getting over the hump this winter. Down in The Inferno at Lowell High School, once again our girls PLAYED HARD for 32 minutes ... led 16-7 after 1 ... 28-16 at the half ... 39-32 after 3 quarters ... and FINALLY DID IT by hanging on for a THRILLING 54-50 VICTORY!!! Donald led the charge with 22 points ... junior Niko Latinovic added 14 points ... and senior Amarea Donald chipped in 8 to help Hobart earn their 1st NCC VICTORY since the 2017-2018 season!!!

On Saturday, Hobart hosted Hammond Morton in a game previously scheduled for January 4th. Following a brief pre-game ceremony to honor Asia Donald becoming the Lady Brickies' first member of the 1,000 point club, our girls SHINED for 4 quarters and sent the Governors packing with a 51-39 VICTORY!!

The Lady Brickies are an even 9-9 on the season with 4 games remaining before the post-season begins.

#RISETOTHEOCCASION

Boys

After earning a split in 2 games a week ago, the Brickie cagers had just one contest on the schedule this week ... a Saturday night challenge at Illiana Christian, who entered the game with an impressive 10-2 record. In a competitive game from start to finish, the Vikings held off every charge our boys made and eventually sealed up a 64-51 win. This was a really good game between two teams giving it everything they had ... much closer than the scoreboard might indicate. Junior Keith Mullins topped Hobart in scoring with 13 points ... freshman Noah Ehrlich barely missed a double-double with 9 points and 9 rebounds ... and senior Jaydon Hence scored 6, dished out 4 assists and added 3 steals in the loss.

Our boys currently hold a 5-6 record as they reach the halfway point of the year. This week will put them to the test with games against undefeated & Class 4A #2-ranked Chesterton on Tuesday followed by a Saturday night affair against the 10-2 Munster Mustangs. A tough test for certain ... fortunately we know our boys will stand tall in times of challenge!! LET'S GO!!

#MAKETHEMBELIEVE

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 on the road vs. state powerhouse Chesterton on Tuesday and then tried to balance out the week on Wednesday over at Merrillville!

Talk about a tough opener. On Tuesday, Hobart went up against the almighty Lady Trojans ... winners of 3 out of the last 4 IHSAA State championships. Chesterton ... schmesterton ... the Lady Brickies were NOT intimidated in the least - they were READY TO ROCK! The hard WORK WORK WORK our girls have been putting in at practice over the last 2 months SHINED BRIGHT! A year ago, Hobart scored a WHOPPING 103.55, which is a HUGE score, but Chesterton put a 109.1 on the board and won. This year, the Lady Brickies put a 104.65 on the scoreboard and WON!!! That's right ... our girls BEAT CHESTERTON!!! HOLY SCHNIKES!!!! In the 5-team meet, Hobart STOOD TALL and finished 1st overall!!! INCREDIBLE start to the season for our girls! Senior Aisha Arias, juniors Haylie Skripac & Sarah Romeo, and freshman Elizabeth Crespo were DYNAMITE in the win!! Arias was 3rd in the All-around!

No rest for the weary ... or the victors ... 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!! Arias placed 2nd in the all-around and Romeo finished 5th against the Lady Pirates!

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 @ FW Concordia Lutheran on January 22nd. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#STICKIT

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, the final NCC regular season dual meet with Highland and a coed dual with Merrillville were on the schedule!

Girls

Tuesday, Hobart hosted Highland & Lowell for the NCC regular season finale! Freshman Brogan McDonald continued to make a splash in her debut season at HHS with a pair of individual victories in the 200 Free & 500 Free and an assist in both the 200 Medley & 200 Free Relays finishing 2nd! The diving board was DOMINATED by the Lady Brickies once again as our girls brought out the brooms and swept the top 3 spots with junior Daeges Morgan earning 1st, senior Sydney Arias taking 2nd and classmate Autumn Turley finishing 3rd! In all, Hobart tallied 105 points to defeat Highland, but fell just short of the Red Devils (83-91).

For the conference season, the Lady Brickies finished 3-1 in 2nd place behind Munster! Next week's NCC CHAMPIONSHIPS should be exciting!!

Here are some results from Tuesday:

200 Medley Relay - 2nd = freshman Brogan McDonald and seniors Meghan Horn, Bridget Chavez & Chelsea Chavez

200 Free - 1st = McDonald, 2nd = Brennis Carillo, 4th = junior Hailey Blood

200 IM - 3rd = sophomore Sydney Johnston, 4th = B.Chavez

50 Free - 3rd = C.Chavez, 7th = freshman Peyton Leonard, 8th = sophomore Madison Allison

Diving - 1st = junior Daeges Morgan, 2nd = senior Sydney Arias, 3rd = senior Autumn Turley

100 Fly - 2nd = C.Chavez, 3rd = Blood

100 Free - 3rd = Horn, 5th = Leonard

500 Free - 1st = McDonald, 4th = Carillo

200 Free Relay - 2nd = McDonald, Chavez, Horn & Carillo

100 Back - 2nd = Horn, 4th = Allison

100 Breast - 2nd = B.Chavez, 3rd = S.Johnston

On Thursday night, the Lady Brickies headed West on 73rd over to Merrillville. The last two years, Hobart has outscored the Lady Pirates 265-87 and there was no way this year's crew was going to let that streak end! Our girls SHINED in making the Lady Pirates walk the plank on their way to an easy 110-66 VICTORY!! Hobart won 3 individual swimming events, 1 relay, and took the top 3 places on the diving board! A HUGE reason our girls earned the 'W' again this year was the Lady Brickie depth ... lots of 2nd & 3rd places helped extend the lead throughout the night and deliver the win!

The Lady Brickies are 7-4 on the season ... 3-1 in NCC action. One final regular season meet is scheduled for Thursday night at home, and then it's off to Munster on Saturday for the NCC CHAMPIONSHIPS!! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

Boys

Tuesday night, the Brickie boyz joined the ladies in the water against Highland & Lowell. Hobart swam brilliantly in the regular season NCC finale and got back to .500 in conference after squeaking by Highland 88-81!! The score against Lowell wasn't as much fun, but considering the Brickies did not have a 1st place finish in any race and still earned a VICTORY is OUTSTANDING!! Our boys are swimming their best at the best time of year!

Here are some results from Tuesday:

200 Free - 4th = senior Ethan Sy, 6th = sophomore Travis Balding, 7th = freshman Antonio Mandich

200 IM - 2nd = senior Nathaniel Mamushe, 5th = sophomore Brett Herrin

50 Free - 2nd = senior Jeydan Fifer, 4th = freshman Christian Kertz, 5th = senior Kaidin Click

Diving - 2nd = sophomore Ethan Robles, 3rd = junior Eian Ferba, 7th = freshman Andrew Martinez

100 Fly - 3rd = junior Owen Finch

100 Free - 4th = Fifer, 5th = Kertz, 7th = Click

500 Free - 3rd = Mamushe

100 Back - 5th = Finch, 6th = Sy

100 Breast - 3rd = Herrin

400 Free Relay - 2nd = Kertz, Sy, Mamushe & Fifer

On Thursday, the wheels on the bus went to Merrillville High School for a coed dual meet with the Pirates. As TOUGH as our boys were on Tuesday, they took it to another level on Thursday by sinking the Pirates' ship 103-75!! Remember how the Brickies did not have a 1st place finish on Tuesday? Well ... our boys made up for it on Thursday by winning 6 of 9 individual events and ALL THREE RELAYS!!! YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOOOOOOOAAAARD YESSSSSS!!! What a performance!!

The Brickies are now 4-7 overall and 2-2 in NCC competition! Thursday night brings Calumet, Hammond Morton and Portage to The Friendly City for the final regular season home meet in the HHS Aquatics Center. GOOD LUCK BOYS! WE ARE HOBART!!

#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING

Monday

No Events Scheduled - Martin Luther King Jr Day

Tuesday

Girls Basketball @ Merrillville

Boys Basketball @ Chesterton

Wednesday

No Events Scheduled

*Soup Game Dodgeball Trny sponsored by Business Professionals club

Thursday

Girls Basketball vs. Lake Station (SENIOR NIGHT)

Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Portage/Calumet/Morton

Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Portage/Calumet/Morton

Friday

No Events Scheduled

Saturday

Girls Swimming & Diving @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIPS (Munster High School)

Boys Swimming & Diving @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIPS (Munster High School)
Gymnastics @ FW Concordia Lutheran Invitational

Boys Basketball vs. Munster *

JV Wrestling Hobart Invite

* = NCC Opponent