BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
February 7, 2021
21 Sports ... 1 Team ... WE ARE HOBART!
This past week ... as temperatures dropped below zero ... competition in the IHSAA post-season heated up for some of our winter sports! Watching the Brickies COMPETE showed that they are learning the right lessons! Whether a season continued or came to a close over the last 7 days ... on the hardwood, across the mat or in the water ... the memories made and lessons learned while pursuing those objectives will endure! That's EXACTLY why we say "All my life, I want to be a Brickie ... WORK WORK WORK!"
Right now, our objective is clear ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Wrestling
On Saturday, Hobart hosted the IHSAA Wrestling Regional for the 4th consecutive year.
The Brickies brought competitors in 13 out of 14 weight classes ... each one of them competing for a shot at advancing to next weekend's semi-state at East Chicago Central High School. In order to advance, a wrestler must finish in the top 4 places. There was a lot on the line for our boys Saturday. Not only were they individually trying to advance to next weekend, but also collectively compete for a team title ... a race that came down to 3 teams ... Portage, defending champion Merrillville, and our Brickies. Here we go!
Brackets for each weight class included 8 competitors - the top 4 place winners from last weekend's sectional competitions at East Chicago and Portage. A win in the 1st round would guarantee a trip to the semi-state! On Saturday, 9 of the 13 Brickies in action WON their 1st round bout and advanced to next weekend!! In the semifinals, 5 of those 9 WON AGAIN setting up a shot at an individual title! Success in the opening rounds also kept Hobart in the hunt for the team crown!!
In the championship round held under the spotlight, OUR BOYS SHINED!
At 113-lbs, junior Trevor Schammert won a THRILLING match (5-0) against his opponent from Munster to stay UNDEFEATED at 28-0 on the season and earn his 2nd consecutive REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! The kid from Munster has lost twice all year ... both to Schammert! AMAZING!!
Next it was classmate Donovan Ruiz at 120-lbs. In another close bout, Ruiz gained control in the 3rd & final period to secure the 7-2 VICTORY and earn his 1st individual REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! Donovan is 22-2 on the year - INCREDIBLE!!
Sophomore Devin Wible was chasing a title in the 126-lb weight class. After competing at the JV level most of the year, Wible has been FANTASTIC in recent weeks making the most of his opportunity in the post season ... 1st earning a SECTIONAL TITLE a week ago and now reaching the REGIONAL final! Devin wrestled great under the spotlight, but unfortunately ran into an outstanding champion from Merrillville and finished second.
Another junior, Jacob Simpson, WON a THRILLA in MANILLA ... I mean Hobart ... while competing at 170-lbs to remain UNDEFEATED on the season at 26-0! Tied at 1-1 in the 3rd period, Simpson shot and scored TWWWWOOOOOOOOOO points for a take down just 3 seconds before the buzzer sounded to earn his 2nd consecutive REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! IT WAS CRAZY!!
Finally, it was junior Justin Sawyer's turn at 195-lbs. In yet another NAIL-BITER ... tied at 1-1 late in the 3rd period ... Sawyer was able to earn an escape point with less than 15 seconds remaining in the final period and then held on with everything he had for the REGIONAL TITLE! UNBELIEVABLE!!
I'm exhausted just reliving it ... SO EXCITING ... WHAT A PERFORMANCE by our boys!!
9 Semi-state qualifiers ... 4 REGIONAL CHAMPIONS ... I'd say it was a FANTASTIC day of competition ... one that would make all of us PROUD TO BE BRICKIES with the way our boys competed! In the team competition, Hobart actually crowned the most individual champions on the day with 4, but finished 3rd overall with 146 points behind Portage (11 semistate qualifiers & 3 champions - 157 points) and Merrillville (10 semistate qualifiers, 3 champions), who earned another title with 177 points overall.
Here are your Brickie SEMI-STATE QUALIFIERS:
106 - junior Jayson Mejia - 3rd place
113 - junior Trevor Schammert - REGIONAL CHAMPION
120 - junior Donovan Ruiz - REGIONAL CHAMPION
126 - sophomore Devin Wible - Regional RUNNER-UP
132 - sophomore Jonny McGill - 3rd place
145 - sophomore Trevor Triana - 4th place
160 - senior Tyler Turley - 4th place
170 - junior Jacob Simpson - REGIONAL CHAMPION
195 - junior Justin Sawyer - REGIONAL CHAMPION
Next stop on the #BrickRODE is the East Chicago SEMI-STATE!
To quote former White Sox announcer Ken 'Hawk' Harrelson, "DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!!"
#BRICKRODE
Swimming & Diving
Girls
Well folks ... this was SECTIONAL WEEK for the Lady Brickies! Valparaiso High School and their VAC (Valpo Aquatics Center) hosted the IHSAA Sectional prelims and finals and all I can say is our ladies SHINED BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND!!!! (Thank you Rihanna)The IHSAA organizes it's sectional competition into 2 sessions ... preliminary swimming heats are held on Thursday night (postponed to Friday thanks to Mother Nature) to determine consolation and final races, which take place on Saturday afternoon. The diving competition occurs entirely on Saturday (postponed from Friday this year) with each girl diving 11 times for their score. There are no "regionals" or "semi-state" in swimming, competitors that either place 1st in their event or achieve a qualifying time advance directly to the STATE FINALS held next weekend in Indy. For diving, the top 4 scorers advance to a mid-week regional ... and the top 8 from regionals move on to STATE.
Ok, now that we've got the basics ... how did the Lady Brickies do? AMAZING!!!
Out of 12 teams in attendance, Hobart placed 5th OVERALL with a team total of 232 points ... just 4 shy of 4th!! State powerhouse Chesterton won 9 of the 11 swimming events to claim the title for the 22nd consecutive time! WOW.
Any guess on who won the other two swimming events?
That's WRIGHT ... Hobart senior Emma "Doin It" Wright!! For the 4th consecutive year, Emma WON BOTH the 50-yd and 100-yd Freestyle races! Two years ago, while dodging a polar vortex, Emma set a NEW SECTIONAL RECORD in the 100-yd Free on her way to eventually winning the STATE CHAMPIONSHIP a week later. This year, she appears to be right on track as her winning time in the 100 was only .05 seconds away from breaking her own record! With the victories, Emma advances to the STATE FINALS in BOTH EVENTS!
Another highlight from the sectional finals was provided by the Hobart 200-yd Freestyle Relay team composed of the FEARSOME FOURSOME ... senior Delaney O'Brien, senior Ana Tepavcevich, senior Alivia Ahner and Wright. These 4 girls placed 3rd overall and FLEW through the water ... barely missing a NEW SCHOOL RECORD by just .60 seconds!! INCREDIBLE!
Ahner also competed in the diving portion on Saturday morning and QUALIFIED for the DIVING REGIONAL on Tuesday right back @ the VAC after placing 2nd in the 1-meter diving competition!! This will be Alivia's 2nd CONSECUTIVE trip to the REGIONAL and her 2nd place finish was 1 spot better than a year ago!
What a PHENOMENAL performance by the Lady Brickies! Legendary basketball coach John Wooden used to say, "Be at your best when your best is needed." MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
GREAT JOB GIRLS! YOU MAKE US VERY PROUD!!
Here are results from the IHSAA Sectional Finals:
200 yd Medley Relay - 5th place = seniors Delaney O'Brien, Alivia Ahner & Ana Tepavcevich, and freshman Zoe Johnston
200 yd Free - 9th place = Tepavcevich
200 yd IM - 12th place = freshman Marie White, 16th = junior Brooke Blanchard
50 yd Free - 1st = senior Emma Wright, 5th = O'Brien
1 M Diving - 2nd = Ahner
100 yd Fly - 11th = Johnston, 15th = White
100 yd Free - 1st = Wright, 8th = O'Brien
500 yd Free - 14th = junior Chelsea Chavez, 16th = Blanchard
200 yd Free Relay - 3rd = Tepavcevich, Wright, Ahner & O'Brien
100 yd Back - 8th = Ahner, 15th = junior Meghan Horn
100 yd Breast - 7th = Tepavcevich, 8th = Johnston, 16th = senior Julie Hunt
400 yd Free Relay - 6th = Blanchard, Chavez, Hunt & Johnston
The next 6 days will be very exciting for Hobart! On Tuesday, Ahner will represent H-town in the IHSAA DIVING REGIONAL. If she places in the top 8, she will join classmate Emma Wright at the STATE FINALS next weekend! Emma will be swimming in the prelims of the 50 & 100-yd freestyle races on Friday to qualify for Saturday's finals! GOOD LUCK LADIES! WE ... WE BELIEVE ... WE BELIEVE THAT ... you know the rest :)
#GIRLSJUSTWANNAHAVEFUN
Boys
The boys had the week off from competition due to the girls competing in the sectional. Their fun begins in two weeks when the Brickies HOST the 2021 Boys Swimming & Diving Sectional! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
#LETSHEARITFORTHEBOYS
Basketball
On Friday night, the Lady Brickies played Crown Point, ranked #2 in Class 4A and sporting a 19-1 record, in the semifinals of the IHSAA Sectional over at Chesterton High School. Our girls finished the regular season with an 8-11 mark, winners of their last two in a row, and looking to slip into Cinderella's shoe and make some noise in the IHSAA's version of the BIG DANCE!
Early on, each team was able to shake off any potential nervous energy as the 1st quarter played out with a frantic pace! CP came out in a full-court press on made baskets and the Lady Brickies showed NO FEAR battling the 2-time defending champions ... racing up & down the floor trying to take advantage of every opportunity! In an exciting 1st 8 minutes of play, Hobart trailed on the scoreboard but it was clear that our girls CAME TO COMPETE!!
The 2nd quarter was even more competitive, but the Lady Bulldogs were able to increase their lead. Crown Point came out of the halftime locker room on a mission and asserted themselves as champions do ... scoring on what seemed like possession and ultimately ended the season for the Lady Brickies, 82-27. Sophomore sensation Asia Donald, last week's Post Tribune Player of the Week after averaging 27.5 ppg in Hobart's two victories, scored a team-high 16 points. Her sister Amarea tallied 7 ... senior Lexi Williams and sophomore Niko Latinovic each added 2 to round out the scoring for the Lady Brickies.
Crown Point went on to win their 3rd straight sectional on Saturday night ... defeating Chesterton 67-34. Their average margin of victory over their 3 opponents for the week was a resounding 46 points per game. WOW
It was not the way any of us hoped it would end, but one thing was clear as fans exited the gymnasium ... our girls played their hearts out and left it all on the floor. They were diving for loose balls, attacking the basket against the much taller Lady Bulldogs, fighting for rebounds ... trying to execute on both ends and COMPETE ... I mean COMPETE ... with everything they had against a superior opponent. We may have lost the game, but the Lady Brickies were NOT defeated. All seasons can be like a roller-coaster with highs and lows ... particularly when battling a pandemic ... but the Lady Brickies STAYED THE COURSE and ALWAYS represented H-town with PRIDE! The ending always hurts, but when our girls look back on the 2020-2021 season, they should hold their heads high knowing that they gave it everything they had.
THANK YOU once again to our seniors - Ariah Rivera, Dillen Pendleton and Lexi Williams for everything!
#BRICKIEPRIDE
Boys
The boys cagers were originally scheduled for two games this past week, but inclement weather conditions caused a postponement of Thursday's NCC contest against KV, which meant that their Saturday afternoon tilt @ Calumet was the GAME OF THE WEEK!
In what has become a common theme for Hobart this winter, Saturday afternoon at Calumet was yet another BATTLE where every possession counted! Each team relied heavily on playing TOUGH D-D-D-DEFENSE and with Calumet looking to control the tempo, it came down to who could grind things out on offense. Unfortunately, it was the Warriors who found just enough points to hold off the Brickies, 42-35. Junior Miki Djankovich led Hobart with 10 points to go along with his 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Fellow junior Anthony Williams scored 9 points and grabbed 3 rebounds. Senior Fabian Salazar-Bernal pulled down a team-high 9 rebounds and scored 8 ... classmate Max Jancich added 6 pts, 3 rebounds and a block.
The Brickies are currently 2-8 on the season with 3 games coming up this week ... Tuesday @ Hanover Central, Friday vs. NCC rival Andrean, and Saturday @ Hammond Gavit.
BRICKIE UP!!
#MAKETHEMBELIEVE
Need to upgrade your wardrobe with some new Brickie gear? Now is the PERFECT time!! Check out the link below!!
Sports Schedule This Week
No Events Scheduled
Tuesday
Alivia Ahner @ Girls Diving REGIONAL (Valparaiso High School)
Boys Basketball @ Hanover Central
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
Thursday
Gymnastics @ Lowell/Portage
Friday
Emma Wright @ Girls Swimming STATE FINALS - Prelims (IUPUI Natatorium)
Boys Basketball vs. Andrean *
Saturday
Girls Swimming & Diving IHSAA STATE FINALS - Finals (IUPUI Natatorium)
Wrestling @ IHSAA Semistate (East Chicago Central High School)
Boys Basketball @ Hammond Gavit
* - NCC Opponent