BricksCenter
DaDaDa DaDaDa
February 20, 2022
#21sports1team
A challenge is something new and difficult which requires great effort and determination.
This past week in sports was challenging for the Brickies ... on the mat, in the water, on the court, in the gymnastics room ... for a variety of reasons. The winter weather certainly added a little more to the mix, but mostly it's just that time of year when EVERYTHING is on the line!! Someone who knew a thing or two about facing challenges with everything at stake was NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana. Here's what he had to say about those situations:
Our coaches & kids have WORK WORK WORKed SO HARD this winter to be their best! Win or lose ... we are VERY PROUD because we know they are giving it everything they have!!
Don't look now ... it's time for BricksCenter!
Wrestling
The #BRICKRODE guided 4 Brickies to Indianapolis on Friday for the IHSAA STATE FINALS! Granted ... our boys had to leave a little earlier than planned on Thursday to avoid the winter storm, but they had a safe trip and got to spend some time with Coach Cook's dad before heading to the hotel. :)
Freshmen Seth Aubin (106lbs) & Aidan Costello (152lbs) and seniors Trevor Schammert (113lbs) and Jake Simpson (182lbs) represented H-town on the biggest stage and came home with some hardware!! This was Hobart's largest qualifying group since 2017!
16 individuals from each weight class qualify for state. 1st round action on Friday eliminates half of the competitors and those who get compete Saturday are guaranteed a top-8 finish, which means PODIUM and ALL-STATE!
On Friday morning, Costello faced undefeated Roncalli senior Kody Glithero. It was a BATTLE, but ultimately Aidan lost a close match in a 4-2 decision, which brought an end to an INCREDIBLE freshman season that saw him win 33 matches and finish at the state finals! Simpson was up next in the morning session. Arriving at state for the 2nd time in as many seasons, Jake made the most of it with a 5-2 VICTORY to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round!! In the Friday evening session, Aubin wrestled well and trailed just 4-3 late in the 3rd period before losing by fall before the final horn sounded. Aubin finished his FANTASTIC freshman year with 34 victories and a state finals appearance!! Schammert, making his 1st appearance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, PINNED his 1st round opponent to advance to Saturday and guarantee himself a state medal!!
Saturday, both Trevor and Jake charted similar paths to the podium. Each lost a tough quarterfinal match ... won a wrestle-back to compete for 5th-6th place ... and were eventually defeated 3-0 & 3-2 in extremely close matches. BOTH earned ALL-STATE HONORS by finishing 6th at the State Finals!! AMAZING!! These two Brickies have been pillars of our program for the last 4 years. They have helped secure 4 consecutive NCC team Championships, won over 100 individual matches, and now they close the book with ALL-STATE medals!
CONGRATULATIONS to all our boys who represented us so well at STATE ... to Coach Cook & staff for another UNBELIEVABLE winter of wrestling ... and to senior teammates Trevor Schammert & Jake Simpson for closing out your careers on the podium!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
#BALASHSTRONG
IHSAA STATE FINALS @ GAINBRIDGE FIELDHOUSE
Trevor Schammert - 6th place @ 113lbs
Jake Simpson - 6th place @ 182lbs
Swimming & Diving
For swimming & diving, the IHSAA organizes it's sectional competition into 2 sessions ... preliminaries and finals. Friday night included swimming prelims ... Saturday morning held the diving prelims ... and THE FINALS took place Saturday afternoon in front of a PACKED HOUSE in the Aquatic Center!! 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 ... hosted by Valpo High School ... and the top 8 from regionals move on to STATE.
Make sense? Of course it does :) ... now let's see how the Brickies did!
Out of 13 teams in attendance, Hobart placed 5th OVERALL with a team total of 168 points!
Chesterton won 9 of the 11 swimming events, wracked up 542 points - over 100 more than 2nd place Valparaiso - and took home the trophy ... their 24th consecutive championship. WOW
Some highlights in the water from the 2-day competition include the Hobart 200-yd Medley Relay team composed of sophomore Brett Herrin, junior Owen Finch and seniors Nathaniel Mamushe & Jeydan Fifer dropping 4 seconds off their season-best to place 6th, Mamushe swimming a 7-second PERSONAL BEST in the 200-yd freestyle and dropping 4 seconds in the 100-yd Butterfly to finish on the podium in 8th place in both events, and the 400-yd Freestyle Relay team cutting a RIDICULOUS 11 SECONDS off their SEASON BEST to claim 3rd place overall behind Valpo & Chesterton!! The 400-yd Free Relay team included Mamushe, Fifer, Finch and freshman Christian Kertz!
In the diving portion, the Brickies put 3 individuals on the podium (top 8) ... including the Chairman of the Board, senior Ethan Ferba who WON his 2nd CONSECUTIVE SECTIONAL TITLE!! Ethan ... who broke his hand practicing a dive 6 weeks ago ... was PHENOMENAL in his return as he scored 458.65 pts on 11 dives!! He will now dive in his 4th consecutive IHSAA REGIONAL on Tuesday over at Valparaiso with a chance to punch his 3rd straight ticket to Indy!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Joining Ethan on the podium were his brother, Eian, who finished 6th, and sophomore Ethan Robles, who placed 7th!! You might say these 3 were ALL on the BOARD of directors :). GREAT JOB GUYS!!
What a day to be a Brickie! Our boys SHINED in front of the largest crowds ever seen at the Hobart Aquatic Center! It was truly an AMAZING weekend event! THANK YOU to Coach Ken, Coach Katie, and everyone - staff, parents & students - who put in so much WORK WORK WORK to make the Sectional run so smoothly!!
#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING
#LICENSETODIVE
IHSAA SECTIONAL @ HHS
Senior ETHAN FERBA, 2022 IHSAA Sectional DIVING CHAMPION!!
Basketball
Tuesday, Hobart welcomed Calumet to The Friendly City for a non-conference game. The Warriors entered the contest on a hot streak winning 6 out of their last 7 games and clamped down on D-D-D-DEFENSE, holding the Brickies to just 13 points in the 1st half. Our boys came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of urgency and FOUGHT BACK ... cutting the Calumet lead to just 9 pts, 41-32, near the end of the 3rd quarter thanks to some outstanding shooting from long range!! Unfortunately, the Warriors would score the final 6 points of the quarter and go on to defeat the Brickies 61-43. Junior Anthony Hnilo, making his 1st career varsity start, led a balanced Hobart attack with 8pts ... senior Miki Djankovich corralled a team-high 8 rebounds.
On Friday, it was SENIOR NIGHT against the Highland Trojans. After recognizing our senior players, managers & cheerleaders prior to tip-off, the Brickies took an 11-8 lead after 1 quarter of play! The game remained close over the next 15 minutes of play until our boys went on a 9-0 run to close the 3rd quarter and take a commanding 37-27 advantage into the 4th! The lead stayed around 8 to 10 points until late in the contest when Highland made a desperate run and actually tied it at 54 on a 3-pointer with just 16 seconds remaining. The Brickies called a timeout to talk through their final possession ... and on senior night, it was SENIOR MIKI DJANKOVICH who SCORED with 2 seconds left to lift the Brickies to a VICTORY!!! Djankovich's driving score gave him a double-double for the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds!! Freshman Noah Ehrlich led Hobart with 14 points and senior Jaydon Hence added 12 in the win!
Saturday, Merrillville visited H-town for the final regular season home game of the year. Trailing 9-1 early, the Brickies BATTLED BACK to take a slim 13-12 lead after 1 period of play! The Pirates rallied in the 2nd quarter ... played even in the 3rd ... and scored just enough in the final stanza to keep the Brickies at bay and leave town with a 63-47 victory. Djankovich continued his monster week with 18 points ... senior Anthony Williams added 10 and Ehrlich 9 in the loss.
Hobart is now 6-13 on the year and 2-3 in NCC play. Our boys will play 3 more games to finish out the regular season ... all on the road ... before IHSAA Sectional play begins over at Portage. LET'S GO BOYS!!
#WEBELIEVE
SENIOR NIGHT 2022
Coaches vs. Cancer sponsored by HOSA @ Saturday night's game against Merrillville
Gymnastics
Hobart has 1 remaining regular season meet ... @ Lake Central on Tuesday. Another test and another chance to sharpen the skills & execution it will take to SHINE at the IHSAA Sectional on Saturday! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!
#STICKIT
Hall of Fame
CONGRATULATIONS Ted, Craig & Jarvis!
#ONCEABRICKIE
Sports Schedule This Week
No Events Scheduled (Presidents' Day)
Tuesday
Ethan Ferba @ IHSAA Diving Regional (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)
Gymnastics @ Lake Central
Boys Basketball @ Whiting
Wednesday
No Events Scheduled
Thursday
Boys Basketball @ Kankakee Valley *
Friday
Boys Basketball @ Wheeler
Saturday
Gymnastics @ IHSAA Sectional (Hosted by Chesterton High School)
IHSAA Diving State Finals (*If Ethan places in the top 8 @ Regionals)
* = NCC Opponent