Believe it or not, the spring sports season is just around the corner.
The track and field teams are already competing indoors, and softball and unified track and field teams started their first practices on Monday, March 5. All the other spring sports start their practices this coming Monday, March 12.
Here’s a sport-by-sport look at the sectional groupings and post-season routes.
TRACK AND FIELD
Sectionals
All nine county teams will compete at the same sectional, with Lebanon and Western Boone also to be in the lineup. The girls sectional takes place on Tuesday, May 15 at Hamilton Southeastern, while the boys sectional is Thursday, May 17 at Carmel.
Regionals
Both regionals will be run at Lafayette Jefferson, with the girls’ competition on Tuesday, May 22 and the boys’ event on Thursday, May 24.
Advancement: The top three in each event move to the regional from the sectional, plus anyone who meets the state standard in his or her event. After that, additional qualifiers from each sectional will be added to ensure that there are 16 in each event.
State finals
Indiana University’s Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex will again be the site of the state finals. The girls’ meet is set for Friday, June 1, with the boys to compete on Saturday, June 2.
Advancement: The top three in each event move to state from the regional, plus anyone who meets the state standard in his or her event. After that, additional qualifiers from each sectional will be added to ensure that there are 27 in each event.
GIRLS TENNIS
Sectionals
Sectionals can take place anytime from Wednesday, May 16 to Saturday, May 19. Carmel, Guerin Catholic, University and Westfield will compete at the Greyhounds’ Todd Witsken Tennis Center, while Noblesville will host Fishers, Hamilton Heights and Hamilton Southeastern.
Regionals
The two-day regionals are set for Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23. The winner at Carmel will play at Kokomo, while the Noblesville winner plays at North Central’s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center.
Semi-state
Semi-states are scheduled for Saturday, May 26. The Kokomo winner plays for the Culver Academies 2 title, with the North Central winner competing for the Homestead 2 title.
State finals
State begins with quarter-final action on Friday, June 1. The Culver 2 winner plays the Jasper 2 winner at Center Grove, while the Homestead 2 winner takes on the Center Grove 1 winner at Carmel.
The semi-finals and championship matches are set for Saturday, June 2 at North Central.
UNIFIED TRACK AND FIELD
Sectionals
Noblesville will host the a 12-team Unified sectional on Saturday, May 19. The other 11 teams competing are Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Harrison, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon, North Central, Pendleton Heights, West Lafayette, Westfield and Zionsville.
Regionals
The top three teams at Noblesville will advance to the Kokomo regional, which takes place on Saturday, May 26.
State finals
The top five regional teams will travel to Indiana University for the state finals on Saturday, June 2.
SOFTBALL
Sectionals
Sectional games will be played during the week of May 21.
Westfield will host this year’s Class 4A Sectional 8, welcoming teams from Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville and North Central.
Hamilton Heights hosts Class 3A Sectional 24, which will also feature Delta, Guerin Catholic, Jay County, New Castle and Yorktown.
Sheridan will play in Class 1A Sectional 54 at Rossville, along with Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Faith Christian, Frontier and Tri-County.
University will compete in Class 1A Sectional 58 at Bethesda Christian, joining Covenant Christian, Indiana School for the Deaf, Providence Cristo Rey and Tindley.
Regionals
All games take place on Tuesday, May 29. This year, the winner of the odd-numbered sectional hosts the one-game regional, which means all four of the above-mentioned sectional champions will be playing an away game:
Regional 4 – Sectional 8 at Sectional 7
Regional 12 – Sectional 24 at Sectional 23
Regional 27 – Sectional 54 at Sectional 53
Regional 29 – Sectional 58 at Sectional 57.
Semi-states
All games are scheduled for Saturday, June 2. Four teams will compete at each semi-state.
The Regional 4 winner plays at Harrison, with the Regional 12 winner competing up at Twin Lakes. The Regional 27 winner will travel to Frankfort, with the Regional 29 champion heading to North Daviess.
State finals
This year’s four state championship games take place on Saturday, June 9 at Purdue University. The Class 1A game is set for 10:30 a.m., 2A at 1:30 p.m., 3A at 4:30 p.m. and 4A at 7:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Sectionals
Games will take place from May 23 to May 28 (Memorial Day), with all championship games to be scheduled on May 28.
Noblesville will host Class 4A Sectional 8 at the Millers’ Don Dunker Field, with Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, North Central and Westfield also playing.
In Class 3A, Guerin Catholic and Hamilton Heights will play in Sectional 24 at Yorktown, along with Blacford, Delta, New Castle and Tipton.
Sheridan will travel to Tri-County for Class 1A Sectional 54, joining Clinton Central, Faith Christian, Frontier, Pioneer and Rossville.
University will host Class 1A Sectional 58, welcoming in Bethesda Christian, Christel House Academy, Indiana School for the Deaf, Providence Cristo Rey and Tindley.
Regionals
All games at the four-team regional are set for Saturday, June 2.
The champion at Noblesville will play in Regional 2 at Lafayette Jefferson, along with the winners from Fort Wayne Carroll, Huntington North and Kokomo.
Yorktown’s winner heads up to Bellmont for Regional 6, to be joined by the Lakeland, Garrett and Bellmont winners.
The Tri-County champion plays in Regional 14 at Carroll, along with the champions from Rockville, Anderson Prep and Seton Catholic.
University’s champion heads south to Regional 15 at Morristown, where it will join the winners from Shakamak, Morristown and Jac-Cen-Del.
Semi-state
Semi-state games are scheduled for Saturday, June 9.
The semi-state assignments will be made once the regional champions are determined. North semi-state sites are Plymouth and Kokomo, while the south sites are Plainfield and Jasper. Two games will be played at each semi-state.
State finals
The state finals are scheduled for Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16 at Victory Field in Indianapolis
BOYS GOLF
Sectionals
Sectional play can take place between June 1 and June 4.
Carmel, Guerin Catholic, University and Westfield will play at the Zionsville sectional, which again takes place at the Golf Club of Indiana. Other teams competing there are Bethesda Christian, Brbeuf Jesuit, Lebanon, North Central and Western Boone.
Noblesville will again host the sectional at Purgatory Golf Club. Other teams playing there are Alexandria, Anderson, Fishers, Frankton, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Lapel, Pendleton Heights and Tipton.
Regionals
Regionals are scheduled for either Thursday, June 7 or Friday, June 8. The top three teams and top three individuals not on an advancing team will move to the regional from the sectional.
Qualifiers at Zionsville will play at the Lafayette Jefferson regional at Battleground Golf Club, while the Noblesville qualifiers will play at the Muncie Central regional at The Players Club.
State finals
The two-day, 36-hole state finals are set for Tuesday, June 12 and Wednesday, June 13 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. The top three teams and top five individuals not on an advancing team will move to state from the regional.