A look back at the 2019-20 season

By RICHIE HALLIf there’s one thing a reporter never wants to be, it’s this: Wrong.
We are always endeavoring to get our readers the accurate facts to a story. Same thing goes for a column.
I wrote a column four weeks ago, as the world was descending into the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Towards the end of the column, I wrote this: “And when we finally do get going with the spring sports season – and we will – I will be there to cover all the events again. I’m just as ready as everyone else to get outside and enjoy the spring.”
Unfortunately, the only part of that quote that turned out to be right is the last part. I am still ready to get outside and enjoy the spring, but there will be no spring sports to cover, as we already know. So, that means the sports season for the 2019-20 school year is over.
It’s a shame, because there are quite a few great things to write about during the fall and winter seasons. Now might be a good time to take a look back at this year, with hope that the 2020-21 school year will bring us back to some normalcy, even if it’s not 100 percent the way things used to be. We’re probably going to come out of this pandemic a changed nation, but there will be – there needs to be! – a place for athletics, especially at the high school level.
CONTINUED SUCCESS
The fall season always begins with girls golf, and Hamilton County has traditionally been strong in that sport. That success continued in 2019: All eight of the county’s golf-playing schools had either a team or individual advance to the regional.
Westfield and Hamilton Southeastern both won sectional titles, with the Carmel, Noblesville and Guerin Catholic teams all moving on to the regional as well. University’s Becky Williams and Kelsey DuBois, Fishers’ Kaitlyn Brunnemer and Lilly McVay, and Hamilton Heights’ Sydni Zebrauskas advanced to the regional as individuals.
At the regional level, Carmel, Noblesville and Westfield all got top three team finishes, qualifying them for the state meet. Guerin Catholic’s Pfefferkorn sisters, Angelica and Christina, also moved on to state as individuals.
The state meet again took place at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Westfield finished fourth as a team, with Carmel fifth and Noblesville seventh. The Greyhounds’ Katie Kuc was the top individual by finishing fifth, with Purdue-bound Jocelyn Bruch placing seventh and Angelica Pfefferkorn taking eighth.
In boys tennis, Carmel continued its dominance by winning its fourth consecutive state championship. The Greyhounds were victorious 4-1 over Columbus North in the semi-finals and 3-2 over North Central in the championship.
Carmel turned it into a triple crown a week later, as Presley Thieneman defended his singles state championship and the team of Uday Lomada and Jones McNamar won the doubles state title. Both were undefeated for the season.
Hamilton Southeastern won its first boys tennis sectional championship in three years, while the Royals’ doubles team of Andrew Spirrison and Daniel Verde were winners at the doubles regional, qualifying for state.
ALL-COUNTY SOCCER FINAL
The biggest game of the year in this soccer-crazy county was the girls Class 3A state championship game, which saw Noblesville and Carmel battling it out for the title.
The Millers won 1-0, giving them their first state championship in the sport since 1991, and the first IHSAA title (soccer was first sanctioned by the association in 1994). Kiana Siefert scored Noblesville’s goal, with Jenna Chatterton making the assist.
Both teams won close semi-state games to advance to the final. The Millers were forced into overtime after Penn scored a last-second goal, but Sydney Anderson found the back of the net in the second OT period to give Noblesville a 2-1 win. The Greyhounds’ Olivia Fray scored with 14 minutes left to send Carmel past Castle 1-0.
Hamilton Heights’ girls claimed their first sectional championship since 2014 by beating Yorktown 1-0. Kyndall Ferguson scored the winning goal.
In boys soccer action, two teams also broke sectional droughts. Noblesville won its first title since 2013 with a 4-3 win over Hamilton Southeastern, while Guerin Catholic was triumphant for the first time since 2014 with a 3-1 victory over Brebeuf Jesuit. Both teams followed their sectional wins up with regional titles. Sheridan made a run at its own sectional, pushing eventual champion Liberty Christian into overtime in the final of that game.
The cross country season was another good one for local teams. Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and Southeastern all qualified both their girls and boys teams for the state meet in Terre Haute. Westfield’s Kai Connor qualified individually in the boys race, while Hamilton Heights’ Maria Mitchell was a state qualifier in the girls race. The Greyhounds boys finished as runners-up, while the girls team placed third. The Tigers girls also made the podium by taking fourth.
Six different runners earned All-State honors, starting with four boys. Carmel’s Kole Mathison and Grant Moon, Noblesville’s Travis Hickner and Fishers’ Will Clark. Mitchell made All-State in the girls race, as did HSE’s Halle Hill.
The Noblesville girls team and Carmel boys won sectional titles at Noblesville’s Chinquapin Ridge course, as did both the Fishers boys and girls at Pendleton Heights. The Millers won their first sectional since 2009, while the Greyhounds were victorious for the 12th year in a row. At the regional, Carmel’s girls won at Chinquapin Ridge, while the Tigers swept the boys and girls race at Delta. The Greyhounds boys were first at the Shelbyville semi-state.
SWEEPING TO STATE
Hamilton Southeastern made the headlines in volleyball, as the Royals made it to the state finals for the first time.
Southeastern started its run with a sweep at the Noblesville sectional, winning all three of its matches in straight sets. The Royals beat Fishers 25-20, 25-19, 25-19 in the championship match. Southeastern then rolled to a regional title at Noblesville, taking care of McCutcheon in four sets in the final match.
In the semi-state at Frankfort, HSE got a straight-set victory over Crown Point to clinch its trip to the 4A championship game at Ball State. The Royals took on New Castle, the top-ranked team in the state and a top five team in the nation. Southeastern pushed the Trojans to four sets before New Castle won.
In football, Carmel continued its dominance by winning its ninth state championship. The Greyhounds marched to the Class 6A title game with sectional wins over Southeastern 28-14 and Westfield 35-7, a regional victory over Homestead 31-7, then beat Merrillville 38-17 to win the semi-state.
Carmel played Center Grove in the 6A final, and jumped out to a 20-3 lead. The Trojans made a late comeback, but the ‘Hounds hung on for a 20-17 victory.
WINTER SPORTS
The first winter sport to being its post-season was wrestling. The tournament series in this sport takes four weeks, and it can be a grueling season. Five county wrestlers made it to the final Saturday, earning a top eight finish in their respective weight classes.
Westfield’s Carson Eldred and Southeastern’s Andrew Irick reached the championship match of their divisions, Eldred at 120 pounds and Irick at 285 pounds. Two more athletes placed third, Carmel’s Suhas Chundi at 106 and Fishers’ J.D. Farrell at 195, while Carmel’s Gabe Davin took eighth at 170 pounds.
Six more wrestlers were state qualifiers, including four from the Greyhounds team: Brac Hooper (113), Brendan Mattingly (138), Jake Shafer (145) and Haakon Van Beynen (220). Westfield’s Dylan Driver (113) and HSE’s Reece Luhmann (145) also made it to state. Carmel’s team won sectional and regional titles.
In the girls wrestling state finals, Carmel’s Katie Mattingly was the state champion at 126 pounds. Hamilton Heights’ Markaela Pugh finished as the 113-pound runner-up and also won the Katie Kreibel Mental Attitude Award.
MAKING HISTORY
The girls basketball season turned out to be a history-making one.
Fishers won its first sectional championship since 2014, coming back from a 21-5 second-quarter deficit to beat Southeastern 50-42. The Tigers were led by senior Tamia Perryman’s 18 points, including four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
The Royals’ Sydney Parrish made history earlier in the sectional by breaking the Hamilton County girls scoring record. Parrish finished her career with 1,925 points and was named Indiana Miss Basketball on Friday.
Other players made their presence known. University’s Lindsay Syrek finished her career with 1,812 points, putting her third on the county girls scoring list. The county also has three girls All-Stars, with Parrish making the senior list, and Fishers’ Katie Burton and Carmel’s Bridget Dunn earning places on the Junior All-Stars roster.
In swimming, Carmel swept the girls and boys state championships. The girls won their national record extending 34th consecutive state title and took first in five events. Two underclassmen led the way: Sophomore Gretchen Lueking won the 200 freestyle and freshman Berit Berglund won the backstroke, then the ‘Hounds took all three relays.
Fishers finished as the team runner-up, with Morgan Casey placing first in the diving event. Hamilton Southeastern placed sixth as a team and Noblesville’s Sammy Huff won the breaststroke.
At the boys swim meet, Carmel won its sixth straight state title, as well as six events. Jake Mitchell was first in the 200 and 500 freestyles, with Wyatt Davis pacing the individual medley and backstroke; he became a rare four-time champion in the backstroke. The ‘Hounds also won the medley and 400 free relays.
Fishers placed fourth as a team and Southeastern was sixth. The Tigers girls won the sectional title, with the Royals boys winning their sectional.
A GOOD HOST
Noblesville hosted the gymnastics sectional this year, this after doing a great job hosting the state championships in 2019. The Millers team also had a solid meet, finishing fifth as a team with a relatively young group. Freshman Keira Harper was Noblesville’s leader with a 32.475 in the all-around. Fishers had a competitor in gymnastics for the first time, freshman Savannah Strange.
A few days later, Noblesville hosted what would be the final sectional of the year in boys basketball. The games were exciting, with the first four contests decided by a total of 11 points. Carmel and Westfield played for the championship, with the Greyhounds winning 54-41 to claim their fifth consecutive title.
Unfortunately, that would be all for Carmel and the other sectional championship teams, as the boys basketball tournament was postponed, then canceled. The IHSAA is hoping to make a triumphant return to high school sports in the fall, and that will certainly welcomed by sports fans everywhere.