2018 Year in review for area sports

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MADISON COUNTY — It was quite a year in sports for area athletes at Pendleton Heights and Lapel high schools. The 2018 seasons saw some memorable action.

arabIans BOYS HOOPS WINS COUNTY

PENDLETON — For the second-straight season, Pendleton Heights won the Madison County Tournament on Jan. 6 with a perfect 3-0 record.

The run started with a 54-50 opening-round victory against Frankton. Pendleton Heights’ largest margin of victory came in a 77-45 win against Alexandria-Monroe in the semifinal. The Arabians secured their county title with a 74-51 win over Anderson.

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GIRLS WRESTLERS ADVANCE TO STATE

PENDLETON — Female high school wrestlers from across the state gathered for competition at two sites for the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling North and South Regional meets, and Pendleton Heights female wrestlers were part of the meet.

The event, sponsored by the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association (IHSWCA), saw seven Arabian wrestlers take part in the north regional at Maconaquah High School in Bunker Hill, where three competed well enough to qualify for the Jan. 19 state finals at Lawrence North High School.

Senior Devyn Byars won the 113 championship and qualified for her second state championships appearance. Senior Shayla Meinders finished second at 113 and qualified for her first state finals appearance. Senior Arabian Kaylee Clendenen finished second in the 152 weight division and qualified for her second state finals appearance.

Meinders finished fifth at the 113-pound level. Clendenen advanced to the championship match at 152. While leading her opponent from Penn High School, Clendenen came down on her shoulder and suffered a complete dislocation, forcing her to default the match. Byars, a senior who won the North Regional and qualified for the finals, was unable to compete.

LAPEL BULLDOGS GET BIG WIN IN HISTORIC GYM

LAPEL — The historic Hoosier Gym, home to the fictional Hickory Huskers of the 1986 film “Hoosiers,” played host to the Lapel Bulldogs and the Paoli Rams on Jan. 20.

While considered a neutral court, both teams went into the game wanting to claim victory in such a historic venue, and in true “Hoosiers” fashion, underdog Lapel upset Paoli 66-59. Lapel entered the game with a 7-8 record facing Paoli, which was 11-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class 2A.

ARABIANS SWIM in STATE Competition

PENDLETON — The Pendleton Heights girls swimming and diving team won its fourth Hoosier Heritage Conference title in school history and the third in the past five seasons. The Arabians’ 481 points were the most in the history of the Hoosier Heritage Conference championship meet.

The girls swimming and diving team had a record-breaking sectional in February 2018 at Hamilton Southeastern, where the team placed third for the second year in a row.

The Pendleton Heights girls swim team finished its 2017-18 season at the state finals at Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, with one Arabians swimmer finishing 14th overall in one event, and other teammates contributing to new school records.

McKenna Jule became the first Arabians girls swimmer to advance to state finals since Ashley Warner in 2004.

In the 100 freestyle, Jule finished 14th at 52.05 in the Feb. 9 events, well enough to move on to the next day’s competition, where she finished 14th again with a time of 52.13.

Pendleton Heights’ 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams, comprised of Karly Riffey, Sarah Dudley, Emma Robison and Jule, swam in preliminaries but did not advance, despite setting school records.

BYNUM WRESTLES AT STATE

PENDLETON — It was a dominating performance by the Pendleton Heights High School wrestling team at the Elwood Sectional. Twelve of 14 wrestlers headed to regional competition at Pendleton Heights.

Tremor Bynum, a 195-pound junior, won a regional title the next week for the Arabians with a tough 3-1 win over Deon Pettiford of Lawrence North in the championship round as five Arabians qualified for the semistate at New Castle High School.

One Arabian wrestler, Bynum, made it out of semistate action and saw a dream come true of heading to state. Bynum lost his opening-round matches Feb. 16 to end his season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Bynum, at 195 pounds, brought a 43-6 record into his opening-round match against Bryson Ford, a senior from Benton Central, who came into the state finals with a 36-5 record. Ford won a 5-3 decision.

HADLEY WRESTLES AT STATE, TOO

LAPEL — Harrison Hadley, a junior at Lapel High School, may have lost his opening-round match at the Feb. 16-17 IHSAA state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, but what a year he had.

Hadley, at 106 pounds, brought a 39-4 record into his opening-round match against Kysen Montgomery, a freshman from Brownsburg. Montgomery won an 18-3 match, ending Hadley’s season.

LAPEL BOYS HOOPS TEAM WINS SECTIONAL TITLE

LAPEL — The Lapel High School Bulldogs basketball team pulled off the upset overtime win over Frankton High School to capture the Lapel Class 2A Sectional title March 3 on the Bulldogs’ home court.

The Bulldogs beat their rival, the Eagles, in a close-fought 67-65 match-up to move on to regional play, despite a furious comeback by the Eagles in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

The Bulldogs lost 72-46 against Oak Hill in regional play.

PENDLETON HEIGHTS GYMNAST GOES TO STATE

PENDLETON — It wasn’t quite the ending at regional competition Cassandra Zehr had hoped for after finishing as a sectional all-around champion, but she did achieve one of her main goals: She qualified for the March 10 IHSAA Gymnastics State Finals.

Zehr, a Pendleton Heights High School junior, finished in seventh place in the all-around competition at the Connersville Regional with a score of 35.475. Zehr, however, finished fourth in the floor exercise with a 9.350, good enough to qualify for state. Zehr competed in the floor exercise section of the state competition; she scored 9.350 points, good enough for 20th place.

JUMPING BARS, HURDLES TO THIRD IN STATE

PENDLETON — The Pendleton Heights High School Arabian boys and girls track teams had an exciting time at the Madison County meet at Madison Grant High School — both the boys and girls teams finished in first place.

The county meet was a sign of things to come as the Pendleton Heights’ boys track team also finished first in the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet in May at Mt.Vernon High School.

The team came out on top in the Mt. Vernon Sectional, besting the 12-team field, including participants from Lapel. Pendleton Heights won the title in May with 162 points. Lapel finished sixth with 29 points.

Several Pendleton Heights boys track and field teammates headed to the state championship after turning in top performances at the North Central High School regional.

Matthew Sakeuh — 300-meter hurdles, 4×400 relay; Milan Jones — 800 run, 4×400 relay; Luke Upton — 1,600 run, 4×400 relay; and Eli Pancol — high jump, 4×400 relay, qualified for state.

Sakeuh, a Pendleton Heights senior, capped his high school track career by finishing third in the 300-meter hurdles. He was clocked in a personal-best 38.32 seconds.

Eli Pancol came away with a third-place finish, too. Pancol leaped 6 feet, 8 inches, to take third in the high jump.

The Arabians just missed a spot on the medals podium June 2 in the 4×400 relay. Sakeuh and juniors Luke Upton, Pancol and Milan Jones finished 11th in 3:20.55, just 44-hundredths of a second out of the ninth and final scoring spot.

Jones also took 13th in the 800 in 1:56.52 for Pendleton Heights, which finished 12th overall as a team with 14 points.

Pendleton Heights junior Luke Upton finished 20th with a time of 4:24.55 in the 1,600 meter.

HURDLER EARNS THIRD AT STATE

PENDLETON — Pendleton Heights track and field finished in second place at its own sectional in mid-May. With the strong finish, the Arabians moved on to compete at the Ben Davis Regional, where Marisa Marshall set a school record of 5’6” with her regional-winning high jump.

Senior Marisa Marshall punched her ticket to state and left no doubt, taking first place in the high jump with a 5’6” mark. Sophomore Patience Sakeuh finished fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.46) and in the 300 hurdlers (45.80). Both times were good enough for state.

Sakeuh earned a third-place finish June 1 at state in the 300-meter hurdles (44.23). In the high jump, Marisa Marshall finished in seventh place with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches.

LAPEL GIRLS TENNIS WINS SECTIONAL

LAPEL — Lapel High School claimed the tennis sectional, defeating Alexandria Monroe 3-2 on May 18.

The win followed a dominating 5-0 win against Elwood. The Bulldogs advanced to face Winchester Community at regional.

The tennis team’s season came to an end May 23 when the Bulldogs took on Delta High School in the championship round of the Marion Regional and lost 5-0 to the eventual semistate winner.

Arabians SOFTBALL WINS SECTIONAL

PENDLETON — It almost looked too easy for the Pendleton Heights softball team as it won the championship 14-3 in the Madison County Tournament in April against the Alexandria-Monroe Tigers. It was the beginning of a great season for the Arabians.

After an outstanding season, it was a true nail-biter, the game’s outcome uncertain until the final out. Pendleton Heights varsity softball captured the Class 4A Sectional 9 title May 24 by a score of 2-1.

The Arabians got an outstanding pitching performance from sophomore Jordan Benefiel, who struck out 14 Anderson Indians in the game, a career and season high.

The Arabians came up on the wrong side of the coin in a 1-0 regional loss — victims of a no-hitter thrown by Cathedral Irish ace Lia Burnell.

Arabians BASEBALL WINS SECTIONAL

PENDLETON — After riding a strong pitching performance to make it to the sectional championship game, Mt. Vernon started to struggle on the mound at the wrong time against Pendleton Heights. In a season-series tiebreaker with Pendleton Heights, Mt. Vernon had trouble finding the strike zone and walked itself into trouble early and often. Defensive mistakes didn’t help.

Pendleton Heights took advantage of the Marauders’ miscues. After the teams split their April 27 regular-season doubleheader, the Monday, May 28, third game between the teams was for a sectional title and a spot in the regional round.

The Pendleton Heights High School baseball team lost its June 2 regional semifinal game 5-1 to Terre Haute South Vigo.

COMBS’ STATE FINALS RUN

LAPEL — Lapel sophomore Luke Combs finished 12th in the 1,600-meter run at the June 2 track and field state finals with a time of 4:17.72.

NEALON GOLFS AT REGIONAL

PENDLETON — One Pendleton Heights boys golfer competed in regional action, where he saw his season come to an end.

Garrett Nealon played at the Muncie Central regional June 7 at The Players Club, with golfers feeding in from the Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Cathedral, Monroe Central, Noblesville, Norwell and Richmond sectionals. Nealon shot an 89 in individual regional play, not good enough to advance.

HOBBS ADVANCES TO STATE

LAPEL — The Lapel Bulldogs girls golf team was on fire at the Madison County tournament, capturing the title 50 strokes ahead of its nearest competitors in a seven-team field. The Bulldogs scored 351 at Marion’s Walnut Creek Golf Club, while Pendleton Heights finished in second place with 301.

Lapel played in the Noblesville sectional at Harbour Trees Golf Club, where the Bulldogs finished second with a 359 team total. Lapel’s Kristen Hobbs was the individual sectional title winner with a 74.

The Bulldogs played in the Lapel regional on Sept. 22 at Edgewood Golf Club in Anderson, where Hobbs qualified for the state golf championships shooting a 78 at the Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Hobbs finished her high school golf career in a tie for 37th place with a total of 166 at the IHSAA girls golf state championship.

LAPEL BOYS TENNIS CLAIMS SECTIONAL

LAPEL — Winning in the postseason isn’t easy. Winning back-to-back sectionals is hard. Winning six in a row is rare, but the Lapel boys tennis team completed the rare feat with its 3-2 win against Alexandria in the Sept. 28 sectional final. Lapel High School’s sectional champion boys tennis team fell in the regional final to the Delta Eagles.

FUMBLE ENDS FOOTBALL SEASON

PENDLETON — The Class 4A No. 13-ranked Arabians (7-3) fought hard and battled unbeaten No. 4 Marion on Oct. 19 in sectional play. The Arabians were two yards away from their biggest win of the season and one of the best victories in the school’s football program. But, instead of taking the tying score in with a couple of minutes left in the game, a fumble deep in Marion territory crushed Pendleton Heights’ hopes and ended its season in punishing fashion.

COMBS, JONES RUN AT STATE

PENDLETON — Pendleton Heights boys and girls cross country teams both came away with the Madison County Championship. The Arabians girls team celebrated its 11th-straight Madison County championship, this time on its home course. The Arabians had seven girls earn all-county honors.

Like the boys teams, Pendleton Heights’ and Lapel’s girls cross country teams turned in performances good enough to advance from the sectional. The Arabians finished third, followed by the Bulldogs in fourth, in the Pendleton Heights sectional.

The Pendleton Heights girls cross country team came in third with 101 points in regional action and advanced to semistate. The Arabians, including several underclassman runners, finished ninth at semistate with 297 points.

The Pendleton Heights and Lapel high school boys cross country teams headed to semistate after finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the Delta regional. This is the first time the Bulldogs qualified for semistate competition, led by overall meet winner Luke Combs.

Combs and Pendleton Heights senior Milan Jones were among 206 male runners competing at state on Oct. 27. Combs ran near the front of the pack and finished 27th with a time of 16:20.4, while Jones had a strong run and came in 93rd with a time of 17:03.3.

CHEERLEADERS CLAIM TITLE

PENDLETON — Pendleton Heights High School varsity cheerleaders won the top spot in their division Nov. 3 at the Indiana Cheer Championship State Finals competition at New Castle High School.

In its state title effort, the Arabians competed against some familiar foes, schools that — like Pendleton Heights — are in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.

The team competed in the Varsity B Division, in which Greenfield-Central was runner-up and New Palestine finished third.

LAPEL FOOTBALL WINS SECTIONAL

LAPEL — The Bulldogs football team won a sectional crown and headed into regional championship action after a hard-fought overtime win against Shenandoah.

The Bulldogs (8-4) took on the Eastbrook Panthers (11-1) at home Nov. 9 after earning the sectional crown on the road in a game players won’t soon forget.

Lapel and Shenandoah seemed unwilling to let go of the rope tethered to the IHSAA sectional title trophy, but the Bulldogs managed a final tug to secure the title in a 42-41 overtime win against the Raiders.

Lapel lost the regional championship to the Eastbrook Panthers.

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