Two Pendleton Heights girls basketball players earned selections to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State teams.

Senior Whitney Warfel earned first team honors, while senior Ava Kate Phillips earned an honorable mention selection.

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The IBCA Academic All-State program is one in which academic and athletic prowess are considered in the selection process. Items such as grade-point average, academic class rank and SAT or ACT scores are considered along with athletic performance in areas such as points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game.

“The quality of these student-athletes shows that success in academics and success in athletics are not separate entities,” IBCA executive director Marty Johnson said. “Rather, in many cases, a player’s success in the classroom directly contributes to his or her success on the floor.”

IBCA-member head coaches from schools across the state may nominate their senior student-athletes who meet criteria that include a 3.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale, a class rank in the upper 25% of one’s class and either an SAT score of 1100 (on the reading and math sections) or an ACT composite score of 24.

Once nominations were received, an IBCA committee reviews the information and determines awards for first team and honorable mention.

The IBCA selected 69 Indiana high school seniors —36 boys and 33 girls — as first-team Academic All-State.

In addition, 234 more boys and 247 more girls were recognized as honorable mention Academic All-State. In total, 550 players received some level of recognition in this year’s IBCA Academic All-State program.

The IBCA has selected an Academic All-State team for boys since 1973. The program was expanded to include a girls Academic All-State team in 1980.

Fort Named to USC Scholar All-Region Second Team

Anderson University women’s soccer senior Taylor Fort was named to the United Soccer Coaches (USC) Scholar All-Region Second Team.

Fort, a graduate of Pendleton Heights, also received second-team all-region honors earlier this season. Along with strong play on the field this season, Fort held a 3.72 cumulative GPA at the time of nomination. She is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Nursing.

Taylor Fort shown in this undated Anderson University promotional photo.

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“One of the strengths of our program has been the team’s commitment not only on the field, but in the classroom as well,” Coach Jennifer Myhre said. “We have true student-athletes on the team, and it’s a great honor for Taylor’s hard work and dedication in both areas to be recognized by United Soccer Coaches.”

The honor adds to Fort’s already extensive list of accomplishments at Anderson University, including All-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Awards in 2022 (first team), Fall 2021 (first team), and Spring 2021 (second team). In 2022 Fort was also named to the HCAC All-Tournament team.

Throughout her senior season, Fort compiled the following stats — 6 Goals (T-9 in HCAC), 11 Assists (1st in HCAC, T-2 in school history), and 23 Points.