The Columbus East and Columbus North baseball and softball teams will play in sectional tournaments hosted by Bloomington North this spring.
The IHSAA released sectional assignments for its spring sports last week. Most of the hosts for sectionals involving Columbus East, Columbus North and Hauser remain the same as in recent years.
Columbus North will continue to host the boys track sectional that includes Columbus East and Hauser. East will continue to host the girls tennis sectional that includes those teams.
Columbus East, Columbus North and Hauser will once again compete in the Franklin Sectional for girls track and the Greensburg Sectional for boys golf.
Hauser’s baseball team will make a return trip to Madison Shawe for the sectional. The Jets will once again play their softball sectional at Rising Sun.
The boys and girls track regional hosts will swap this year, with Franklin hosting the girls and Warren Central hosting the boys.
Classic selections
Two linemen from Columbus have been selected to play in this year’s North-South All-Star football game.Columbus East offensive lineman Jared Clark and Columbus North defensive lineman Coleman Tennyson will play for the South. Clark is headed to Hillsdale (Michigan), while Tennyson will play at Tiffin (Ohio).
The North-South game will be July 14 at North Central High School.
All-Conference honors
Two members of the Conference Indiana co-champion Columbus North girls basketball team have been selected to this year’s All-Conference squad.Seniors Imani Guy and Maliah Howard-Bass are on the first team. Senior Ashlyn Huffman and junior Kenzie Patberg made honorable mention.
North senior Alex King is on the All-Conference boys basketball first team. Senior Zach Green and junior Trey Vincent made honorable mention.
And book smarts, too
Jennings County seniors Tyler Vogel and Sidney Gerkin have been named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State boys and girls basketball teams.Columbus East’s Chaz Painter and South Decatur’s Oakley Billingsley and Chaz Painter are boys honorable mention selections. East’s Kary Horner, Columbus North’s Ashlyn Huffman and South Decatur’s Mackenzie Kopplin are girls honorable mention honorees.
IBCA-member head coaches from schools across the state may nominate their seniors who meet criteria that include at least a 3.5 GPAon a 4.0 scale, a class rank in the upper 25 percent, an SAT score of 1,100 (on the reading and math sections) or an ACT score of 24. Once nominations are received, an IBCA committee reviews the information and determines awards for first team and honorable mention.
State champ selected MVP
Sophomore Cayden Rooks, who won the 120-pound state title, has been named MVP of the Columbus East wrestling team.Senior Austin Sheckles won the Mr. Hustle Award, sophomore Jacob Bolte was named Most Improved and junior Graham Rooks took the Team First Award. Junior Corban Pollitt won the Jake Martindale Award For Bowling Excellence (JMAFBE).
Graham Rooks also was named Junior Academic All-State. Dawson Combest and Andy Davidson were Junior Academic All-State honorable mention, and Sheckles was Senior Academic All-State honorable mention.
Sophomore, senior named MVP
Sophomore Sam Russell and senior Darby Coles have been named MVPs of the Columbus North boys and girls swim teams.Seniors Jackson Nagel and Allison Collins won the Most Improved Awards. Sophomores Paxton Rush and Grace Schuette took the Bull Frog Awards.
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-379-5628.
