It was a year of firsts and a year of big honors in 2019 for local athletes and teams. Here are the ones The Republic sports staff deemed to be the biggest in 2019:
1. Making history
Columbus East baseball makes first state title game appearance in school history; East boys soccer makes first state final four appearance.
Columbus East baseball had been to the state’s final four before, but never to the championship game. The Olympians changed that in June when they downed Avon 10-3 in the semistate to reach the 4A title game. At Victory Field, they dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to Hamilton Southeastern to finish state runner-up.
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This fall, the East boys soccer team went undefeated in the regular season and made its deepest tournament run, reaching the final four in 3A. After winning their first regional title since 2005, the Olympians fell to eventual state champion Zionsville 2-1 in the semistate.
2. Highest honors
Tony Stewart selected for 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame, wins TQ Midget race at Fairgrounds, acquires TQ Midget Racing Series.
A three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and winner of 49 Cup races during an 18-year career, Stewart was a lock to reach the Hall of Fame. The honor became official in May, and Stewart will be inducted Jan 30 and Feb. 1 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In July, Stewart repeated as winner of the King of the UMRA Three-Quarter Midget race at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds. Earlier this month, he acquired the series and and rebranded the organization to form the All Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets.
3. Making it big
Columbus North graduate Tyler Duncan wins first PGA Tour event.
Duncan was in danger of not retaining his PGA Tour card after finishing 163rd in the FedEx Cup standings, but held onto it after a 12th-place finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in September. In November, he captured the RSM Classic, his first tour win in 67 starts, to earn exempt status on the PGA Tour through the 2022 season.
4. State champs
Columbus East wrestlers Cayden Rooks and Nick South win second state titles, lead Olympians to fifth-place team finish.
Rooks beat Wawasee’s Braxton Alexander 9-2 in the 138-pound final to finish 43-1 and add a title to the one he won at 120 pounds as a sophomore. Rooks was runner-up at 126 as a junior.
South won an 11-0 major decision against Garrett’s Clayton Fielden in the 170-pound final to finish 44-0 and win the 170-pound title in February. South claimed the 160-pound crown as a junior.
5. Helping the Hoosiers
Columbus East graduate Harry Crider helps Indiana University football go 8-4 and play in the Gator Bowl; Columbus North graduate Ali Patberg helps IU women’s basketball to historic start and No. 12 national ranking.
Crider is the starting left guard for the Hoosiers, who have clinched their first winning season since 2007 and their first eight-win season since 1993. IU will play Tennessee in the Gator Bowl on Thursday.
Patberg led the Hoosiers to a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance last year, her first at IU. This year, she has led the Hoosiers to a 10-2 start and a No. 12 national ranking, their best in school history, while being named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List for national player of the year.
6. Double play
Columbus North baseball and softball win outright Conference Indiana titles in the same year for the first time; North softball wins first sectional title since 2012.
In May, the Bull Dogs won their first conference softball title since 2009 and their first conference baseball crown since 2015. The softball team, which started the season 0-4, won three close games in the sectional before falling to eventual 4A state champion Center Grove in the regional.
7. Twice as Nice
Columbus North boys tennis makes state semifinals for first time in school history, girls tennis also makes it to state.
The Bull Dog girls edged Evansville Memorial 3-2 in the semistate to reach the state finals for the first time since 2016. North then fell to Carmel in the state quarterfinals.
The boys beat Floyd Central 4-1 in the semistate and Westview 4-1 in the state quarterfinals to make the final four for the first time. The Bull Dogs fell to eventual state champion Carmel in the semifinals.
8. Podium finishes
Columbus North boys and girls cross-country land on podium with top-five state finishes.
The Bull Dog boys entered the state meet ranked seventh, but came through with a fourth-place finish. The North girls ran to a fifth-place finish after winning the semistate title a week earlier.
9. Leading the way
Coach Faith Wilder-Newland and middle hitter Hannah Sabotin, both Columbus residents, lead Trinity Lutheran volleyball to Class A state runner-up finish.
With Sabotin leading the charge, the Cougars swept Bloomfield in the semistate to reach the state final. Trinity dropped the first two sets to Cowan at state before winning the next two, only to fall in the deciding fifth set. Sabotin ended her career by claiming the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award.
10. Decade of dominance
Hauser volleyball wins 10th consecutive sectional title.
After winning nine consecutive sectional titles on their home floor, the Jets had to go on the road to capture their 10th. But Hauser had little trouble at Edinburgh, winning three matches. The Jets then swept International in the regional semifinals before falling to Bloomfield in five sets in the regional final.
