The Roncalli girls soccer team came into New Palestine ready to strike Saturday, but Haley Weinrich and the host Dragons stopped the Rebels dead in their tracks.
Weinrich recorded 15 saves in the match for New Palestine as the two programs ended in a scoreless 0-0 draw.
Dragons head coach Gina Fannin praised Weinrich’s composure against 15 shots on goal and the strong midfield play of Meaghan Matus.
“We had an improved effort to play to a draw against a solid Rebels side,” Fannin said. “Some of our younger players are beginning to understand the intensity necessary for the varsity level and have seen more playing time as a result. We consider this tie a step in the right direction and will continue to improve from here on out.”
The Dragons are now 4-2-1 on the season.
Marauders stay perfect in HHC
The Mt. Vernon Marauders improved to a flawless 5-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference with a 5-0 shutout against Yorktown on Saturday.
The Marauders are a perfect 9-0 on the year with two more HHC matches remaining on the schedule later this month at Delta and at home against Pendleton Heights.
In their match versus Yorktown, the Marauders fired 22 shots while holding the Tigers to one. Cleo Mills scored a pair of goals, Nicole Ratts added a pair and Morgan Scruggs had one.
Alaina Nelson finished with three assists, and Alexi Hardie had two.
“I have to believe that is a school record for holding a team to one shot,” Mt. Vernon head coach Steve Williams remarked in a written statement. “Really proud of the our possession and defensive effort.”
Boys soccer
Dragons fall to Grizzly Cubs
The New Palestine boys soccer team dropped a 3-0 match to Franklin Community on Saturday.
The Grizzly Cubs scored twice in the opening half and tacked on the their final goal in the second to win.
“Franklin was a good team that showed up to play,” New Palestine head coach Justin Sass said. “We started the game off very slow. We had a good second half but still made mistakes that hurt us.”
The Dragons are 5-2 on the season.
Marauders run away from Bears
The host Mt. Vernon Marauders scored three goals in the first half Saturday and never looked back to defeat Lawrence Central 5-1.
Jarret Whitehouse and Carson Jones each scored two goals apiece. Zach Roach provided the fifth.
Jones added three assists and Whitehouse had another as the Marauders rolled to their seventh win this year. Mt. Vernon is 7-1 overall.
Volleyball
Cougars sweep Cardinals on road
The Greenfield-Central volleyball team blanked host Southport 3-0 to win on Saturday.
The Cougars jumped all over the Cardinals in the first set 25-6 before cruising through the final two 25-14 and 25-13.
Laura Banton led the team with 20 kills. Haleigh Pribble had nine. Emily Diehr and Morgan Grigsby each posted six of their own.
Olivia Fortner finished with two aces, while Hannah Burkhart and Pribble each logged 10 digs. Molly Broome recorded 39 assists.
The Cougars are now 5-5 on the season.
Dragons win Greenwood Invitational
The New Palestine Dragons won three straight matches to claim the Greenwood Invitational championship Saturday.
The Dragons opened with a 25-17, 25-14 win against Monrovia. In the second match, New Palestine beat Greenwood 25-12, 25-10. The Dragons only needed two sets in the title match to take down Scecina Memorial 25-8, 25-10.
“We played our best game of the day in the championship match against Scecina,” New Palestine head coach Kelli Whitaker said. “The girls were playing great and having fun doing it. All the pieces came together and we were able to put the exclamation point on at the end of our day.”
The Dragons are now 12-2 on the season and have won two invitational titles this year.
Marauders split at Hamilton Southeastern
The Mt. Vernon volleyball team lost to Hamilton Southeastern 3-0, but they also blanked Westfield 3-0 on Saturday.
The Marauders battled against HSE, but the Royals escaped with a 25-16, 25-20, 25-22 win.
In their bounce-back victory, the Marauders survived a tough test 25-20, 29-27, 25-23 to defeat Class 4A No. 20 Westfield.
Ashton Barr had 15 kills. Victoria Bulmahn led the team with 23 assists to go with Barr’s 19. Jaclyn Bulmahn had 20 kills and two blocks in the match.
Julia Wayer had 16 digs. Victoria Bulmahn finished with 15 digs and Grace Hurst added 14.
The Marauders are 8-5 this season.
Cross-country
Dragons boys win Whiteland Invite
The New Palestine boys cross-country team placed four runners in the top 10 to win the Whiteland Invitational on Saturday.
Caleb Eagleson and Sam Voelz finished third and fourth, respectively, to help clinch the team title for the Dragons. New Palestine had 48 places, besting Jennings County by five places. Whiteland was third in the 12-team race.
Eagleson ran the 5K in 17:38.0, only 35.3 seconds behind the winner, Nick Yeend of Southwestern. Voelz finished in 17:38.3.
Chase Crowder was seventh in 17:51.7, Kyle Harrison was 10th in 18:14.5, and Drew Austin placed 24th at 18:58.6.
The girls took third overall in the nine-team event. Julie Stange led the Dragons with a run of 23:10.3, which was good for 19th overall.
Haley Rickey was 20th at 23:22.2 and Natalie Shanahan placed 22nd in 23:25.7.
Cougars place 6th at Ben Davis
The Greenfield-Central boys cross-country team ran to a sixth-place finish at Saturday’s Ben Davis Invitational.
The Cougars were one of 24 teams that participated. Jacob Hansen was second out of 164 runners with a time of 16:34. Cooper Hanson was 26th in 17:40.
Zac Archibald was 33rd in 17:47, and Parker Niemeier was 39th in 17:56.
Avon won the event with 43 points. West Lafayette was second at 83.
Stine paces Royals at Blackford
Eastern Hancock’s Taylor Stine led the Royals’ girls cross-country team at the Blackford Invitational on Saturday. Stine finished 22nd overall in 23:09.
Annie Floyd followed in 50th at 25:26, and Liberty Durham was 56th in 25:31. Grace McCartney placed 81st in 27:35, while Makla Law was 105th in 30:41.
Marauders finish in top 10 at Wesleyan
The Mt. Vernon boys and girls cross-country teams finished within the top-10 at the Wildcat Classic at Indiana Wesleyan on Saturday.
The girls were eighth overall. Hamilton Southeastern won the event with 40 points. The Marauders top-two runners were Rilee Hartman and Addison Cullom.
Hartman ran to 48th overall in 22:12.4. Cullom was 49th in 22:19.0.
The boys team took ninth. Hamilton Southeastern completed the sweep by winning the boys team title as well.
The Marauders’ top runner was Drew Bluethmann in 34th overall at 17:07.6. Marco Ramirez was 74th in 18:02.2.
