Daily Reporter staff reports
GREENFIELD — Things will look quite a bit different come sectional time this fall and winter.
The IHSAA on Monday announced new sectional alignments for football, soccer, basketball and volleyball, and there are plenty of changes, none more notable than in football.
In Class 5A, New Palestine finds itself in a brand new sectional, Sectional 14, along with Seymour, Franklin and Whiteland. They will now play the winner of Sectional 13, which will include Decatur Central, Plainfield, Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
With Greenfield-Central dropping down to 4A this cycle, the Cougars join Mt. Vernon in Sectional 21. Pendleton Heights, Richmond, Shelbyville and Connersville stay in the group. Beech Grove, Greenwood and Mooresville are out. Muncie Central joins this sectional (formerly in New Palestine’s 5A sectional), as does New Castle.
Eastern Hancock moves from Sectional 37 to 38, while rival Knightstown drops down to 1A. The Royals will now be in a sectional with some of the same teams as before — Centerville, Scecina and Heritage Christian — but will see new opponents in Shenandoah, Northeastern, Indianapolis Howe and Winchester.
In both girls and boys basketball, Sectional 9 becomes a seven-team sectional, with Connersville leaving the sectional and being replaced by both Anderson and Muncie Central. New Palestine, Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon all stay in this group with Richmond and Pendleton Heights.
Eastern Hancock’s boys move from Sectional 42 to 41 in Class 2A, an eight-team grouping that also has Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Hagerstown, Knightstown, Northeastern, Shenandoah and Union County. On the girls side, the Royals stay in Sectional 42, which drops from six teams to five. Scecina moves into the sectional, while Shenandoah and Knightstown both moved to 41.
On the volleyball courts, Sectional 9 moves from six to eight teams, with Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central staying and New Palestine moving to Sectional 10. Sectional 9 sees major changes, with Yorktown joining the group, which also includes Pendelton Heights, Richmond, and newcomers Anderson, Muncie Central and New Castle.
The Dragons’ new Sectional 10 opponents are Cathedral, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central and Warren Central. Eastern Hancock moves from Sectional 42 to 41, a group that includes Centerville, Hagerstown, Knightstown, Northeastern, Shenandoah and Union County.
In soccer, the boys side stays the same, with no changes to Sectional 12. For the girls, Franklin Central and Warren Central are out of the group, while New Palestine and Shelbyville join Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon, East Central and Richmond.
