Eastern Hancock head coach Aaron Spaulding reacts late in the second half of the IHSAA Class 2A Boys Basketball Regional game against Southmont. The Royals will host the sectional round of the tournament this season.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
If Eastern Hancock is going to repeat its memorable run in the boys basketball tournament, it’ll start on its home court.
At last month’s IHSAA Executive Committee meeting, the sanctioning body approved tournament sites for the upcoming winter sports season.
Some Hancock County teams will be going back to the usual spots, but that’s not the case for everyone.
After competing in recent seasons in an eight-team Class 2A sectional, Eastern Hancock’s boys basketball team will host a five-team tournament (Sectional 42) when postseason play begins Feb. 28, 2023.
The Royals won the Hagerstown Sectional (41) on their way to a trip to the South Semistate, they’ll host Scecina, Irvington Prep, Riverside and Triton Central in 2023. Triton Central is also a returning sectional champion, winning Sectional 44 last season.
The Class 2A regional round remains at Greenfield-Central.
The rotating Class 4A Sectional 9 boys basketball tournament, which includes Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine along with Anderson, Muncie Central, Pendleton Heights and Richmond, moves back to Muncie Central. The regional stays at Southport. Last season’s sectional tournament, won by Mt. Vernon, was at Greenfield-Central.
South semistate tournaments will be played at either New Castle, Southport, Seymour or Washington.
Girls basketball tournaments involving county schools will change locations, too.
The IHSAA approved Triton Central as the host of Class 2A Sectional 42. The five-team tournament has the same teams as the boys sectional hosted by Eastern Hancock.
After being played at Mt. Vernon last year, Class 4A Sectional 9, won by the Marauders last year, moves to Pendleton Heights High School. It, too, has the same teams as the boys tournament.
Though Lapel is one of the Class 2A regional sites, the winner of Sectional 42 will play at the Southmont Regional in Crawfordsville. The Class 4A regional tournament remains at Decatur Central High School.
Sites for the south semistate are Jasper, Greencastle, New Albany and Shelbyville.
The girls basketball tournament begins Jan. 31, 2023.
Instead of the four county wrestling programs going to two different sites they will be spread out to three. Recently, Mt. Vernon has gone to Tech High School for the sectional round. Eastern Hancock, Greenfield-Central and New Palestine had alternated years between Shelbyville and Warren Central.
For this upcoming season, Mt. Vernon remains at Tech and Greenfield-Central and New Palestine will go to Warren Central, but Eastern Hancock will be headed to Tri to compete.
Mt. Vernon’s regional site remains at Pendleton Heights and New Pal and Greenfield-Central will go to Perry Meridian, as usual, but the Royals next stop will be at Richmond. All three will feed into the New Castle Semistate.
The wrestling tournament begins Jan. 28, 2023.
County boys and girls swimming programs will continue competing at New Palestine Natatorium for the sectional round.
The girls swimming and diving sectional begins Feb. 2. Boys swimming and diving tournaments start Feb. 16, 2023.
