Five Royals named to All-MEC team

Staff report

Five Eastern Hancock football players were selected to the All-Mid-Eastern Conference football team, released Monday.

Junior offensive/defensive lineman Logan Hoskins (6-0, 250), sophomore tight end/defensive lineman Kayden Ruble, senior running back/defensive back Kain Sotelo (6-3, 185), senior tight end/linebacker Brayden Tincher and junior offensive lineman/defensive lineman Jacob Wickard were part of the 30-member team selected from five schools, North Decatur, Shenandoah, Monroe Central, Eastern Hancock and Wes-Del.

Hoskins led the team with 1.5 sacks and tied for the team high in tackles for loss with 6.5. He had 58 total tackles, fifth on the squad, and an interception.

Ruble led the Royals in touchdown receptions with five. He was second on the team in receptions and receiving yards with 26 catches for 310 yards.

Sotelo was one of the league’s most dominant players. He rushed for 1,645 yards and 15 touchdowns. He had seven 100-plus rushing yards games and five games over 200 yards. He averaged 149.5 yards per contest and 8.8 yards per carry. He also had a touchdown pass and touchdown reception.

On defense, he was second on the Royals in tackles with 80, including 4.5 for loss. He had two interceptions.

Tincher led the Royals in tackles with 100, averaging 9.1 per game. He had five tackles for loss. He recorded double figures in tackles five times.

Wickard was a key contributor on the Royals offensive line, helping block for a balanced offense that had 21 passing touchdowns and 25 rushing scores.

The Royals went 5-6 on the season and 1-3 in MEC games.

Boys wrestling

Cougars second at Rex Leavitt

Greenfield-Central went 4-1 in dual matches and finishes second at Saturday’s Rex Leavitt Invitational.

From scores reported, G-C defeated Alexandria (56-21), Elwood (72-12) and Frankton (64-18) and lost to invitational winner Delta (43-28).

Four Cougar wrestlers went 5-0 on the day, including Kannon Zuber (138), Clay Guenin (170), Silas Frye (182), and Tristan Lanham (198).

Six other wrestlers went 4-1, including Jett McGuire (106), Lincoln Parsons (113), Dylan Luther (132), Cohen Hager (145), Zeke Holden (152) and John Ubelhor (160).

Ranked No. 15 by IndianaMat.com, Guenin beat both the No. 10 (Crew Farrell of Frankton) and No. 14 (Braxton Russell of Delta) ranked wrestlers and was named, by the Cougar coaching staff, the G-C MVP.

Holden is ranked No. 13 in his weight class.

Volz wins title at Hurrle

Eastern Hancock’s Cameron Volz won the 126-pound class at the John Hurrle Invitational at Tech High School Saturday.

The Royals were sixth of nine teams with 175.5 points. Warren Central won with 356.5 points.

In the championship round, Volz pinned Warren Central’s Hector Juarez in 56 seconds. Brayden Tincher was runner-up at 182. He lost in a tiebreaker in the championship match against Warren Central’s Michael Durham.

Eastern Hancock’s Logan Gilman (103) placed third. Gabe Sotelo (120) was fourth. Caleb Johnson (138) finished fifth.

Dragons sixth at Capital City

New Palestine finished sixth of eight teams at the Capital City Classic hosted by Perry Meridian Saturday.

The hosts Falcons won with 250 points. New Palestine scored 117.

Shaun Glass was the top Dragon finisher. He placed second at 195, dropping the championship match 10-6 to Perry Meridian’s Jaylen Young.

Three Dragons picked up third-place finishes, including, Cole Vandygriff (113), Tyler Lavin (126) and Elijah Alonso (138). Brandon Brees added a fourth (182).

Jaedyn Jeffries (152), and John Fairfax (220) both finished fifth.

Marauders go 3-2 at LC

Mt. Vernon went 3-2 at the Lawrence Super Duals held at Lawrence Central Saturday.

The Marauders beat Lawrence Central (54-30), Connersville (50-30), and Pike (48-29) and lost to Franklin (49-30) and Lawrence North (43-33).

Conner Bayliss (113), Elijah Broady (120), Aiden Kiner (145), and Devin Kendrex (220) all went 5-0. Ty Barnhart (106) and Shawn Taylor (170) went 4-1 and Tristan Trevino (132/138) finished 3-2.

Girls basketball

Marauders win at Rushville

Kanyonrae Kenny scored 20 points and Easton Wampler added 16 to lead Mt. Vernon to a 54-50 victory at Rushville Friday.

Wampler added a team-best six rebounds. Kenny had three steals.

Ellery Minch contributed eight points and five boards. Khloe Patterson had four points and six assists.

Cougars drop second straight

Greenfield-Central fell under .500 with a 59-23 loss at undefeated Heritage Christian Monday.

The Cougars are 3-4 on the season.

Aryana Hibbard led G-C with seven points. Brooklyn McConnell scored six and Jalyn Smith contributed five points.

Heritage Christian (4-0) was led by Mya Davis with 19 points.

Swimming

G-C wins Dowling Invitational

Greenfield-Central defeated three other schools in the season-opening Kathy Dowling Invitational at the G-C pool Saturday.

The Cougars scored 182 points, Oak Hill followed with 115. Warren Central scored 71 and Centerville 64.

First-place finishers included, Cece Duffy-Johnson (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay), Alyssa Osborn (200 IM, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay), Rachel Stutz (50 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay), Taylor Parsons (100 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay), Norah Johnson (100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay), Mary Ellen Stratman (100 backstroke, 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay), and Reagan Crouch (200 freestyle relay).

Eastern teams split

In Eastern Hancock’s first boys-girls home swim meet Monday, each team went 1-1.

The girls team, competing for the second time this season, defeated Seton Catholic 80-58 and lost to Centerville 98-60.

Centerville defeated Seton Catholic 95-56.

In the season opener for the boys, the Royals defeated Seton Catholic 60-16 and lost to Centerville 108-34.

Centerville defeated Seton Catholic 114-11.

Girls wrestling

Smith-Foster wins title at Northview

With five wrestlers participating at the Northview Invitational, Greenfield-Central finished 11th out of 30 schools in the event held Saturday.

Kylie Smith-Foster won the 113-pound weight class with a 3-0 record. All three wins were by fall, including a quick 24-second pin in the finals. At 138, Abi Elliott went 2-1 and placed third. She had two falls. Maddy Reed finished fifth in the 160-class and had two falls.

Greenfield-Central scored 56 points. Jay County won with 180.

New Palestine finished 20th with 19 points.

For the Dragons, Julia Champ finished fifth at 170. After dropping her first match, she won her next three, all by fall.

At 145, Madisyn Covington finished eighth.

Boys basketball

County schools recognized by IBCA

Three Hancock County schools were among those receiving votes in the pre-season Indiana Basketball Coaches Association released Sunday.

In the poll, which is an overall state poll not broken down by class, the IBCA picks a Top 20. Eastern Hancock, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine were among 40 schools just outside the Top 20 receiving votes.

Indianapolis Cathedral, which received 16 of 19 first-place votes, is ranked No. 1. Ben Davis, Fishers, Carmel and Penn round out the Top 5.

Softball

MV softball to get new scoreboard

Mt. Vernon High School athletics announced, through a partnership with Ninestar, IBEW Local 1393, and USW Local 12213 it will acquire a new scoreboard for the MVHS varsity softball field.

The current scoreboard was installed in 2002 during the construction of the outdoor facilities and had become difficult to service. Through the sponsorships of the school’s partners, a brand new LED scoreboard with branded signage will be installed in the spring of 2023.

“It is in large part because of our excellent local partners that we are able to continue to upgrade facilities and provide the best opportunities for the student-athletes at Mt. Vernon. We are grateful for the continued generosity of Ninestar, as well as IBEW Local 1393 and USW Local 12213, who have stepped up to the plate in a tremendous way for our students,” Mt. Vernon athletic director Brandon Ecker said.