HANCOCK COUNTY — It starts with girls tennis and girls track and field today and, by the middle of next week, five of six IHSAA spring sports will be underway with their postseasons.
Hancock County girls track and field teams were scheduled to get the jump on everyone else with scheduled sectional action Tuesday, but the Warren Central Sectional, which includes Greenfield-Central and New Palestine, and the Pendleton Heights Sectional, which includes Eastern Hancock and Mt. Vernon, were postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
First-, second- and third-place finishers will automatically advance to regional competition May 21 at Shelbyville (Greenfield-Central, New Palestine) and Pike (Eastern Hancock, Mt. Vernon) high schools. Other top finishers could get callbacks to move on to the next round. The state finals are at Indiana University in Bloomington on May 31.
County teams should boast some of the top competition in Wednesday’s meets.
At Warren Central, Greenfield-Central’s Savannah Lake, a two-time state qualifier, is the defending champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. New Palestine’s Rylee Hurst is also looking to defend her crown in the 400.
At Pendleton Heights, Mt. Vernon’s 4×800 relay team is the only returning sectional champion, but far from being the only top county competitor in today’s meet.
Hannah Hauser, Emma Gale and Emma Gasiorek are all back from last year’s winning relay team. The Marauders go in coming off a high of winning the Hoosier Heritage Conference title last week.
They’re not the only conference champion in the event. Eastern Hancock won the MEC. The Royals are led by freshman Bella Sotelo, who won four events at the conference meet. She won the 100 and 200 dashes to go with the 100 and 300 hurdles. Eastern Hancock junior Ellie Meyer is a returning state qualifier in the high jump. She was second in last year’s sectional.
Girls tennis
Mt. Vernon will be the heavy favorite when action begins Wednesday at the Mt. Vernon girls tennis sectional.
The four-team tournament includes all four county schools.
The 18th-ranked Marauders face New Palestine and Eastern Hancock takes on Greenfield-Central. Both matches begin at 4:30 p.m.
Mt. Vernon has won nine straight sectional titles. The championship match is Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
The Marauders have been bolstered by the addition of move-in Caroline Allen, at No. 1 singles, and exchange student Ginni Morelli, at No. 2 singles, but two returnees in new roles have led the way in 2024.
Last year’s No. 1 singles player Kylie Brandes and No. 2 singles player Ava Lusby moved to No. 1 doubles and they are undefeated heading into tournament play.
The sectional winner will advance to the Mt. Vernon Regional on May 21-22. The semi-state is scheduled to be played at Center Grove on May 25. The state finals are May 31 and June 1 at North Central High School.
Boys track and field
County boys track and field teams will get their postseason starts close to home. Greenfield-Central and New Palestine are in the Greenfield-Central Sectional, while Eastern Hancock and Mt. Vernon are at the Mt. Vernon Sectional.
Both meets are Thursday. The Mt. Vernon Sectional begins at 5:30 p.m. The Greenfield-Central Sectional starts at 6 p.m.
At Greenfield-Central, the host Cougars have the top-ranked high jumper in the state, senior Elliot Ryba.
He’s cleared 7-feet this year and was runner-up in last year’s state finals. G-C’s Chris Ross is the returning sectional champion in the 3200-meter run. Cougar Kirk Knecht was a runner-up in the long jump and placed sixth in last year’s state event.
Mt. Vernon will try to defend its sectional title.
The Marauders won all three relay races last year and are strong in those events this year, too. Tre Jones won last year’s sectional 200. Andres Langston won the 400, but he has moved to the 300 hurdles as his new primary individual event. He’s currently ranked No. 2 in the state (37.97 seconds).
Mt. Vernon’s Sebastian Sprague has the state’s second best long jump at 23-feet, 4-inches.
G-C will also host the regional on May 23. Mt. Vernon qualifiers will go to the Pike Regional. State finals are June 1 at Indiana University.
Softball
Softball sectional action gets underway next week at Knightstown and Pendleton Heights.
Eastern Hancock lost a heartbreaker in the sectional championship last year to then-host Union County in Class 2A Sectional 41.
The third-ranked Royals will be the favorites going in when they open the tournament Monday against Hagerstown. There is one game each day at Knightstown’s six-team, five-day tournament.
If the Royals beat Hagerstown, they will play Shenandoah on Wednesday, May 22. The championship is slated for Friday, May 24. All games begin at 5:30 p.m.
A year ago, Pendleton Heights knocked off New Palestine to win Class 4A Sectional 9 at New Pal.
The tourney moves to Madison County and both the Arabians and Dragons are state-ranked teams. New Pal is No. 3 and Pendleton Heights is No. 15.
The tournament is the host for upset-minded Greenfield-Central and Mt. Vernon teams, too.
It opens Monday, May 20 with Mt. Vernon taking on Richmond. Two games on Tuesday start at 5:30 p.m. with New Palestine facing Muncie Central and Pendleton Heights taking on Anderson.
Greenfield-Central got the bye in the seven-team field and awaits the winner of Mt. Vernon-Richmond on Wednesday, May 22. The championship game is scheduled for Thursday, May 23.
Regional games in all classifications are scheduled for Tuesday, May 28. Semi-states are June 1 with state finals slated for June 7-8 at Purdue.
Baseball
Mt. Vernon and New Palestine baseball teams are still in a battle for the top spot of the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Weather permitting, that will be decided this week. With two games left, the Marauders have a one-game lead over the Dragons.
When the conference is completed, all preparation will move to next week’s sectional tournament.
Class 4A Sectional 9 is hosted by New Palestine this year. The Dragons are defending Sectional 9 champions, winning last year at Mt. Vernon.
This year’s tournament begins Wednesday, May 22 with the Dragons taking on Muncie Central. On Thursday, May 23, Greenfield-Central faces Anderson and Mt. Vernon takes on Pendleton Heights.
The Indiana Prep Baseball Report rankings, in Class 4A, have the Marauders at No. 13 and the Dragons at No. 22.
The sectional tournament will have semifinal action on Saturday, May 25. The championship game is set for Monday, May 27. The regional, semi-state and state tournaments will be on the following Saturdays. The regional is June 1, the semi-state June 8 and state finals on June 14-15.
Eastern Hancock plays in Class 2A Sectional 41 at Shenandoah.
The Royals will take on Northeastern, a team they beat Monday in a regular season game, on Thursday, May 23.
The tournament has one of Class 2A’s top teams in Hagerstown, No. 7 by Indiana Prep Baseball Report. The Royals, if they win on Thursday, could meet Hagerstown in a semifinal game on Saturday, May 25. The sectional championship game is May 27.
Golf
IHSAA sectional golf tournaments will be the final spring sport to begin postseason action.
All four county teams will compete at the Monday, June 3 Greenfield-Central Sectional at Hawk’s Tail of Greenfield Golf Course. The regional is June 6 at Players Club in Muncie. The state finals are June 11-12 at Carmel’s Prairie View Golf Club.
Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine finished 1-2-3 in last year’s sectional and all advanced to regional competition.
New Palestine won this year’s county tournament, while Mt. Vernon frosh Eli Lemmon was the individual champion at both county and Hoosier Heritage Conference tournaments.
