BricksCenter

As the regular season winds down for spring sports, the focus begins to shift towards the post-season state tournament series. Hopefully, Mother Nature will give us a break the rest of the way ... particularly since we celebrate her today! :)

Speaking of celebrating mother, hopefully everyone had a very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Perfect gift for mom? Flowers? Candy? Clean your room? .... na ... how about this week's edition of BricksCenter!

On Tuesday night, the Brickies were at Hanover Central High School for the 2024 NCC TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS! It was a little cold ... and there was a short delay due to lightning, but it was A GREAT NIGHT TO BE A BRICKIE! Against the BEST ... I SAY THE BEST ... that the Northwest Crossroads Conference had to offer, the Brickies turned in some TERRIFIC performances!

For the girls, the Brickies got standout performances from a number of student athletes! Junior Taylor Pope (1st in the Shot Put, 1st in the Discus) and sophomore Cassie Cohen (1st in the 1600, 1st in the 800) each earned 1st Team ALL-NCC individually for WINNING their respective events! WOW!! Senior Cailey Weber added to her collection of 1st Team ALL-NCC honors by WINNING the 300 Hurdles ... for the 2nd straight year and sophomore Aalliah Otero earned 2nd team ALL-NCC for finishing 2nd in the 400 and also placed 4th in the 200! Overall, our girls tied for 4th with Hanover Central in the final standings.

Here are some of the girls results from Tuesday:

100m Hurdles - freshman Love Jimenez - 9th

100m Dash - sophomore Zaria Gildon - 8th, junior Dominique Zepeda - 13th

1600m Run - sophomore Cassie Cohen - 1st (1st-team All NCC), junior Annabelle Mauries - 11th

400m Dash - sophomore Aalliah Otero - 2nd, freshman Marin Ray - 10th

300m Hurdles - senior Cailey Weber - 1st (1st-team All NCC), junior Brooke Cawthon - 9th

800m Run - Cohen - 1st (1st team All-NCC), sophomore Audrey Turley - 9th

200m Dash - Otero - 4th, Zepeda - 14th

3200m Run - sophomore Emilia Massey - 7th, freshman Amanda Guthrie - 8th

1600m Relay - Otero, Gildon, Weber & Cohen - 5th

Pole Vault - freshman Hannah Cherven - 6th, sophomore Joanna Cantu - 7th

High Jump - senior Ella Freimuth - 7th, Cawthon - 9th

Long Jump - Cawthon - 10th, Freimuth - 11th

Shot Put - junior Taylor Pope - 1st (1st team All-NCC), sophomore Breanna Zon - 10th

Discus - Pope- 1st (1st team All-NCC), Zon - 8th

For the boys, it was a chance to seal the deal on a 2nd straight NCC Championship. After rolling through the regular season UNDEFEATED at 6-0, the Bricks needed a top 2 finish at the conference meet to win ... and our boys were FOCUSED & READY! On the track, junior Willy "The Jet" Shearer was UNBELIEVABLE in winning first place in the 100, 200 and 400! HOLY COW!! He also ran a leg on the 2nd place 1600-relay team! Hobart also got a 1st place finish from the 3200-relay team consisting of sophomore Durgon Click and seniors Owen Stankich, Quentin Stengel & Ryan Mattel!! In the field, junior Kael Schlosser & freshman Nathan Sobczynski did some DAMAGE by going 1-2 in the long jump ... and Sobczynski followed that up with a PERSONAL BEST vault of 12'0" to WIN the Pole Vault as well!! AWESOME!! In the closest meet in recent memory, Hobart and Kankakee Valley actually TIED for 1st with 123 team points each - which qualifies as a top 2 finish and a SECOND CONSECUTIVE NORTHWEST CROSSROADS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP!!! WEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS >>> MY FRIEEEEEENDSS!!! YESSS!!! It wasn't just the first place finishes ... the Brickies needed EVERY SINGLE POINT to secure the title and they GOT EM from all over the place! It was a true TEAM EFFORT and an EXCITING NIGHT!! GREAT JOB BOYS!!!

Here are some boys results from Tuesday:

3200m Relay - sophomore Durgon Click and seniors Owen Stankich, Quentin Stengel & Ryan Mattel - 1st (1st team All-NCC)

110m Hurdles - freshman Bryce Tolliver - 5th, senior Cirian Spencer - 6th

100m Dash - junior Willy Shearer - 1st (1st team All-NCC), junior Kael Schlosser - 7th

1600m Run - junior Felix Lopez - 4th, junior Kolin Gladney - 5th

400m Dash - Shearer - 1st (1st team All-NCC), senior Jack Cruz - 5th

300m Hurdles - Spencer - 4th, Tolliver - 5th

800m Run - Stankich - 3rd (Honorable Mention All-NCC), Stengel - 6th

200m Dash - Shearer - 1st (1st team All-NCC), sophomore Adrian Stojkoski - 8th

3200m Run - Lopez - 4th, Gladney - 7th

1600m Relay - Shearer, Stankich, Cruz & senior Anthony Hnilo - 2nd (2nd team All-NCC)

High Jump - Hnilo - 4th, junior Deacon Caeser - 6th

Long Jump - Schlosser - 1st (1st team All-NCC), freshman Nathan Sobczynski - 2nd (2nd team All-NCC)

Pole Vault - Sobczynski - 1st (1st team All-NCC)

Shot Put - junior Luke Juris - 4th, junior Patrick O'Connor - 8th

Discus - Juris - 8th, O'Connor - 12th

Now that the regular season has come to an end ... it's TOURNAMENT TIME! The IHSAA State Tournament Series begins on Tuesday for our girls with the SECTIONAL right here at Hobart High School and on Thursday for the boys over at Crown Point. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

#RUNBRICKIESRUN

Monday brought some sunshine and the Munster Mustangs to The Friendly City for a HUGE NCC showdown! Way back on April 16th, the 'Stangs handed our girls a 4-1 defeat ... which means the Brickies were looking for some payback this time around. Well - our girls SHINED BRIGHT ON THE DIAMOND!!! Hobart scored 2 runs in the first ... 2 more in the 3rd ... and after Munster plated 1 in the 4th, the Brickies saw 4 more cross home plate in the 5th!! WOW!! In the end, it was ALL BRICKIES as our girls earned an exciting 10-3 VICTORY!!! Senior Keirys Click and freshman Nora Hornak each hit a HOMERUN ... junior Emili Knestrict had a triple and classmate Taylor Lopez belted a double & registered 2 RBIs in the win! Seniors pitchers Ella Hornak & Morgan Ellenberger combined to strike out 9 in the circle and only allow 3 earned runs! AWESOME!!

On Tuesday, Hobart was scheduled to host Andrean in a game that was rescheduled. Unfortunately, this one had to be rescheduled AGAIN due to storms. We'll try it again on Friday, 5/17.

Wednesday, the Brickies were on the road against Lowell in ANOTHER big NCC game! The Red Devils were lights out on this night ... controlled the action throughout and won 11-0. Click had 2 hits and junior Addisyn Johnson collected 1 in the loss.

On Thursday, Illiana Christian was scheduled to visit H-town for a non-conference game, but once again Mother Nature had other plans. Rainy conditions ALL DAY caused a cancellation.

Hobart is now 14-6 on the year and an even 5-5 in NCC action. The Brickies have one more week remaining before IHSAA Sectional play begins over at Chesterton. Our girls will use that week to celebrate SENIOR NIGHT and wrap up conference play. GO GET EM GIRLS!!!

#GOBRICKSGO

Monday night, the Brickies were scheduled to host Highland, but a concern about the availability of officials on Tuesday moved the game over to Highland and turned it into a doubleheader! WOW! In Game #1, Hobart initially fell behind 1-0, but rallied for 3 unanswered runs in the second inning and played great D-D-D-DEFENSE the rest of the way to earn a 3-1 VICTORY!! Junior Drew Burris was a magician on the mound striking out 8 batters and tossing a complete game to earn the W! Classmates Ben Sullivan & Connor Stafford ... along with seniors Nick Sobczynski & Gabe Nunez ... all had hits in the win! For Game #2, the Brickie D continued to impress and our offense was ON FIRE! Hobart took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning and then EXPLODED for 5 runs in the 3rd and CRUISED to a 10-1 VICTORY!!

On Wednesday, Hobart played the role of host against Morgan Township in a game that was originally scheduled for April 4th. After holding the Cherokees scoreless in the top half of the first, Nunez hit a 2-run single to give our boys an early lead! With 2-out in the same inning, sophomore Zach Terek hit a bases-loaded double ... scoring all 3 runners for a 5-0 advantage!! Over the next 2 innings, the Brickies scored 5 MORE TIMES and the D-D-D-DEFENSE did not surrender a run in the 10-0 VICTORY!! Seniors Carlos Santana & Jevan Andrews ... along with Terek ... all had 2 hits in the win! Terek led the way with 3 RBIs, but Nunez and junior Ben Sullivan each added 2 to pace the Hobart offense!

Friday afternoon involved a short bus trip over the Wheeler for another non-conference game ... and the Hobart offense KEPT ROLLIN'!! After scoring 10 runs in each of their previous 2 games, the Bricks tallied 15 through the first 4 innings against the Bearcats and CRUISED to a 15-2 VICTORY!! Santana, Terek, & Burris ... along with senior Ryan Gillio & junior Landon Koritko ... all finished with 2 RBIs each ... Andrews swiped 5 bases (WOW) ... and Stafford struck out 7 batters through just over 4 innings on the mound to help our boys win their 4th straight game!

Hobart is now 12-9 overall with 1 week remaining in the regular season. A full slate of contests will help the Bricks make their final preparations for the IHSAA Sectional, which begins on 5/22 over at Munster. DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!

Monday, the Brickies were finally able to finish a match against Lowell that was suspended halfway through back on April 16th due to rain. When play was suspended, Hobart held a slight edge on the scorecards. Once play resumed, the Red Devils gained the upper hand and went on to win 4-1.

On Tuesday, Hobart was scheduled to play Kankakee Valley in a HUGE NCC matchup. As has been the case way too often this spring, storms caused a postponement. This one is rescheduled for Monday, 5/13.

Wednesday was SENIOR NIGHT as our girls hosted NCC rival Andrean. Prior to play getting underway, Hobart recognized seniors Kylie Murphy, Savannah Oden, Melanie Paterson, and Madalyn Riggle ... along with their families ... for their dedication & commitment to Brickie tennis during the course of their high school careers. In a potential preview of an IHSAA Sectional pairing, Hobart earned a close WIN at #2 doubles when senior Madalyn Riggle & sophomore Emily Cicillian defeated their counterpart 6-4, 7-5!! Unfortunately, the 59ers were able to steal wins at the other 4 positions and left H-town with a 4-1 win.

The Brickies are now 5-7 on the year. Our girls have 1 regular season match remaining ... a Monday night contest vs. KV ... before IHSAA Sectional play begins right here in H-town on Wednesday. LET'S GO BRICKS!! WE GOT THIS GIRLS!!

#SERVINGNOTICE

On Monday, the Bricks were swinging the wrenches at the Boone Grove Invitational! The course at Lakes of the Four Seasons was in pretty good shape overall and Coach Roach said it was the best weather they've experienced in years! Over the 9-hole invite, our boys combined to shoot a 201 and finished 6th. Hobart was led by senior Ben Eberle with a 46 ... classmate Parker Glass was right behind him with a 47 ... fellow senior Nate Becerra and freshman Gavin Roper rounded out the scorers for the Bricks. The host Wolves got to keep the trophy after completing the course with a team score of 173.

Tuesday, Hobart was scheduled to host Munster in a key Northwest Crossroads Conference matchup, but bad weather caused a postponement. No reschedule date has been confirmed yet.

On Friday, our boys welcomed Morgan Township to River Pointe for a non-conference match. Even though the course was wet from Thursday night's storms, the sun came out and our boys SHINED! Glass (43), Eberle (44) & Becerra (46) were the first 3 into the clubhouse for the Brickies and Roper completed the Hobart scorers in a 190-205 VICTORY!!!

Saturday morning ... before all the HHS Prom festivities began, the Brickies were at Sandy Pines Golf Course down in DeMotte for the Kankakee Valley Invite. Against a field of 17 teams, our boys played well and finished 14th with all 3 senior players in attendance hitting 90 or under! WOW! Eberle was tops for Hobart with a team-best 85 ... Becerra was next to sign his scorecard with an 88 and Glass shot an even 90! Sophomore Peyton Camp rounded out the Brickie lineup on the day and held his own for his first time playing 18 holes against a tough field on a tough course! Coach Gary Roach dug deeper into the statistics and had this to say following the finish. "If you take our three Seniors scores against the field of top 3 competitors from each school competing, we would be 9-6-1 on the day! Our seniors really played well and proved they can compete with any team in the area!" AWESOME JOB GUYS!!!

The Brickies are now 6-9 on the year and 1-2 in NCC play. Weather permitting, our boys will be busy this week with 3 dual matches and the Lake Central Invite on Saturday. Hit 'em long & straight boys ... and try to avoid the snowmen! :)

#NANANANANANANANANA

On Thursday, the Brickies were scheduled to compete at Gary West Side, but a continuous rainfall throughout the day that just kept going into the night caused a cancellation. Hobart has one more final tune up ... @ Griffith on Wednesday in the Lake County Invite ... before trying to defend our crown at the IHSAA Sectional on Saturday! GOOD LUCK BRICKIES!! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!

#CHAMPIONSTOGETHER

CONGRATULATIONS to our April Athlete(s) of the Month! THANK YOU to all of our coaches for their nominations - April was a FANTASTIC month to be a Brickie!!

Taylor Pope - Girls Track

Cailey Weber - Girls Track

Isis Fleming & Addy Williams - Girls Tennis

Colton Galliher - Unified Track

Jacob Lewis - Boys Volleyball

Kael Schlosser - Boys Track

#EXCELLENTONPURPOSE

On Friday night, Brickie senior Jack Cruz signed his NLI (National Letter of Intent) to continue his academic and athletic career at Anderson University! The Ravens compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). Jack has been an impact competitor for our boys soccer team and played an integral role in helping our boys win Northwest Crossroads Conference Championships in 2022 and the first IHSAA Sectional (2023) in school history!! Jack will join teammates Luke Weinman V & Jack Harris at Anderson in the fall to compete for the Ravens! He is also a varsity runner for the Brickie Track & Field team!

CONGRATULATIONS JACK! WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU!!

#ALLMYLIFE#COLLEGE

Baseball vs. Lowell * (V & JV)

Softball @ Westville

Boys Golf vs. Kankakee Valley *

Girls Tennis vs. Kankakee Valley *

Tuesday

Girls Track & Field @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Hobart High School)

Boys Golf vs. Hanover Central *

Softball @ Andrean *

JV Softball @ Hanover Central *

Wednesday

Girls Tennis @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Hobart High School)

Softball vs. Hammond Central

Baseball vs. Lowell * (V & JV)

Boys Golf vs. River Forest/Tri Township (SENIOR NIGHT)

Unified Track & Field @ Lake County Invite (Hosted by Griffith High School)

Thursday

Girls Tennis @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Hobart High School)

Boys Track & Field @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Crown Point High School)

Softball @ Valparaiso (V & JV)

Baseball vs. Whiting

JV Baseball @ Whiting

Friday

Girls Tennis @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Hobart High School)

Baseball @ Westville

Softball vs. Andrean * (V & JV)

JV Baseball vs. Wheeler

Saturday

Unified Track & Field @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)

Boys Golf @ Lake Central Invite

Baseball vs. Illiana Christian

* = NCC Opponent