Indiana High School Athletic Association

9150 North Meridian Street, Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0650

Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org

Blake Ress, Commissioner

________________________________________________________________________

MEDIA ADVISORY February 25, 2003

Contact: Jerry Baker, Sports Information Director

E-Mail: jbaker@ihsaa.org

FIELD SET FOR 2003 BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNEY

Pairings for the 93^rd Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament Series were drawn last Monday, Feb. 24, at the IHSAA offices in Indianapolis. Commissioner Blake Ress conducted the draw for this year’s event, which will get underway with sectional action on Tuesday, March 4, 2003 at 64 sites.

Defending 4A champion Gary West Side will open up play in their own sectional against Lake Central. Last year’s 3A winner, Delta, travels to Yorktown to meet the host Tigers. The 2A winner in 2001-02, Speedway, hosts its own sectional and plays Indianapolis Ritter in its opener. And, the class A defending champ, Rossville, meets Clinton Prairie in the Tri-Central curtain raiser.

The state’s top-rated teams will put those rankings on the line starting March 4. Class 4A’s top team, Pike (20-0), opens up with a major test as they face North Central (Indpls.) (14-4) at Noblesville. Gary Roosevelt (18-1), the leader in 3A, begins play in the bye bracket at Calumet, facing Griffith (16-3). The top team in 2A, Cass (18-0), hosts its own sectional and meets Delphi (11-6) in the bye game. In class A, Argos (19-1), number-one in this week’s poll, squares off against Southwood (11-6) at Culver Community.

The complete line-up of pairings for the 2003 tourney is available at 2003 Boys Basketball Tournament Pairings

A.P. BOYS BASKETBALL POLL

No changes among the frontrunners in the weekly Associated Press Poll for the week ending February 22, 2003. Pike (20-0) stays at number-one in class 4A Gary Roosevelt (18-1) is still atop 3A. Cass (18-0) leads the field in 3A. And, in Class A, Argos (19-1) is still number one..

A.P. BOYS BASKETBALL POLL 2/24/03

No.	Class 4A	Sect. Opp.	No.	Class 3A
1	Pike	North Central (Indpls.)	1	Gary Roosevelt	Griffith
2	Lawrence North	Connersville	2	Indianapolis Chatard	Brebeuf Jesuit
3	Bloomington North	Columbus North	3	Tippecanoe Valley	Kankakee Valley
4	DeKalb	East Noble	4	Gibson Southern	Mount Vernon
5	Munster	East Chicago Central	5	Yorktown	Delta
6	Columbia City	Warsaw	6	Griffith	Gary Roosevelt
7	Perry Meridian	Franklin Central	7	Washington	Pike Central
8	North Cntl (Indpls)	Pike	8	Heritage Hills	Evansville Memorial
9	Evansville Harrison	Evansville Reitz	9	North Harrison	Silver Creek
10	Evansville Reitz	Evansville Harrison	10	Vincennes Lincoln	Princeton
No.	Class 2A		No.	Class A
1	Cass	Delphi	1	Argos	Southwood
2	North Knox	North Posey	2	Orleans	Springs Valley
3	Bluffton	Garrett	3	South Central (Elizabeth)	Medora
4	Muncie Burris	Madison-Grant	4	Clay City	Shakamak
5	Eastern (Bloomfield)	Linton-Stockton	5	Loogootee	Washington Catholic
6	Wheeler	Lake Station Edison	6	Kouts	LaCrosse
7	Winchester	Centerville	7	Bloomfield	Union (Dugger)
8	Forest Park	South Spencer	8	Southwestern (Shelbyville)	Morristown
9	Garrett	Bluffton	9	White River Valley	North Central (Farm.)
10	Centerville	Winchester	10	Pioneer	White’s

IBCA BOYS BASKETBALL POLL 2/23/03

No.	School	No.	School
1	Pike	11	Cass
2	Bloomington North	12	South Bend Riley
3	DeKalb	13	Evansville Harrison
4	Lawrence North	14	Hamilton Southeastern
5	Gary Roosevelt	15	Elkhart Central
6	Munster	16	Evansville Reitz
7	Perry Meridian	17	Muncie South
8	Columbia City	18	Lafayette Jefferson
9	Indianapolis Chatard	19	Indianapolis Cathedral
10	North Central (Indpls.)	20	Bluffton

TEAM WRESTLING STATE FINALS ON TAP THIS SATURDAY

The final-eight teams have been determined for the 8^th Annual IHSAA Team Wrestling Tournament to be conducted Saturday, March 1, 2002 at Center Grove High School in Greenwood.

Evansville Mater Dei, ranked number-one in the final poll, is again the strong favorite as the Wildcats go in search of yet another crown. Since the IHSAA began conducting separate team and individual tournaments in 1995-96, Mater Dei has finished up in the winners’ circle each year under head coach Mike Goebel.

Mater Dei, a 76-6 winner over Jasper in the semi-state, will meet Perry Meridian in Match #4, with that victor advancing to meet the winner of the Bellmont-Bloomington South confrontation.

2003 IHSAA TEAM WRESTLING STATE FINALS

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2003

Time: 10:00 a.m. EST

The “Circle of Champions” will begin at 9:40 am, with wrestling to begin at 10:00 am.

Location: Center Grove High School, 2717 S. Morgantown Road, Greenwood

Admission: $7.00

QUARTERFINALS

10:00 a.m. EST

Match 1

Lawrence North (#6) vs. Fort Wayne Snider (#17)

Match 2

Mishawaka (#9) vs. Griffith (#3)

Match 3

Bellmont (#2) vs. Bloomington South (#11)

Match 4

Perry Meridian (#8) vs. Evansville Mater Dei (#1)

SEMIFINALS

30 minutes following the conclusion of the quarterfinals at approximately 12:00 p.m. EST

Match 5

Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2.

Match 6

Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4.

CHAMPIONSHIP

30 minutes following the conclusion of the semifinals at approximately 2:30 p.m. EST

Match 7

Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6

EIGHT UNDEFEATED WRESTLERS CLAIM INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING TITLES

Of the 24 undefeated wrestlers who entered the 65th annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals at Conseco Fieldhouse on February 21-22, 2003, eight emerged victorious, taking home state championship crowns.

Evansville Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 as a team all season, finished up with four individual state champs, equaling a mark set by Lawrence North in the 1992 IHSAA State Finals.

A total of 30,659 fans were in attendance for the three sessions of the state tournament. 9,933 were at Conseco Fieldhouse for Friday evening action, with 9,825 filing their way in for the Saturday morning and afternoon session and 10,901 returning for the finals on Saturday evening.

That group included: Garlan Early (36-0) Fort Wayne North Side, 119 lbs; Angel Escobedo (61-0) Griffith, 125 lbs; Andrae Hernandez (61-0) Griffith, 130 lbs; Alex Tsirtsis (62-0) Griffith, 135 lbs; Ryan Pribble (48-0) Turkey Run, 140 lbs; Craig Weinzapfel (41-0) Evansville Mater Dei, 145 lbs; Chase Thompson (40-0) Frankfort, 189 lbs; and Jake O’Brien (44-0) Franklin Central, 215 lbs.

All of the results in each weight class are available at 2003 Individual Wrestling Results.

JOHN SHEETS OF BELLMONT CAPTURES INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD

John Sheets of Bellmont High Schol was named winner of the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award for Individual Wrestling in 2003. John was state champion at 103-lbs in 2000, third at 112 in 2002, third at 119 in 2002 and finished third at 119 this year with a record of 44-2. Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA corporate sponsor, presented a $1,000.00 scholarship to Bellmont High School in the name of John Sheets.

BOYS DIVING REGIONALS TONIGHT

2003 IHSAA BOYS DIVING REGIONALS

Schedule: Tuesday, Feb. 25 6:000 p.m. Diving Preliminaries, Semifinals & Finals

Locations: Bloomington North, Hamilton Southeastern, LaPorte, Oak Hill

Admission: $4.00

2002 State Champion: Marsh Linley, Jeffersonville

BOYS SWIMMING AND DIVING STATE FINALS FRIDAY & SATURDAY

Competition in the 66^th Annual IHSAA Boys Swimming and Diving Tournament Series will get underway at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis this Friday and Saturday, February 28 and March 1. The defending champion Carmel Greyhounds have qualified 19 individuals and all three relay teams for this year’s state finals.

2003 IHSAA BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING FINALS

Schedule: Friday 4:30 p.m. Gates open to public

5:45 p.m. Opening Ceremonies

6:00 p.m. Swimming Preliminaries

Saturday 7:30 a.m. Gates Open to public

9:00 a.m. Diving Preliminaries and Semi-finals

1:00 p.m. Consolation and Finals in all events

Admission: Session ticket $7.00, Season ticket $10.00

Team Sectional Winners: 2003 Boys Swimming Sectional Team Winners

Heat Sheets: 2003 Boys Swimming Heat Sheets

Returning 2002 Individual Champions: 100 Yard Backstroke Benedect Hesen, Jeffersonville

Defending State Champion: Carmel (won last two, nine total)

IHSSCA BOYS FINAL 2003 POLL

No.	Team	No.	Team
1	Carmel	10	Penn
2	South Bend Riley	12	Northridge
3	Hamilton Southeastern	13	Delta
4	Harrison (W. Laf.)	13	Homestead
5	Lawrence North	15	Kokomo
6	Center Grove	16	Columbus North
7	Yorktown	17	Western
8	Chesterton	18	Jeffersonville
9	Wawasee	18	Lafayette Jefferson
10	North Central (Indpls.)	18	Westfield

The 2002-03 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential will serve as admission to the state finals at the Indiana University Natatorium. If you have not applied for such credential, please fax your request, on company letterhead, to Jerry Baker, Sports Information Director, (317) 575-4244. No requests will be honored after 12:00 Noon, Wednesday, February 26.

For more swimming information from the Indiana High School Swimming Coaches Association, log on to IHSSCA.

GIRLS BASKETBALL SEMI-STATES SATURDAY

The 2003 IHSAA Girls’ State Basketball Tournament heads toward the semi-state round at four sites this Saturday. Valparaiso is the all-time leader in semi-state titles with five. Bedford North Lawrence, Crown Point, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Kokomo and Noblesville are next in line with four.

Saturday, March 1 Game time 1:00 p.m., and second game immediately following

Ticket Information: Session: $7.00

WARSAW

Game 1 – Class A Tri-Central (21-4) vs. Washington Township (18-5)

Game 2 – Class 2A Shenandoah (22-5) vs. Boone Grove (22-4)

PLYMOUTH

Game 1 – Class 3A South Bend St. Joseph’s (23-2) vs. Highland (24-2)

Game 2 – Class 4A Kokomo (24-0) vs. South Bend Riley (23-3)

SOUTHPORT

Game 1 – Class 3A North Harrison (25-0) vs. Beech Grove (26-1)

Game 2 – Class 4A Winner at Bedford North Lawrence vs. Perry Meridian (23-4)

(Bloomington North vs. Jeffersonville scheduled for tonight at 7:30)

SOUTHRIDGE

Game 1 – Class A South Central (Elizabeth) (22-6) vs. North Vermillion (25-0)

Game 2 – Class 2A Southwestern (Hanover) (20-7) vs. North Putnam (24-0)

MEDIA NOTE: To apply for credentials for the girls basketball tourney state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse March 8, 2003, log on to 2003 Girls Basketball Credential Request Form. At this date, all credential requests will be held at the Media Will Call on the Delaware Street side of Conseco Fieldhouse. Credentials request deadline is 12:00 Noon on Tuesday, March 4, 2003.

SOLID SIX IN TOP SPOTS IN GYMNASTICS POLL

The top six teams remained the same in this week’s IHSGC Gymnastics Poll. That means that heading into the last couple of weeks of the regular season, the Chesterton Trojans still head the list of frontrunners.

IHSGC POLL 2/19/03

No.	School	No.	School
1	Chesterton	11	Carroll (Fort Wayne)
2	F.W. Dwenger	12	Columbus East
3	Valparaiso	13	Roncalli
4	Merrillville	14	Portage
5	F.W. Northrop	15	Columbus North
6	Center Grove	15	Richmond
7	Lawrence Central	17	Hobart
8	Homestead	18	Fort Wayne Snider
9	LaPorte	19	Plainfield
10	New Castle	19	New Palestine

For the latest gymnastics information, log on to the Indiana High School Coaches Gymnastics web site at IHSCG.

FOOTBALL REALIGNMENT ANNOUNCED

The IHSAA Football Realignment Committee has completed its efforts to realign the 312 football teams across the state for the 2003-2006 seasons. Fishers High School and Eastern (Pekin) will begin playing football in 2006. Fishers will play in 5A in sectional #4. Eastern (Pekin) will appear in class 2A in Sectional #32. Indianapolis Howe appears in class 3A, Sectional #21. They intend to enter the IHSAA tournament in 2004. Indianapolis Washington will enter the tourney in 2004 and appears in class 3A, Sectional #22.

The complete realignment is available on the IHSAA web site at 2003-06 IHSAA Football Realignment.

GIRLS POLE VAULTING APPROVED

On February 21, 2003 at its monthly meeting, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved the addition of girls’ pole vaulting as an experimental, non-scoring, event for the 2003 track and field season. Specific details regarding the addition of the experiment to the girls’ program will be written, sent to member schools and released to the public prior to the beginning of the authorized contest season.

MILESTONES

Alex Frantz of Whitko scored his 1000th point Wednesday, Feb. 19, in a contest with Fort Wayne North Side.

North Vermillion’s Allison Hughes, a junior, passed the 1,000-point career mark on Feb. 17 during girls basketball tourney play.

James Hardy, a junior at Fort Wayne Elmhurst, passed the 1000 point career mark on Feb. 21.  Hardy scored 43 points as Elmhurst defeated South Bend Washington.

Senior Jackie Closser of Alexandria ended the season as the school’s all-time leader in scoring (1,590), assists (388) and steals (287). The Tigers’ boys basketball head coach, Garth Cone, captured his 16^th Central Indiana Conference championship in his 27 seasons at the school.

IHSAA OVERTIME

Mel Good has announced his resignation as girls head basketball coach at Columbus East. In 14 seasons, Good’s record was 183-105.

Beech Grove senior Katie Gearlds has been selected to play in the WBCA High School All-America basketball game on April at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta.

Molly Kruger of Carmel and Blake Sharpe of Fort Wayne Canterbury have been named Indiana/Gatorade Players of the Year in Soccer.

The state’s all-time winningest football coach, Jerry Brewer of Jasper, was awarded the Distinguished American Award presented by the Central Indiana Chapter of the National Football Foundation at a banquet in Indianapolis on Feb. 22. Other Indiana student athletes being honored includes Joey Smith of Mooresville, Chris West of Speedway, Matt Zore of Indianapolis Cathedral, Larry Burns III of Delta, Carl Gioia and Ben Potts of Valparaiso, Evan Kleinhenz of Columbus North, Cody Porter of North Vermillion, Phil Watkins of Bloomington South and Trent Rogers of Clinton Prairie.

Greg Samuelson will not return as girls head basketball coach at LaPorte.

New Haven boys basketball coach Steve Screeton has announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. He has been the coach of the Bulldogs for 13 seasons.

IHSAA ----- LOOKING AHEAD

Tuesday, February 25	Boys Diving Regionals
Friday, February 28	Boys Swimming Finals
Saturday, March 1	Boys Swimming Finals
Saturday, March 1	Girls Basketball Semi-States
Saturday, March 1	Wrestling State Finals (Team)
Monday, March 3	Baseball First Practice
Monday, March 3	1^st Contest Boys & Girls Track
Tuesday, March 4	Boys Basketball Sectionals
Friday, March 7	Boys Basketball Sectionals
Saturday, March 8	Boys Basketball Sectionals
Saturday, March 8	Girls Basketball State Finals
Saturday, March 8	Gymnastics Sectionals
Monday, March 10	First Practice Baseball, Girls Tennis
Saturday, March 15	Boys Basketball Regionals
Saturday, March 15	Gymnastics Regionals

IHSAA 02-03/26