News
Three Important Initiatives, One Mission
Letter From the Commissioner
As we reach the precipice of the spring tournament season, I cannot help but focus on three extremely important and ongoing initiatives of which the IHSAA is currently engaged. While all of these key objectives address separate matters, the mission is shared.
Firstly, the 2014 Student Leadership Conference will once again be held at Plainfield High School on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. This experience continues to be the largest leadership event sponsored for students by a state high school association in our country. Del Harris, the former NBA and Indiana High School head coach, will keynote our conference. We anticipate over 900 students and 100 adult volunteers converging in Hendricks County with a spirit of enthusiasm and a desire to take positive energy back to their schools in order to make a difference in their communities. A special focus of the conference will be in the area of social media and the proper use of such means of communication.
Next, the second annual IHSAA Officials' Summit will be conducted on Sunday, July 27, 2014 at Zionsville West Middle School. This day-long event focuses on education along with relationship-building between licensed contest officials, member school coaches, and IHSAA staff members. Current Division I NCAA Men's Basketball official Bo Boroski will deliver opening remarks and be on hand for attendees to converse with throughout the day.
Finally, a dedicated group of individuals are serving on the newly created IHSAA Sportsmanship Task Force. This broad-based committee of superintendents, principals, athletic directors, and head coaches is executing a critical review of current Association policies and preparing recommendations and protocols moving forward in this area. An anticipated final meeting of this group is scheduled for July with an aim of forwarding suggestions to the IHSAA Executive Committee for their August meeting.
So how does a student leadership conference, an official's summit, and the work of a sportsmanship committee share one mission? All of these worthy pursuits are conducted in a spirit of creating a different and unique sporting experience for Hoosier youngsters. We call this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, education-based athletics. Whether we are building student leaders, promoting and improving the discipline of sports officiating, or redefining our expectations of good sportsmanship, the end result of our efforts is focused on creating an excellent experience for Indiana student athletes.
The former Indian President and scientist A. P. J. Abdul Kalam once stated that, "Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident." It is with this approach that we continue our service to our students and our membership.
Cordially,
Bobby Cox
Commissioner
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
Sportsmanship Task Force
Our sincere thanks go out to the following members of the Sportsmanship Task Force for their dedication and service to the Association:
Ryan Beal, Head Boys Soccer Coach, Jennings County High School
Mike Broughton, Athletic Director, Jennings County High School
Kevin Davis, Athletic Director, Boonville High School
Nathan Dean, Athletic Director, Jimtown High School
Kelly DeCrane, Head Girls Soccer Coach, Lawrence North High School
Brian Dudley, Head Baseball Coach, Wapahani High School
Virgil Ferguson, Athletic Director, North Posey High School
Ed Gilliland, Athletic Director, LaPorte High School
Carla Herschberger, Head Volleyball Coach, Fairfield High School
Jed Jerrels, Principal, North Daviess High School
Mark Johnson, Head Boys Basketball Coach, South Bend Riley High School
Melissa Marlow, Head Girls Basketball Coach, Rushville High School
Patti McCormack, Athletic Director, Lowell High School
Mike Mossbrucker, Athletic Director, Bloomington High School North
Andy Noblitt, Athletic Director, Jasper High School
Mike Pettibone, Interim Superintendent, LaPorte Community School Corporation
Stacey Rogers, Head Softball Coach, Tri-West Hendricks High School
Jim Self, Athletic Director, Hamilton Southeastern High School
Bob Shank, Athletic Director, Fort Wayne Northrop High School
Ryan Turley, Head Football Coach, Hobart High School
Eugene Cato Memorial Scholarships
In an effort to reward the efforts of Indiana's complete student-athletes, the IHSAA, Methodist Sports Medicine, the Indianapolis Colts, Sport Graphics, Inc., and WTHR-13 have partnered in sponsoring the C. Eugene Cato Memorial Scholarship Awards. Each year, a minimum of 13 seniors are chosen from applicants throughout the state to receive a $2,500 scholarship for their high school accomplishments. These recipients are Indiana's brightest stars, and they embody everything that is right about high school sports. These well-rounded, positive role models have demonstrated excellence in academics, school and community involvement, character, sportsmanship, and citizenship.
2014 Scholarship Award Winners
Brent Alan Bales, Norwell High School
Andrew Bentivoglio, St. Theodore Guerin High School
Hayley Betz, Evansville Harrison High School
Amy Bowman, Southwood High School
Brett Brooks, Charlestown High School
Robert Fox, Delta High School
Jessica Griggs, Lafayette Jefferson High School
Myrande Harris, Merrillville High School
Rachel Hoagburg, Fort Wayne Canterbury High School
Macy Holdsworth, Greensburg High School
Philip Moss, South Bend Adams High School
Emmy Rawson, Muncie Central High School
Mitchell Turley, Westfield High School
2013-14 State Champions: Winter
Girls Swimming & Diving
- Team: Carmel
Boys Swimming & Diving
- Team: Chesterton
Wrestling
- Team: Indianapolis Cathedral
Gymnastics
- Team: Valparaiso
Girls Basketball
- 1A: Oregon-Davis
- 2A: Heritage Christian
- 3A: Western
- 4A: Bedford North Lawrence
Boys Basketball
- 1A: Marquette Catholic
- 2A: Park Tudor
- 3A: Greensburg
- 4A: Indianapolis Arsenal Technical
2013-14 Mental Attitude Award Winners: Winter
Girls Swimming & Diving
- Alex Cleveland, Zionsville
Boys Swimming & Diving
- Blake Pieroni, Chesterton
Wrestling
- Skyler Lykins, Franklin Community
Gymnastics
- Alex Nickel, Angola
Girls Basketball
- 1A: Lauren Herman, Vincennes Rivet
- 2A: Natalie Orr, Heritage Christian
- 3A: Raven Black, Western
- 4A: Whitney Wilson, Bedford North Lawrence
Boys Basketball
- 1A: Micah Bullock, Barr-Reeve
- 2A: Jamar Weaver, Westview
- 3A: Macy Holdsworth, Greensburg
- 4A: Trey Lyles, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical
- May 26-31: Softball Sectionals
- May 27: Girls Track Regionals
- May 27-28: Girls Tennis Team Regionals
- May 27, 28, 31: Girls Tennis Individual Sectionals
- May 27-June 2: Baseball Sectionals
- May 29: Boys Track Regionals
- May 31: Girls Tennis Team Semi-States
- June 3: Softball Regionals
- June 6: Girls Track State Finals
- June 6-7: Girls Tennis Team State Finals
- June 6, 7, 9: Boys Golf Sectionals
- June 7: Baseball Regionals, Boys Track State Finals, Girls Tennis Individual Regionals, Softball Semi-States
- June 12-13: Boys Golf Regionals
- June 13-14: Girls Tennis Individual State Finals
- June 14: Baseball Semi-States, Softball State Finals
- June 17-18: Boys Golf State Finals
- June 20-21: Baseball State Finals