It was quite a week in the world of Brickie Sports as Hobart hosted THREE INVITATIONALS ... Boys Golf & the "Brickie Scramble", Girls Tennis & the 12th Annual Hobart Invite, and Track & Field with the 84th (that's right ... I said 84) running of the Hobart Little 5 Invitational! Not to mention baseball, softball & boys volleyball each getting multiple games in - THIS is what Spring Sports are supposed to look like!!

Hopefully all the eggs have been found ... it's time for BricksCenter!

It was a busy week on the courts for the Brickies as our girls were scheduled for 3 matches and hosted the Hobart Invite!

On Monday afternoon, area powerhouse Crown Point traveled to H-town for a non-conference match against the Brickies ...and our girls were PHENOMENAL!!! Senior Natalie Crowley BATTLED HARD to win a 3-set match @ #1 singles (6-3, 1-6, 6-3) ...junior Leilani Venegas won her #3 singles match in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 to get Hobart within 1 win of an overall victory! Junior Emily Cicillian fought valiantly at #2 singles, but ultimately fell in a 3rd set tiebreaker 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 and the Bulldog #2 doubles team won in straight sets to make the score 2-2. Fortunately, the dynamic senior duo of Addy Williams & Isis Fleming were ON at #1 doubles and WON in 3 sets 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 to deliver a BRICKIE VICTORY 3-2!! WOW!!

Wednesday night, our girls were on the road at Lake Station for a non-conference competition ...and the Brickies CRUISED to an easy 5-0 VICTORY!! Crowley, Cicillian & Venegas all won in straight sets in singles play - along with the #1 dubs team of Williams & Fleming! Our #2 doubles tandem of sophomore Marissa Salamanca & freshman Evelyn Gonzalez lost their first set, but RALLIED to win the next 2 by a combined 12-4 score to give Hobart the clean sweep!

On Thursday, the Brickies were scheduled to head south toward DeMotte to open up NCC play against the Kankakee Valley Kougars. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to follow Jo Dee Messina's advice and Bring On the Rain ...forcing a postponement. No reschedule date has been set yet.

Saturday brought 7 other schools (Griffith, Highland, South Bend Riley, Lake Station, Portage, Lowell & River Forest) to The Friendly City for the Hobart Invitational. For the 2nd straight spring, this tournament had individual brackets for each of the 5 varsity positions (#1-#3 singles + #1-2 doubles) and saw competition at its best! An early morning mist & scary forecast prediction put some doubt on the day, but our girls stayed the course and SHINED BRIGHT on the cold, cloudy afternoon! The Brickies not only held their own against some TOUGH competition, but WON THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT!! YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOOOOOOOOOOAAAARRD ... YESSSS!!! #3 singles player Leilani Venegas and the #1 doubles team of Isis Fleming & Addy Williams each WON their brackets ... #1 singles player Natalie Crowley and the #2 doubles team of Marissa Salamanca & Neveah Rodriguez each earned 2nd place ...and #2 singles player Emily Cicillian finished 5th to give our girls the CROWN!! WOW!!! WHAT A DAY TO BE A BRICKIE!!

Hobart is still UNDEFEATED in dual play so far with a record of 3-0 on the season and are the 2025 HOBART INVITE CHAMPS! It was a great week, but now the Brickies need a "Next Play" mentality as they get right back at it with 3 matches over the next 4 days! WE GOT THIS LADIES!!

#ACES

Run ... Jump ... Throw ... seems simple doesn't it? Fortunately for Hobart fans, our Brickie track & field athletes are making it look easy! These kids are showing drastic improvement on a weekly basis ... or as was the case this week, on a DAY-to-DAY basis!

Tuesday, Hobart opened Northwest Crossroads Conference competition by hosting archrival Andrean in a coed dual meet. There are a lot of events in a track & field meet, which means there are lots of opportunities to score points ... and the Brickies took advantage of almost all of them against the 59ers! The ladies placed 1st in 14 out of 16 events to earn a DOMINANT 92-38 victory! The guys also CRUISED to an easy 103-25 victory by winning 13 of the 16 events! WOW!! Aalliah Otero (100 & 400 dash), Cassie Cohen (1600 & 800 run), Rylee Christman (100 & 300 hurdles) and Taylor Pope (shot & disc) each won multiple individual events for the Lady Bricks and Willy "The Jet" Shearer (100 & 400 dash) did the same for the boys!

Here are some results from Tuesday:

Girls

100m Hurdles - freshman Rylee Christman - 1st, sophomore Love Jimenez - 2nd, sophomore Kayla Huitron - 4th

100m Dash - junior Aalliah Otero - 1st, freshman Ella Lopez - 2nd, junior Zaria Gildon - 3rd

1600m Run - junior Cassie Cohen - 1st, freshman Lilliana Lopez - 3rd

4x100m Relay - Otero, sophomores Kurah Krucina & Brianna Davis and freshman Ella Lopez - 1st

400m Dash - Otero - 1st

300m Hurdles - Christman - 1st, sophomore Marin Ray - 3rd, Jimenez - 4th

800m Run - Cohen - 1st, freshman Khloe Reyes - 4th

200m Dash - E. Lopez - 1st, Krucina - 3rd, Christman - 4th

3200m Run - L. Lopez - 1st, sophomore Amanda Guthrie - 2nd, sophomore Pandora Dominguez - 4th

1600m Relay - Ray, Cohen, Gildon & senior Olivia Alexander - 1st

Long Jump - Krucina - 3rd

High Jump - freshman Peyton Cotton - 1st, freshman Ava Kowalisyn - 2nd

Shot Put - senior Taylor Pope - 1st, sophomore Mya Leonhardt - 3rd

Discus - Pope - 1st, Leonhardt - 3rd

Pole Vault - junior Joanna Cantu - 1st, sophomore Hannah Cherven - 2nd

Boys

4x800m Relay - seniors Brett Davis, Nick Meagher & Alphonse Parker and junior Durgon Click - 1st

110m Hurdles - sophomore Bryce Tolliver - 2nd, freshman Dontay Robinson Jr - 3rd

100m Dash - senior Willy "The Jet" Shearer - 1st., junior Adrian Stojkoski - 2nd

1600m Run - senior Kolin Gladney - 1st, senior Felix Lopez - 2nd

400m Relay - Stojkoski, seniors Jaelen Williams & Dillon Hatchett and sophomore Nathan Sobczynski - 1st

400m Dash - Shearer - 1st, Davis - 3rd

300m Hurdles - Tolliver- 1st, Robinson Jr - 3rd

800m Run - Lopez - 1st, senior Dane Homoky - 2nd, Click - 3rd

200m Dash - Shearer - 1st, Stojkoski - 2nd

3200m Run - Click - 1st, Gladney - 2nd, Lopez - 3rd

1600m Relay - Davis, Shearer, Homoky & Stojkoski - 1st

Long Jump - senior Kael Schlosser - 1st, Sobczynski - 2nd, freshman Caleb Fraley - 4th

High Jump - senior Deacon Caesar - 1st, freshman Jovan Hernandez - 2nd, sophomore Vontrell Jones - 3rd

Shot Put - senior Patrick O'Connor - 2nd, senior Luke Juris - 3rd

Discus - O'Connor - 2nd, freshman Jenson Laffoon - 3rd, Juris - 4th

Pole Vault - Sobczynski - 1st

On Saturday, Hobart hosted the 84th Annual Little 5 Track Meet ... and it's actually not so "Little" anymore. There were 14 teams competing (7 girls & 7 Boys - Bishop Noll, Boone Grove, East Chicago Central, Griffith, Hobart, Kankakee Valley & South Bend Washington) at the Brickyard on a chilly overcast day and OUR BRICKS STILL SHINED!! In the team competition, our girls placed 2nd overall behind Kankakee Valley ... and our boys WON THE WHOLE THING!! Without even running a 1600m relay team in the final event of the day, the Brickie BOYZ scored 165 team points to edge Kankakee Valley by 6 for the title!! In addition to our OUTSTANDING showing in the team competition, the Brickies also had some TREMENDOUS individual performances!

For the girls, senior Taylor Pope (shot put & discus) and junior Aalliah Otero (100 & 400) were both individual champions in TWO EVENTS!! The girls 1600m relay team consisting of Otero, junior Cassie Cohen, sophomore Marin Ray & freshman Ella Lopez, also placed FIRST! Junior Bre Zon finished 2nd in the discus & 3rd in the shot put ...Cohen placed 2nd in the 1600m run ...junior Millie Massey was 3rd in the 3200m run ...freshman Rylee Christman finished 3rd in the 300m hurdles ...junior Joanna Cantu placed 3rd in the pole vault and sophomore Kurah Krucina was 3rd in the long jump! INCREDIBLE!!

Our boys won 4 events on the day! Individual winners include senior Willy "The Jet" Shearer (100), senior Kael Schlosser (long jump), junior Adrian Stojkoski (200) & senior Felix Lopez (1600)! Stojkoski also finished 2nd in the 100 and Shearer was 2nd in the 400 ...senior Deacon Caesar placed 2nd in the high jump ...senior Brett Davis finished 3rd in the 400 ...senior Dane Homoky was 2nd in the 800 ...senior Kolin Gladney placed 2nd in the 1600 ...sophomore Nathan Sobczynski placed 2nd in the pole vault and long jump ...senior Luke Juris was 2nd in the discus and classmate Patrick O'Connor finished 3rd in the shot put!

As you can see, Saturday was a GREAT DAY for the Brickies!! With the NCC Championships about 3 and a half weeks away, Hobart is looking better and better with some solid depth AND some big scoring front-runners in multiple events! Both boys and girls should be in the hunt for a FANTASTIC finish!

#TRACKINCAREOFBUSINESS

The Brickies finally got to swing the wrenches for real when our boys opened the season Tuesday by hosting the Hobart Invite "Brickie Scramble". Participating teams included Bishop Noll, Griffith, Hanover Central, Lowell, Merrillville, Morgan Township, River Forest, & Wheeler. The Hanover Central Wildcats took home the title for the 3rd consecutive year with a 4-under 32. They actually tied Lowell for the best team score, but won on a tiebreaker for having the best score on the toughest hole! Hobart finished in the middle of the pack in 6th with a team score of 39!

The 5-man team representing H-town included sophomores Gavin Roper, Zach Radencich, Chase Dukes & Trevor Paterson and freshman newcomer MJ Scheldberg.

Hobart will be back in action on Monday against NCC rival Andrean in the first dual meet of the year! Hit 'em long & straight boys!

#PARFORTHECOURSE

On Monday night, the Brickies were scheduled to travel to Hebron to square off with the Hawks. Unfortunately, the game was postponed due to an illness running through the Hebron roster leaving too few girls eligible to play. No reschedule date has been set yet.

Wednesday, the Highland Trojans visited the Brickie softball complex for a HUGE Northwest Crossroads Conference game! The visitors opened up the offense in the top half of the first and claimed a 4-0 lead. Over the next 3 innings, Hobart BATTLED BACK and tied the score at 4-4! In the 4th & 5th, the Highland bats woke up again and the Trojans plated 7 more runs to move ahead 11-4 only to see our girls RALLY AGAIN with 4 of their own in the bottom half of the 5th frame to get back within striking distance trailing only 11-8! Unfortunately, the Trojans put 3 more on the board in the 6th and after the Brickies were unable to answer, the game was called due to darkness. Final score: Highland 14, Hobart 8. The defeat was tough, but the resiliency our girls showed was FANTASTIC! This group has FIGHT and NEVER SAYS DIE ...two winning characteristics that will inevitably help us down the road! For the game, sophomore Aurora Ciesielski went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI ...classmate Nora Hornak & senior Ladan Weinman each collected 2 hits ...and sophomore Addi Gaffin finished with 2 RBI on a HUGE double in the 3rd inning.

On Thursday, Hobart headed over to 5959 Broadway to battle Andrean in another HUGE NCC contest. In another slugfest, the Brickies fell 13-7. Junior Samantha Stankich went 3-for-4 at the plate with a HOMERUN & 2 RBI and sophomore Emma McIntire surrendered just 3 hits & 1 earned run after tossing nearly 5 innings in the circle. In reference to the back-to-back NCC games, Coach Josh Coons had this to say, "Despite very similar scores, this game was a much better showing by our squad!! Lots of great hitting and excellent defense was played!" No doubt that our girls are getting better every game!!

Hobart is now 3-4 overall and 0-4 in NCC play. Another full week awaits as our girls will play 4 games over the next 6 days!! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#SHINEBRIGHTONTHEDIAMOND

The Brickies began their toughest stretch of the season on Monday by welcoming Class 3A #1-ranked Hanover Central to The Friendly City. Each team plated a run in the first inning to make it a 1-1 game, but Hobart senior Connor Stafford had full command on the bump for the next 5 innings - striking out 9 batters and holding the high-powered Wildcat offense in check! Meanwhile, the Brickies were able to score 2 runs in the 3rd and 2 more in the 5th to take a 5-2 lead ...and when neither squad crossed the plate in the 6th inning, Hobart was just 3 outs away from a HUGE early season win! Hanover Central isn't ranked #1 for nothing and the visitors rallied to tie the game in the top half of the 7th at 5-5. Senior Ben Sullivan led off the bottom half of the frame with his 4th hit of the game to put the game-winning run on the pads. After the 'Cats were able to get two outs, senior Aidan Leonard stepped into the box with Ben in scoring position on 2nd base and the game on the line. With 2 out and a full count, Aidan punched a ground ball with eyes towards the shortstop that got through into the outfield ... at the same time Ben was sprinting around 3rd and beat the throw home to score the GAME WINNER!!! THAT'S RIGHT ... IT WAS A WALK-OFF WIN FOR THE BRICKIES!!!

UNBELIEVABLE!! WHAT A GAME!!! Ben was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with 2 RBI ...sophomore sensation Donio Pimentel went 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and 3 runs scored and classmate Connor Kenjic also scored twice in the win!!

On Tuesday, the opponent was once again Hanover Central, but the location was Cedar Lake. Through 3 innings, the host Wildcats took a 4-0 lead, but in the top half of the 4th, it was ALL BRICKIES as our boys plated 4 runs to TIE IT UP!!! Unfortunately, the tie game was short-lived as Hanover scored 10 more runs over the next 3 innings and closed the game out 14-4 in 6. Pimentel had another 2-hit game and Kenjic knocked in 3 RBI in the loss.

Thursday, the Wheels on the Bus went 'round & 'round over to St. John where the Brickies faced future NCC foe Illiana Christian. The Vikings have played in the IHSAA State Finals 3 consecutive years ...winning 2 championships (2022 & 2023) and finishing as runner-up once (2024) ...and are LOADED AGAIN this spring. In spite of playing our 3rd consecutive game against one of Indiana's best teams, the Brickies were focused, sharp and ready to go ...and this one was a FANTASTIC GAME! Junior pitcher Zach Terek was UNBELIEVABLE on the bump ...throwing 6.1 innings and surrendering just 4 hits with 4 strikeouts. He and the Brickie D-D-D-DEFENSE behind him were SO GOOD that Illiana Christian did not score through 6 innings of play!! HOLY COW!! The Viking hurler and defense were just as good ...only giving up 5 hits to the Bricks and holding our boys scoreless as well. Which means, this one was tied at 0-0 heading into the final inning of play! WOW! In the top half of the frame, Hobart was unable to plate any runs. In the bottom half, Illiana was able to manage a baserunner who eventually scored with 1 out in walk-off fashion. Final score: Hobart 0, Illiana Christian 1. What ... a ... game. Definitely a heartbreaker for our boys, but WHAT AN EFFORT! Seniors Connor Stafford, Jayme Hairston, Aidan Leonard & Ben Sullivan ...and junior Ethan Murchek ...all had hits for the Brickies in the loss.

Hobart is now 6-3 overall and 2-2 in NCC play. On Monday night, the Bricks will face Andrean at The SteelYard, Home of the Gary SouthShore RailCats at 7pm! DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!!

#PUTMEINCOACHIMREADYTOPLAY

After picking up their first win of the season at the Chesterton Invite last Saturday, the Brickies brought ENTHUSIASM & some POSITIVE MOMENTUM into week #2!

Wednesday night, Hobart visited another H-town, Hammond, to face the Central High Wolves in non-conference action. The Brickies momentum from last weekend carried them through the first two sets as our boys jumped ahead 2-0!! The Wolves, playing on their home floor, rallied to win the next 2 sets and tie things up heading into the 5th and deciding game. In an INTENSE BATTLE over the net, the Brickies built a small lead, but Hammond once again rallied and held on to win a tough one 3-2.

On Thursday, the Bricks were on the road again ...this time the destination was future NCC opponent Illiana Christian - one of the better teams in NWI. The Vikings held court to secure the victory, but our boys took 1 game against the talented hosts and once again showed IMPROVEMENT in the face of adversity.

Friday night brought the 2nd home game of the year for the Brickies and a date against the Kankakee Valley Kougars. That IMPROVEMENT that our boys had shown throughout the last week WAS ON FULL DISPLAY Friday as Hobart played FLAWLESSLY and controlled the action right from the start!! Set #1 = Hobart 25, KV 14. Set #2 = Hobart 25, KV 14. After two games, the Brickies were ahead 2-0 ...matching where they were on Wednesday @ Hammond Central. Fortunately for the home-town fans, our boys learned from what happened against the Wolves, flipped the script and went on to WIN 25-17 in the 3rd set for the VICTORY!!! WOW - WHAT A PERFORMANCE!! Coach Madi Price said, "This is the best I've seen them play!" Junior Codi Ketchum was AWESOME! On one possession, Codi single-handedly returned 4 consecutive KV volleys to give the Brickies the point!! Sophomore Joel Mock was also FANTASTIC all over the floor ... freshman Miles White and junior Chris Haymon were firing LASERS over the net and senior Levi Snyder protected the back row like it was his job!! Hobart got positive contributions from everyone who stepped on the floor and also saw our JV earn the W as well!!

Hobart is now 2-6 on the year, which means our boys have already eclipsed their win total from last year ...and we're not even halfway through the season yet!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK WORK WORK GUYS!!

#SERVINGNOTICE

On average, only about 1 in 13 high school athletes get the chance to compete at the next level, which is about 7%. This covers all divisions of the NCAA (I, II & III), NAIA and the Junior College level. So, when our Brickies get that opportunity, we CELEBRATE!!

Wednesday night brought a special kind of signing to The Friendly City as ALL FIVE senior baseball players heading to the NEXT LEVEL held a signing party!! It was a true CELEBRATION as the five families (not from The Godfather) got together and honored this fantastic opportunity for our boys!

Here are the signees:

Senior Jayme Hairston will continue his academic & athletic career at Calumet College of St Joseph! The Crimson Wave compete in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and are members of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). Jayme played basketball for 3 years and has been a 4-yr letterwinner in baseball @ Hobart!

Senior Connor Stafford will continue his academic & athletic career at Purdue University Northwest! The Pride compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Connor is a multisport athlete at Hobart competing in both football and baseball all 4 years of his career!

Senior Aidan Leonard will continue his academic & athletic career at Vincennes University! The Trailblazers compete in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) and are members of the Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC). Aidan is a 3-sport standout for the Brickies earning All-NCC honors in both football & basketball!

Senior Drew Burris will continue his academic & athletic career at Clarke University! The Pride compete in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and are members of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (CCAC). Drew is a 4-time letterwinner in baseball and was the 2023 Northwest Crossroads Conference Pitcher of the Year!

Senior Ben Sullivan will continue his academic & athletic career at the Milwaukee School of Engineering! The Raiders compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). Ben is also a 4-year letterwinner in baseball and an All-NCC performer!

CONGRATULATIONS JAYME, CONNOR, AIDAN, DREW & BEN!! WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU AND EXTREMELY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO AT THE NEXT LEVEL!!

#COLLEGE

Baseball vs Andrean @ Railcats Stadium (7pm start) *

Boys Volleyball vs South Central

Boys Golf vs Andrean *

Tuesday

Softball vs Munster * (V+JV)

Boys Volleyball vs Munster *

Baseball @ Andrean

Girls Track & Field @ Hanover Central *

Boys Track & Field @ Hanover Central *

Girls Tennis vs Lowell *

JV Baseball vs Andrean *

Wednesday

Softball @ Bishop Noll

Boys Golf vs Illiana Christian

Girls Tennis vs Merrillville

JV Softball vs Whiting

Thursday

Baseball vs Valparaiso

Girls Tennis vs Hanover Central *

Softball @ Lowell *

Unified Track & Field @ Crown Point

JV Baseball @ Valparaiso

JV Softball vs Lowell *

Friday

IHSAA District 1 Spring Principals Meeting

Prom

Saturday

Girls Track & Field @ LaPorte Invite

Boys Track & Field @ LaPorte Invite

Softball @ Morgan Township

Baseball @ Portage

* = NCC Opponent