Well folks, we are 8 days away from winter break and two weeks (and a day) away from opening presents! ... as long as we've all been good this year :)

One of my favorite songs this time of year is by legendary American singer, comedian and actor Bing Crosby. See if you can guess which one it is ...

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm cheering for the Hooooooobart Brickies
Just like the teams we used to knooooooooow ...
Where the purple & gold glisten

And student athletes listen
To heeeeeaaaar a referee whistle blooooooooooow ...

Ok, maybe it isn't his famous recording of White Christmas, but let's stick with this for a few more lines ...

May your daaaaaaayyyys be merryyyyyyy and fiiiiiiiiiiiiine ...

And may aaaaaaallll your Brickies SHINE!!

What can I say, it's my favorite time of the year!

Speaking of favorite times ... it's time for BricksCenter!

Girls

On Thursday night, Hobart hosted Rensselaer in a non-conference dual meet. Illiana Christian was also initially scheduled to join in the fun, but was unable to make it ... so it was just the Brickies & the Bombers! Our girls filled 13 of the 14 spots in the lineup while Rensselaer was only able to compete in 4 varsity matches, which means Hobart scored a boat-load of points on forfeits. Of the 4 matches, the Brickies still SHINED BRIGHT and won 3 by PIN! Sophomore Joanna Cantu won @ 110, senior Jillian Wilkinson did the same @ 130, and junior Alicia Salamanca closed it out @135!!

Final score: Hobart 66, Rensselaer 12 - WOW!

The Brickies will celebrate SENIOR NIGHT on Tuesday in a double-dual with Portage & Lake Central before traveling to compete in the Munster Super Duals on Saturday. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

Boys

Thursday night, the Bricks were at Lowell High School for the NCC opener. Hobart scored varsity wins by senior Kaden Miller (138), juniors Seth Aubin (113), Daniel Mata (120), Cole Weber (150), & Luke Juris (HWT), and sophomore Aidan Granger (165) to help bring home a 44-23 VICTORY!! Freshman Blake Doeing (106), sophomore Zach Felty (144) & junior Aidan Costello (175) all got the night off and won by forfeit!! With the win, our boys avenged a narrow defeat at the hands of the Red Devils from a year ago.

On Saturday, the destination was Merrillville High School for the prestigious Tom Cameron Duals. The Brickies faced Fort Wayne Carroll, Plymouth, and Lafayette Harrison in the first 3 rounds ... and then finished the day against Kankakee Valley and Hammond Morton in a long day of competition. Hobart went 2-1 in the AM session with their only loss coming to the Harrison Raiders by just 2 points. In the afternoon session, the Brickies were simply OUTSTANDING in defeating KV & Morton by a combined score of 160-6!!! HOLY SCHNIKES THAT'S AMAZING!!!

Here are the scores from the Hobart Ws:

Hobart 51, FW Carroll 21

Hobart 38, Plymouth 33

Hobart 78, Kankakee Valley 6

Hobart 82, Morton 0

Not too shabby :)

Going UNDEFEATED on the day in their respective weight classes were Aubin, Mata, Costello, and freshman Aleks Tatum! Sophomore Josh Diaz & senior Jake Sparks combined to win ALL 5 matches at 215!!

Overall, Hobart is 6-1 on the season and 1-0 in NCC action! The Brickies will be back at it TWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO more times this upcoming week - both at home as our boys host Andrean & Rensselaer on Wednesday and the annual Super Duals on Saturday! WE ARE HO-BART!!

#BRICKIETOUGH

On Wednesday night, Hobart squared off with Illiana Christian. The Vikings found their shooting rhythm early and often in the first 8 minutes of play. In fact, Illiana held a 7 point lead until Brickie junior Ladan Weinman hit a short jumper to beat the buzzer and cut the Viking lead to just 16-11. Our girls continued to BATTLE through the 2nd quarter and were able to cut the deficit down to 28-25 at the half. In the 3rd quarter, senior Emma Ortiz NAILED a 3-point shot to tie things up at 30 and then scored AGAIN on a layup to give Hobart their first lead of the night at 34-32!!! The Bricks eventually built a 42-32 lead before Illiana came storming back to knot the score at 44-44 midway through the final period. As the two teams went back-and-forth in the closing minutes, our girls made some FANTASTIC plays to retake the lead and hang on as Illiana missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer!! Final score: Hobart 51, Illiana 48!!!! Ortiz and sophomore Riley Weber led the Brickies in scoring with 12 points each ... Weber also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double ... junior Hallie Pendleton scored 11 points ... classmate Ladan Weinman added 7 and fellow junior Kyla Butler distributed a team-high 6 assists in the win!

Friday, the Brickies hosted Kankakee Valley in a Northwest Crossroads Conference showdown! The first 8 minutes of this one were the exact opposite of Tuesday's contest ... it was Hobart who found the offensive rhythm early and held an advantage on the scoreboard after 8 minutes of play!! Kankakee Valley switched up their D-D-D-DEFENSE, caused some turnovers and took a slim lead into the locker room. The second half was a BATTLE with our girls fighting for everything they could! Ultimately, over the last 4 minutes of the game, it was the Kougars who pulled away and left town with a 51-32 win. Don't let the final score fool you ... this one was much closer than the score indicates ... the Bricks were right there most of the way.

The Brickies are now 5-6 overall and 0-2 in NCC play. Hobart has just one contest on the slate this upcoming week ... a trip to 5959 Broadway on Saturday to face rival Andrean. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#SHEGOTGAME

Boys

On Tuesday night, the Brickies hosted the Calumet Warriors in a non-conference matchup. Early on, our boys jumped out to a 19-9 first quarter lead on a buzzer-beating layup from senior Anthony Hnilo and still held a 6-point advantage (28-22) heading into the halftime break! Calumet continued to BATTLE and scored to close out the 3rd quarter ... trailing 42-34. To begin the final period, the Warriors drilled back-to-back 3's to cut the deficit down to just 2 points, but Brickie junior Felix Lopez BURIED a 3-pointer from the corner to stop the run and put Hobart back in front 45-40! Hnilo matched Lopez with a 3 of his own to extend the lead to 48-40 ... and after a pair of Calumet FTs, it was Lopez AGAIN with another 3-ball from the corner pocket to make the score 51-42!!! Over the final few minutes, our boys were able to hold off any more threats from the Warriors and when the buzzer sounded, the scoreboard showed a 60-50 BRICKIE VICTORY!!! Hnilo led all scorers with 21 points to go along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds ... junior Aidan Leonard notched a double-double for Hobart with 10 points & 13 rebounds ... Lopez scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in the win!

Saturday night was the 13th Annual SILENT NIGHT game for Hobart as our boys welcomed the River Forest Ingots to The Friendly City. Throw out the records in this one ... every year the crosstown rivalry makes for a competitive atmosphere! Fortunately for the large contingent of students in attendance, it didn't take the Brickies long to get to 8 points and send the crowd into a frenzy!! In fact, both teams were hitting shots early and the visiting Ingots held a 19-16 lead after 1 quarter of play. Our boys clamped down on D in the 2nd quarter ... limiting RF to just 7 points and moved ahead 28-26 at the half!! The final 16 minutes were TOUGH as each squad worked HARD to seize control. Every time it looked like the Brickies might start to get away from the pesky visitors, River Forest would hit a big 3 and stay within reach. Still, our boys stayed the course and made BIG plays down the stretch ... including 4 straight made free throws by junior Jayme Hairston and Hnilo in the final minute ... to secure a HARD FOUGHT 58-51 VICTORY!!! Hnilo led all scorers with a career-high 28 points!! Lopez scored 13 points to go with 6 rebounds ... Leonard added 10 points and 6 rebounds ... and sophomore Erik Kingery dished out 6 assists in the win!

Hobart is now 3-3 on the year and will open up NCC play on Friday on the road at Lowell. GO GET 'EM GUYS!!

#BRICKIEUP

Girls

On Thursday night, the Brickies hosted the Crown Point Bulldogs in a DAC/NCC crossover meet. Hobart swam & dove well, but the Dogs had too much depth across the pool and won the meet by a score of 118-54. Sophomore Cassie Cohen was the lone individual winner for the Brickies, placing first in the 100 Free. The team of seniors Mia Luczak & Sydney Johnston, junior Evangeline Clay and freshman newcomer Marisa Salamanca WON the 400 Free relay to close out the night n a SEASON BEST time!!

Here are some additional results from Thursday's meet with CP:

200 Medley Relay - 3rd = freshman Cassie Owens, sophomore Cassie Cohen, junior Brogan McDonald & senior Marie White

200 Free - 4th = McDonald, 5th = freshman Marisa Salamanca

200 IM - 3rd = Owens, 5th = White

50 Free - 4th = senior Mia Luczak, 5th = junior Evangeline Clay

Diving - 4th = sophomore Elliana Crespo, 5th = junior Alyssa Meinert, 6th = freshman Amanda Guthrie

100 Fly - 3rd = White

100 Free - 1st = Cohen, 3rd = Salamanca, 4th = Luczak

500 Free - 3rd = McDonald

200 Free Relay - 2nd = Owens, White, Cohen & McDonald, 4th = Clay, Luczak, Salamanca & senior Sydney Johnston

100 Back - 2nd = Owens, 4th = Clay

100 Breast - 3rd = Cohen, 5th = Johnston

400 Free Relay - 1st = Clay, Luczak, Salamanca & Johnston

The Lady Brickies are 1-3 on the season and will be back in the water twice this upcoming week! On Tuesday, the Munster Mustangs & Lowell Red Devils will visit The Friendly City and on Thursday, Valparaiso is coming to town. LET'S GO BRICKS!!

Boys

Thursday's meet with Crown Point was coed as our boys joined the girls at our Aquatic Center. On the diving board, the Brickies reigned supreme with a clean sweep of the top 3 spots with senior Ethan Robles placing first, junior Kael Schlosser finishing 2nd and freshman newcomer Aiden Bailey coming in 3rd!! WOW!! Freshman Evan Harness was the only other winner on the night for Hobart ... placing FIRST in the 200 IM for the 3rd consecutive meet!! AWESOME! Unfortunately, it was Crown Point who dog-paddled their way to victory by a score of 116-69.

Here are some additional results from Thursday's meet:

200 Medley Relay - 2nd = junior Christian Kertz, senior Brett Herrin, sophomore Jaden Cano & freshman Evan Harness

200 Free - 3rd = senior Ayden Witting, 4th = senior AJ Garibay, 6th = freshman Connor Brum

200 IM - 1st = Harness, 5th = sophomore Lu Cohen

50 Free - 2nd = Kertz, 4th = sophomore Durgon Click, 5th = senior Vinny Gutierrez

Diving - 1st = senior Robles, 2nd = junior Kael Schlosser, 3rd = freshman Aiden Bailey

100 Fly - 4th = Cohen, 5th = Witting, 6th = senior Travis Balding

100 Free - 3rd = Click, 4th = Kertz, 5th = Cano

500 Free - 2nd = Herrin, 3rd = Harness, 6th = Garibay

200 Free Relay - 2nd = Herrin, Click, Harness & Kertz, 4th = Balding, Gutierrez, Cohen & Witting

100 Back - 2nd = Cano, 4th = Gutierrez, 6th = freshman Zeb Clay

100 Breast - 3rd = Herrin, 5th = Balding, 6th = Brum

The Brickies are 2-2 on the season so far! They will join the girls against Munster/Lowell on Tuesday and Valparaiso on Thursday. WE BELIEVE!!!

#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING

Congratulations to our November Brickie Athletes of the Month! Thank you to all of our winter coaches for nominating so many outstanding kids!!

Adriana Arauz - Girls Wrestling

Anthony Hnilo - Boys Basketball

Luke Juris - Boys Wrestling

Cailey Weber - Girls Basketball

Keep up the good Work! Work! Work!

#EXCELLENTONPURPOSE

9th Girls Basketball @ Portage

9th Boys Basketball vs. Boone Grove

9th Wrestling @ Crown Point

Tuesday

Girls Wrestling vs. Portage/LC (SENIOR NIGHT)

Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Munster/Lowell *

Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Munster/Lowell *

Wednesday

Wrestling vs. Andrean/Rensselaer *

9th Boys Basketball vs. Hanover Central *

Thursday

Girls Swimming & Diving vs. Valparaiso

Boys Swimming & Diving vs. Valparaiso

Friday

Boys Basketball @ Lowell *

Saturday

Boys Wrestling @ Hobart Super Duals

Girls Basketball @ Andrean *

Girls Wrestling @ Munster Super Duals

Diving @ Warsaw Invite

* = NCC Opponent