A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...

It was a period of Spring Sports. Brickie athletes, competing with everything they had, won many victories against the evil Galactic Empire!

Ok, maybe I'm taking this a little too far, far away ...but the way our kids are competing this spring, it offers A New Hope! This past week alone saw a baseball tribute, exciting action on the softball diamond, track & field excellence, a Force Awakened on the golf course, tennis battling an Attack of the Clones, boys volleyball trying to take Revenge on the Sith, and our Unified kids making a Return of the Bricki!!! :)

All jokes aside, it really was a GREAT WEEK TO BE A BRICKIE!

May the 4th Be With You ... it's time for BricksCenter!

On Monday night, Hobart traveled across I-65 to face the Merrillville Pirates ...and this one was ALL BRICKIES!!! Our girls scored 6 runs in the first inning ... 4 more in the 2nd ... and then scored a TOUCHDOWN (7) in the 3rd! WOW!! The Brickies were definitely puttin' on the hits en route to an easy 21-3 VICTORY! Sophomore Kylie Bulatovich went 3-for-3 with a homerun and 2 RBI ... classmate Addi Gaffin went 2-for-4 with a homerun and 5 RBI ... senior Hallie Pendleton, juniors Natalyn Queer & Riley Weber and sophomore Maria Williams each also collected 2 hits as the Bricks wracked up 20 as a team in the non-conference win!

The Brickies were on the road on Wednesday night down at Kankakee Valley. To open things up, KV scored 3 runs in the bottom half of the first inning to take an early lead. Hobart RALLIED in the top of the 2nd with 4 runs to move in front 4-3!! Unfortunately, the Kougars offense was just getting warmed up as the hosts plated 8 more runs in the bottom half of the frame and never looked back in a 19-6 win. Sophomore Aurora Ciesielski went 1-for-2 with a HOMERUN & 3 RBI and senior Emili Knestrict finished with a double & 2 RBI. Juniors Sierra Teal & Riley Weber ...along with sophomore Addi Gaffin ...each recorded 1 hit in the conference defeat.

Thursday @ Griffith was a BATTLE! The two former NCC foes brought their D-D-D-DEFENSE as each team had to WORK WORK WORK HARD to put runners on the basepads and try to bring someone home. The Panthers scored one in the 2nd inning and the Brickies tied things up in the 4th at 1-1. Exactly ZERO runs came in over the next 3 innings thanks to a GREAT defensive effort by both squads ... which means we got the BONUS PLAN - EXTRA INNINGS!! In the top half of the 8th, Hobart manufactured a go-ahead run that ended up being the GAME WINNER as the Brickie defense SHUT DOWN any hopes of a Griffith comeback! Final Score: Hobart 2, Griffith 1 .... WOW! Ciesielski & Bulatovich each had doubles and senior Taylor Lopez registered the only RBI in the exciting win! Senior Elizabeth Crespo and sophomore Emma McIntire combined to pitch 8 strong innings while only surrendering 3 hits and striking out 5!!!

Hobart is now 6-7 overall ... UNDEFEATED at 6-0 in non-conference games and 0-7 in the TOUGH Northwest Crossroads Conference. Our girls will be back at it Monday at home against Valparaiso - GO GET 'EM GIRLS!!

#SHINEBRIGHTONTHEDIAMOND

On Monday night, the Brickies welcomed Kankakee Valley and Indiana University recruit Alex Barr to The Friendly City. Several major league scouts were in attendance (Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillis) to see Barr on the mound and he was impressive in 5 innings of work with 9 strikeouts, 1 walk & 0 hits. On the flip side, Hobart senior Connor Stafford was JUST AS IMPRESSIVE as he matched the future Big 10 prospect pitch for pitch! Connor threw 7.2 innings, struck out a CAREER HIGH 11 batters, only gave up 3 hits and didn't allow a run either! With the score tied at 0-0 through 7 innings, we got the BONUS PLAN and an EXTRA INNING!! In the top half of the 8th, Stafford retired the first 2 batters and then freshman Michael Klaich came on in relief to retire the side! In the bottom half of the frame, Stafford ... who also went 2-for-4 at the plate ... singled to get on base and eventually worked his way to 3rd. With 2 outs, senior Ben Sullivan stepped up to the plate and hit one towards the mound. The Kougar pitcher had difficulty fielding it cleanly and made an errant throw towards first base. Ben was SPRINTING down the baseline and beat the throw ...which allowed Stafford to SCORE THE GAME WINNER in WALK-OFF FASHION!!! WHAT A GAME!! WHAT A FINISH!!!

Tuesday was game #2 against the Kougars, but this time the location was down in DeMotte. Through 3 innings of play, the hosts held a 2-0 lead after scoring in both the 1st & 3rd innings. Over the NEXT 3 innings, our boys put on their rally caps, brought runners home in all 3 frames, and STORMED past the Kougars to take a 6-2 advantage!! KV was able to add 1 run in their final at bat, but it wasn't enough as the Brickies held on for a 6-3 COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY!!! Stafford, classmates Jayme Hairston & Aidan Leonard, and sophomore Donio Pimentel each had 2 hits in the win! Sophomore Connor Kenjic struck out 6 batters in 6 innings of work on the bump to help our boys win their 2nd in a row!

On Thursday, Hobart hosted the Boone Grove Wolves and faced their 2nd Indiana University commit of the week in pitcher Javy Carrera. Also for the 2nd time in the same week, multiple MLB scouts were in attendance to take in the ballgame and see what kind of stuff Carrera had. Well ... for the 2nd time this week, there was NO BACKDOWN from the Brickies!! After Boone Grove scored 1 run in the first, senior Connor Stafford singled in the first at bat against Carrera and an inning later, his brother Brandon singled to bring in a run and tie the game at 1-1! Fast forward to the 6th inning, Hobart was facing a 4-2 deficit when Jayme Hairston hit a 2-run single to left field to tie things up at 4-4!!! Unfortunately, the Wolves responded with 4 runs in the top half of the 7th and went on to win 8-4 as the Bricks could not mount a 3rd rally. Brandon Stafford and Donio Pimentel each recorded two hits in the loss.

Friday was the end of a busy week for our boys and to top it off, the mighty Chesterton Trojans visited The Friendly City for a varsity-jv doubleheader. The visiting Trojans brought their "A" game, scored 9 runs in the first 3 innings and left town with a 13-2 win. A lone bright spot for the Brickies was Connor Kenjic who went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Hobart is currently 8-9 on the year and an even 4-4 in NCC action after sweeping the KV Kougars. Our boys will be back in action Monday against the Morton Governors. LET'S GO BRICKS!!

#PUTMEINCOACHIMREADYTOPLAY

A week ago, the Brickies had two matches and showed a drastic improvement from the first (241) to the second (217). With the wheels of the golf cart appearing to move in the right direction, the goal for this young group this week was to KEEP IMPROVING!

On Tuesday against Portage, River Pointe showed no mercy on our guys as the Indians controlled the match at all 5 varsity spots on their way to a 165-240 win. The top for scorers for Hobart were freshman MJ Scheldberg (55), and sophomores Chase Dukes (59), Gavin Roper (61) and Zach Radencich (65). A side note: junior Lu Cohen made his golf debut on the JV with a round of 66!

Remember what happened last week? Our guys shot a 241 and then torched the course their next time out with a 217? Well - LET'S DO IT AGAIN!! On Wednesday at Wicker Park in Highland, the Brickies got BACK ON TRACK with a BLAZING 211! WOW!! Chase Dukes ... in just his 4th match EVER ... signed his scorecard 9 strokes below his season average with a 46! UNBELIEVABLE!! He was backed up by Roper with a 50 (3 strokes below his season average), Scheldberg with a 56 and sophomore Trevor Paterson with a 59 (also 3 strokes below his season average)! WHAT A PERFORMANCE! MJ Scheldberg even made the FIRST BIRDIE for the team this spring!! Unfortunately, the Trojans traversed the course in just 182 strokes to earn the W, but WHAT AN EFFORT by our guys to STAY FOCUSED and KEEP WORKING TO IMPROVE!!

For the season, our boys are improving by leaps & bounds each week! Golf is a tough game no matter who you are or where you're playing. The Brickies are DRIVEN and DETERMINED to stay the course and finish better than they started! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK BOYS!!

#BETHEBALL

#NANANANANANANANA

Monday afternoon, the Brickies hosted the Valparaiso Vikings in a match that was originally scheduled to be played waaaaaaaaaaaay back on April 9th. Hobart was competitive against the Region powerhouse, but couldn't get much momentum going as the Vikings kept our girls off-balance all match long and left town with a 5-0 win.

On Tuesday, the wheels on the bus went 'round and 'round to Highland for a key NCC matchup between the Brickies & host Trojans. After a tough match on Monday against Valpo, how would our girls respond? LIKE CHAMPIONS!!!! Senior Natalie Crowley and juniors Emily Cicillian & Leilani Venegas gave Hobart a CLEAN SWEEP in singles play as all three won in straight sets! The "W" was particularly sweet for Emily as she avenged an earlier loss this season at our own Hobart Invite to the same Highland player :). Seniors Isis Fleming & Addy Williams also CRUISED to a 6-1, 6-0 straight set victory @ #1 doubles to give the Bricks a 4-1 VICTORY!!!

Wednesday night in LaPorte, the Bricks squared off with the Slicers from the Duneland Athletic Conference. In a TOUGH match, only the #1 dubs team of Fleming & Williams was able to secure a win for the Brickies in the 1-4 loss.

On Thursday, the Brickies were scheduled to play @ NCC frontrunner Munster, but an early afternoon rain shower caused a postponement due to wet court conditions. No reschedule date has been determined yet.

Hobart is currently 7-3 on the year and boast a 3-1 record in NCC play! The Brickies will be back on the court Monday vs Whiting for SENIOR NIGHT! GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#ACES

The Brickies only had 2 games this past week ... @ Bishop Noll on Tuesday and a home contest vs Andrean on Thursday. In both matchups, our boys were competitive, but ultimately suffered defeat by a 3-0. The home contest against Andrean on Thursday was also SENIOR NIGHT for the Brickies! Prior to competition beginning, Hobart recognized senior players Sebastian Robledo & Levi Snyder along with manager Kylee Hite! THANK YOU to our seniors for EVERYTHING you've done to help get Hobart boys volleyball up and running these last 3 years as the sport has gone from "emerging" to "sanctioned" by the IHSAA!!

#SERVINGNOTICE

On Tuesday night, the Brickies were in Munster for another HUGE Northwest Crossroads Conference meet. Hobart faced both the host Mustangs and the Lowell Red Devils in a double dual ...and our kids SHINED!!! On a night that started out warm and ended up cold (pretty typical for NWI in April), our boys & girls combined to have 64 PERSONAL BEST PERFORMANCES!! WOW!! A week ago the Brickies had 63 down at Hanover Central. FANTASTIC JOB BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS!! UNBELIEVABLE!!

For the girls specifically, juniors Aalliah Otero (400) & Joanna Cantu (pole vault), sophomore Natalie Vera (800), and freshman Rylee Christman (300 hurdles) each won individual events to help Hobart earn a split for the night! The Bricks BLASTED the Devils 82-49, but fell to the Mustangs 40-83.

On the boys side, senior Willy "The Jet" Shearer was a MONSTER in winning 3 individual events (100, 200 & 400) & sophomore Bryce Tolliver (110 & 300 hurdles) won two to help our guys stay UNDEFEATED in NCC competition at 4-0!! Seniors Felix Lopez (3200), Kael Schlosser (long jump) & Patrick O'Connor (shot put) ...along with sophomore Nathan Sobczynski (pole vault) each won one to keep our boys in the hunt for a TITLE!

Final scores: Hobart 72, Lowell 56 & Hobart 90, Munster 40.

Here are some results from Tuesday:

Girls

100m Hurdles - freshman Rylee Christman - 2nd, sophomore Love Jimenez - 3rd, , sophomore Kayla Huitron - 6th

100m Dash - junior Aalliah Otero - 3rd, freshman Ella Lopez - 5th

1600m Run - freshman Lilliana Lopez - 3rd, junior Millie Massey - 6th

400m Dash - Otero - 1st, senior Olivia Alexander - 5th

300m Hurdles - Christman - 1st

800m Run - sophomore Natalie Vera - 1st, freshman Khloe Reyes - 2nd

200m Dash - E. Lopez - 3rd

3200m Run - L. Lopez - 5th, Massey - 6th

High Jump - freshman Ava Kowalisyn - 3rd, freshman Peyton Cotton - 4th

Shot Put - senior Taylor Pope - 3rd, junior Bre Zon - 4th

Discus - Pope - 2nd, Zon - 5th

Pole Vault - junior Joanna Cantu - 1st, sophomore Hannah Cherven - 3rd

Boys

110m Hurdles - sophomore Bryce Tolliver - 1st, freshman Dontay Robinson Jr - 5th

100m Dash - senior Willy "The Jet" Shearer - 1st., junior Adrian Stojkoski - 3rd, senior Kael Schlosser - 4th

1600m Run - senior Kolin Gladney - 2nd, senior Felix Lopez - 3rd

400m Dash - Shearer - 1st, junior Durgon Click - 5th

300m Hurdles - Tolliver - 2nd, Schlosser - 3rd

800m Run - senior Dane Homoky - 2nd, senior Alphonse Parker - 5th

200m Dash - Shearer - 1st, Stojkoski - 2nd, senior Dillon Hatchett - 4th

3200m Run - Lopez - 1st, Gladney - 3rd

Long Jump - Schlosser - 1st, sophomore Nathan Sobczynski - 2nd

High Jump - senior Deacon Caesar - 1st, freshman Jovan Hernandez - 7th

Shot Put - senior Patrick O'Connor - 1st, senior Luke Juris - 4th

Discus - O'Connor - 5th, freshman Jenson Laffoon - 6th

Pole Vault - Sobczynski - 1st

Friday night, Hobart headed East to Lakeville, IN to compete in the LaVille Lancer Relays! Against a VERY competitive field, the Bricks finished in the middle of the pack in the team scores, but had some FANTASTIC FINISHES!!

Hobart will host Highland & Kankakee Valley on Tuesday in the final meet of the regular season. Our boys are 4-0 in NCC action and our girls are even at 2-2. Tuesday's meet could go a long way in determining who is the frontrunner at the NCC Championship Meet on 5/13 ... also hosted by Hobart High School!

#TRACKINCAREOFBUSINESS

Unified Track & Field is an IHSAA sanctioned sport that combines athletes of all abilities—those with or without intellectual disabilities. It’s an adaptation of traditional track & field events, designed to create an inclusive environment where everyone can come together to compete. The IHSAA officially began holding Unified events in 2013-2014 and the Brickies joined the fun in 2018-2019. Thanks to a lot of hard WORK WORK WORK and a lot of AMAZING kids & coaches, our program has grown from just 13 kids that first year to 30+ each year!

The Brickies were on the road Thursday @ Kankakee Valley to compete against both the host Kougars and the Griffith Panthers in our 2nd meet of the year ...and our kids SHINED BRIGHT!! Some highlights from the meet include our girls WINNING the 4x100m Relay with junior Olivia McIntire, sophomores Ariella Windsor & Brooke Hawkins, & freshman Jordyn Shanks crossing the finish line in 1:09.21!! Senior Jackson Butler finished 4th overall in the Mixed 400m Dash and Windsor placed 6th! In the field events, Butler (4th) and sophomore Zayden Syler (3rd) both earned top 10 finishes in the Shot Put AND in the Long Jump (Butler - 6th, Syler - 10th)!!

Hobart will be back in action on Thursday @ Crown Point. YOU'VE GOT THIS BRICKIES!! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!

#CHAMPIONSTOGETHER

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 ...and recently, we've been celebrating A LOT!!

On Wednesday, we got the opportunity to CELEBRATE two Brickie seniors as they signed on the dotted line to continue their academic & athletic careers at the NEXT LEVEL!

At 5pm in the board room, senior Skyler Kitchen signed with Trine University to be part of their Acrobatics & Tumbling team! The Thunder compete at the NCATA (National Collegiate Acrobatic & Tumbling Association) Division III level. Skyler has been on the Hobart gymnastics team and was a 4-year letterwinner in cheer!

At 6pm in the board room, senior Willy "The Jet" Shearer signed on to compete in track & field at Wabash College! The Little Giants compete in the NCAA Division III level and are members of the NCAC (North Coast Athletic Conference). Willy has had a decorated career for the Brickies earning ALL-NCC honors 2x in Football and more times than I can count in Track & Field as well as being a 2024 IHSAA State Finalist!

CONGRATULATIONS SKYLER & WILLY!! WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU AND EXTREMELY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO AT THE NEXT LEVEL!!

#COLLEGE

CONGRATULATIONS to Brickie sophomore Aleks Tatum for being selected to serve on the IHSAA Student Advisory Committee! The IHSAA began sponsoring the Student Advisory Committee (SAC) in 2001-2002. The SAC was initially created to give student-athletes a direct voice and hands-on experience within the IHSAA. The committee now also serves as a resource for schools to form their own SAC groups. The IHSAA Student Advisory Committee itself is composed of 18 members ... 9 seniors & 9 juniors.

Responsibilities include the following:

• Attend four meetings per year
• Attend Annual Fall Retreat
• Attend an IHSAA State Championship during each season (fall, winter, and spring)
• In addition, attend Football and Basketball State Championships
• Plan and attend a Fall Area Student Meeting
• Plan and attend the annual IHSAA Student Leadership Conference

Aleks was one of roughly 90 applicants in early March ... was one of 21 finalists to interview and one of just 9 who were selected to join! He is the FIRST Brickie to serve on this committee in it's 20+ years of existence!!

CONGRATULATIONS ALEKS!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!

#EXCELLENTONPURPOSE

Softball vs Valparaiso (V+JV)

Boys Golf vs Lowell *

Girls Tennis vs Whiting (SENIOR NIGHT)

Baseball vs Morton

Boys Volleyball @ Morton

JV Baseball @ Morton

Tuesday

Girls Track & Field vs Highland/KV *

Boys Track & Field vs Highland/KV *

Girls Tennis vs Griffith

Boys Golf vs Wheeler

Softball @ Highland (V+JV) *

Wednesday

Softball vs Hanover Central *

Baseball @ Hammond Central

Boys Volleyball @ KV *

Boys Golf @ KV *

JV Baseball vs Hammond Central

Thursday

Baseball @ New Prairie

Unified Track & Field @ Crown Point

Boys Volleyball @ Munster *

Boys Golf @ Griffith

JV Baseball vs New Prairie

Friday

Softball @ Twin Lakes Tournament

Saturday

Softball @ Twin Lakes Tournament

Girls Tennis @ New Prairie Invite

JV Baseball @ LaPorte

* = NCC Opponent