BricksCenter

When this past week began, the Brickies were traveling full speed ahead (similar to all of the cars in the Indy 500) into postseason play ... Girls & Boys Track & Field were entering IHSAA Sectional round along with Girls Tennis and our Unified Track team ... plus Softball & Baseball were wrapping up the regular season ... you knew it was going to be EXCITING! I'd rather not give too much away here in the intro ... let's just say that the week lived up to the HYPE!!

A major purpose of high school sports ... education-based athletics ... is to learn life lessons. Probably one of the most critical ones is to sacrifice individual needs in order to do what's best for the team. We all do this in one way or the other on a daily basis - with our families, with our careers, etc. With it being Memorial Day Weekend, let us not forget the sacrifices made by so many for the greater good of this wonderful country we get to call home. Please be thankful for the freedoms we have and honor & remember those who died to provide them ... they didn't come free.

Ok, let's close down the grill ... it's time for BricksCenter!

Saturday morning over at Valparaiso High School, Hobart was one of 10 schools back at the IHSAA Sectional looking for some PRs and a chance to advance to the Regional for the 3rd straight year! In Unified Track & Field, individuals cannot advance on their own ...the only way to get to the Regional is by placing in the top 3 teams in the Sectional.

Well, let me tell you ... OUR KIDS SHINED BRIGHT!!!

Starting with the field events, Hobart got it going!! Sophomore Trinity Garcia finished 2nd in her flight of the long jump after leaping OVER A FOOT further than she'd ever jumped in her life!! WOW!! That was of course after senior Summer Luttrell DID THE SAME THING - jumped OVER A FOOT further than her previous season best!! Sophomore Josie Gray ALSO hit a HUGE PR by a WHOLE FOOT to place 4th in her flight and against THE BEST in the sectional, senior Jackson Butler landed in the sand 15'02" from the board, which was a SEASON BEST BY AN ENTIRE FOOT!! HOLY COW!!! FOUR BRICKIES WITH HUGE PRS to get some HUGE POINTS!!! In the shot put, senior Lindsey Neyhart, junior Jayden Garrett, and sophomores Odin Williams & Clark Otero each matched their season best and placed well in their respective flights!

When the running events began, the Brickies were FLYING!! In the 100m dash, Hobart AGAIN went 4-for-4 on PRS!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Seniors Josh Ewing & Maya Guzman, junior Bryce Kennard and freshman Aniveah Brown were FANTASTIC in hitting their fastest marks of the season!

For the 400, juniors Delaney Williams & Colton Galliher were AWESOME in the first section with Delaney finishing 2nd & Colton placing 4th - BOTH with 10+ second PRS!! In the 3rd section, junior Olivia McIntire dropped 9 seconds from her previous best and WON!! The final Brickie runner, sophomore Ariella Windsor, cut 7 seconds off her season best to cross the line in 2nd place with a BLISTERING 1:09.88!! WOW!!

Finally, in the 4x100m relays, our girls team, consisting of Windsor, Gray, sophomore Brooke Hawkins & freshman Jordyn Shanks WON the their section and our boys group, made up of Garrett, Williams, senior Micah Jennette & freshman Brody Kozel placed 2nd in theirs!

With all of these INCREDIBLE performances, the Brickies tallied 104 team points, which earned our kids 2nd place behind Kankakee Valley who scored 111 to win the title. The host Vikings were 3rd overall in the team standings with 99 in another REALLY close sectional ...Crown Point was 4th with 98 and places 5-8 were all in the 80s!

Next Saturday, KV, Hobart & Valparaiso will head to NorthWood High School for the IHSAA Regional! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO BRRRRRRRICKIEEEEEESSS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Jackie Keefe, Coach Kriste Bell, Coach James Landrum & Coach Kelly Butler ... and ALL of our Unified Athletes & Partners on qualifying for a 3RD STRAIGHT REGIONAL!! HERE COME THE BRICKS!!

#CHAMPIONSTOGETHER

Post-season excitement was in the air ... along with colder temps, rain & some wind ... as this was SECTIONAL WEEK for both the boys and girls tracksters. In order to advance to the REGIONAL in track & field, individuals or relays must finish in the top 3 places at the sectional OR be one of the next 4 fastest times/marks of all sectionals entering the regional. Competing in the toughest sectional in the "219", the Brickies were FANTASTIC and are sending a strong contingent to next week's REGIONALS!

Girls

On Tuesday, the Brickies served as host for the IHSAA Girls Track & Field Sectional for the second time in Hobart High School history! A year ago, it was cold & rainy. This year, somehow IT WAS THE SAME ... cold & rainy, but our girls were GREAT!! Overall, the Brickies finished 6th in the 11-team field and will be sending 3 INDIVIDUALS (in 5 events) to the Portage Regional on Tuesday! Senior thrower Taylor Pope defended her 2023 & 2024 Sectional crowns in the shot put by WINNING AGAIN with a throw of over 37-feet!! WOW - that's a 3-PEAT for Taylor!! As an encore, she then qualified in the discus as well! UNBELIEVABLE under those weather conditions!! Not to be outdone, junior Aalliah Otero WON a Sectional crown of her own in the 400m dash with a WINNING time of 1::00.53!! Prior to winning the 400, Aalliah had already secured a spot in the Regional by racing to 4th place in the 100m dash with a finishing time fast enough for a call-back!! Junior Joanna Cantu qualified for the Portage Regional for the 2nd consecutive year in the pole vault after clearing a height of 8'06" to earn 3rd overall! WHAT A PERFORMANCE from our girls!!

Also ... HUGE SHOUT OUT to all of our workers that made hosting the IHSAA Sectional - on a terrible night with weather - possible!

IHSAA Officials - Curt & Dorothy Parrish

Clerks - Betty Funkhouser, Tom Westberg & Aaron Butcher

Timing System/Camera - Ken Cawthon & Craig Osika

PA Announcer - Shaun Zoladz

Shot Put & Discus - Brian Wesley & Stephen Markos

Long Jump - Scott Swanson & Emily Sutton

High Jump - Michelle Caldwell & Isaiah Gransberry

Turn/Exchange Zones/Finish Line - Sam Romeo

Awards - Addy Black

Tickets - Jill MacDonald & Holly Shelton

Special thanks to our coaching staff - Ty Artherhults, Harley Teer, Cece Castillo, Stan Bell & Jim Johnston and to athletic admin assistant Pam Freimuth for everything they did leading up to and during the event!

Boys

On Thursday at Crown Point High School, the Brickies placed 5th overall and are sending 4 INDIVIDUALS and 2 RELAYS to the Valparaiso Regional on Thursday! Junior Adrian Stojkoski was FANTASTIC on Thursday over at CP as he placed in the in the top 4 in both the 100m (11.10) & 200m (22.38) dashes! Senior Deacon Caesar advanced for the first time in his career after placing 5th in the high jump and earning a callback! Classmate Kael Schlosser advanced via a callback in the long jump (21'07") after placing 5th in one of the toughest events of the night with the top 4 jumpers all surpassing the state standard mark! The final individual regional qualifier for the Bricks is senior Luke Juris after tossing the shot put 45'11" to place 4th and earn a callback to the regional! Joining Adrian, Deacon, Kael & Luke at Valpo next Thursday will be the 4x800m (seniors Kolin Gladney, Felix Lopez & Brett Davis and junior Durgon Click) and 4x400m (Stojkoski, Davis, Schlosser & senior Dillon Hatchett) Relay teams! WHAT A FANTASTIC NIGHT FOR OUR GUYS!!!

In order to advance to the IHSAA State Finals held at North Central High School on June 6th (Boys) & 7th (Girls), competitors must place in the top 3 at the Regional.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE BRICKIES BATTLING AT THE IHSAA REGIONALS THIS WEEK!

#RUNNINDOWNADREAM

This past week was SECTIONAL WEEK for the Brickies as Hobart hosted the 2025 IHSAA Girls Tennis Sectional. The girls from H-town have won 9 titles in school history ... and were focused in on chasing #10. Needless to say ... the excitement was real :)

Quarterfinal action was scheduled for Wednesday, but storms & wet court conditions caused a postponement to Thursday.

On Thursday, Andrean blanked Merrillville, North Newton did the same to River Forest and Lake Station swept the West Side Cougars.

On Friday afternoon, the Brickies finally got their shot to perform. After drawing a bye in the opening round, Hobart squared off with arch rival Andrean in the semifinal round while Lake Station faced North Newton. Back on May 12th, the 59ers defeated our girls 4-1 in a match that was closer than the score might indicate ... so everyone in attendance knew this one could come down to the wire. At #1 singles, senior Natalie Crowley was TERRIFIC ... falling behind 1-0 after dropping the first set 4-6 and then rallying to WIN the second set 7-5 to set up a tiebreaker! Unfortunately, her counterpart from Andrean had just enough gas in the tank to hold off one more rally from Natalie and won 6-3. At #1 doubles, play was INTENSE as seniors Isis Fleming & Addy Williams BATTLED with everything they had! After losing the first set 5-7 in a heartbreaker, Isis & Addy tried to fight back and even things up in the 2nd, but Andrean was too much to overcome and closed the door with a 6-2 win. The '9ers played extremely well at #2 & #3 singles ...along with #2 doubles ...to seize control of the match and ultimately ended the Lady Brickie season with a 5-0 defeat. It was a tough loss for the Bricks, but one where our girls left it all on the court ... all 5 varsity spots were terrific and represented H-town with PRIDE.

After besting the Brickies in the semifinals, Andrean cruised past Lake Station in the championship on Friday night ... starting the match 30 minutes after the semifinal round concluded. It was the 4th straight IHSAA Sectional crown for Andrean, who advances to Tuesday's IHSAA Regional @ LaPorte.

Hobart finished the season with an even 8-8 record. Overall, it was a good year for our girls - one where our seniors led the way with equal parts INTENSITY & SPORTSMANSHIP! Natalie Crowley, Isis Fleming & Addy Williams were impact players for Brickie tennis their entire careers and senior newcomer Alyssa Meinert did a great job in her first year playing!

THANK YOU to our coaches - Cade Brumley, Hannah Lucas & Bill Granzow - for leading our team so well and to all of our girls for giving their best effort day in and day out!!

#ACES

In the final week of the regular season, our girls had to contend with weather that felt more like early April as opposed to late May, but they still SHINED BRIGHT ON THE DIAMOND!!

On Monday, the Lady Bricks played their final home contest of the season against Westville. Against a solid Blackhawk squad, our girls scored a run in the first, three more in the 3rd, and kept manufacturing a run here and there the rest of the way to earn a really god 8-3 VICTORY!! Sophomore Aurora Ciesielski went 2-for-4 with a HOMERUN, 2 runs scored & 3 RBI!! Senior Ladan Weinman finished with 3 hits, 4 stolen bases and scored 3 runs ... classmate Addisyn Johnson registered 2 RBI and fellow senior Taylor Lopez picked up 2 hits in the win! Aurora and senior Elizabeth Crespo combined to strike out 5 batters while holding Westville to just 3 earned runs.

Tuesday night was supposed to be a road trip to Morgan Township, but poor weather conditions and a wet field caused a cancellation.

On Wednesday, the wheels on the bus were scheduled to go 'round & 'round to Hammond, but once again, rain and poor field conditions caused a postponement until Saturday morning.

Friday night brought a bus ride over to 5959 Broadway and a date with the Andrean 59ers. In their second meeting of the year, Andrean was locked on defense, held the Brickies to just 1 run and controlled play en route to a 10-1 NCC win. Hobart's lone run came off a solo HOMERUN from sophomore Addi Gaffin.

On Saturday morning, the Brickies were in Hammond to square off with the Lady Wolves of Hammond Central. Hobart wasted NO TIME in seizing control of this one ...scoring 8 runs in the opening inning and cruising to an easy 19-0 VICTORY!! WOW!! Addi Gaffin went 3-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI ...Addisyn Johnson finished with 2 hits and 3 RBI ... sophomore Lexi Turley and seniors Emili Knestrict & Indy Parkerson each also collected 2 hits in the lopsided win!

Hobart finished the regular season with a record of 12-14 and will begin IHSAA Sectional play on Wednesday night over at Chesterton. Our girls will play the 7pm game against the winner of Tuesday's contest between Portage & Merrillville. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#SHINEBRIGHTONTHEDIAMOND

The Brickie baseball team had 3 games dotting the landscape of their schedule for the final week of the regular season ...and our boys pulled off a CLEAN SWEEP!!

On Monday, the Bricks hosted the Lowell Red Devils in NCC play. The visitors scored a run in the top half of the first, but our boys responded with a 5 spot in the bottom half of the frame to take a 4-run lead! Lowell cut the deficit to 3-5 after scoring 2 more in the top of the 2nd, but once again our boys got the offense going and matched the Devils 2 runs to push the advantage back to 4 runs at 7-3! Play continued to go back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the game as each team tacked on a few more scores. Ultimately, it was the boys from H-town who GOT IT DONE and secured an exciting 9-7 VICTORY!! Senior Jayme Hairston was FANTASTIC at the plate going 2-for-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI! Classmates Aidan Leonard & Ben Sullivan also added 2 hits each along with junior Zach Terek in the win!

Tuesday was supposed to be a road trip to Lowell, but Mother Nature had other plans and forced a postponement to Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, it was GAME ON down at the new Lowell baseball complex and our boys SHINED in a 9-6 VICTORY!!

Thursday brought the regular season finale at Whiting where the Bricks played in at Oil City Stadium! Hobart scored 4 runs in the top half of the 2nd to gain a 5-1 cushion against a pesky group of Oilers ...then tacked on another run in the 4th and exploded for 6 in their final at bat to earn a convincing 12-1 win!! WOW! Sophomore Alex Mays went 2-for-5 with a double and 4 RBI ... classmate Brandon Stafford also collected 2 hits and junior Ethan Murchek finished with 2 RBI in the victory. Junior Gabe Gutierrez pitched the complete game and struck out 5 batters while not surrendering an earned run! Fun fact - Hobart stole 10 BASES for the game!!

Hobart finished the regular season with a record of 15-11 overall and 7-5 in NCC action. The Brickies will face Class 4A #16 Valparaiso on Friday in an IHSAA Sectional Semifinal starting at 5pm. DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!

#PUTMEINCOACHIMREADYTOPLAY

With three matches scheduled this past week ...and two of them taking place at the LONGEST course in NWI (Palmira), our boys were put to the test!

On Tuesday, the Brickies were on the road against Hanover Central at Palmira Golf Club in St. John. The host Wildcats were very comfortable on their home course and fired a team score of 177. The length of Palmira definitely caused some challenges for our guys, but the Bricks showed some poise and consistency! Sophomore Chase Dukes was the top scorer for the Brickies with an even 50 ...freshman MJ Scheldberg was next into the clubhouse with a 56 ...and sophomore AJ Garcia & junior Lu Cohen rounded out the scoring positions to finish with a team score of 233. The 233 was a little higher than our guys have been lately, but once again, Palmira's length can add some strokes to the best of the best.

Wednesday night was supposed to be the final home meet of the year for the Brickies ...a double-dual against River Forest & Tri-Township. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans and wet course conditions caused a postponement.

On Saturday morning, our boys were back in St. John at Palmira for the Lake Central Invite. On Tuesday, the Brickies only had to navigate 9 holes. For the Lou Iaconetti Memorial Invite, all 18 holes were in play. Dukes was once again the leader for the Brickies after traversing the course in just 102 strokes! Chase fired a 50 for 9 holes on Tuesday and then basically doubled it to 102 on Saturday ...now that's what I call consistency! For the 2nd time this past week, MJ Scheldberg was 2nd to sign his scorecard and he followed Chase's lead with consistent play to finish with a 112 - EXACTLY double what he shot on Tuesday on double the amount of holes! Garcia & Cohen were the #3 & #4 scorers and continued to show improvement!

The young Brickies are showing some serious growth this spring and their consistent play is proof! Hobart will be at Sherwood Golf Course on Tuesday for the Northwest Crossroads Conference Championship meet! GO GET 'EM GUYS!!

#BETHEBALL

#NANANANANANANANA

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 Monday, senior Luke Juris signed with Carroll University to continue his education and football career! The Pioneers are located in Waukesha, WI, compete in the NCAA Division III level and are members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Luke was an All-NCC performer on the gridiron for Hobart and will represent the Brickies in the IFCA North-South All-Star game this summer! He was also an All-NCC and STATE QUALIFYING grappler and will throw the shot put in the IHSAA Track & Field Regional on Thursday!! WOW - WHAT A CAREER IN PURPLE & GOLD!!

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

#COLLEGE

No Events Scheduled - Happy Memorial Day!

Tuesday

Girls Track & Field @ IHSAA REGIONAL (Hosted by Portage High School)

Boys Golf @ NCC CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

Wednesday

Softball @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Chesterton High School)

Thursday

Boys Track & Field @ IHSAA REGIONAL (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)

Friday

Baseball @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)

Softball @ IHSAA SECTIONAL (*If win on Wednesday)

Saturday

No Events Scheduled