Well ... Friday was Valentine's Day ... a holiday recognized every February 14th to celebrate love. It seems only appropriate to acknowledge how much we love sports on a weekend like this ... particularly when talking about the Brickies! Don't you think?

We love sports because they bring out the best in us ... making us courageous, confident, and strong. We love sports because they teach us about perseverance, hard work, and the value of both winning and losing. The thrill of victory ... the agony of defeat ... unfolding right before our eyes. A full range of emotions worn on our proverbial sleeves as we sit on the edge of our seats trying to soak up every moment. Yep ... sports can do that to us ... that's why we love them so!

We could go on and on ... but the bottom line is this - we love sports ... and each time we cheer on the Brickies, all of those emotions come to the surface ... particularly this time of year! This past week alone saw our boys cagers in action twice, our gymnasts celebrate an outstanding senior & her family, and our boys grapplers putting it all on the line for a chance to punch their ticket to the IHSAA State Finals!

Now that we've said how we feel ... it's time for BricksCenter!

Boys

On Saturday, 224 wrestlers representing 56 different schools descended upon East Chicago High School and the John Baratto Center for the IHSAA Wrestling SEMI STATE competition! All 9 Brickies in attendance would be put to the test against the best around to see who was left standing with their hand raised. Each weight class had 16 competitors. The top 4 individuals in each class advance to the STATE FINALS next weekend at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. In order to punch their ticket, a wrestler needed to win their first 2 matches on the day. Here we go!

The Brickies earned 4 wins in first round action as seniors Daniel Mata & Seth Aubin each won by Fall with first period pins and juniors Aiden Granger & Luke Juris each won by Major Decision to advance to the ticket round! The "ticket round" was INTENSE. The Brickies ... as our boys have done all year ... wrestled with EVERYTHING they had! Mata FOUGHT to the final buzzer in his ticket round bout ... ultimately losing an absolute heart-breaker 4-3 to the eventual semi-state champion from Crown Point. Aubin BATTLED like the true champion he has been throughout his entire career, but unfortunately ran into the #1-ranked wrestler in Indiana @ 126 from Crown Point and lost via tech-fall at the end of the 2nd round. His opponent from CP went on the win the semi-state. After two really tough defeats, Hobart saw the sun shine again when Granger & Juris earned hard-fought VICTORIES and each punched their ticket to the STATE FINALS!!

Here are their stories ...

At 190 lbs, junior Aiden Granger ... after winning by major decision (11-2) in the 1st round ... finished regulation in the ticket round with an 8-8 tie and went into OT! Aiden scored a THHRREEEEEEEEE point takedown in SUDDEN VICTORY and WON 11-8 to secure his spot in the STATE FINALS!! WOW!! Aiden lost a tough match in the semifinals, but BATTLED BACK in the consolation finals to finish 3rd after winning a grueling 10-4 bout! For his 3rd place finish, Aiden will head to the IHSAA State Finals for the first time in his high school career! GREAT JOB AIDEN!!

At 285 lbs, junior Luke Juris ... who advanced into the ticket round after winning his first match by major decision (12-2) ... controlled the action early and WON BY FALL in just 1:13 of the first period to punch his ticket to STATE! UNBELIEVABLE! In the semifinals, Luke lost a tough one 6-2 and then USED EVERY OUNCE OF ENERGY in his body in the consolation final to force a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation to force OT! Exhausted after a long & intense day of competition, Luke suffered a take down in Sudden Victory and ultimately finished 4th.

This will also be Luke's first trip to the IHSAA State Finals! GREAT JOB LUKE!!

Overall, Hobart placed 10th on the day as a team. Crown Point won the title in dominating fashion with 252 team points ... nearly 150 more than the 2nd place team, Portage. Next weekend, the Brickies will take TWWWOOOOOOOOOOOO wrestlers to Indianapolis for the STATE FINALS!! DON'T STOP NOW BOYS!!

#WORKWORKWORK

Boys

On Tuesday night, the Brickies welcomed Valparaiso to The Friendly City for a non-conference matchup against the IHSAA Sectional hosts. In the first quarter, Hobart was LOCKED IN! Junior Jordan Johnson dialed long distance on our first possession and BURIED a 3 from the right corner to put the Bricks ahead 3-0! After 8 minutes of play, Hobart still led 10-9 and it was Johnson AGAIN who scored the first bucket of the 2nd quarter to get the lead back to 3 at 12-9!! Over the next 7 minutes, the Vikings "righted their ship" and moved in front for a 28-19 halftime advantage. Unfortunately, that's as close as our boys would get the rest of the way. Valpo scored the first 7 points of the 3rd quarter, seemingly hit every shot they took the remainder of the contest to outscore the Bricks 42-15 in the second half and left town with a 70-34 win. Senior Aidan Leonard was the lone Brickie in double-figures with 11 points to go along with his team-high 7 rebounds. Johnson finished with 7 points & 3 assists in the loss.

Thursday was RIVALRY NIGHT as the Andrean 59ers strolled into town undefeated in NCC play and 13-6 overall on the year. Similar to Tuesday's game vs Valpo, the Brickies got on the board first when senior Felix Lopez BURED a 3-pointer! The '9ers scored 11 of the next 14 points and held an 11-6 advantage at the end of the first period of play. In the 2nd stanza, Hobart got some offense going ...outscored Andrean 16-13 to cut the deficit to just 2 at 22-24 heading into the halftime locker room!! Leonard even opened the 3rd quarter with an "And One" to put Hobart ahead 25-24, but the 59ers rattled off 11 straight to move in front 35-25 ...forcing a time out by the Brickies. Unfortunately, that's as close as this one would be for the remainder of the game. In a near repeat of Tuesday's contest where Valpo could do no wrong in the 2nd half, the 59ers kept it going after the TO ...poured in 47 points over the final two quarters and won 71-41. Leonard had another double-double with 17 points & 13 rebounds in the loss.

Hobart is now 7-13 overall and 1-4 in NCC play. Our boys will be on the road twice this upcoming weekend with games @ Highland on Friday and @ Merrillville on Saturday.

GOOD LUCK GUYS!! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!

#BALLISLIFE

On Monday night, the Brickies hosted Portage, Lowell and an individual from Washington Township for SENIOR NIGHT! Before competition began, Hobart senior Elizabeth Crespo and her parents (...coaches Jen & Jose Crespo) were recognized for commitment dedicated to the Brickie gymnastics program throughout the last 4 years and more! Once the competition did get underway, OUR GIRLS SHINED BRIGHT!! Sophomore Kaya Goodpaster placed 4th on the beam and 8th in the All-around and classmate Natalia Lucio finished 5th on bars. Another super sophomore, Avrie Robb, was 7th in the all-around and senior Elizabeth Crespo - on senior night - earned 7th on the vault! Overall, Portage took home first place in the event due to Hobart, Lowell & Washington Twp each having less than a full squad competing in all events. Still, the two Brickies (Kaya & Avrie) who were able to participate in each event DOMINATED Lowell 85.200 to 62.625 - WOW!!

Hobart will be back in action on Tuesday in the Hub City (Crown Point) to face the defending IHSAA State Champion Bulldogs. GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

#STICKIT

No competition this past week for the Brickies, but that doesn't mean our kids weren't in the water. The IHSAA Sectional prelims begin Thursday night over at Valparaiso High School for our boys. Diving starts Saturday morning followed by the finals that afternoon. GOOD LUCK!!

#JUSTKEEPSWIMMING

#LICENSETODIVE

Girls Track & Field - First Official Practice

Boys Track & Field - First Official Practice

Tuesday

Gymnastics @ Crown Point

Wednesday

No Events Scheduled

Thursday

Boys Swimming & Diving @ IHSAA SECTIONAL PRELIMS (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)

Friday

Boys Basketball @ Highland *

Saturday

Boys Wrestling @ IHSAA STATE FINALS (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis)

Boys Swimming & Diving @ IHSAA SECTIONAL FINALS (Hosted by Valparaiso High School)

Boys Basketball @ Merrillville

* = NCC Opponent