Preps Plus

No Goodman for Dwenger

Senior John Goodman has been a no-show most of this season for the Bishop Dwenger boys track team.

He was absent the last two meets, the New Haven Relays and the SAC meet.

Apparently Goodman pulled a hamstring early in the season and has been shut down from competition.

A pretty good sprinter, Goodman needs to be healthy for his "day" job in the fall as a member of the Notre Dame football team.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Schipper-Shank showdown

The anticipated pole vault showdown at the SAC meet on Tuesday between Northrop's Corey Shank and Bishop Dwenger's Kevin Schipper pretty much fizzled as Schipper continues to win the head-to-head matchups with his rival.

After losing the state title last year to Shank, Schipper has beaten Shank four times this season.

Schipper went 16 feet, 4 inches, while Shank was at 16-0. Shank has the SAC meet record, set last year, at 16-7 1/4.

But Shank showed off some other skills, sprinting, of all things, when he led off Northrop's 400-meter relay team. The Bruins won the event in 43.14, and Shank looked good in a role you wouldn't expect out of a pole vaulter.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Media's 'tough' life?

Sometimes it isn't easy to be in the media.

At the end of the 100-meter dash at Tuesday's SAC track meet, a WANE-TV camera was filming at the end of the race when the runners went by.

But Wayne's Dejrick Smith collided with the cameraman, hitting him pretty hard and knocking him to the track.

Smith also went down, but both got up without any visable injuries, although Smith's jersey was ripped in the back.

The WANE cameraman just had to undertake a scolding from the PA announcer for being too close to the action.

Tommy Schoegler, from Indiana's NewsCenter, avoided the collison but wasn't without guilt after showing up the meet in chilly conditions with shorts and flip-flops.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

'Hoosiers' comes to Warsaw

The Warsaw public school board meeting Monday had the look of the movie "Hoosiers."

Right down to one of the stars of the movie was there. Well maybe not one of the stars, but someone who was in the movie in Warsaw dentist Steve Hollar.

The meeting was taking place to decide the fate of boys basketball coach Doug Ogle, who will be playing the part of Norman Dale. The vote will take place at a later meeting after an executive session.

Although the Warsaw board didn't take a vote on Ogle's future, they look poised to get rid of the seven-year coach.

Hollar referenced the movie and the famous scene where Dale was about to get fired in a town meeting until star player Jimmy Chitwood saved the day and Dale's job. Ogle had eight players at Monday's meeting, but it may not save his job.

Hollar mentioned in his three-plus minutes at the podium that the meeting wasn't about Hoosiers, and that the movie was indeed fictional, and it there wouldn't be a herioc Jimmy. He then begged of the board to not vote against Ogle.

We'll have to wait to see if there is a happy ending for Ogle.

There were about 40 speakers at the meeting, about 36 of them for Ogle and only four against. The list of people at the meeting was somewhat impressive, at least around these parts.

Some of these people spoke and some didn't, but among those in attendance were Ogle, his wife, mother, three daughters, eight Warsaw players, outgoing principal Jennifer Locke (who also reference the movie "Hoosiers"), incoming principal and former football coach Troy Akers, Warsaw announcer Ron Henry, Grace head coach Jim Kessler, Grace assistant coach and Columbia City graduate Matt Moore, Warsaw superfan Tom Edgar, NorthWood coach and former Warsaw assistant coach Aaron Wolfe, former Warsaw assistant coaches Tracy Furnivall and Dan Wray, assistant athletic director Dave Anson, 1985 Mr. Basketball Jeff Grose and retired Plymouth coach Jack Edison.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Indiana Rehm teams lack star power

Where have the superstars gone for Indiana in the Nancy Rehm/Border Wars Classic?

The best from northeast Indiana have lost three straight in the boys games, and two straight for the girls.

The go-to players have all been on the Ohio side of the stateline.

Ohio swept Indiana again, winning the boys game 104-81 and the girls, 82-81.

Indiana has had some good, solid players recently but none of the awe-striking players of the past. And it has shown in the results of the games.

And the last two years, the team chemistry on the boys side has been really bad. The Ohio boys, on the other hand, have played together like they have done it all their lives.

Maybe it is just a cycle thing. Maybe it will come back around for Indiana.

The home crowds at Indiana Tech probably hope it is sometime soon.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Ogle's status shaky at Warsaw

It looks like Warsaw boys basketball coach Doug Ogle might be on his way out.

A special school board meeting has been called for Monday at 6 p.m. at the high school to discuss Ogle's future as coach.

The word is the board has enough votes to oust Ogle.

It all seems odd because Ogle is 78-54 in seven seasons since replacing Al Rhodes as coach. He has won two sectional titles in the class basketball era, and that's one more than Rhodes. He finished 14-9 last year with a young team led by freshman point guard Nic Moore and junior forward Ryne Robinson.

Apparently Warsaw has a solid eighth grade team and is set for the future.

But that future might be without Ogle.

Ogle's status traces back to the day Mason and Miles Plumlee left Warsaw for a prep school in South Carolina a couple of years ago. The Plumlees never saw eye to eye with Ogle and took their talent and height out of town.

And now, the Plumlees are bound for big-time Division I programs (Mason to Duke and maybe Stanford for Miles). Despite signing with the Cardinal, the word is that Miles wants out of his scholarship after Stanford hired Johnny Dawkins as coach.

But back to Ogle.

He has never been able to live up to Rhodes' reputation, which really wasn't that spotless when he left four years ago. He wasn't winning as he did during the 1980s and 1990s. Class basketball and Rhodes are not a good match.

Now Rhodes, who spent two years at Logansport, is back in this part of the state at Northrop. There are some in the Warsaw community who want him back, and the best way to do that is to get rid of Ogle. Another hot rumor is that some Warsaw big-wigs went to a lot of Northrop games last season in an effort to woo Rhodes.

We'll see what happens Monday.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Luers boys tourney-bound next year

Apparently having one of the best players in the nation and a state championship is going to give the Bishop Luers boys basketball team a chance at more exposure next season.

The Class 2A state champion Knights have accepted invitations to two prestiguous tournaments next season, including one out of state.

Luers (24-3) will be part of the Windy City Classic on Dec. 20 on the Loyola of Chicago campus.

Also, Luers will again play in the Circle City Classic on Dec. 13, this time at Southport. Last year, the Knights lost to Indianapolis Howe 69-53 in the Circle City Classic at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

“We have turned down many others,” Bishop Luers athletic director Matt Lindsay said of the offers to play in tournaments.

Luers will lose only one senior from last year’s 2A title team and will have the services of sophomore Deshaun Thomas, who recently won the Tiffany Gooden Award as the SAC’s top player and became the first sophomore to win the award. Thomas, who recently played in the Real Deal tournament in Arkansas with his AAU team Indy Spiece Heat, is ranked in the top three in the nation of sophomores by most rankings and has a soft oral commitment to Ohio State.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Churubusco coach wins 400th game

Churubusco baseball coach Mark Grove won his 400th and 401st career games Saturday at the Wawasee Baseball tournament.

Churubusco beat Whitko 9-0 for win No. 400, and then beat Wawasee 7-6 in the championship game for win No. 401.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Big brother beats up on the younger one

It was a one-sided sibling rivalry Thursday when Mark Harmon's Blackhawk Christian baseball team beat Matt Harmon's South Side team 21-4.

Mark is Matt's older brother and former coach at Blackhawk. It was the first coaching matchup between the two Harmon brothers.

Matt is in his first season at South Side, where Mark coached before he got the position at Blackhawk. Mark has now won two state titles.

The Harmons' father, Joe, was in the stands at Blackhawk watching the game.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Fremont's near-record output

The Fremont baseball team missed some state records by less than a week.

The Eagles (7-0, 3-0 NECC) racked up some impressive numbers in a 39-1 five-inning romp over Hamilton on Thursday, but because of a game played on Tuesday most of them will not be state records.

Fremont had 36 hits and 59 total bases against the Marines (2-4) and both tied the previous state record. But because of Union’s 53-0 win over Eminence on Tuesday, the marks are second in the state. Union (Dugger) had 40 hits and 63 total bases in its Tuesday win.

The only state record to hold up for Fremont was extra base hits in an inning (7), tying DeKalb (1988), Southwestern (1988), Churubusco (2003) and Norwell (2007).

But in the Eagles’ big win, they also had marks that will rank high in state history with 39 runs (tied, fourth) and 36 RBI in a game (third).

In the win over Hamilton, Fremont scored 25 runs in the second inning to go along with 11 in the first and three in the fifth. The Eagles had six home runs, including a grand slam from Shane Trisco.

Gabe Panyard and Aaron Bressler were both 6 for 7.

The runs, hits and home runs in the game were all school records for Fremont.

And lost in the hitting barrage, Ryan Palmerton (3-0) threw a no-hitter against the Marines.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette