by Gary Andrews

Greg Martz. current athletic director at Frontier High School will be recommended at the April 14, Wabash City School board meeting to replace Matt Stone as the Wabash athletic director next year.

Stone will be moving to the central office as Chief Business Officer.

by Gary Andrews

The Wabash and Southwood softball teams met Wednesday with both teams looking to pick up their first win of the season. With the game being tight the entire time, Wabash used a two run seventh inning for a come from behind 4-3 win.

Wabash took the early lead in the first. With Chloe Mullett and Montana Castro on first and third after a Castro single, Destiny Collins flew out to center field, driving home Mullett for a 1-0 lead after one.

The Knights would even things up in the second. Logan Hensley started things off with a single and after a pop up Jessica Foley was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Makayla Ridegeway then drew a walk to load the bases and after a strike out Abby Grossnickle walked to force home a run and tie the game.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood boys’ track team topped North Miami, 72 – 46 Tuesday, April 1.  First place winners included the 3200 Meter Relay Team; Brett Wyatt, Aaron Ross; Kyle Porter; Zach Hobson; Alex Harmon ; Michael Lengel; and the 1600 Meter Relay Team.  Seconds went to Logan Paris; Lengel; Justin Lawson; Ross; Jon Berlier; Porter and Braden Hobbs.  Thirds went to Hobbs, Josiah Friedersdorf; Jeffrey Finicle, Kale Weiss; Keaton Weiss; Harmon, Wyatt and Brenden Schleining.

The girls’ track team bettered North Miami 81-36.

4×8: (White, Heath, Bowman, Lehner) 1st, High Jump: Ashley Parson 2nd, Lexi Bricker 3rd, Long Jump: Kassity Atwood 2nd, 100M: Lexi Brickner 1st, Mariah Paris 3rd, 110H: Makenna Dawes 1st, Ashely Parson 2nd, 200M: Lexi Brickner 1st, Ashely Parson 3rd,300H: Makenna Dawes 1st, Amy Bowman 2nd,400: Kassity Atwood 1st, Ellie White 2nd,800: Emily Lehner 1st, Taylor Heath 3rd,1600: Amy Bowman 1st, Taylor Heath 3rd,3200: Haley Heath 1st,4×4: (Atwood, Brickner, White, Lehner) 1st,Shot Put: Mariah Paris 1st, Grace Whitham 3rd,Discus: Bailey Hobbs 1st, Grace Whitham 2nd.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood varsity baseball team went on the road to open their season at Northwestern Tuesday, April 1, with the offense exploding for 15 runs in a 15-6 win.

Down 2-0 heading to the second the Knights put 4 runs on the board to take a 4-2 lead, but quickly fell behind again when Northwestern scored 3 in the bottom of the inning to lead 5-4.

The Knights bats would go off in the third and fourth, scoring 4 in the third and 5 in the fourth to lead 13-6. Southwood would score 2 more times in the fifth with the rest of the game going scoreless for the 15-6 win.

The Knights used a trio of pitchers in the game, with Robbie Cole, Brennan Kelly and Clay Hinrichsen giving up a combined 8 hits. Kelly picked up the win.

by Gary Andrews

On April 1, the Wabash High School boys’ track team competed in their second meet in two days, this time they welcomed Whitko High School to Alumni Field for a dual meet showdown. In a hard fought meet the Apaches came away victorious 68.5 to 63.5. Winners for Wabash were Adam Driscoll in the 110 and 300 hurdles, Sam Hall in the 1600 and 3200, Juwan Carter in the 100, 200, and 400, the 4×800 relay (Sam Hall, Skyler Hall, Aries Reza, James Dolmanet), the 4×100 relay (Cullen Hipskind, Braxton Sprague, Adam Driscoll, Austin Boggs) and the 4×400 relay (Adam Driscoll, Eryk Weber, Juwan Carter, Sam Hall.

Wabash girls lost to Whitko last night 78 to 49 Katie McCauley won both the discus and shot put also Madison Barden won both the 100 and 300 hurdles other winners were Lindsie Thomas 400 dash , Shai Parrett in the 800 run also 4×400 relay Baeden,Wagner,J.Parrett & Thomas

2nd places Hampton -high jump, Henderson -800 & 3200 run

3rd place Courtney Davis 100 & 300 hurdles, Chelsea Archer 400 run & Thomas 200 dash S. Parrett 1600 run.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

On March 18, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics honored former Wabash Lady Apache Brooklyn Short. Short received Honorable Mention All-America after the NAIA announced the 2013-14 NAIA Women’s Basketball All-America teams.

In Short’s career as a Lady Apache, she received four varsity letters for basketball, became second on Wabash High School’s all time scoring list, led the Lady Apaches to back-to-back 20-win seasons and back-to-back sectional championships under Coach Scott Bumgardner, who Short says still keeps in contact with her.

“[I] definitely [would like to thank] my high school coach, Scott Bumgardner,” Short told The Paper. “Throughout my college years, he still contacts me; we still talk. He’s helped me out through high school and college too.”

Short’s former coach, Purdue Calumet’s Head Women’s Basketball coach Tom Megyesi, first contacted Bumgardner after observing Short at the Top 100 workout the summer before her senior year.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

On Friday, March 28, Northfield held its annual charity intramural basketball game pitting the faculty team, Staff Infection, against the student team, made entirely of seniors.

Northfield donates half of the event’s proceeds to Riley Hospital for Children and half to a local charity. This year, the school decided the local charity would be the family of Shade Eviston, a Northfield student who tragically lost his life in an automobile accident less than a month ago.

“Every year is different. Last year, I believe we donated to 85 Hope. This year we wanted it to go to the family,” said Northfield principal, Mike Keaffaber.

The student team was made up of Damon Neal, Brady Bolen, Marcus Kroh, Katelyn Gribben, Brad Bever, Alec Wells, Caleb Coe, Chase Vigar and Andrew Eckerley, with coaches Christian Hawkins and Jon Richardson.

The faculty team consisted of Mr. Baker, Mr. Eltzroth, Mr. Andrews, Carly Mast, Mr. Bahney, Mr. Shafer, Mr. Branock, Mr. Schell and Mr. Baer.

“The record is faculty 97, students negative 4,” joked game announcer Ryan Sincroft. In all reality, the student team has never beaten the faculty team during the charity basketball game, but all that changed this year.

by Kalie Ammons

kalie@thepaperofwabash.com

“I was inducted into the soccer hall of fame on Feb. 8 of this year, and I have to tell you that this is the highest honor I have received in my soccer career,” Coach Olman Sánchez said in his acceptance speech.

Sánchez has not only impacted numerous students he has coached, but is a huge reason that soccer programs exist at all in the Wabash area.

Olman Sánchez grew up in the beautiful Central-American country of Costa Rica.

“In Costa Rica, the main sport is soccer,” said Sánchez in an acceptance speech on Feb. 8. “When I was growing up, soccer was the only thing you could think about. We did not have many facilities - you just got together with a bunch of kids and found a place to kick the ball around and have fun. Soccer balls were hard to find and I could not afford one, so we used whatever was available.”

Sánchez was inducted into the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame earlier this year. He taught Spanish at North Miami High School for 24 years before retiring, but continues to coach the boy’s soccer team, with 14 seasons already under his belt.