2008: Looking back at the year in Jackson County sports

Kaeler Persinger's interception that led to a Brownstown Central touchdown changed the momentum of the game with county rival Seymour, and the Braves defeated the Owls for the first time.
Tesia Baker recorded the first no-hitter in school history during Crothersville's softball game with Trinity Lutheran.
The Brownstown Central volleyball team was state runner-up for the seventh time.
The Trinity Lutheran co-ed soccer team had a 10-3-2 record in its second year of existence.
Four Seymour boys swimmers qualified for state, and Lady Owl gymnasts set the school record for top team score.
Those are just the beginning of the highlights of Jackson County sports in 2008.

Basketball
Last winter, the Seymour Lady Owls were the only ones to break through the sectional and move on to regional. After defeating Bedford North Lawrence in the New Albany Sectional, Seymour advanced to Bedford to face the Columbus East Olympians. It was Seymour's first sectional title since 1991.
But in the regional, the Olympians surged at the end of the game and won 82-67. The Owls finished 18-6.
This winter, Seymour has won six straight and is currently 9-1.
The Brownstown Central Lady Braves started out 1-4 this season but have rebounded by winning four straight. Their record stands at 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the Mid Southern Conference.
Last season, the Crothersville girls finished the regular season 16-6, which surpassed the old record of 14 wins in the 1986-87 season. The girls made it to the sectional finals, but lost in overtime to Northeast Dubois. This season, they are 8-3.
Trinity Lutheran's Brittany Tabeling set the county girls points record last season. In her four years, Tabeling had 1,584 points, and she and Seymour's Julie VonDielingen are the only two girls from Jackson County high schools who have scored more than 1,500 points in their career.
In boys basketball this season, Brownstown Central is currently 5-1, and after a rough start, Seymour has won three of its last four games. They are 3-4.
Last winter, Crothersville senior Josh Couch set a school rebounding record with 26 boards in their sectional win over Medora.

Swimming
Four Seymour Owl swimmers advanced to the state finals at the IUPUI Natatorium in February. Sophomores Kameron Chastain and Cam Wiethoff and seniors Jacob Hill and Eric O'Mara competed.
Chastain finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke, the 200 medley relay of Chastain, Hill, O'Mara and Wiethoff placed ninth and they were 14th in the 200 freestyle relay.
This winter, Owl swimmers competed in the Hall of Fame Classic at Brownsburg. Chastain set a meet record and a record at the Brownsburg pool in the 50 free. Also, he set a pool record in the 50 breaststroke at the event
In the Seymour pool this season, Chastain broke the record in the 100 breaststroke during the Dec. 9 meet with New Albany. His time of 58.52 set a new record. U.S. Olympian Patrick Calhoun set the previous record in the 1998-99 season.
During the Dec. 18 meet with Jennings County, Chastain again broke records, this time in the 100 and 200 freestyles.
Dave Boggs picked up his 200th career win as girls coach when the Lady Owls defeated New Albany on Dec. 9, and he got his 200th win after the Owls defeated Jennings County on Dec. 18.

Wrestling
Travis Waltrip finished last winter's wrestling season at 28-7. The Seymour senior was runner-up in the Hoosier Hills Conference, and he was a sectional champion and regional and semi-state qualifier.
He was also the only Seymour wrestler to be named to The Courier-Journal's all-area first team.
Sophomore Blake Dye moved up to the varsity lineup and was a regional and semistate qualifier. He finished with a record of 15-8.
This winter, the Owls have a young team and a new varsity coach, Curt Schleibaum. Senior heavyweight Joe Rust is starting out well for the Owls.

Gymnastics
The Seymour gymnastics team set the school's top team score record last winter with a 102 at Bloomington North, topping the previous record, 98.55, set the same season in the Columbus East Invitational.
During the Bloomington North meet, Kirstyn Brott set a record on bars with an 8.85. Brott, Emily Gerth and Leah Benefiel, who combined for 25.15, set an event record for bars.
Also at the meet, Brott, Gerth and Benefiel teamed up once again and broke the record in floor exercise with a 26.45.
Benefiel set a record with a 9.30 in the vault, and the team's score (26.60) in that event was also a record.

Bowling
Seymour joined the Southeastern Indiana Conference of Indiana High School Bowling to add to the list of winter sports. Rick Schuley is head coach of the 21-member team.
There are more than 190 schools in IHSB, and bowlers have to be students in high school and they have to be United States Bowling Congress sanctioned.

Baseball
The Seymour Owls baseball team moved into an indoor hitting facility in the spring. The Owls finished 17-10, and all of the team's offensive statistics increased from the previous year. Trevor Thompson was named most valuable player, and he was named to the Hoosier Hills All-Conference first team. Cory Thomas and Jesse Wilson also were named to the first team, and Reagan Eakins received honorable mention.
Second baseman Richard Bishop was named MVP for the 8-21 BC Braves baseball team. His number of at-bats was a school record for one season. He also received the mental attitude award and the Steve Schrink Leadership Award.
Trinity Lutheran's baseball team improved from three wins in 2006 to nine in 2007, and this spring, they were 14-9. The Cougars defeated Brownstown Central, Springs Valley and Oldenburg Academy for the first time. The team was 11-2 at home, and in the sectional, they defeated Springs Valley and Crothersville but lost to Northeast Dubois in the finals.

Softball
The Brownstown Central Lady Braves softball team had a strong season. They won the first regional game in school history. The Braves defeated 14-5 Bloomfield 2-1 in 10 innings, and then lost 3-0 in the finals to South Spencer in the Forest Park Regional.
The Braves' other trips to the regional were in 2002, when they lost in the first round at Beech Grove, and in 2003 at Mount Vernon (Fortville).
During the Bloomfield game, Whitney Tormoehlen drove in the winning run for the third time in the tournament. The other two times were in sectional wins against Clarksville and Eastern. In the Clarksville Sectional, the Braves defeated the host team 3-2, Eastern 1-0 and Providence 6-0.
Seymour's varsity softball team finished 4-12, but one promising note is the 7-5 finish from the junior varsity team, which won a JV tourney at the end of the season.
For the Crothersville softball team, the highlight was Baker throwing the first no-hitter in school history. At the awards program after the season, Baker received the pitching award.

Track
Crothersville sophomore Bailey Lundy qualified for the state track meet in shot put. Lundy was undefeated in the regular season, was first in the Southern Athletic Conference, first in sectional, third in regional and was on the all-conference team.At state, she finished 21st, making her the first from Crothersville to make it to that level.
The Tigers only had seven girls on the team, but ended up with a winning record.
At Seymour, Kassie Davidson was the sectional champion in the 100. Christina Moravec won the 400 at sectional and placed fourth in the regional. Kortney Unger won sectional in the pole vault and set the school and sectional record at 9 feet.
The girls finished second in the sectional and scored in 15 of the 16 events.
For the Seymour boys, Nolan Fife was an HHC champion in the 1600 and the sectional champion in the 1600 and 3200. He was the sole Seymour state qualifier and finished 19th in the 1600. The team finished third in the HHC.
At Brownstown, Mark Crossman and Kwin Cutter qualified to run at the state meet. Crossman broke the school record with a time of 1:56. He finished fifth and was less than a second behind the winner. Cutter was 25th in the 400.
Sarah Baker threw the discus 133 feet at the state meet for the BC girls and landed fourth place, and Kassie Kovert finished 17th in the 1600 and 19th in the 800.

Tennis
Going 20-4 in the fall, Seymour junior Chase Emerson was named the tennis team's MVP, a title he also earned his freshman and sophomore years.
Emerson earned all-district first team and all-state second team honors, as well as being named to the HHC all-conference first team. He went on to the Park Tudor Regional but was defeated.
Matt Moravec made academic all-state honorable mention and he received the coach's award. Mitch Hunnicutt made HHC honorable mention.
The Owls beat Brownstown in the first round of the sectional before losing 3-2 to Austin in the finals. The team finished 12-5 on the season and third in the HHC.
For Brownstown, the No. 1 doubles team of Colin Woods and Elijah Bean posted a 13-5 record and were named to the all-district team and received all-state honorable mention. Bean was named MVP and Woods received the mental attitude award. The team finished 6-13 overall and 3-6 in the MSC.
Trinity Lutheran fielded a boys tennis team for the first time. The Cougars played mostly junior varsity squads from other schools and finished 4-5.
In girls tennis, Kelsey Black and Rachel Haskett were 15-3 for Seymour, and they advanced to the second round of the sectional before losing to a twosome from Bloomington South. Black and Haskett received all-HHC honorable mention, and they were 7-1 against HHC opponents. They also received co-MVP honors.
Amy Harmeson, the Owls' No. 1 singles player, earned HHC honorable mention. The team finished 7-9 overall and was sixth in the HHC tournament. They lost to Austin in the sectional.
At Brownstown Central, Montana Howell moved into the No. 3 singles position in the second match of the season and finished 11-3. She received MVP honors for the team.
The Lady Braves were 6-10 overall and 4-5 in the MSC. The junior varsity squad was 11-4.

Golf
Brownstown Central saw success in girls golf. They were 8-2 in nine-hole matches and 43-25 in 18-hole matches. BC finished second in the MSC and third in the sectional and shot 403 in the Martinsville Regional.
Junior Jamie Wehmiller received the MVP award, as she had the team's lowest nine- and 18-hole scores. She was third in the MSC and second in the sectional.
Allyson Hackman, a freshman, was a few shots off Wehmiller's average for the year. She earned all-conference honors. Senior Fayeann Hurley was named MSC honorable mention.
Seymour's team finished sixth in the HHC and seventh in the sectional. Katlynn Schneider had the low average for 18 holes and Preston DeHaven had the low for nine, and they received co-MVP honors. Schneider was low medalist for the Owls in the HHC, and Jane Mellencamp was low in the sectional with 104.
At Trinity, Meghin Shelton averaged 50 for nine holes, and she received the MVP award.
For the boys teams, BC sophomore Jacob Olson averaged 42 for nine holes and 84 for 18. He earned all-MSC honors along with Luke Warren. The Braves played against seven ranked teams. They started out the season 2-13 and finished 46-44. BC was fourth in the MSC tournament and seventh in the sectional.
At Seymour, senior Dwight Smith advanced to the regional. The Owls placed sixth in the HHC with a 348. Senior William Whitlow averaged 41 for nine holes and 84 for 18. He shot an 84 in the HHC and 81 in the Bedford Sectional.
For the secondyear, Crothersville had a boys golf team. Cameron Royalty was a two-sport athlete in the spring and was the golf team's No. 1 golfer. He averaged 57 for nine holes, and he and Jared Richey each shot a 47 to capture medalist awards.
Trinity's boys team won several matches, including defeated Henryville and Rock Creek in the final match of the regular season. The Cougars were fourth in the Hauser Invitational, second in the Henryville-SAC Invitational and 11th in the Bedford Sectional.

Volleyball
Coach Jennifer Shade took the Brownstown Central volleyball team to the state finals again. They lost to Muncie Burris and picked up the state runner-up trophy for the seventh time. The Braves won the Seymour tournament, the MSC title, the Eastern Sectional and the Forest Park Regional. The overall record was 29-8.
Sammie Bane was chosen as MVP, and she was also selected to the all-conference team, as well as Whitney Tormoehlen and Jordyn Pendleton. Honorable mention went to Morgan Wesner and Katelyn Shoemaker.
Tormoehlen and Bane were named to the Indiana All-State first team and Pendleton was named to the second team. Megan and Morgan Wesner also received recognition with the Academic All-State team, and Tormoehlen got honorable mention.
Finally, Tormoehlen and Pendleton were selected to the All-Star team. In November, Tormoehlen signed a letter to play volleyball for Bellarmine University in Louisville in fall 2009.
The Seymour volleyball team finished 21-13. The Owls opened the season 9-0, including winning the Borden tournament and reaching the finals of their own tournament before losing to Brownstown. They finished third in the HHC tournament.
Seymour defeated Jeffersonville in the sectional, but their season ended with a loss to Floyd Central in the semi-final round of the sectional. Libero Chelsea Hendrix was named MVP and Hoosier Hills all-conference first team. Kristin Turner was also named to that team, and Erin Murphy was named to the HHC second team.
The Crothersville volleyball team had a 20-6 season, but lost to Northeast Dubois in the sectional.
Trinity Lutheran was also in that sectional, but lost the same night to Orleans. The Cougars finished 18-14.
Medora volleyball struggled with a 2-19 record, and the season began with 14 girls and finished with six. Their wins came over Trinity Lutheran and Cannelton in the Orleans tournament, in which they placed second. The eighth-grade volleyball team went 17-4.

Football
The Brownstown Central football team defeated Indian Creek on the road and Paoli at home to pick up the sectional title, and went to defeat Southridge in the regional. The Braves then went on to semistate at Heritage Christian, where they lost 24-16. The Braves finished the season 11-2.
Perhaps the biggest win for the Braves came on Sept. 26 when they defeated Seymour for the first time in the teams' seven meetings. The 31-27 win was on their home turf at Blevins Stadium.
Seymour finished the season 4-6 overall and 4-3 in the HHC. They lost to Columbus East in the sectional.
Brandon Polbito was named HHC all-conference honorable mention, and he was named The Associated Press Class 4A all-state honorable mention. Kevin Ude also received HHC honorable mention, and quarterback Chad Moore and Ude were named AP all-state honorable mention.
Joe Rust was named academic all-state.

Soccer
The Seymour Owls boys soccer team finished 10-6-2 in the fall. They defeated Columbus East and Brown County in the sectional before losing to Columbus North.
Four-year goalie Josh Caplinger was named MVP of the team, and he was named to the HHC first team and all-district second team. Aaron Brown was named to the first team as well, and Reid Martin and Mahlon Dennis were named to the HHC second team. Devon Moore received honors with the HHC first team and the all-district second team. Five players were named to the state all-academic team.
Goalie Paige Koop set the school record in career shutouts and goal saves for the Seymour girls. Koop was the team's defensive player of the year two straight years, and she was named to the HHC all-conference first team, state all-academic team and all-district second team.
Koop also played in the 2008 Showcase Games in November at Indianapolis, and she was among eight Lady Owls named to the state all-academic team. Kaitlin Grindlay also was named to the HHC first team, and Allison Reed and Meredith Adams were HHC honorable mention. The team finished 10-6-1 and 4-3 in the HHC.
The co-ed soccer team at Trinity Lutheran finished 10-3-2 in its second year at the school. Forty-eight of the team's 49 goals were made by sophomores. Goalie Chad VanLiew had six shutouts.

Cross country
BC freshman Hope Lockman ran her way to the state cross country meet in the fall. She finished third in the MSC to make all-conference, and she made all-sectional, all-regional, all-semistate and was on the cross country coaches Class 1A-2A all-state second team. She finished 79th at state.
The girls were 93-55 overall and placed second in the sectional, fifth in the regional and 20th at semistate.
For the BC boys, Keith Waggoner advanced to the regional, where he placed 10th, and semistate. He earned all-conference and all-sectional honors, and Jacob Childers made MSC honorable mention. The boys finished the season 116-40 and were fourth in the MSC, third in the sectional and eighth in the regional.
At Seymour, Nolan Fife finished first and Steven Tanner second in the sectional to lead the Owls to a repeat of the sectional title. Fife was second and Tanner fifth at regional to advance to semistate. Fife was first in the Seymour, Bedford and Batesville tournaments during the season.
Mark Crossman nabbed third place in the regional for the Crothersville cross country team, and he moved on to semistate. Sophomore Zach Elliott also qualified for regional.
Ryan Schneider was Trinity Lutheran's first cross country regional qualifier in 2007, but he just missed advancing this year by placing 17th. This was the first year for Trinity girls to have home meets, and Taylor Royalty holds the course record for the girls at 19:59. Schneider holds the record for the boys at 17:41. Royalty advanced to the semistate this year as well.