Jim’s Journal, January 30th, 2024

NOW the high school basketball post-season is here!!  We open tonight with a twin girls’ sectional bill for you, starting in Class 4A, as East Central’s Trojan women face the Whiteland Warriors on the Warriors’ home floor, and immediately after that one, we zoom over to Lawrenceburg for the South Dearborn/Batesville game.  It all starts around 5:45 this evening, that first tip coming around 6:00, here at WRBIRadio dot com, on the new WRBI app, and of course on 103.9 FM.

 

The rest of the sectionals include a huge 3A game tomorrow between Greensburg and Franklin County, then Friday in 2A, Milan and North Decatur square off on the Chargers’ home floor, and South Ripley gets the winner of tonight’s Hauser/Switzerland County game.

 

In 1A, South Decatur and Edinburgh are battling tonight, for the right to face Jac-Cen-Del in Shelbyville Friday.  Also, homestanding Southwestern takes on Oldenburg Academy this evening, the winner to face the winner of the Waldron-Morristown game Friday.

 

It’s all exciting, everybody starts with a chance at a state title, and again we start the girls’ post-season at 5:45, with East Central and Whiteland, right here.

 

The Greensburg Pirates have a couple top athletes moving into the post-season on the mat…  wrestlers Cayden Beagle, a 106-pounder, and 132-pound Landin Shepherd, finished 3rd & 4th in their respective classes in last week’s sectional meet.  That means they’ve qualified for this weekend’s regional event, at Richmond.

 

Congratulations are due to a couple Batesville Bulldog athletes…  among the girls’ elite, Calli Fletcher has signed a letter of intent to play softball for the Lions of Ohio’s Mount St. Joseph University.  And on the guys’ side, Bobby Weiler recently signed to play football as a Cougar at the University of St. Francis in in Fort Wayne.

 

Men’s college basketball tonight in the Big 10 has the IU Hoosiers hosting the Hawkeyes of Iowa- both teams with 12 & 8 records- and the 14th-ranked Illini visiting Ohio State.  Also, Ball State’s Cards are hosting Bowling Green.

 

And in the NBA tonight, the Pacers are in Boston to take on the Celtics.

 

Checking up on the stars of tomorrow, the middle schoolers, we’ve heard about some recent results…  Batesville’s 7th-grade girls’ basketballers beat South Ripley Monday, 31-15, but last week, Jac-Cen-Del’s Eagles barely edged past those younger Bulldogs, 35-34.  Batesville visits Columbus North today.  Also from middle school, the North Decatur 8th-grade girls have gotten by Hauser, 29-27, the Charger 8th-grade boys beating Northside, 40-28.  Middle school wrestling— Batesville topped Franklin County Monday, 69-43.

 

A couple big high school swim meets have gone on the last few days.  The “Schools with No Pools”, meet, at the IU natatorium in Indianapolis, included 22 schools, with effectively 3 meets in multiple pools–  diving, plus boys and girls racing.  Batesville says its young women placed higher than the men in team competition, but both scored in the top 16, with several relays making the top 8.  Batesville coaches expressed optimism heading into the sectional meets–  girls this week at East Central, and boys in mid-February at Columbus North.

There was also a boys-only meet at Centerville over the weekend, won by East Central, with host Centerville running 2nd, followed by New Castle and Milan.