
Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Honors Six Class of 2025 Scholar Athlete Award Winners The Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Honored Awarded Six $1,000 Scholarship Awards Monday Night to one Female and one Male from Edgewood, Bloomington South and Bloomington North High Schools. Since 2011 The Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame as honored 93 Scholar Athletes for a grand total of $78,000 dollars in Scholarships. This year’s award winners are Ayrica DeHart and Jackson Klinger from Edgewood, Grace Stringer and David Kovacs from Bloomington South, Sofie Garcia and Jay Stewart from Bloomington North. Mark Deal was the Master of Ceremonies and Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame President David Hays handed out the Certificates and Checks to the Student Athletes.
Ayrica DeHart from Edgewood is a pioneer for the newly sanctioned sport of Girls Wrestling. DeHart advanced to the Regional with a 3rd place finish in the sectional in the heavyweight division and finished 5th in the regional. She was named Honorable Mention all area and member of the Technical Honor Society and will attend Hiram College in Ohio on a Heritage Scholarship.
Jackson Klinger from Edgewood is a two-sport standout in Cross Country and Track and Field. He helped the Mustangs reach the Cross-Country State Finals for the first time in 20 years. Klinger finished 3rd in the sectional, 18th in the regional and 41st at state. In Track and Field, he is a two time all area and Western Indiana Conference Runner up in the 3200 Meters and finished 3rd in the 1600 Meters. Klinger qualified for the 2024 state meet in the 3200 and place second in 3,200 meters in this year’s sectional. He will attend Indiana University on an IU Provost Scholarship and IU Frances Kelly Deckard Scholarship.
Grace Stringer from Bloomington South is 4-time letter winner in both Cross-Country and Track and Field. Stringer helped the Panthers Cross-Country team qualify for the 2024 state meet and finish 9th. Stringer helped the Panthers win the Regional Title as a Sophomore. Stringer is a distance runner in track and she helped lead the 3200 relay to a first-place finish at the 2024 sectional and place 6th in the 800 meters. Stringer will attend Indiana University.
David Kovacs from Bloomington South is the most decorated Boys Swimmer in Monroe County History winning 11 state championship medals topping Monroe County Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kearney’s 7 state championship medals from 1970-73. Kovacs is a 4 time all area Boys Swimmer of the Year and won gold medals in the 100 Backstroke and 200 Individual Medley to top off his high school career. Kovacs will continue his career at Indiana University.
Sofie Garcia from Bloomington North is standout in Gymnastics and competed in Track and Field. Garcia is most successful North Gymnast since Monroe County Sports Hall of Famer Besty Cousins who graduated in 1992. Garcia is a 4-time Hearld-Times Gymnast of the Year and a 4-time state qualifier. Garcia placed 4th in the floor exercise, 4th on the beam, 11th on the bars and 12th in the all-around at this years State meet and won the Regional Championship in the floor exercise. Garcia helped the Cougars to top 7 state finishes in 2022 and 2023 and medaled in two events at the 2024 State Meet. Garcia will attend the University of Michigan and study political science.
Jay Stewart from Bloomington North is a State Championship Swimmer taking home this year’s 50 Meter Freestyle title. Stewart is a four-time state qualifier and four-time all area. He holds five school records in five events. He is the Conference Indiana record holder in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Stewart finished 3rd in the butterfly as the Cougars finished 9th at the State Meet in 2023. Jay finished 7th in 2024 in the Butterfly and followed it up with a 4th place finish in 2024. Stewart will study computer science/engineering at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
The Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will be Friday July 25, at the Monroe Convention Center in downtown Bloomington. This year’s class will include 6 Athletes, 2 Coaches, 2 Contributors and 2 Pioneers to make up the 12 Member Class. For the first time a scholar athlete award winner will be one of the Inductees as Ronnie Schneider who was a standout Tennis player from Bloomington South and won the scholar athlete award in 2013 became age eligible and will be inducted next month. Tickets are on sale now on the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Website at www.monroecountyshof.org.
Family and Friends Say Goodbye to Jim Irsay Close friends and family of late Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay gathered at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on Monday to say their final goodbyes. A private memorial service for Irsay was set to begin at noon at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church on 86th Street. Former Colts coach Tony Dungy, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey Chief Chris Bailey, and several Colts payers were among those in attendance.
Team leaders say they will host a public tribute to Irsay, but they have not announced those plans. Irsay’s family has also not announced burial plans. His father, Robert Irsay, is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. While the memorial was closed to the public, the Irsay family is encouraging people to make donations to Kicking the Stigma, the Colts’ mental health initiative. Irsay’s family has also not announced burial plans. His father, Robert Irsay, is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis. It’s one of the several philanthropic causes championed by Irsay in Indianapolis and throughout the United States.
Irsay, 65, died May 21. He spent most of his life around the Colts. His father acquired the team in 1972, when he was 12 years old. The team says Irsay worked in almost every department for the team, from ticket sales to football operations, after graduating from Southern Methodist University. In 1984, Robert Irsay moved the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis. Jim Irsay became the youngest general manager in NFL history at age 24. Jim Irsay became sole owner of the Colts in 1997. Under his ownership, the Colts won Super Bowl XLI and played host to the NFL’s championship game in 2012. Off the football field, Irsay was also known for his love of music, collecting instruments from artists like Bob Dylan and the Beatles. Irsay is survived by his three daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Kalen Jackson, who are co-owners of the team.
Bloomington North Graduate Will Klein Traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Bloomington North Graduate Will Klein from the Mariners on Monday in exchange for Joe Jacques and selected Klein’s contract from Triple-A Oklahoma City. Klein was removed from the Mariners’ 40-man roster over the weekend and is now on the move to Los Angeles, where he’ll get another opportunity at the big-league level. The right-handed reliever has struggled at the Triple-A level in 2025, posting a 7.40 ERA and 32:18 K:BB across 20.2 innings. Klein, 25, made his Major League debut in 2024, allowing nine runs in 7.1 innings between the Royals and Athletics. In five minor league seasons, he is 13-9 with a 5.34 ERA in 175 games. He was drafted by the Royals in 2020 First Year Player Draft out of Eastern Illinois University in the fifth round. The Dodgers also recalled right-handed Ryan Loutos and optioned RHP Noah Davis. In order to make room on the roster for Klein, the Dodgers designated RHP Chris Stratton for assignment.
Indiana Fever Sign Guard Aari McDonald via Emergency Hardship Exception The Indiana Fever has announced the signing of guard Aari (AIR-ee) McDonald via emergency hardship exception. The WNBA emergency hardship exception allows any team to sign a player, with immediate effect, if a team drops below 10 game-eligible players at any time. Over the course of her four-year WNBA career, McDonald averaged 8.6 points per game, 2.8 assists per game, and 2.0 rebounds per game. McDonald spent the 2024 season with the Los Angeles Sparks where she averaged 8.7 points per game, appearing in 26 games total. Drafted No. 3 overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2021 WNBA Draft, McDonald averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 30 games and was subsequently named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team. During the 2023 season, McDonald helped Atlanta qualify for their first playoff berth since 2018.
Buffa Louies to host The Soccer Tournament Watch Parties BuffaLouie’s Bloomington and Carmel locations will host watch parties as the Indiana men’s soccer alumni team, ‘Hoosier Army,’ competes in The Soccer Tournament — the $1 million, winner-take-all, seven-versus-seven world championship in Cary, N.C. — for the third consecutive year. The restaurants have scheduled watch parties for Hoosier Army’s three group stage matches. Fans can see times for the guaranteed matches below.
June 4 | 12:30 p.m. ET | vs. Cagliari
June 4 | 8:15 p.m. ET | vs. City Soccer FC
June 5 | 7:45 p.m. ET | vs. Cardinal Legacy (Stanford Alumni)
IU men’s soccer 2025 season ticket holders in attendance will have the chance to win a signed Hoosier Army TST jersey. To be eligible, entrants must (1) have purchased season tickets and (2) enter to win at BuffaLouie’s — limit one entry per guest. IU fans can purchase season tickets for $44 ($22 for youth) as the program is set to host 11 matches this fall. For more information on TST, visit tst7v7.com.
Three Indiana University Wrestlers earn All-American Status at the Under 23 Nationals Indiana Wrestling had three student-athletes finish with All-American status over the weekend at the U23 Nationals tournament In Geneva, Ohio across both Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. Logan Frazier (60 kg) and Tyler Lillard (74 kg) both finished as All-Americans in freestyle competition. Cole Rhemrev (67 kg) earned All-American in the Greco-Roman division. Frazier finished in sixth place; Lillard took fourth place and Rhemrev finished in seventh place at their respective weight classes. Lillard reached the semifinals of his bracket before going to the consolation rounds. All Greco-Roman competition took place on Friday, and all freestyle action was on Saturday and Sunday. Full results to all brackets in all levels and competition styles can be found on USABracketing.