Eleven Monroe County Girls Wrestlers Advance to the Regional Monroe County will advance 11 Girls Wrestlers to the Regional Next Saturday at Bloomington South at 10 AM after placing in the top four their respective weight classes Friday at the Indian Creek Sectional. The Regional will be represented by the Indian Creek, Mt Vernon, Ben Davis and Floyd Central Sectional and just like the Sectional the top four in each weight class will advance from the Regional to the State Finals.
Bloomington South advanced 7 wrestlers, Bloomington North 3 and Edgewood 1 Wrestler to the Regional. Bloomington South’s Mariah Pope-100, Adrianna Burns-140, Samiya Love-190 and Jacyln Hillenburg-235 finished second as Hillenburg had to forfeit her final match due to medical reasons. Joslyn Herrea-105, Lila Pierce-120 and Madison Maxwell-125 all finished third in their respective weight classes for the Panthers. Bloomington North’s Alexzandra Burns finished third in the 135-pound class. Penelope Warren-125 and Sarah Vorice-190 finished fourth in their respective weight classes for the Cougars. Edgewood’s Eden Norton finished fourth in the 140-pound class.
There will be five alternates that finished in fifth place should any of the top four in that weight class withdraw from the Regional. Edgewood’s Allie Parks in the 118-pound class along with Olivia Burtner-155 for the Mustangs. Bloomington North’s Estelle Pafford in the 140-pound class along Bloomington South’s Leyda Velazquez-145 and Lexi Parker-170 will be on standby if there are called up for the Regional. Whiteland repeated as Sectional Champion with a team score of 295 points, Franklin finished second with 177.5 points and Bloomington South finished third with 151.5 points. Bloomington North finished eighth with 64 points and Edgewood finished tenth with 34.5 points.
Indy Fuel Blank the Bloomington Bison 5-0 The Indy Fuel kicked off 2026 with a shutout win over Bloomington in front of a home crowd Friday night. Playing at the Fishers Event Center for the first time after a players strike interrupted the season right after Christmas, the Fuel exploded for a three-goal first period en route to a 5-0 win over the Bison. Indy’s Owen Flores stopped 26 shots and picked up a roughing penalty in the shutout win. Mike Van Unen opened the scoring 4:35 into the first period with a goal from Tyler Paquette and Owen Robinson. The goal came seconds after Robinson left the penalty box. The Fuel made it 2-0 on a power play goal from Sahil Panwar at 12:49 before Matt Petgrave made it 3-0 with a second power play goal at 16:57. After a scoreless second period, Petgrave scored his second of the night, to go with an assist on Panwar’s goal, to make it 4-0 with seven minutes to play. Jordan Martin wrapped up the scoring with a goal from Nick Grima and Dustin Manz at 16:25. The Fuel are back in action this evening hosting the Kalamazoo Wings at 7 p.m. at the Fishers Event Center. Indy is celebrating the birthday of its mascot, “Nitro,” at Saturday’s game, including special jerseys for the contest. The Fuel and Wings will meet again Sunday in Kalamazoo to wrap up the weekend.
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball loses to California in the Final Seconds Dai Dai Ames had a four-point play with five seconds left, scoring 18 of his 23 points in the second half to rally California to a 72-71 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night. Ames’ heroics also included a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining that cut Notre Dame’s lead to 69-68. The junior made 9 of 16 shots — 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. Chris Bell had 15 points and Justin Pippen scored 14 for the Golden Bears (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Lee Dort had 11 rebounds.
Braeden Shrewsberry sank five 3-pointers and scored 21 to pace the Fighting Irish (10-5, 1-1). Shrewsberry was 6 for 6 at the free-throw line, while his teammates made 10 of 20. Jalen Haralson had 17 points and Cole Certa made three 3-pointers and scored 16 off the bench. Carson Towt had 15 rebounds to go with eight points. Certa hit a 3-pointer to give the Fighting Irish their largest lead at 25-13 with 8:36 left before halftime. Semetri Carr’s only basket of the half was a 3-pointer with two seconds left, cutting the Golden Bears’ deficit to 31-27 at the break. Pippen hit a 3-pointer to finish a 17-11 run at the start of the second half and Cal moved ahead 44-42 — its first lead since 5-2 — with 14:13 left to play. The Bears played with a lead until Certa hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Irish a 65-63 lead with 3:10 remaining. The Irish beat the visiting Bears 112-110 in four overtimes in March — their first matchup as ACC rivals.
Indiana Pacers Drop Their 11th Straight Game De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs won their first game since Victor Wembanyama injured his left knee, beating the Indiana 123-113 on Friday night for the Pacers’ 11th straight loss. Wembanyama hyperextended his knee Wednesday night in a home victory over New York. An MRI showed no ligament damage and the 7-foot-4 center stayed in San Antonio to rehabilitate the injury. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Wembanyama is day-to-day but wouldn’t rule out the possibility he could play against Portland on Saturday night in San Antonio. The Spurs are 10-3 with Wembanyama doesn’t play.
Dylan Harper added 22 points for the Spurs, and Stephon Castle had 19. Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard had 19 points, and Micah Potter added 16 in his first start in five games with Pacers. The Pacers shot 51% while the Spurs made 44% overall. San Antonio made 22 of 28 free throws while Indiana was 13 of 15. The Spurs scored the first six points of the third quarter to make it 77-58. The Pacers regrouped to cut it to 93-85 after three quarters. San Antonio maintained control throughout the fourth quarter. Indiana will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to Orlando to face the Magic.
Indiana Fever Release first ever Specialty License Plate Supporting Hoosier Girls and Women Indiana Fever fans can now display their pride on the road while supporting women and girls across the state. The first-ever Fever specialty license plate is available now through the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Buying the plate will benefit the Fever Fund, an initiative of the Pacers Foundation that helps women and girls “rise on the court, in the classroom and in their communities.”
“We’re thrilled to bring Fever fans another meaningful and fun way to represent their passion for this team,” said Amber Cox, Indiana Fever Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “Every plate purchased fuels opportunities for women and girls across Indiana through the Fever Fund, ensuring that our impact grows far beyond the court.” The Fever specialty plates are available for $40 annually, with $25 from each plate going directly to the fund. Personalized plates will be available for an additional fee. To purchase the special plate, click here.
Phillip Rivers 243-Game Start Streak is over as Riley Leonard will make his first Career Start for the Indianapolis Colts Philip Rivers’ long, decorated run is over. It’s Riley Leonard’s turn to lead the Indianapolis Colts. When the rookie quarterback makes his first career start Sunday at Houston, he’ll be backed up by Seth Henigan, who was signed to the practice squad this week. Rivers, 44 and in his 18th and final season, will make the trip but likely won’t be in uniform and will serve as a sideline advisor to Leonard during the game. “We’ll see if Philip will be up if something happens,’’ Shane Steichen said Friday. “Right now, it’s those two.’’ The decision to transition from Rivers to Leonard was made on Tuesday and Rivers quickly adjusted. He’s stayed heavily involved during quarterback meetings and looked on during practice while Leonard, Henigan and Anthony Richardson Sr. have thrown during positional drills and team sessions. Richardson remains on the injured reserve list following surgery to repair a fractured right orbital and will not be activated. History will show Leonard’s first career start – he’ll be just the 13th rookie in Colts’ history to start a game – ends Rivers’ streak of consecutive starts at 243. That’s second all-time to Brett Favre’s streak of 297.
“He kind of stepped down and let me take this last game himself,’’ Leonard said. “But super thankful for everything he’s done for me. Obviously, a close friend of mine, mentor, all the above.’’ As much as Rivers still aches to play, he understood the rationale of stepping back now that the Colts’ playoff fate has been sealed. They’ve lost six straight and seven of their last eight and sit at 8-8. “It just made the most sense,’’ Rivers said, adding, “I’ll help (Leonard) in any way possible. I told him that. Want to be there to help him prepare throughout the week and any way I can assist on game day. Obviously, our offensive staff’s a heckuva group and you can almost get too much coaching, but hopefully I can be there for him to lean on as needed.’’
The Texans present a difficult challenge for a veteran quarterback, and that rises exponentially with a rookie making his first start. They rank No. 1 in the NFL in fewest yards allowed (272.4) and points (16.6). Danielle Hunter ranks 4th in the league with 14 sacks to go along with 22 quarterback hits and 14 tackles for loss, while Will Anderson Jr. has 12 sacks, 23 QB hits and 19 tackles for loss. It will be up to Steichen and coordinator Jim Bob Cooter to give Leonard a game plan that allows him to run the offense while not exposing him to Houston’s disruptive defense. “I think managing the game, completions, not making bad plays worse,’’ Steichen said. “That’s a big part of it as a rookie. Going out there and moving the football. I don’t want to complicate it too much more than it is. It’s getting completions, being good in the run game. When you’ve got shots and they’re there, take ‘em. Be smart with the football.’’
Center Tanor Bortolini was cleared by an independent neurologist, which was the final step in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He missed last Sunday’s loss to Jacksonville with a concussion. Steichen ruled out cornerback Sauce Gardner, who’s dealing with a strained left calf, and tight end Will Mallory, who suffered a lung injury against the Jaguars. Steichen said DeForest Buckner underwent successful surgery this week to address a herniated disc in his neck that was pressing on a nerve. “I know that he’s going to have some recovery time,’’ Steichen said. “We plan on him being back.’’