Five Bloomington South Girls Wrestlers to Compete at the State Finals The Bloomington South Panthers have five wrestlers competing at the Girls Wrestling State Finals at the Corteva Coliseum at Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis this morning at 10 AM with first round action followed by the Quarterfinals and Semifinals with the consolation round starting at 4:15 PM this afternoon and the State Championship Matches beginning at 7 PM this evening. The five Panthers qualified for the State Finals after they finished in the top four of their respective weight classes last Saturday during the Regional at Bloomington South and this is the second year that IHSAA has had a State Championship for Girls Wrestling. There are 224 wrestlers competing in 14 weight classes with 16 in each class. The first-round winners will advance to be placed in the top eight in each class so top eight will have four matches each while the wrestlers who fall in the opening round will see their seasons come to a close.
Senior Mariah Pope makes her second State Finals appearance as she 16-8 on the season and faces Sophomore Meagan Thomas of Merrillville who is 30-5 in the opening round of the 100-pound weight class. The other four Panthers are in the State Finals for the first time. Junior Joslyn Hererra who is 28-8 will face Senior Dominka Zarate of Mount Vernon Fortville who is 25-5 in the opening round of the 105-pound weight class. Senior Lila Pierce who is 26-12 will face Junior Kennedy Stephens of Highland who is 31-8 in the opening round at 120-pounds. Freshman Samiya Love who is 27-10 will face Senior Claira Gramlin of Lebanon who is 23-4 in the Opening Round of the 190 Pound weight class. Jaclyn Hillenburg rounds out the Panther contingent as the Senior with a 31-7 record faces Sophomore Rachael Adolphe of North Central (Indianapolis) who has a record of 22-1 in the opening round at 235 pounds.
Indiana University Football Adds University of Wisconsin Offensive Lineman Joe Brunner from the Transfer Portal The Wisconsin to Indiana transfer pipeline continues. Indiana has added Wisconsin transfer offensive lineman Joe Brunner from the portal according to multiple Wednesday reports. The 6-foot-5 and 317-pound Brunner has been a starter at left guard for the Badgers each of the last two seasons. Brunner has one year of eligibility remaining. Brunner earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors after starting all 12 games on the Badger offensive line in 2025. Brunner posted four consecutive games with PFF pass blocking grades above 80.0 during Big Ten play, all against ranked teams (Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, Indiana).
In 2024 he started all 12 games and logged a 77.8 PFF pass block grade, the third highest among Big Ten guards. He was part of a Badger offensive line that allowed only 13.0 sacks, the fewest in the Big Ten. Brunner played in 11 games, mostly on special teams in 2023, and four games on the offensive line and on special teams in 2022. Since hiring Bob Bostad as offensive line coach IU has added several Wisconsin transfers on offense, including Trey Wedig, Drew Evans, Riley Nowakowski, and now Brunner. Indiana also added safety Preston Zachman this cycle from the Badgers. Although his experience is at guard, Brunner will enter an offensive line room with needs at center and the tackle spots. The Hoosiers are set to lose center Pat Coogan at center after this season. Right tackles Khalil Benson and Zen Michalski are also out of eligibility. Left tackle Carter Smith has a year of eligibility remaining but could enter the NFL Draft.
Former Indiana University Men’s Soccer Player Jacob Bushue Returns to Bloomington as an Assistant Coach Indiana men’s soccer head coach Todd Yeagley announced on Wednesday the addition of Jacob Bushue – a member of the 2012 national championship team – to his staff as an assistant coach. “Having lived the Indiana soccer experience as a player, Jacob understands the expectations and pride that come with serving this program,” Yeagley said. “Jacob is one of the most competitive players I have had the pleasure to coach, and that played a role in helping us capture our eighth NCAA title in 2012.
“Jacob’s love and passion for the game have helped him become an excellent young coach. His coaching journey has been shaped by his professional experiences in Europe and the United States. I am confident Jacob will have a significant impact on the development of our players and help sustain our program’s proud Tradition of Excellence.” Bushue returns to Bloomington after two seasons on John Michael Hayden’s staff at Louisville. During his time at Louisville, Bushue worked with the coaching staff to recruit athletes, scout opposing teams, plan training sessions and execute the activation phase of training.
Prior to Louisville, Bushue enjoyed a nine-year professional career. Out of college, Bushue spent two seasons with Saint Louis FC in the USL Championship from 2015-16. Bushue then played in Finland from 2017-22 between four clubs – BK-46, Ekenäs IF, FC Haka and Jaro. He returned stateside and to the USL Championship in 2023 for one season with the Las Vegas Lights. Bushue played for Yeagley from 2010-13 and helped the program capture its eighth national championship in 2012. Over four seasons, Bushue recorded six goals, 10 assists and 22 points and was part of Big Ten title wins in 2010 (league) and 2013 (tournament). All four members of the Indiana men’s soccer coaching staff played at Indiana, as Bushue joins Yeagley (1991-94) and assistant coaches Christian Lomeli (2015-16) and Tanner Thompson (2013-16).
Zalan Sárkány and Liberty Clark Return to Big Ten Weekly Awards Two Indiana swimming and diving student-athletes combined for three Big Ten weekly awards, the conference office announced on Wednesday. Senior Zalán Sárkány earned his third Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honor. Freshman Liberty Clark captured Big Ten Co-Swimmer of the Week honors for the first time in her career, while also earning the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor for a fifth time this season. Indiana split its dual meet at No. 11/4 Michigan on Friday (Jan. 9), defeating the Wolverine men, 187-113, and falling in the women’s meet, 154-146.
Sárkány swept the distance freestyle events, winning the 500-yard freestyle (4:13.65) and 1,000-yard freestyle (8:39.94). His 1,000 free time set the No. 2 fastest time in the nation – No. 1 in Big Ten – and he now owns the nine best performances in program history. Clark on all four events she swam on Friday: three individual, one relay. Again, the freshman swept her individual events, winning the 50-yard freestyle (21.83), 100-yard freestyle (47.26) and 200-yard freestyle (1:42.10). In the 200 free, Clark out-touched reigning Big Ten Champion and Michigan junior Stephanie Balduccini by 1.68 seconds. Clark also helped IU set a program record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, her 47.37 leading it off for a final time of 3:09.81.
Avery Parker Ranked as Consensus Top 10 Catcher by D1Softball & Softball America Indiana senior Avery Parker was ranked as a consensus Top 10 catcher in both D1Softball and Softball America’s position rankings this week. Parker was ranked as the No. 6 catcher by Softball America and the No. 8 catcher by D1Softball. She enters her senior campaign after an impressive 2025 season that earned her NFCA All-Region Third Team and All-Big Ten Second Team. Parker was also selected to the TC Colorado College All-Star Team and won the Canada Cup this summer. In 2025, Parker hit .392 at the plate with 65 hits, 17 doubles and 11 home runs. She charted 60 RBI and had a .458 on-base percentage.
Braden Smith leads #5 Purdue Men’s Basketball to a Second Half comeback win over Iowa Braden Smith scored all 16 of his points in the second half and tied the Big Ten record for assists in conference play, and No. 5 Purdue overcame a nine-point to beat Iowa 79-72 on Wednesday night. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 points, Fletcher Loyer had 11 and Oscar Cluff 10 to help the Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) win their eighth straight game. They have won their first six conference games for only the fifth time since 1940. Smith finished the game with 478 assists in league games — the same number former Michigan State player Cassius Winston had.
Bennett Stirtz had 19 points to lead Iowa (12-5, 2-4). Kael Combs added 16 points as the Hawkeyes lost their third in a row overall, fell to 0-4 against ranked teams this season and extended their losing streak against top 10 opponents to 10 since 2021-22. The Hawkeyes certainly had their chances to join Iowa State as the only teams to beat Purdue on its home court this season. They used a 10-0 run to take a 48-39 lead with 14:36 to play only to watch Smith take charge during a 14-4 run that put Purdue back in front 53-52 with 9:33 left. Iowa retook the lead two more times, 58-57 and 61-59, and tied the score at 64 on Tate Sage’s 3-pointer at the 5:17 mark. But Kaufman-Renn broke the tie by making one of two free throws, Smith fed Cluff for a layup, Loyer added two free throws and Smith’s two free throws with 1:04 left sealed it. Iowa is at Indiana Saturday Afternoon while Purdue travels to USC Saturday Night.
Westfield Indiana Native and Oregon Safety Dillion Thieneman Declares for the NFL Draft Oregon All-America safety and Westfield HS Graduate Dillon Thieneman is leaving school early to declare for the NFL draft, he told ESPN on Wednesday. Thieneman earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this year and second-team All-America honors in his first season in Eugene after transferring from Purdue. Thieneman told ESPN that he entered his lone season at Oregon with the goal to play well enough — and win enough — that he could earn the chance to go to the NFL. He said that as he evaluated his options he knew he couldn’t make a bad choice — stay and chase a championship or go on to the next level. “The goal always came in and play one year and go to the NFL,” he said. “I was able to come in and do my thing and put myself in this position.”
The general feedback Thieneman got from the NFL is that he projects as a Top 50 NFL pick. He credited his coaches at Oregon for helping him improve to position himself for this moment. “Coming in, I knew I had to be on my game to achieve my goals,” he said. “I knew I had to have a certain mindset coming in. [They] prepared and propelled me to keep developing and put me in the position where I am now.” He credited a routine that he eventually developed at Oregon where he’d come in at 5:30 a.m. every day and prepare his body for whatever was coming: practice, lift or workout.
Thieneman was one of the top freshmen in the country at Purdue in 2023, intercepting six passes and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and FWAA Defensive Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, he led Big Ten defensive backs in tackles. But he sought a reset as Purdue struggled to a 1-11 record. “This season has been incredible,” he said. “I came in with a different mindset based on how my sophomore year went at Purdue. I found a place to put myself in the best position to succeed.” That success has found him a next step to the NFL. “Me as a little kid, this is the dream,” he said. “Being in this position, and going to the NFL. I know while I’m here now, I need to set more goals now.”