Bloomington South Sophomore Nick Russell Learns his State Finals Opening Round Boys Wrestling Opponent The Opening Round matchups were announced Sunday afternoon for the IHSAA Boys Wrestling State Finals this Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Bloomington South’s Nick Russell 31-7 will face Sophomore Joseph Warner 37-3 from Carroll (Fort Wayne) in Opening Round of the 106-Pound Weight Class. Russell finished third at the Semi State to advance to State Finals and will be Monroe County’s only representee. 17 Wrestlers made the Semi State with 11 from Bloomington South, 3 from Bloomington North and 3 from Edgewood. You had to win your first two matches to advance to State and at the end of the day Russell was the only one who won his first two matches.
There are two sessions on Friday with the first session starting at 3 PM as the 150 through 285-pound weight classes will compete followed by the 106 though 144-pound weight classes at 6 PM as Russell will compete in 6 PM Session. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals will start at 9 AM on Saturday followed by the Consolation Finals at 4:30 PM and the State Championship matches will start at 7:30 PM. 16 Wrestlers will compete in each of the 14 weight classes, and you have to win your first two matches to make the top four and finish out the top four places and if you lose in the first two rounds your season will come to an end.
Indiana University Men’s Golf Ties for 8th Place at the Gators Invitational The Indiana men’s golf team tied for eighth at the Gators Invitational with a score of 860 (296-275-289; +20). The two-day, 54-hole event was played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Florida. Junior Nick Piesen led the Hoosier lineup with a scorecard of 210 (72-72-66; E), his lowest collegiate 54-hole score. He played 12 birdies and an eagle on the Par-4 fifth hole in the second round. His second-round 66 (-4) marked his lowest collegiate round since playing a 65 in the second round of the Don Benbow Spring Invitational on April 1, 2024.
Junior Cole Starnes played a 214 (76-64-74; +4) with 12 birdies. His bogey-free 64 in the second round featured six birdies and matched the lowest single round of his Cream and Crimson career (second round of the 2025 Boilermaker Invitational. Starnes has played four rounds this season in the 60s and has posted 11 such rounds in his career. Sophomore Neri Checcucci turned in a 219 (74-69-76; +9) with six birdies in his 2025-26 Hoosier debut. Sophomore Bradley Chill Jr. compiled a 221 (76-70-75; +11) with eight birdies scattered across three rounds. Junior Alec Cesare fired a 225 (74-77-74; +15) with four total birdies. The Hoosiers will return to team competition for the Colleton River Collegiate. The two-day event will be played from March 1-2 at the Colleton River Golf Club in Bluffton, S.C.
#10 Indiana University Water Polo Beats #17 UC Davis and McKendree No. 10 Indiana (12-1) added two more wins over No. 17 UC Davis and McKendree to round out play at the Midwest Invitational on Sunday at Canham Natatorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the UC-Davis game Junior Nancy Baylor-Sefchick kept the lead at five with 5:19 to go in the fourth. UC Davis got off to a 2-0 start in the first before Indiana could counter on a freshman Audrina Kang goal with 2:49 to go. Freshman Kylie Williams had the equalizer with 1:15 remaining in the first to pull IU to a 2-2 tie. Back-to-back goals in the second from senior Grace Klingler and Kang gave the Hoosiers their first lead of the day, 4-3. The lead was brief, however, as the Aggies pulled back ahead with 1:16 to go.
Senior Nicole Tyner would put in the tie breaker as the game would be knotted at 5-all at the break. Four-straight goals highlighted the third quarter as Indiana pulled ahead by four, 9-5, with 1:58 left in the period. UC Davis would tack on one more in the third. The Hoosiers beat UC Davis in back-to-back outings since 2011 and 2013. Kang and Klingler each recorded a hat trick to lead IU’s offense, their second and third hat tricks of the season, respectively. Senior Louisa Downes and Williams had two goals each. Senior Nicole Tyner added a pair of field blocks. Klingler had five total points as she added two assists along with three steals and a field block. Senior goalie Jasmine Higgs played a complete game where she racked up 12 saves and had a steal in the win.
Against McKendree Indiana displayed its dominance from the start, jumping out to a 4-0 first quarter lead that turned into a 10-0 lead by halftime. Eleven different players scored in the game for the Hoosiers, as it would be senior Louisa Downes highlighting the afternoon win as she tied a season-high five goals. All three of IU’s goalies saw action in the game, combining for eight saves. Downes had her sixth multi-goal game of the season with five goals on six shots to pair with an assist and field block. Other hat tricks against the Bearcats included sophomore Keria Blizter (four goals), freshman Kylie Williams (three goals) and senior Nicole Tyner. Freshman Nikki Frazier finished with a goal and team-highs in assists (two) and steals (three). MPSF play opens with back-to-back games in Los Angeles at No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC on Feb. 27-28.
Indiana University Softball Falls to Nevada to Close out the Littlewood Invitational On the final day of play in the Littlewood Invitational in Tempe, Arizona, Indiana lost in a close battle to Nevada, on Sunday in Farrington Stadium. The Hoosiers went 3-2 on the weekend and are now 7-3 on the season. Nevada’s Hannah DiGenova homered to deep left field in the top of the first inning to put the Wolfpack up 1-0. They extended the lead to 2-0 when Madison Clark doubled and scored Karolyn Glover in the top of the second.
Indiana worked to get the bases loaded thanks to walks drawn by Peyton Drummond and Avery Parker and a double from Aly VanBrandt in between in the bottom of the third. After that, Josie Bird walked to make it a 2-1 game in the bottom of the third. In the following inning, Ellie Goins hit an inside the park home run to tie the game at 2-2. Nevada took the lead on an error in the top of the fifth and then Haylee Engelbrecht hit a home run in the top of the sixth to get the lead back. Goins’ home run was her second of the season. Bird’s season count for RBI is now at nine for the 2026 campaign. Indiana’s Jasmine Reyes, Ella Troutt and Aubree Hooks all spent time in the circle. Indiana will return to play in the USF Tournament in Tampa, Fla. next weekend from Feb. 20-23.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis Suffers its First Loss of the Season at Louisville Indiana women’s tennis was unable to push past Louisville 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at the Bass-Rud Tennis Center. Junior Elisabeth Dunac took her Louisville (6-1) opponent to a third set after she took the second, but the duo was unable to reach a conclusion as the contest ended as the Cardinals secured their 3-point edge (4-1). Freshman doubles pair Alessandra Teodosescu and Hi’ilani Williams helped the Hoosiers in doubles play by securing their win at No.1 doubles (6-4). Williams fought to put a point on the board for Indiana (7-1) at No. 5 singles, securing the first set before taking the second to tie-breaker points, where she ultimately came out on top in the back-and-forth battle (6-1 7-6 (7-2)). IU will be back at home on Saturday as they face Cornell at 12 p.m.
IHSAA Girls Basketball Semi States Set for Saturday Girls basketball teams still alive in the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) State Tournament learned their semi-state round matchups on Sunday. The IHSAA held its semi-state pairings show on Sunday afternoon. The pairings were determined by a random draw. Each semi-state site this upcoming Saturday will have four teams from the same class. Each site will have two semifinal games and a championship game with the site’s winner advancing to its respective state championship game later in the month. Here’s a look at the semi-state matchups on Saturday:
Class 4A at LaPorte Game 1: Northridge (20-7) vs. McCutcheon (22-5) – 11 a.m. EDT Game 2: Crown Point (23-4) vs. Norwell (23-4) – 1 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8:30 p.m. EDT Class 4A at Jasper Game 1: Floyd Central (23-3) vs. Lawrence Central (21-4) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Center Grove (26-0) vs. Evansville Reitz (21-2) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT
Class 3A at Logansport Game 1: Bellmont (22-3) vs. Culver Academies (22-5) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Connersville (20-7) vs. Fairfield (20-6) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT Class 3A at Southport Game 1: Washington (22-4) vs. Jennings County (19-6) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Northview (20-6) vs. Roncalli (25-3) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT
Class 2A at Frankfort Game 1: Lapel (22-4) vs. Bremen (23-2) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Whitko (25-1) vs. Oak Hill (22-3) – 12 p.m EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT Class 2A at Greencastle Game 1: Heritage Christian (19-8) vs. Parke Heritage (19-7) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Eastern (Pekin) (18-7) vs. North Knox (19-6) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT
Class 1A at Huntington North Game 1: North Miami (18-8) vs. Elkhart Christian (22-4) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Fremont (26-2) vs. Monroe Central (21-2) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT Class 1A at Charlestown Game 1: Evansville Christian (19-6) vs. Borden (22-4) – 10 a.m. EDT Game 2: Greenwood Christian (16-10) vs. Tindley (17-5) – 12 p.m. EDT Championship: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. EDT
To purchase tickets for this Saturday’s semi-state games, click here.
Indy Ignite Sweeps San Diego Mojo to Remain atop the Major League Volleyball Standings The Indy Ignite avenged Monday night’s loss to the San Diego Mojo with a three-set sweep Sunday afternoon at the Fishers Event Center. Indy improved their league-leading record to 8-2 following their 25-23, 25-22 and 25-17 victory. While the Ignite’s offense was clicking, the team also held San Diego to just 10.3% efficiency behind 47 digs and 13 blocks. “We definitely got it done, which we definitely wanted to do after six days ago in San Diego,” Ignite head coach Lauren Bertolacci said. The game didn’t start out on the best note as top scorer Azhani Tealer left the game early in the first set with an apparent ankle injury. She was replaced by Camryn Hannah at the opposite hitter position for the remainder of the game. “Always got to stay ready,” Hannah said about replacing Tealer. “I think when I get out there, just be aggressive, and who cares about mistakes? Just go for it all the time, so I’m happy with it.”
Indy rallied after trailing 19-18 in the first set thanks to three kills from Anna DeBeer plus two kills and a block from Blake Mohler. DeBeer ended the match with 10 kills and tied the franchise record of most service aces in a match with four. “As the game went on, we found our run and we found our groove and we were able to get away with it,” Bertolacci said. The Ignite now set their sights on Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Pulse. That game is set to begin at 8 p.m. and will stream live on WTHR+.