Shay Ciezki faces her former team With a Trip to the Big Ten Tournament on the Line Shay Ciezki and the Indiana Hoosiers host her former team the Penn State Nittany Lions this afternoon at 2 PM in the regular season finale at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with the game streamed on Big Ten Network Plus. The winner will clinch their spot in the Big Ten Tournament while the loser will be scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon to see how other games play out to see if they make the 15-team field. Indiana is 5-12 in the Big Ten along with Wisconsin tied for 13th. Penn State and Purdue are 4-13 overall and tied for 15th in the conference standings so when it’s all said and done Sunday evening one of these four teams will not make the Big Ten Tournament along with Northwestern and Rutgers who were both eliminated earlier this week.
The Hoosiers are 16-13 overall and come off a 79-69 win at Rutgers Wednesday Night as four Hoosiers scored in Double Figures and Edessa Noyan had a career high 15 rebounds as the five Hoosier starters played 35 plus minutes with Head Coach Teri Moren using 2 of her five available players off the bench. Indiana started conference play 0-10 has bounced back to win five of the last seven games overcoming injury to Sophomore Zania Socka-Nguemen who has sidelined for 17 of the teams 29 games so far due to lower leg injuries and is not expected to return this season. Socka-Nguemen averaged 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds for the Hoosiers.
Shay Ciezki leads Indiana with 23 points and 1.5 steals per game. The Buffalo, New York Native started her career at Penn State and played for two seasons before coming to Bloomington and will face her former team for the second time as a Hoosier. Indiana beat Penn State in State College on December 7, 2024, 75-60 as she played the full 40 minutes scoring 5 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, a steal and 5 turnovers. Lenee Beaumont averages 13.4 points and team leading 3.1 assists per game. Edessa Noyan leads the Hoosiers with 5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game while averaging 5.6 points per game. Freshman Maya Makalusky averages 9.1 points and 3 rebounds per game and her classmate Neveah Caffey averages 8 points and 3.5 assists per game. Indiana averages 71 points, 12.3 assists and 15.7 turnovers per game. The Hoosiers shoot 47% from the field, 38 percent from three-point range and 79% from the free throw line.
Penn State beat USC 85-82 Wednesday Night in Rec Hall to keep their chances for the Big Ten Tournament alive. The Nittany Lions are 11-17 overall but have won three in a row in conference play coming into the final game of the regular season. Kiyomi McMiller scored 40 points Wednesday night against the Trojans as she leads the team with 22.2 points, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game. McMiller played her freshman year at Rutgers and has already scored 1, 016 points for her career with 623 of those points coming for the Nittany Lions. Gracie Merkle averages 19.1 points along with a team leading 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Merkle is a 6-6 Junior from Mt. Washington, Kentucky and she will be a tough matchup inside for a very thin Indiana frontcourt. Penn. State is averaging 75 Points, 16.5 assists and 18.3 turnovers per game.
The Nittany Lions shoot 46% from the field, 34% from three-point range and 66% form the free throw line. The Nittany Lions have a 12-player roster that represents Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Utah, Kentucky, France, Canada, Switzerland and Brazil. The Nittany Lions have 3 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 2 Sophomores and 4 Freshman on this year’s team for Head Coach Carolyn Kieger. For Indiana it is simple win and you’re in the Big Ten Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. For Penn State it’s the same thing and whoever doesn’t win this game will be watching tomorrow to see what happens with Wisconsin and Purdue. The Badgers play Iowa and the Boilermakers play Northwestern and it all comes down to one final game to see who will play next week in Indianapolis and who will stay home.
Bloomington South’s Peter Kovacs Tops the Field in Both of His Events in the Prelims of the Boys Swimming State Finals Friday Night was a good night for the Four Individuals and two relays that represented Monroe County at the IHSAA Boys Swimming State Finals at the Indiana University Natatorium on the Campus of Indiana University-Indianapolis as they all qualified for today’s Consolation and Championship Finals that start this afternoon at 1 PM.
Bloomington South Sophomore Peter Kovacs had the fastest time in the Prelims of the 50 Yard Freestyle with time of 20:03 and followed that up with the fastest time in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 43:93 as he will be the favorite going into both finals. Junior Cameron Seidenfaden finished 15th in the 100-yard Backstroke with a time of 51:14 to qualify for the “B” Final. Bloomington North Junior Wyatt Norrick finished 14th in the 100 Yard Freestyle with a time of 46:68 to qualify for the “B” Final. The Panthers finished second in the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:05.63 to advance to the “A'” Final and finished 10th in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:35.24 to make the “B” Final.
Penn had the fastest time in the 200-yard medley relay Homestead had the best time in both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Carmel Senior Lewis Zhang had the best time in the 200-yard freestyle, Junior Yi Zheng was the best in the 200-yard Individual Medley and Junior William Allen had the best time in the 500-yard freestyle. Fishers Junior Alex Koo had the to time in the 100-yard butterfly Oldenburg Academy Junior Nash King had the fastest time in the 100-yard backstroke and Franklin Senior Lucas Ackerman had the top time in the 100-yard Breaststroke. Diving will start the day at 9 AM with 32 individuals competing for five rounds. The top 20 to the Semifinals with three more dives and then the top 16 move on to the finals with three more rounds to compete for a State Championship.
Indiana University Men’s Swimming and Diving Extends Lead going into the Final Night of the Big Ten Championships No. 3-ranked Indiana swept two events, won three conference titles and earned 11 medals on Friday the third of four days at the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Soderholm Family Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. IU extended its lead in the team standings to 250 points with one day remaining in the competition. If the Hoosiers can close, they’ll win their fifth consecutive and 32nd overall Big Ten Championship in men’s swimming and diving Saturday night. “Fantastic night for the Hoosiers,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “One of our better days in program history. Sweeping two events and winning numerous others put the Bison in a good position with one day to go. There’s more work to do tomorrow. Time to run into the storm.”
Indiana swept the medals in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 500-yard freestyle. The Hoosiers opened the night with the 1-2-3 finish the 100 back, with senior Owen McDonald (44.52) leading the way. McDonald’s second consecutive title in the event also marks Indiana’s eighth consecutive winning of the 100 back between himself, Gabriel Fantoni (2019-20) and Brendan Burns (2021-24). Sophomore Miroslav Knedla (44.74) repeated as silver medalist in the event, and classmate Raekwon Noel’s personal best 44.82 touched just in front of Northwestern junior Stuart Seymour. Senior Zalán Sárkány blasted a Big Ten Championship, pool and program record and personal best 4:09.14 to lead another 1-2-3 performance in the 500 free. Sophomore Luke Whitlock (4:09.60) also set a personal best to finish within a half second behind Sárkány, and junior Aaron Shackell touched third in 4:11.33.
A year after missing the 50-yard freestyle championship final, junior Mikkel Lee topped the podium in the “splash-n-dash” Friday night – his first individual Big Ten title. Lee was the Big Ten’s lone swimmer under 19 seconds, his 18.98 touching two hundredths in front of Ohio State sophomore Matthew Klinge. Indiana settled for a 2-3-4 finish in the 200-yard breaststroke with two freshmen reaching the podium. Josh Bey (1:50.03), Noah Cakir (1:50.47) and senior Toby Barnett (1:50.75) all dropped personal best times to create a wall of cream and crimson in the event. Cakir’s time marked a 17-18 National Age Group record in the 200 breast.
Senior diver Maxwell Weinrich joined the podium party with his performance on the 3-meter springboard, capturing 388.75 points to grab the silver medal. Weinrich has reached the championship final in both diving events this week. “I am so happy for Max,” IU head diving coach Drew Johnasen said. “The silver medal was his best finish at this meet on 3-meter. He continues to be a huge part of the team’s quest for another championship. Josh also had a career-best finish today. “The energy in the pool was electric. I can’t wait to see what everyone does tomorrow.” The night ended with a close finish in the 400-yard medley relay, as Michigan kept Indiana from extending its winning streak in the event to 11 years by one hundredth of a second. Junior Dylan Smiley nearly closed in on U-M’s Antoine Sauve, splitting 40.60 in the anchor to Sauve’s 41.43, but ran out of water in the end.
TEAM SCORES
1. Indiana – 1,061.5
2. Michigan – 811
3. Ohio State – 712.5
4. Wisconsin – 569.5
5. Purdue – 527
6. Northwestern – 514
7. USC – 463.5
8. Minnesota – 430
9. Penn State – 307
Two Podium Finishes for Indiana University Indoor Track and Field on Day 2 of the Big Ten Championship Indiana track and field wrapped up the second day of the Big Ten Indoor Championship on Friday from the Fall Creek Pavilion. The Hoosiers continued to see several personal bests and multiple athletes advance to Saturday’s final rounds, highlighted by podium finishes in field events. Max Grangier started the day with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon. Grangier saw personal bests in his overall score (5,025) and in the long jump (6.69m) and shot put (11.10m/) events. He also finished first in the 1,000-meter event with his time of 2:34.87.
In the field, Hannah Alexander opened the day with a new personal best in the weight throw. She was able to break 20 meters with her distance of 20.46m/67-1.5. on the men’s side, Nikolaos Sidirenios was able to make the podium, finishing sixth overall with a personal best throw of 21.00m/68-10.75. He earned three team points for the Hoosiers. Josie Page also earned a podium finish in the high jump. Her height of 1.81m/5-11.25 was best for sixth overall and three team points for Indiana. Assistant coach Jake Jacoby said that “Josie had a fantastic meet. The last three meets she’s been really down and frustrated. We worked and she came and stepped up and had a PR, finished sixth, scored as a freshman. She set the tone and that will help her for the rest of her career.”
The Hoosiers had a busy day on the track, seeing four athletes advance to tomorrow’s final rounds. Aliyah Johnson was the first to advance. She earned the automatic qualifier after winning her heat to advance to the women’s 60-meter finals. Trelee Banks Rose advanced to his second final of the weekend. His time of 6.64 was a personal best and fast enough to advance to the men’s 60-meter final. Camden Marshall and Andrew Mangum each ran qualifying times in the men’s 800-meter. They will participate in tomorrow’s final round race. In the men’s 60-meter hurdle, John Colquitt set a new personal best to qualify for tomorrow’s championship race. The final day of the Big Ten Championship will begin today at 11:30 am as Lee Martin and Jay Hmurovich in the men’s high jump and Kelly Moran in the women’s triple jump events.
Indiana University Football Adds Former Defensive Tackle James Carpenter to the Staff Former IU football starting defensive tackle James Carpenter is joining the 2026 staff with a title of Defensive Quality Control. Carpenter transferred from James Madison to Indiana when head coach Curt Cignetti was hired. The Roanoke, Va. product was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten following the 2024 season. A finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy for the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on, Carpenter started all 13 games for IU in 2024. He logged 37 tackles from the defensive interior, totaled 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He also broke up two passes and blocked a kick. Carpenter served as a captain for all of Indiana’s games in 2024 and was spoken of highly by Cignetti and the staff.
“One of the best I’ve ever coached and one of my favorites all time! Will be a huge asset to the staff and our defensive line,” defensive tackles coach Pat Kuntz said on X. “Let’s work Coach Carp!” He was Second Team All-Sun Belt at JMU in both 2022 and 2023. Carpenter signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft. He attended training camp and most of the exhibition season but did not make the team. The addition of Carpenter is part of a trend of bringing back former players by Cignetti at Indiana. Running back Justice Ellison went from a player in 2024 to an offensive quality control analyst in 2025. Safety Bryson Bonds is also joining the special team’s staff.
Indy Ignite Win Fifth Straight with a Sweep over the Columbus Fury The Indy Ignite continued their dominating play Friday night, defeating the Columbus Fury on the road in straight sets. The win is the fifth straight for the Ignite, who have swept three of those games. After opening Friday’s match with a 25-21 first-set win, Indy cruised to a 25-15 win in the second set before finishing off the Fury, 25-23 in the third set. Anna DeBeer led the Ignite with 13 points, including 12 kills, in Friday’s game. Lektor Member-Meneh and Lydia Martyn each recorded 12 points in the victory. Member-Meneh had three aces and eight kills in the game, while Martyn had 10 kills and two blocks. The Ignite improved to 11-2 on the season, which leads Major League Volleyball. Indy returns home for three games starting Sunday, March 1 against Omaha at the Fishers Event Center. The Ignite then host Grand Rapids on Sunday, March 8. That game can be streamed live on WTHR+. The Ignite wrap up the homestand against Orlando on Thursday, March 12.
Sixteen of the Ignite’s 28 matches have or will stream on WTHR+, a free 24/7 streaming app accessible on smart TVs and streaming devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. WTHR+ is a digital extension of WTHR, providing live local news, weather and sports beyond traditional broadcast times, along with original programming and on-demand content for central Indiana viewers. The remaining Indy Ignite schedule on WTHR+ is as follows: Sunday, March 8 at 6 p.m.: Grand Rapids at Indy Saturday, April 4 at TBA: Indy at Omaha Friday, April 17 at 7 p.m.: Indy at Grand Rapids Friday, May 1 at 7 p.m.: Columbus at Indy Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m.: San Diego at Indy
Indy Fuel beat the Iowa Heartlanders 5-2 Friday Night The Indy Fuel opened a weekend series with a 5-2 win over Iowa at the Fishers Event Center. Cody Laskosky and Matt Petgrave each recorded a goal and two assists and Mitchell Weeks stopped 22 of 24 Heartlander shots to get the win. Laskosky opened the scoring for Indy at 3:36 of the first period off assists from Petgrave and Nick Grima. Jadon Joseph made it 2-0 with 7:23 remaining in the first. Christian Berger and Tyler Paquette assisted on the Fuel’s second goal. Ten seconds after Joseph’s goal, Christopher Cameron took a holding penalty, putting Iowa on the power play. Keltie Jeri-Leon cashed in about a minute later, cutting Indy’s lead to 2-1 after the first period.
After a mostly scoreless second, Terry Broadhurst scored eight seconds into a power play from Petgrave and Laskosky to extend the lead back to two goals. But a Max Patterson power play goal with 55 seconds left in the middle period brought Iowa back within one. Laskosky and Grima set up Sahil Panwar for a goal at 10:44 of the third to make it 4-2, then Petgrave found the empty net with 39 seconds remaining to seal the win. The same two teams square off tonight at the Fishers Event Center for “Blackhawks Night.” Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer Jim Cornelison, who also sings “Back Home Again in Indiana” before the Indianapolis 500, singing the national anthem before the game. Gates open at 6 p.m. both nights, with puck drop at 7 p.m.