Local Sports News: December 13, 2023

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109 Indiana University Student Athletes honored by the Big Ten for Academic Excellence
The Big Ten Conference recognized a total of 1,573 students on fall sports rosters who have been named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team Tuesday. The list of honorees includes 139 field hockey students, 586 football students, 132 men’s and 219 women’s cross-country students, 133 men’s and 243 women’s soccer students and 125 volleyball students. Indiana athletics is represented by 108 Hoosier student-athletes selected to the conference honor roll. “We take tremendous pride in supporting our student-athletes in their efforts to succeed in competition and in the classroom, so it’s a special day when I get to congratulate our Academic All-Big Ten honorees for their dedication, commitment, and success academically,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson. “To receive this recognition, these 106 students have performed at an exceptionally high level while also excelling athletically. I congratulate each of them and thank them for representing our department and Indiana University so well.” To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team (as verified by being on the official squad list as of Nov. 1 for fall sports), have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

  • ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN
    Men’s Cross Country (11)-Nico Colchico, Abe Eckman, Tristan Forsythe, Keelan Grant, Travis Hickner, Garrett Hicks, Andrew Mangum, Camden Marshall, Parker Raymond, Keefer Soehngen and Skylar Stidam.
  • Women’s Cross Country (8)- Phoebe Bates, Erin Milligan, Claire Overfelt, Maddie Russin, Tori Schmidt, Alyssa Shope, Mariah Wehrle and Katelyn Winton.
  • Field Hockey (14)-Sofia Arrebola Garcia, Jemima Cookson, Meghan Dillon, Taylor Etling, Sydney Keld, Kayla Kiwak, Meredith Lee, Arabella Loveridge, Cecilia Maixner, Lara Mortz, Anna Mozeleski, Kennedy Reardon, Kai Snell and Yip Wan Wonderen.
  • Football (29)-James Bomba, Bryson Bonds, Aden Cannon, James Evans, Mitchell Evans, Vincent FIacable, Brody Foley, Chris Freeman, Jack Greer, Connor Hole, David Holloman, Cooper Jones, Isaiah Jones, Camden Jordan, Patrick Lucas, Jr., Bray Lynch, James Monds III, Louis Moore, Alejandro Quintero, Brendan Sorsby, Aaron Steinfeldt, Aaron Stewart, Sam Tallen, Xavier Trueblood, Kaiden Turner, Andrew Turvy, Trey Walker, Jackson Wasserstrom and Max Williams.
  • Men’s Soccer (15)- Brett Bebej, Luka Bezerra, Andrew Goldsworthy, Maouloune Goumballe, JT Harms, Austin Himebaugh, Lukas Hummel, Cooper Johnsen. Joey Maher, Tommy Mihalic, Breckin Minzey, Seth Stewart, Jack Wagoner, Nate Ward and Grant Yeagley.
  • Women’s Soccer (21)- Arianna Rose, Shea O’Malley, Coast Liapis, Zoe Tiger, Camille Hamm, Sarah Sirdah, Anna Bennett, Jaelyn Pallas, Ava Akeel, Paige Webber, Ellie Johannes, Olivia Albert, Emma Payton, Sofia Black, Olivia Rush, Dani Jacobson, Natasha Kim, Sydney Masur, Abbey Iler, Marisa Grzesiak and Olivia Smith.
  • Volleyball (11)- Elle Hillers, Mady Saris, Savannah Kjolhede, Kenzie Daffinee, Morgan Geddes, Grae Gosnell, Carly Mills, Melisa Itler, Candella Alonso Corcelles Isabella Lopez and Kaley Rammelsberg.

Indiana University Football’s Jordan Grier recommits to the Hoosiers after withdrawing his name from the transfer portal
Monday afternoon, defensive back Jordan Grier took to ‘X’ to announce that he is withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and is returning to Indiana for his final year of eligibility. Grier initially entered his name into the transfer portal on December 5, becoming the second Hoosier to enter their name into the portal following the hire of Curt Cignetti.

Throughout his career with the Hoosiers, Grier has appeared in 29 games. The Ellenwood, Georgia native has tallied 34 tackles with two tackles for a loss during his time in Bloomington. Grier returns to Bloomington after a season with Indiana in which he was forced to step up in the absence of sixth-year senior Noah Pierre. When Pierre went down with a season-ending injury in late October, Grier was forced to step up in the secondary. With one year of eligibility remaining, Grier provides the Hoosiers with an experienced defensive back in a secondary that otherwise lacks a lot of collegiate experience.

Indianapolis Colts to wear throwback uniforms this Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers
The “double horseshoes” are back. The Indianapolis Colts will wear uniforms from 1956 for this Saturday’s “Throwback Game” against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The uniforms feature dual horseshoes on the back of the helmets, along with triple stripes on the arms and socks. Instead of the double-blue striping on their usual pants, the 1956 unis feature a single blue stripe. Side uniform numbers appear on top of the shoulders instead of the sleeves.

The Colts wore these uniforms when they played in Baltimore, with some of the franchise’s best players sporting them on the field. They include legends like Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti and Don Shula. Richmond native Weeb Ewbank coached the 1956 team. The Colts bring out these uniforms every once in a while. They sported the 1956 jerseys during a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. The Colts ended up losing 38 to 31 after holding a 24-14 lead in a game marred by five turnovers. The team inducted Robert Mathis into the Ring of Honor during halftime.

During a memorable 2004 game on Thanksgiving, the Colts donned the road version of the uniform as Peyton Manning threw six touchdown passes against the Detroit Lions in a 41-9 win. Marvin Harrison and Brandon Stokley both had three touchdown catches in the game. The throwback feel isn’t limited to the uniforms. The Colts will heavily feature the “Bucking Horse” logo on gameday; the first 30,000 fans to arrive at Lucas Oil Stadium will get a pennant featuring it. In addition, the Colts Cheerleaders will don throwback duds.

New Indiana State Historcial Marker commerates Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse
Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse got some new recognition Last Saturday. An Indiana state historical marker was installed at the historic venue, commemorating the epic events it has hosted in its near-100-year history. The arena opened in 1928 as Butler Fieldhouse. It was renamed in 1965 to honor Tony Hinkle, who is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was a 41-year Butler men’s basketball coach.

Hinkle Fieldhouse notably hosted the Indiana High School Boys Basketball Tournament from 1928-42 and 1945-71. One of the venue’s top prep moments was 1954’s Milan Miracle, when Bobby Plump hit a last-second shot to push Milan High School past Muncie Central in the boys’ state title game. According to IN.gov, Muncie Central was considered to be 10 times bigger than Milan at the time. The schools were able to meet in the state title game because Indiana had yet to implement its current four-class basketball system, which created separate state tournaments for small and large schools. The Milan Miracle was the inspiration for the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” A few of the film’s scenes were actually shot at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

In the 1955 and 1956 tournaments at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Crispus Attucks became the first all-Black team to win Indiana state boys basketball tournaments. About 20 years later in 1975, Hinkle Fieldhouse hosted the first Indiana State Girls Basketball Tournament. “Tons of people come to Hinkle Fieldhouse all the time for reasons other than just basketball,” said Judi Warren, the first Miss Indiana Basketball. “To have this marker here letting people know the importance of this facility, what it did back in World War II and what it has done for so many athletes and where it’s taken their lives. This building is transformable for anyone.”

Hinkle Fieldhouse was a military training center during World War II. It has also hosted speeches delivered by former presidents Herbert Hoover, Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama. More recently, Hinkle Fieldhouse hosted 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament games. To present date, the Butler men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams play home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Notre Dame Football gets commitment from Duke University Quarterback Riley Leonard
Notre Dame is going from one talented ACC quarterback to another after Duke’s Riley Leonard committed to the Fighting Irish on Tuesday. Leonard, who helped the Blue Devils start the season with a stunning 28-7 victory over then-No. 9 Clemson, entered the transfer portal after his team’s 7-5 season. He announced his intention to play for Notre Dame on social media, writing “A dream come true. Go Irish,” with a shamrock image at the end. Riley is expected to take over the starting job that ex-Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman had for the Fighting Irish this season. Hartman joined Notre Dame this past season after five seasons with the Demon Deacons. Leonard played in 27 games for Duke the past three seasons, throwing for 4,450 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He played in just seven games this season after sustaining an injury late in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 30.

Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons in the Motor City Monday
Bennedict Mathurin scored 30 points and the Indiana Pacers handed the Detroit Pistons their 20th straight loss, winning 131-123 on Monday night. Tyrese Haliburton had 14 points and 16 assists for Indiana in its first game since Saturday’s 123-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA In-Season Tournament final. “This is one of the most difficult games you can have, coming off the emotions of last week, the game on Saturday, the travel and everything else,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I just thought our guys did a great job of staying together, keeping their composure and their aggression.

“Detroit is in an all-out attack mode because of their situation.” Detroit’s losing streak is the longest single-season slide in franchise history and matches the NBA’s longest since the Houston Rockets lost 20 straight in 2020-21. Detroit lost 21 straight between the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81. “As much as this losing hurts us, and it hurts like you can’t believe, I see a lot of growth,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “I’m encouraged by some of the things we saw tonight. We just need to build on them.”

The Philadelphia 76ers hold both NBA records, setting the single-season mark at 26 in a row in 2013-14 and the overall mark at 28 at the end of 2015-16 and start of 2016-17. Miles Turner added 23 points for Indiana. “This was fun, especially coming off a loss in the tournament,” said Mathurin, who added a career-high eight assists. “I don’t think it is about points for me. It’s about how I impact the game.” Cade Cunningham scored 23 points and Ausar Thompson had 20 for the Pistons, who have dropped 44 of their last 48 games dating to last season’s trade deadline.

Indiana led 98-93 at the start of the fourth quarter, and both teams were able to successfully get to the basket early in the period. Aaron Nesmith hit the only 3-pointer of the first six minutes, helping the Pacers move the margin to 115-108 with six minutes left. Turner’s three-point play made it a 10-point game and six straight points from Haliburton made it 129-114 with 3:31 to go. The Pistons missed their four 3-point attempts in the quarter and didn’t get an offensive rebound. “Like most professional sports, NBA basketball comes down to possession of the ball,” Carlisle said. “We were able to secure it when we needed to down the stretch.” Mathurin scored 18 points in the first half, including five in a 9-0 run to close the half. The Pacers shot 58.3% to Detroit’s 53.7%. “I thought the way we closed to halftime was something that kind of took the wind out of our sails a little bit,” Williams said. “We’re still learning that everything we do in the meat of the game has an effect on the end.”

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