The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1214883
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, Februar y 26, 2020 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg See BET TERED on 5 SIX INDIVIDUALS SCORE AT SECTIONAL FINALS Natalie Bohnert named All-Conference Southwest Min- nesota State Uni- versity freshman swimmer Natalie Bohnert earned All-Northern Sun Intercolle- giate Conference (NSIC) honors for a second straight night by first fin- ishing third in the 100 -yard backstroke and then a second place finish the following night in the 200 backstroke, with a time of 2:04.30. The former Pike Central Charger swimmer participated in the first-ever Northern Sun Intercollegiate Confer- ence Championships hosted by the Bis- mark State College Aquatic and Well- ness Center. Bohnert made team histo- ry on Friday, becoming the first Mustang swimmer to earn All-NSIC honors. Her team finished eighth in the meet with 106 points. SMSU (Southwest Min- nesota State University) finished its in- augural season at the Division II level, competing in 11 meets and closed the season with a 3-6 dual meet record. St. Cloud won the team championship with 893.5 points. Minnesota State finished in second place (805.5) while Sioux Falls placed third (797). The top three finalists in each individual event and top two final- ists in each relay event were recognized as NSIC All-Conference during the meet. Bohnert's mother, Beth, said Natalie "was pretty excited (about winning All-Conference) and is already focused on next year." See SWIM on page 3 Brayden Cooper, Draven Readle, Andrew Hill, Isaac Burdette, Samuel Theising and Noah Russell scored in individual events at the Jasper sectional finals on Saturday and all three relays scored in the B finals. Senior Braydon Cooper placed 12th in the 50 free with a time of 24.46 and finished 15th in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.13. Senior Samuel Theising placed 16th clock- ing 1:09.20. Freshman Draven Readle placed 13th in the 500 free, clocking 6:16.17, and junior No- ah Russell was 15th in 6:34.88. Readle al- so finished 16th in the 200 individual med- ley with a time of 2:42.50. Freshman Isaac Burdette clocked 1:15.24 for 13th in the 100 -yard breaststroke. The 200 free and 200 medley relay teams earned 18 points each for ninth overall. Brayden Cooper, Isaac Burdette, Samu- el Theising and Coleman Henson clocked 2:03.13 in the B finals of the 200 medley re- lay. Seniors Coleman Henson, Andrew Hill, Samuel Theising and Brayden Cooper com- bined for a 1:46.17 time in the B finals of the 200 free relay, bettering their preliminary Chargers draw sectional bye in Vincennes The Pike Central Chargers drew the bye for the Tuesday, March 3 opening of the Vincennes-hosted Class 3A section- al 31 tournament. Washington will play Vincennes Lincoln on Tuesday in game one and Princeton Community faces Sul- livan in game two on Friday Pike Central plays the winner of game one Friday night after Princeton and Sul- livan finish game two. Winners from game two and three play for the cham- pionship on Saturday. By James Capozella Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central struggled to a 28 -14 first-half deficit and then suffered an 11-7 third quarter deficit, that put them in an 18 -point hole that was near impossible to recover from this past Tuesday night. Ethan Gor- by's third three-bagger of the night and one courtesy of Jaden Guth loomed large in the nine-point fourth, but simply wasn't enough in the 45 -30 loss at the hands of the visiting Gibson South- ern Titans. Even if the Chargers could have held off the night's top scorers in Drew Foster, Adam May and Mitchell Spindler, their three fourth-quarter bas- kets kept the win margin at 15 points. A fter trailing 14-2 on the home court against the Ti- tans, Peyton Howald got a basket to go and Sean Hanselman went to the line to add to Jaden Guth's earli- er basket to finish the first quarter down 14-6. In the second quarter, Hanselman closed the gap with a quick basket and then Ethan Scott came into the left wing for a dunk and a four-point contest. Titan Drew Foster made a steal and ran for two and that ac- tion was quickly followed by Scott filching the ball but missing a dunk shot. A shot from beyond the arc by Titan Aiden Neel brought the Chargers to a nine-point difference, but Foster and then Spindler zinged the nylon for a 23- 10 contest. Hanselman was sent to the line for two and an 11-point game, but Titan Preston Riggs got a three to go and got the visitors back to a 14-point game. Hansel- man got inside for two, but May countered for the last score for a 28 -14 halftime. Sean Hanselman was the Chargers' leading scorer with 11, followed by Ethan Gorby with nine and Jaden Guth with five. Ethan Scott and Peyton Howald had two apiece and Colin Craig one. The Chargers shot 6 -9 from the line and the Titans were 0 -2. The Chargers commit- ted just six fouls and the Ti- tans were called on 13. Asked about the slow start, Charger coach Hunt- er Elliott commented, "Once again, we had too many unforced turnovers and just didn't finish real well. We had four uncon- tested layups we didn't fin- ish in the first half alone and we simply can't afford to do that. We had some turnovers on the press and the 1-3-1 that were just from stand- ing and watching instead of flashing to the ball, wanting the ball and attacking. Sean Hanselman played a very solid game once again with- out shooting the ball well. He was aggressive and has really been listening and im- proving lately." Henson, Goeppner named to Academic All-State team By Andy Heuring Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Two Pike Cen- tral wrestlers have been named to the first team Wres- tling Academic All-State. Blake Henson, at 138 pounds, compiled a record of 26 -22, including winning the PAC, while carrying a GPA of 4.1. Brandon Goep- pner, at 132, com- piled a record of 23-24, while car- rying a GPA of 3.8. Charger Coach Ryan McCain said the basic require- ments were to have 3.75 or bet- ter GPA and be on the sectional roster. Henson would have made it last year, but he had a season-ending injury and wasn't on the sectional roster. "They are the best kids. Hard work- ers, probably the hardest workers I have. They deserve every bit of it," said Mc- Cain of Henson and Goeppner. Blake Henson Natalie Bohnert Brandon Goeppner Sam Theising pops up for a breath during the breaststroke leg of the 200 IM at the Jasper Swim Sectional. Pike Central placed ninth in 200 IM relay. Charger Kendric Sorgius scored nine points against the Titans, including a three-point- er in the third quarter. James Capozella photo Chargers bettered by Titans 45-30 Michael Burkhart grabs a breath and keeps churning in the 200 freestyle at the Jasper Sectional.