Bowling
GCA’s Heldman finishes third at state
Emily Heldman of Greenwood Christian ended her season on Sunday with a third-place finish in girls singles play at the IHSB state finals in Anderson. Heldman rolled a four-game total of 769 in qualifying, then defeated Columbus North’s Alexis Jones 193-189 in the first stepladder finals match before falling to runner-up Robin Edwards of Griffith, 203-181.
Center Grove’s girls finished their debut campaign on a high note, placing 10th in the team standings on Saturday. The Trojans posted a 15-game total of 2,176, just 11 pins back of eighth and 50 behind seventh-place Roncalli. Evansville North was the girls team champion after winning three straight stepladder matches.
In boys singles play, Roncalli’s Jordan Bauerle was fifth on the boys side with 829 over four games; Whiteland’s Benjamin Burnell (651) was 27th.
Boys basketball
Warriors’ comeback bid falls short
Whiteland scored 29 points during a furious fourth-quarter rally but finished on the short end of a 76-75 score at New Palestine on Saturday. Wiatt McLaughlin scored 28 points for the Warriors (12-10), followed by Jazz Banwait with 19, Ethan Edwards with 14 and Gavin Stubbe with 10.
Franklin College
Women’s swimming & diving wins HCAC title
Franklin College claimed its sixth consecutive HCAC women’s swimming and diving championship, wrapping up the four-day meet on Saturday with 945 points to easily outdistance runner-up Rose-Hulman (667). Kat Lundy headed up a 1-2-3 finish in the 200-yard backstroke for the Grizzlies, who also got wins from Petal Sloan (100 freestyle), Regan Hendricks (200 breaststroke), Samantha Phillips (200 butterfly) and the 400 freestyle relay team.
Phillips was named the league’s Swimmer of the Year, while Lundy and Hollis shared Newcomer of the Year honors. Andy Hendricks earned Coach of the Year distinction in his final season at the helm.
The Grizzlies finished second behind Rose-Hulman on the men’s side, totaling 677.5 points. Zachary Jackson-Blaine won the 100 freestyle on Saturday, while Kosmo Wojack was first in the 200 fly.
Women’s basketball takes tournament opener
Brooke Grinstead hit two 3-pointers in the final 1:17 as fourth-seeded Franklin College scored the final eight points of the game to pull out out a 73-69 home win over No. 5 Rose-Hulman in HCAC tournament quarterfinal action on Sunday afternoon. The Grizzlies (17-9) trailed 69-65 before Grinstead hit back-to-back treys, the second to put her team in front for good with 34 seconds to go. Jordan Coon, who scored a game-high 32 points, iced it with a pair of late free throws. Grinstead finished with 11 points, Taylor Cooney nine and Payton Seay eight.
Franklin will travel to face top seed and defending Division III national champion Transylvania on Friday.
Men’s basketball ousted by Spartans
Franklin College saw its season come to an end with a 76-73 loss at Manchester in the quarterfinal round of the HCAC tournament on Sunday. Jessie Morgan Jr. had 20 points to lead the Grizzlies (12-14), while Jack Hendricks scored 16, Ryan Bostic added 12 and Lynn King totaled eight points and eight rebounds. Whiteland graduate Logan Willoughby had 17 points in the victory for the Spartans, while Greenwood Christian grad Blake Shewmaker added 12 off the bench.
Softball wins three of four
In a season-opening southern weekend trip, Franklin College took its first three games of the spring before suffering a 2-1 loss at Mississippi University for Women on Sunday. The Grizzlies had opened with a 10-2 rout of Covenant before posting consecutive wins over Millsaps, 8-0 and 6-4. Stephanni Kleber pitched her way to a pair of wins for the Grizzlies, while Abbey Martin hit a three-run homer in her first career start on Saturday.
