2022 Sports Rewind: Year in Review

Here are the biggest local sports stories of 2022.

2022 was a great year for sports in Eagle Country. 

We are taking a trip down memory lane by taking a look at some of the brightest moments this past calendar year. 

The stories below are not ranked in any particular order. 

East Central Dominates New Prairie to Win Class 4A State Championship

East Central celebrates their third state championship in program history. IHSAA photo.

The East Central Trojans ran all over New Prairie on their way to winning the IHSAA Class 4A State Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on Black Friday.

The Trojans won the game 37-7 behind four rushing touchdowns from Josh Ringer. His four scores tied a Class 4A State Title game record.

Ringer, along with Eli Aston and Ryan Brotherton, all eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark as the Trojans ran for 407 yards.

Defensively, the Trojans held New Prairie to 276 yards of total offense and forced the Cougars to punt five times.

"I'm just extremely proud of our program and proud of our players for the way that they went up in that stage and that level of the game and were able to produce,” said Head Coach Jake Meiners. “They really did treat it like it was another game and came out and really performed and played to their capabilities."

The state championship is the third in East Central program history.

On top of the state championship, the Trojans had four All-State players: Eli Aston, Ryan Brotherton, Josh Ringer, and Noah Schneider. Head coach Jake Meiners was named the IFCA Class 4A Coach of the Year. 

Lawrenceburg Ends Historic Year as State Runner-Up

Lawrenceburg finishes as the Class 3A State Runner-Up. IHSAA photo.

It was a historic season for Lawrenceburg Tigers football. 

The first accomplishment was registering seven shutouts in a season, tying the previous mark by the 1985 team that finished as the State Runner-Up in Class 2A. Lawrenceburg finished the season ranked third in the state for fewest points allowed per game at 7.93. 

Secondly, the Tigers captured their fourth straight sectional championship, a feat that had never previously been accomplished in program history. 

After losing the opening game of the season to 4A Champion East Central, the Tigers rattled off 13-consecutive wins on their way to the 3A State Championship Game. 

The Tigers held a 14-10 lead at halftime against Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, but ultimately fell by a score of 34-14. 

Lawrenceburg's historic season was capped off with the announcement of four All-State selections: Alex Witte, Colton Roth, Jacob Pierce and Teagan Bennett.

Head coach Ryan Knigga was named the IFCA 3A Coach of the Year, while Defensive Coordinator Kevin Wirsch was named the IFCA 3A Assistant of the Year. 

Lawrenceburg Hoops Wins First Sectional Title Since 2009

Rushville, South Dearborn, and Franklin County. 

Those were the three teams Lawrenceburg had to go through to win their first sectional championship since 2009. 

It seemed the Tigers hopes of winning the sectional were going to be dashed yet again in the semifinals as they trailed South Dearborn 36-25 going into the fourth quarter. But, the Tigers had a comeback in them, outscoring the Knights 24-13 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Lawrenceburg would go on to defeat their rivals 57-51 setting up a matchup with Franklin County in the sectional final. 

Things again didn’t look good for the Tigers after being outscored 9-0 in the first quarter of the title game. Lawrenceburg would turn things around however, outscoring the Wildcats 45-30 over the final three quarters of the game.

The Tigers season would come to an end a week later at the regional after a hard fought game against Evansville Bosse. 

Hope Fox, Josie Trabel Become First Indiana All-Stars in East Central Program Hisotry

Never before had East Central High School had an Indiana Basketball All-Star.

Now, they have two. 

Hope Fox became the first Indiana All-Star in school history after finishing her senior season as a First-Team All-State selection.  

Fox averaged 14.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.9 steals per game as a senior. She was named IBCA Senior First Team All-State, IBCA Academic All-State First Team, EIAC All-Conference and Team Defensive MVP, and played in the HBCA All-Star Classic.

Teammate, Josie Trabel became the first Indiana Junior All-Star in program history.

Trabel had a huge junior season, averaging 17.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.4 steals. She became East Central's all-time leading scorer.  For her efforts, she earned the following honors: IBCA Supreme-15 Underclass All-State, ICGSA First Team All-State, EIAC All-Conference, EIAC MVP, and All-Regional Team.

Together, Fox and Trabel were a dynamic duo that helped lead East Central to their third straight sectional championship. 

Fox is currently a freshman playing at Southern Connecticut State University. Trabel, a senior at EC, has committed to play at Wofford College. 

Olympics

Two skiers from Lawrenceburg brought home medals from the Winter Olympics in Beijing. 

Nick Goepper captured the silver medal in the Men's Freeski Slopetyle event, his third overall medal at the Olympics. He won silver in 2018 and bronze in 2014. 

Justin Schoenefeld returned home with a gold medal around his neck. He, along with his girlfriend, Ashley Caldwell, and Christopher Lillis, won the Olympics’ inaugural mixed team aerials event.

Searcy Runner-Up

East Central junior Rider Searcy made a run at a state championship in February. 

He finished as the State Runner-Up at 145 lbs. 

Searcy (47-3) was defeated by pinfall in the championship match by Center Grove senior Hayden Watson. Watson entered the championship match as the #2 ranked wrestler at 145 lbs. Searcy was ranked 9th. 

Another East Central standout, Blake Wolf, placed 4th at 126 lbs. He is currently ranked 5th at 132 lbs.

East Central Fishing Team Competes at National Championship

Grayson Hylton and Issac Smith at the Indiana State Bass Fishing Tournament. Photo via East Central High School.

The East Central Fishing Team duo of Grayson Hylton and Issac Smith placed 147th out of 236 teams at the 13th annual High School Fishing National Championship in Florence, Alabama.

The three-day event was held June 22-25 at McFarland Park.

Hylton and Smith caught two fish (three fish limit) on day one, weighing in at 6-02. On Day 2, Hylton and Smith brought in one fish at 1-08, bringing their total for the tournament to 7-10.

For the entire tournament, there were 869 fish caught and 825 released (96%). The total weight was 2445-01.

Hylton and Smith qualified for the national championship by place placed 4th out of 54 teams at the Indiana Bass Federation State Tournament at Patoka Lake. 

Harrison Girls Wrestling Wins Team State Championship

For the first time in school history, a Harrison High School team has won a State Championship. 

Harrison's girls wrestling team captured the OHSWCA State Championship on Saturday at Hilliard Davidson High School. The Wildcats scored 111 points to outlast runner-up Marysville (96 points). 

Chloe Dearwester won an individual state championship for the second year in a row at 105 lbs. Dearwester won three of four matches by pinfall, including the championship match against Bellefontaine's Chelsea Horsley (Fall 1:30). 

Raegan Briggs was crowned state champion at 115 lbs. She dominated the tournament, winning all four of her matches by fall while not surrendering a single point. Briggs defeated Gabrielle Gartin (Chippewa) in less than a minute in the championship match (0:58). 

Three others placed for Harrison. Lilly Kinsel was the state runner-up at 130 lbs., Molly Hudler finished 5th at 170, and Jessica Edwards was 7th in the 235 lbs. tournament. 

History-Making Fischer Commits to Wrestle at Thomas More University

Kaitlyn Fischer has forever etched her name in South Dearborn athletics history.

She will always be known as the first female wrestler in school history to place at the Indiana High School State Girls Wrestling Tournament, where she placed seventh in January.

This week, Fischer had another highlight moment when she committed to continue her academic and athletic career at Thomas More University.

As a senior, Fischer wrestled at 106 lbs. Outside of her performance at the state tournament, she placed third at the IHSGW Regional, fourth at the co-ed EIAC tournament, and fifth at the co-ed sectional.

Other career highlights include finishing third in the Ohio Girls Wrestling State Tournament during her junior year at New Richmond High School.

Hill-Gabbard No Shave February Raises Over $3K

Hill-Gabbard No Shave February took place between January 18 and February 18, culminating at the Lawrenceburg vs. South Dearborn boys varsity basketball game. 

Throughout the month, staff from Lawrenceburg Community School Corporation competing in the No Shave contest, raising funds to be split between Lauren's Fight for Cure and the Brady Gabbard Scholarship Fund. 

Organizer Andy Cline put the fundraiser together as a spinoff of the traditional No Shave November. 

Over $3,400 was raised through collections, t-shirt sales, and other donations. Cline added that South Dearborn provided $550 through their own t-shirt sales. 

A total of $1,724 has been given to both Lauren's Fight for Cure and the Brady Gabbard Scholarship Fund. 

Lauren's Fight for Cure is designed to help spread awareness, donates to cutting edge research through the DIPG Collaborative and provides support for young adult DIPG brain cancer families. The Brady Gabbard Scholarship will benefit LHS students who want to go to college or secondary trade school.