Well, folks, here we are, just a few days/weeks (depending on your school locale) from the end of the academic and athletic year.

 There is always a gradual feeling of finality to late May and early June here in Central Indiana. High school seniors are moving on, spring sports state tournaments are winding down and even our favorite television programs are signing off until September.

Summer break is bearing down on us like a freight train. But there's no "real break" as well all know. Parents, coaches and administrators will keep working, preparing for the fall. Student-athletes will be busy busting their tails to get ready for the coming sports seasons.

Here at HSSTM, we're no different. In fact, we're busy working on some really cool stuff for our magazine and Web site that I just can't talk about right now (Yes, that's a tease.) But keep checking back online here, as well as in the magazine - as we have huge things planned for June, July, August and September. (All this hype will be worth it, trust me).

On with the news...
  • Heritage Christian athletic director Jeff Hester will be taking over the same position at Columbus North. Though Columbus is slightly out of our coverage area, we wish Jeff the best and hope to keep in touch with him - perhaps we'll expand our coverage areas in the future and Columbus North and Columbus East will fall under that umbrella (ella, ella, ella).
Softball Sectionals
  • Strong performance from Center Grove junior pitcher Emily Gwaltney in the Class 4A No. 1Trojans 2-1 victory against Whiteland at the Franklin Central softball sectional last night. Gwaltney (featured on the cover story from our April 2008 issue) struck out eight and went 2-for-4 at the plate in guiding Center Grove to an opening round win.
  • Class 4A No. 5 Avon dominated Tech 18-0 in five innings at Decatur Central behind winning pitcher Jenny Esparza's two-run triple.
  • Decatur Central topped Pike, 5-1, behind Farrah Mitchell's nine-strikeouts. Micah Docherty knocked in three runs to help the Hawks. Avon and Decatur Central will meet for the title on Saturday.
  • Beech Grove got a strong performance from Beth Lewis, who hit a three-run homer and struck out eight on the mound, in a 14-3 victory against Northwest in five innings.
  • Ty Bremer pitched a no-hitter, complete with 12 strikeouts, to lead Class 2A No. 1 Scecina to a 18-0 victory against Park Tudor.
  • Another no hitter in Class 2A came from Indian Creek, in combined effort from Lindsey Richards and reliever Shino Kato in a five inning, 13-0 victory against Triton Central.
  • Class A No. 2 Lutheran topped Morristown 12-0 courtesy of Morgan Lewis' two home runs.
Baseball
  • In Brownsburg's 10-0, five-inning victory against Fishers yesterday, senior Mark Conover threw a no-hitter. Conover struck out seven and walked just three in this impressive performance. You may remember Mark's fascinating story in our April 2007 inaugural issue, which you can read again here.