Yeah, guess I’ve been off the old blog for a while now. It’s Friday, and as they say, I’m due.

Needless to say, HSSTM, both locally and nationally, has been quite busy this spring. We had an e-mailer yesterday notice that we are a bit behind on some of our Web content, like the rankings. This gentleman was quite friendly about the whole thing, expressing sympathy for trying to maintain every little piece while focusing on the magazine itself (with a staff of five). Most of the time this would fall into the “angry e-mailer” category, so I’d just like to thank this man for not going that direction. I digress.

Folks, all I can really say is sit tight, we’re working on some big (and very cool) changes. We take pride in trying to provide some timely key information on the Web, so it irks us, too, that there are currently a couple ‘bugs’ that have resulted in, mainly, rankings that are three weeks old. Please keep visiting, as our Showcase stories and blogs will keep rolling along. Pretty soon you’ll understand why I’m saying all of this.

Now on to your regularly scheduled blogging.

BOYS TRACK SECTIONALS

At the risk of not repeating too much information that you can find elsewhere, I’d like to mention a few things from the boys track sectionals last night. There were dozens and dozens of notable performances throughout Central Indiana, but there two specific groups of teammates that have the chance to do something really special this spring.

Those two groups would be the Ben Davis sprinters and the Lawrence North field event fellas. It appears as though Giants sprinters Matthew Terrell, Lavarus Williams, Rapheal Williams, Anthony Kimmons, Brandon Newbern, Colin Hester and Robert Rose all have a shot at competing in the state meet – Terrell and the two Williams’ for sure (knock on wood, of course). That’s a ridiculous group simply in numbers, and 95 percent of coaches around the state would love to have just one of them. See all of their times and finishes here.

Then last night at the North Central Sectional, the LN field athletes were just as impressive as the BD sprinters. Tra Wilson, Jordan Conley (Mike's brother) and Tarus Blackburn finished 1-2-3 in the long jump and all were separated by about nine inches total. Couple the long jumpers with the 1-2 finish in the shot put by Brandon Pounds and Ryan Smith, and you’ve got yourself quite a cast. Pounds has the longest throw in the state this season, while Wilson matched his win in the long jump with sprinting wins in the 100, 200 and 400 relay. Eesh.

BASEBALL SECTIONAL DRAW

We’ve put up a rundown of every local baseball sectional on the homepage, but I thought I’d just make a few comments about the interesting match-ups.

This discussion has to start in 4A Sectional 8, where No. 3 Carmel (19-4) has drawn Noblesville (18-6) in each team’s sectional opener, which will be a semifinal in that bracket. Carmel has to be considered one of the teams with the most depth, top to bottom, while the Millers are quite an interesting story themselves. After a surprise run to semistate last year, Noblesville returned a large handful of starters and it was the coaches’ choice for the preseason No. 1 team in 4A. Then the Millers started the season 6-5 and quickly dropped from the rankings, but have since gone 12-1 and have to be considered a frontrunner with experience. Without a doubt, one really good team will have its season cut short after this one.

Elsewhere, 4A Sectional 12 at Avon has some interesting potential if the bracket stays chalk. In the opening game, No. 5 Brownsburg (18-3) takes on rival Avon (17-7) in what will be an intense chess match. The Bulldogs have beaten their Hendricks County foe three times this season, but can they make it four? If so Pike will be waiting in the semis with a possible championship game looming against one of the bigger surprises of the season, No. 9 Decatur Central (17-6). The Hawks have a first round game scheduled against Ben Davis and would face the winner of Manual vs. Tech in the semis before a showdown with Brownsburg could happen.

In 3A, Sectional 26 at Brebeuf could have a semifinal game for the books. Host and No. 5 Brebeuf (17-4) plays Beech Grove in the opener while No. 2 Chatard (21-3) takes on Howe. If both teams win, they would square off in the semis…keep an eye on that one.

Lastly, in 2A, Sectional 43 at Park Tudor looks to be highly competitive. Don’t sleep on Triton Central, who is just outside the top-10 in the rankings and won this sectional last year. They have drawn Washington in their opener and would possibly have to face solid teams such as Heritage Christian and Park Tudor in later rounds.