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Yesterday, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved the sectional assignments in baseball and softball for the next two school years. Listed below are the softball sectional assignments.

The Executive Committee accepted the recommendations of the realignment committee which determined the sectional groups for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.

The committee of 12 individuals met last spring to determine the four class sports including baseball and softball consisting of school administrators representing each IHSAA district and class were constructed to realign the sports.

Host sites for the next two years will be determined by athletic administrators in each sectional this fall and forwarded to the IHSAA for state tournament planning.

IHSAA Softball Sectional Assignments

for 2024-25, 2025-26

Class 4A

1. (5): Crown Point, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Lake Central, Munster

2. (5): Chesterton, Hobart, Merrillville, Portage, Valparaiso

3. (7): LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, New Prairie, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Riley

4. (5): Concord, Elkhart, Goshen, Northridge, Warsaw Community

5. (4): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop, Fort Wayne Snider

6. (4): Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Homestead, Huntington North

7. (4): Harrison (West Lafayette), Kokomo, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon

8. (6): Carmel, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Westfield, Zionsville

9. (6): Anderson, Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Muncie Central, Pendleton Heights, Richmond

10. (5): Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central (Indianapolis), Warren Central

11. (6): Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Pike, Plainfield, Tri-West Hendricks

12. (6): Center Grove, Decatur Central, Franklin Central, Mooresville, Perry Meridian, Southport

13. (5): Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Martinsville, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo

14. (5): Columbus East, Columbus North, East Central, Franklin Community, Whiteland Community

15. (5): Bedford North Lawrence, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany, Seymour

16. (4): Castle, Evansville F.J. Reitz, Evansville Harrison, Evansville North

Class 3A

17. (6): Calumet, East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Griffith, Hammond Bishop Noll, Highland

18. (5): Hanover Central, Illiana Christian, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, River Forest

19. (6): Culver Academies, Glenn, Mishawaka Marian, Plymouth, South Bend Saint Joseph, South Bend Washington

20. (6): Columbia City, Fairfield, NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee, West Noble

21. (7): Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Garrett, Leo

22. (6): Bellmont, Heritage, Marion, Mississinewa, New Haven, Norwell

23. (7): Logansport, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Peru, Twin Lakes, West Lafayette, Western

24. (6): Connersville, Delta, Hamilton Heights, Jay County, New Castle, Yorktown

25. (6): Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Crawfordsville, Danville Community, Frankfort, Guerin Catholic, Lebanon

26. (6): Herron, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis Shortridge, Purdue Polytechnic - Downtown

27. (6): Cascade, Edgewood, Indianapolis George Washington Community, Northview, Owen Valley, Speedway

28. (7): BeechGrove, Greenwood Community, Indian Creek, New Palestine, Roncalli, Rushville Consolidated, Shelbyville

29. (6): Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Jennings County, Lawrenceburg, South Dearborn

30. (6): Charlestown, Corydon Central, Madison Consolidated, North Harrison, Scottsburg, Silver Creek

31. (6): Gibson Southern, Jasper, Princeton Community, Southridge, Vincennes Lincoln, Washington

32. (7): Boonville, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Central, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Heritage Hills, Mt. Vernon, North Posey

Class 2A

33. (6): Andrean, Boone Grove, Hebron, Lake Station Edison, Wheeler, Whiting

34. (6): Bremen, Career Academy, Jimtown, Knox, LaVille, Winamac Community

35. (6): Central Noble, Churubusco, Eastside, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, Westview

36. (6): Adams Central, Bluffton, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, South Adams, Whitko, Woodlan

37. (7): Benton Central, Delphi Community, North Montgomery, Rensselaer Central, Rossville, Seeger, Western Boone

38. (6): Eastern (Greentown), Lewis Cass, Manchester, Oak Hill, Rochester Community, Wabash

39. (6): Elwood Community, Frankton, Lapel, Sheridan, Taylor, Tipton

40. (5): Alexandria Monroe, Blackford, Eastbrook, Madison-Grant, Wapahani

41. (6): Greencastle, North Putnam, Parke Heritage, South Putnam, South Vermillion, Southmont

42. (6): Covenant Christian (Indpls), Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Monrovia, Park Tudor, Riverside, University

43. (6): Christel House, Eastern Hancock, Heritage Christian, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, Irvington Preparatory Academy, Triton Central

44. (6): Centerville, Hagerstown, Northeastern, Shenandoah, Union County, Winchester Community

45. (6): Austin, Brown County, Brownstown Central, South Ripley, Southwestern (Hanover), Switzerland County

46. (7): Clarksville, Crawford County, Eastern (Pekin), Mitchell, Paoli, Providence, Salem

47. (6): EasternGreene, Linton-Stockton, North Knox, South Knox, Sullivan, West Vigo

48. (7): Evansville Mater Dei, Forest Park, Perry Central, Pike Central, South Spencer, Tecumseh, Tell City

Class 1A

49. (7): Hammond Academy of Science and Technology, Kouts, Marquette Catholic, Morgan Township, Tri-Township, Washington Township, Westville

50. (8): Caston, DeMotte Christian, North Newton, North White, Pioneer, South Newton, Tri-County, West Central

51. (7): Argos, Culver Community, Elkhart Christian Academy, North Judson-San Pierre, Oregon-Davis, South Central (Union Mills), Triton

52. (6): Bethany Christian, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, Fort Wayne Canterbury, Fremont, Hamilton, Lakewood Park Christian

53. (7): Attica, Covington, Faith Christian, Fountain Central, Lafayette Central Catholic, North Vermillion, Riverton Parke

54. (6): Bethesda Christian, Carroll (Flora), Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Frontier, Traders Point Christian

55. (8): Cowan, Daleville, North Miami, Northfield, Southern Wells, Southwood, Tri-Central, Wes-Del

56. (5): Cambridge City Lincoln, Monroe Central, Randolph Southern, Union (Modoc), Union City

57. (3): Indiana School for the Deaf, Liberty Christian, Tindley

58. (4): Eminence, Greenwood Christian Academy, Indianapolis Lutheran, Providence Cristo Rey

59. (8): Edinburgh, Knightstown, Morristown, North Decatur, South Decatur, Southwestern (Shelbyville), Tri, Waldron

60. (8): Crothersville, Hauser, Jac-Cen-Del, Milan, Oldenburg Academy, Rising Sun, Shawe Memorial, Trinity Lutheran

61. (7): Bloomfield, Clay City, Cloverdale, Dugger Union, North Central (Farmersburg), Shakamak, White River Valley

62. (5): Barr-Reeve, Loogootee, North Daviess, Orleans, Shoals

63. (8): Borden, Christian Academy of Indiana, Henryville, Lanesville, New Washington, Rock Creek Academy, South Central (Elizabeth), West Washington

64. (4): Cannelton, Northeast Dubois, Springs Valley, Wood Memorial

Adam Mull looks for room to get up field.

By: Josh Lewis, Reporter

It’s always nice to start the season off with a win. It makes it even sweeter when you are breaking in a brand new turf field. On August 23, for the first time since 2021, the Lions football team opened the season with a win, topping North Harrison in a thriller 22-12.

Lions Head Coach Brian Glesing said it was great to start the season off with a win.

“That’s a tough football team there. They are big, strong, and they come right at you. Sometimes you don’t have answers for that," said Glesing. "We made a couple of big plays to get them off schedule and in some second and long, and third and long. That makes it difficult for them. Our offense did great, we just had some penalties and turnovers where we stopped ourselves. We made the plays when we needed to make them.”

Salem opened the game with a promising drive. Adam Mull found Seth Ponsford in the flats for an early first down. A 35 yard run from Logan Dent got the Lions deep into North Harrison territory. However some penalties stalled the drive, and then a fumble gave the ball to the Cougars at the 29 yard line.

After taking over North Harrison wasted little time getting down the field thanks to several gashing runs up the middle. They punched in the games first score with a 25 yard run up the gut with 2:05 left in the first, but the Lions blocked the PAT to keep it a 6-0 game.

On their next possession the Lions once again had a promising drive stalled out by penalties when a first down run was called back for a hold. But the defense stepped up after their ensuing punt, forcing a Cougar turnover on a fumble that was recovered by Dent at the 14 yard line.

Braxton Dean ignited the Lions offense with a catch for 60 yards before he was dragged down at the 20 yard line. Caris Moore set the Lions up on the goal line where Mull plunged into the endzone on the QB sneak to get Salem on the board on fourth and goal. Mull also ran around the end for the two point conversion to give Salem the lead 8-6 with 8:10 to go in the half.

It was the Cougars turn to have some penalties stop a promising drive. After a few first downs they got behind the sticks and Payton Schocke broke up a pass on fourth down to give Salem the ball back at the 18 with a few minutes left in the half.

Salem executed their two minute offense to perfection. Mull found Dean over the middle to get them into the redzone with 12.8 ticks left. On the next play, Dent got around the end for an easy score to make it a 14-6 game going into the locker room.

The second half started out promising for Salem once again when they got an early stop that gave them the ball in North Harrison territory. But a fumble on the five yard line ended their chance at points. Again though the Lions defense got a stop with a turnover on downs with an incomplete pass at midfield. But the script repeated as the Lions fumbled at the 45 to give the ball right back to start the fourth quarter.

This time the Cougars didn’t waste the opportunity to put more points on the board. A QB sneak got them back on the board, but the Lions defense bowed their necks and stuffed the two point try to keep their lead 14-12 with 9:12 left to play.

Another turnover looked like it might prove costly for Salem, fumbling on the 26 yard line after a couple first down runs, and the Cougars took over with 7:01 to play. However, the Lions' defense stiffened yet again. After a few North Harrison first downs, they forced an incomplete pass on fourth and 8 at the 47 yard line to take over with three minutes and change. After a few quarterback runs, Mull found a sliver of space and broke free for a 42 yard score. He found Dean in the endzone for the two point conversion to put the finishing touches on the victory and give the Lions a season opening win.

Glesing said it’s been a big transformation from his team last season to get to this point.

“We understand the game better. We are stronger, we are in better shape. It’s a lot of those things. A lot of those same guys were playing in this game last year," Glesing stated. "We are just a better football team and have a lot more experience.”

He also commented on how the leadership the team got from the quarter back was big when they needed it.

“Adam Mull’s leadership from the end of last season to this point now and through tonight was tremendous. He has been awesome and the team has really rallied around him. And he had some big scores for us," said Glesing.

He then went on to add that opening up the season on the new turf was of course fantastic as well. “It’s cool. I’m ready to get going on it. It’s not new anymore. Now it’s our home field, and it’s ours. So now all our teams can use it and hopefully be successful. The next time we are on it will be Brownstown. That will be a war in three weeks.”

The Lions will travel to Silver Creek on Friday for their second game of the season.

By: Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

The Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery couldn’t be stopped by two rain delays and a late-night track lighting failure on Saturday night, Aug. 17. It was “Classic Cars Cruise in on the High Banks”.
Several owners took advantage to ride the banks with their vintage cars in between races. The high banks held all the action.

First out the was the growing Salem Super car division. Eight high-powered stock cars took to the track, each powered by a crate 602 engine.

The Kimmel Cars started out with trouble as Scott Melton kept spinning on laps one and three due to a defective differential.

Brian Rose, the fastest qualifier in this group, suffered a jammed front suspension and a rear flat tire. He stayed on the lead lap and came charging from back to a second-place finish.

The new winner was Shayne Slider and third Todd Kempf.

The next race was the Ford Crown Vic 50-lapper. Early leaders were James Mikesell and Chase Adams. Adams, always a challenger, dropped out on lap seven with front end damage and felt he was not competitive. On lap 13 Bradley Moore and Mark Barrett collided ending their day. On lap 15 Ronnie Basham took over. He is fondly referred to as RB3. C.J. Grider blew a tire on lap 46 creating a four-lap shootout.

Basham charged to the front for the win in the Jeff Roberts-prepared Ford. Second was Dillion Kaelin, and third Kyle LaFever. Early leader James Mikesell captured fourth. There were 11 cars on the lead lap.

The CRA group took to the track and Will Kimmel, fastest qualifier, took over for a flag-to-flag win. Third place was the battle for position with Jon Beach, Jeff Myers, and Joe Cooksey dancing on the banks. The finish ended in that order with Beach, Myers, and Cooksey finishing 2-3-4.

The main event of the night was the Great American Stocks 50. Heath Helton set a new track record for that division. He cruised the .555-mile track at 19.248 seconds. His starting position was sixth due to the invert start. Helton was second by lap 12, but a caution flag caused a restart, and Helton had a bad restart. Brian Bayer took the lead.

It wasn’t until lap 34 after close racing with Bayer that the black Sweet 16 car driven by Helton recaptured the lead. Second at the end of 50 was Brian Bayer and third Jeff Smith. Fourth was Conner Popplewell with his pass at lap 40 over Alex Ware. This fifth place was Ware’s best finish to date in this division. Nine cars were on the lead lap.

In victory lane, when asked who he would like to thank, he said, “First the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that made this possible.” He then continued to mention his sponsors.

The next race will be the return of the 65th running of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial Race on Saturday, Sept. 7. Joining the program will be the Kenyon Midgets and the Legends. Kenyon Midgets are the creation of the legendary Kenyon brothers, Mel and Don.

Shayne Slider was the winner of the Salem Super Car race Aug. 17.

Ronnie Basham was the winner of the Ford Crown Vic 50-lap race.

Will Kimmel enjoyed a flag-to-flag win in the CRA race.

Heath Helton won the Great American Stocks 50-lap race, the main event on Aug. 17.

Who doesn’t like a free t-shirt? Especially when it’s supporting their favorite high school team colors.

In hopes of helping county schools celebrate school spirit and have fun at games, Lincks Clothing and Shoes will be donating 10 free school shirts to each of the county high schools during home games this football season.

“We did this before Covid and there was so much excitement from the fans!” said owner Rita Lincks. “I want to bring back that excitement and raise school spirit and hopefully add a smile to someone’s day!”

Lincks said when her sons played sports, the cheerleaders were always doing something fun for the cheer block and it boosted school spirit.

“So when we did the shirts everyone loved them!”

The shirts will be Lincks shirts in school colors.

“We are excited for this opportunity and wish the best of luck to all our county teams!”

Located at 15 Public Square, Salem, Indiana, Lincks is a local business that supports the schools in numerous ways throughout the school year with fundraisers, post season games and more. This is just another way for them to show their support to the local schools.