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In another news announcement from the IHSAA:

IHSAA COMMISSIONER BLAKE RESS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
William Blake Ress, commissioner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. since 2000, announced to the IHSAA Executive Committee his intention to retire effective February 1, 2011. Ress’ announcement came on Thursday as part of the group’s final meeting of the 2009-10 school year.

Ress, 68, began his tenure as the IHSAA’s seventh commissioner on July 1, 2000 succeeding Bob Gardner (1995-2000). Other former IHSAA commissioners include: C. Eugene Cato (1983-1995), Ward E. Brown (1976-1983), Phil N. Eskew (1962-1976), L.V. Phillips (1945-1962) and Arthur L. Trester (1929-1945).

During his time as leader, his vision toward emerging technologies has been key, including the IHSAA.org website as a communication tool with the member schools and the general public. He’s worked to promote the IHSAA brand, various sportsmanship initiatives and embraced corporate sponsorships when expenses to the Association escalated. He’s also overseen the evolution of various state tournaments since the beginning of class sports in 1997-98. On June 17, he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.

“Blake Ress has been visionary in his leadership of the IHSAA while staying true to the core mission of the Association,” says Paul Neidig, Director of Athletics of Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and chairman of the IHSAA Executive Committee. “The thing I most admire about Blake is his ability to make the tough decisions while not alienating people or the member schools along the way. On behalf of the IHSAA Executive Committee, I would like to wish Blake Ress the best of luck in his retirement.”

“I am genuinely appreciative for having had the opportunity to serve in this capacity for the past 10 years,” says Ress. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will treasure the memories.”

While his responsibilities as commissioner began a decade ago, Ress’ relationship with the IHSAA spans most of his adult life.

Ress was first elected to the IHSAA Board of Directors in 1990 while principal at Martinsville High School and served as chairman of the IHSAA Executive Committee in 1993-94. He was in his second term on the Board when he was selected to join the IHSAA Executive Staff as an assistant commissioner in January 1995.

While an assistant commissioner, Ress was responsible for the administration of football, wrestling, boys and girls swimming and diving, and girls softball.

A native of Tell City, Ind., Ress is a 1960 graduate of Tell City High School and a 1964 graduate of Butler University. During his career in education he has served as a coach in football, basketball and swimming, as a game official in basketball, baseball and swimming and diving, as an athletic director, and as a high school principal.

Ress began his career as an educator in 1964 as a biology teacher and coach at Northside Junior High School in Columbus. He served as the assistant boys swimming coach at Columbus High School from 1964 to 1968, and was on the coaching staff when Columbus High School won the 1965 IHSAA Boys Swimming state title. He also served as the freshman football coach at Northside Junior High School in Columbus for four seasons and as a basketball assistant coach for two seasons.

From Columbus, he moved to Shelbyville High School where he was an assistant football coach for six seasons and the boys varsity swimming coach from 1970-73. In the fall of 1974, he was named assistant principal and athletic director at Shelbyville High School and served in that post for 11 years before becoming principal at Cloverdale High School. Ress served one year as principal at Cloverdale before moving to Martinsville High School in the same role in the fall of 1986. He served as principal at Martinsville for 8 1/2 years before joining the IHSAA staff.

Ress began his IHSAA officiating career in basketball as a student at Butler University. While coaching at Columbus and Shelbyville, he added football, swimming, track and field, and baseball to his officiating assignments. Ress worked six IHSAA basketball sectional tournaments during that time, and also earned tournament assignments in swimming and baseball. His officiating career was highlighted by his selection to umpire the IHSAA Baseball State Finals in 1973. He also was president of the Southeastern Indiana Officials Association in 1973 and 1974, and served as a baseball rules interpreter from 1970-74.

Professionally, Ress also served as president of the South Central Conference (1990-91), as meet director of the IHSAA Girls Swimming and Diving State Finals (1987-94), as assistant meet director of the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals (1984-94), as a member of the board of directors of the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (1980-85), and as the executive secretary and publicity director of the South Central Conference (1982-85).

Ress was honored as the Midwest Athletic Director of the Year in 1986 by the National Council of Athletic Directors. He was chosen as the Indiana Athletic Director of the Year in 1981 and again in 1985 by the National Council of Athletic Directors. In 1992, he was honored as the District 9 Principal of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Principals.

As a student at Tell City High School, Ress participated in football, basketball and baseball. In basketball, his coach was Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer Orlando (Gunner) Wyman. Ress was a member of Tell City’s Evansville Semi-State runner-up team in 1959.

In addition to his B.S. degree in education from Butler University, Ress earned an M.S. in secondary education from Indiana University (1967), and an Education Specialist from Butler (1982).

Ress and his wife of 46 years, Linda, a retired career educator and Tell City graduate, reside in Noblesville. They are the proud parents of three adult children, Brian Ress, Lisa Leszczewski and Amy Jordan, and four grandchildren, Emily Leszczewski and Sam, Nora and Sarah Jordan.

The Executive Committee, which will select the next commissioner, announced that an internal search for a candidate to succeed Ress would begin immediately.

BLAKE RESS AT A GLANCE

FULL NAME
William Blake Ress.

BIRTH
November 20, 1941 at Tell City, Ind.

EDUCATION
Tell City High School, 1960.
Butler University (B.S., Education and Biology), 1964.
Indiana University (M.S., Secondary Education), 1966.
Butler University (Ed.S., Educational Administration), 1982.

FAMILY
Wife: Linda; Children: Brian Ress, Lisa Leszczewski, Amy Jordan. Grandchildren: Emily Leszczewski, Sam, Nora and Sarah Jordan.

CAREER PATH
Northside Junior H.S., Columbus, 1964-68: biology teacher, freshman football coach, assistant boys basketball coach, assistant boys swimming coach (at Columbus High School).

Shelbyville High School, 1968-1974: biology teacher, varsity assistant football coach, boys varsity swimming coach.

Shelbyville High School, 1974-85: assistant principal and athletic director.

Cloverdale High School, 1985-86: principal.

Martinsville High School, 1986-95: principal; IHSAA Board of Directors and Executive Committee, 1991-1995.

Indiana High School Athletic Association, assistant commissioner, 1995-2000.

Indiana High School Athletic Association, commissioner, 2000-present.

From today’s IHSAA news release:

The 2011 IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals will return to Fort Wayne for a second year following approval by the IHSAA Executive Committee on Thursday.

The decision was one of four significant items, three related to state tournaments, which resulted from the Committee’s final meeting of the 2009-10 school year.

After hosting the state finals for the first time last March, a one-year agreement again has been reached to play the four state championship games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, March 5, 2011.

“Fort Wayne and the people at Memorial Coliseum were tremendous hosts for the girls basketball state finals last winter,” said Commissioner Blake Ress. “The reception the teams and fans received made it a great experience and we look forward to going back again next March.”

In addition to Fort Wayne, a bid to host the event also was received from Terre Haute which had proposed the games be played at the Hulman Center. No Indianapolis venues are available on next year’s date.

The Executive Committee also approved alterations to the volleyball state tournament format which will be implemented for this fall.

The Saturday morning state semifinal matches, which have been held at four different satellite sites since 2000, have been dropped. Instead, a one-match regional on the home court of one of the participating teams will be played on Tuesday, October 26, to be followed by a four-team semi-state on Saturday, October 30, and four state championship matches at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena on Saturday, November 6. Sectional dates (October 19, 21, 23) remain unchanged.

The new format, mirroring the recently-completed softball state tournament, will be available later this summer including host sites.

After 33 years, the girls gymnastics state finals will have a new home in 2011 as the Committee approved Worthen Arena as host of that event on Saturday, March 19. Perry Meridian High School, which opted not to serve as host any longer, had been the site since 1978.

Finally, the Committee also made an emergency amendment to Rule 19-6.3 of the IHSAA By-Laws. Students whose school closes will be allowed to transfer to any public or non-public school serving the student’s place of residence. The new ruling goes into effect July 1. Previously, in school corporations with multiple high schools, rules allowed students to be given full athletic eligibility only if they transferred to another school within the same school corporation.

The state title game is starting about 15 minutes late thanks to Heritage Christian’s late 5-1 win over Delphi. We’ll bring you batter-by-batter updates from the Class 3A final with Andrean slated as the visitor on the scoreboard and Jasper as the home team.

Today’s lineup:
Andrean (28-6)
CF Vince Tornincasa
2B Mark Pishkur
P Kenny Mahala
RF PJ Mason
1B Matt Doolin
C Jordan Falls
DH Zach Goldaisch
3B Tyler Ochi
SS Mike Brosseau

(CF Nick Tobye)

Jasper (30-5)
SS Caleb Begle
RF Austin Ahrens
P Spencer Sapp
DH Dane Giesler
3B Blake Blessinger
C Tory Hall
CF Scott Wendholt
2B Nick Gobert
LF Eric Schnaus

(1B Sam Rumbach)

First Inning
Vince Tornincasa grounds out to first base on three pitches. Spencer Sapp threw two strikes that Tornincasa looked at, right down the middle.
On the first pitch he saw, Mark Pishkur grounds out to second base.
The first six pitches Sapp threw were strikes until he tossed a ball to Kenny Mahala for a 1-2 count. Mahala then strikes out looking. Mid-1st inning: Andrean 0, Jasper 0

Caleb Begle takes a 2-1 pitch and hits it straight up the middle into shallow center field for a single. The first batter is on base for Jasper.
Austin Ahrens grounds out to third base, moving Begle to second.
Pitcher Spencer Sapp grounds out to second base on a 2-2 pitch from Mahala. Begle moves to third.
Dane Giesler pops out foul to the catcher to end the inning and the Jasper threat. End 1st inning: Andrean 0, Jasper 0

Second Inning
The first walk of the game is issued by Sapp to PJ Mason, who takes first on a 3-2 ball.
Mason is picked off on a throw from the left-handed pitcher.
Matt Doolin grounds out to third base for the second out.
Jordan Falls is the second K victim of Sapp, as the catcher strikes out swinging. Mid-2nd inning: Andrean 0, Jasper 0

Blake Blessinger strikes out swinging, the ball is dropped by catcher Falls and Blessinger is out at first base. That’s the first K for Mahala.
Tory Hall is the second strikeout by the righty Mahala, swinging at a 1-2 pitch.
Scott Wendholt hits a bloop single into shallow right field, finding the one space that neither the second baseman nor right fielder could reach in time.
Wendholt takes second on a stolen base.
Nick Gobert is the third out looking at a third strike. End 2nd inning: Andrean 0, Jasper 0

Third Inning
DH Zach Goldaisch hits a single into right field, the first hit of the day by the Niners.
A ball that bounces over the head of the third baseman makes back-to-back hits for Andrean, this one from Tyler Ochi.
Goldaisch is caught off of second base, a pick-off that takes out the lead runner.
Mike Brosseau flies out to mid-right field (the right field wall is 362 at its deepest point) for the second out.
Tornincasa singles into right field, moving Ochi to second.
Pishkur takes first on a fielding error by Jasper shortstop Caleb Begele that is ruled a hit. Surprising.
There it is!! Deeeeep into left field a bouncing double by Kenny Mahala that clears the bases and scores Ochi, Tornincasa and Pishkur.
Mahala takes third, is initially called out then the third baseman drops the ball and it’s ruled a steal.
Mason hits back to the mound, grounding out to end the inning. Mid-3rd inning: Andrean 3, Jasper 0

Eric Schnaus is hit on the uniform on the first pitch from Mahala, giving Jasper a base runner.
Caleb Begle thought the second strike was actually the fourth ball, so he tossed his bat toward his dugout. Except it was called a strike, he swung at the next one and Begle is Mahala’s fourth K of the game.
Austin Ahrens walks on a 3-1 ball, giving Jasper runners on first and second.
Sapp is the second out as his high fly ball is caught by third baseman Ochi near the Jasper dugout. Runners remain on the first two bases.
Giesler grounds out to second, ending the inning with runners stranded. Jasper has left runners on in each inning so far. End 3rd inning: Andrean 3, Jasper 0

Fourth Inning
Matt Doolin hits a ball off of the odd-angled wall along the right alley, good for a lead-off triple.
Jordan Falls singles up the middle, scoring Doolin.
Another hit off of Sapp, Goldaisch singles into left field, moving Falls to second.
Ochi is hit with a pitch to load the bases. Terry Gobert is arguing that Ochi made no effort to get out of the way. The ump is un-fazed and there’s a meeting on the mound. Gobert is still pointing and gesturing toward home plate.
A catching error on the shortstop Begle puts Ochi at second and Brosseau on first, the bases are still loaded as Falls.
Follow that up with a single by Tornincasa, that scores Goldaisch.
Mark Pishkur flies out to center, too short to score Ochi from third.
Mahala strikes out swinging for the second out. The bases are still loaded for ninth batter of the inning, PJ Mason.
Ochi is caught on the attempted triple steal, ending the inning. Mid-4th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 0

Blessinger flies out to PJ Mason in right field as the first out.
Tory Hall triples as the ball bounces to the warning track in right field.
A fielder’s choice ball hit by Scott Wendholt takes out Hall on the throw from third to home. Wendholt is on first.
Gobert strikes out looking, leaving Wendholt on first as the inning ends. End 4th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 0

Fifth Inning
PJ Mason strikes out, the fourth K by Sapp.
Matt Doolin pops out to second base, that’s the second out.
Jordan Falls is hit by the first pitch he sees.
Zach Goldaisch hits into center field, putting Scott Wendholt on the run for the catch that makes the third out. Mid-5th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 0

Eric Schnaus looks at a third strike for the first out of the inning.
Vince Tornincasa looked like he broke the wrong way in center field, but made the grab of the ball off the bat of top-of-the-order hitter Caleb Begle.
In any other park, Austin Ahrens hit would be deep left field, but here, where left field is 418 feet, the ball was shallow left for the final out. It’s the first 1-2-3 inning for Jasper. End 5th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 0

Sixth Inning
Tyler Ochi’s ball looks like it would hit the warning track, but the run by center fielder Scott Wendholt makes a second surprising catch on the run for the out.
Mike Brosseau pops out to second.
Wendholt makes another catch on the run in deep center, one that gets a tip of the helmet from hitter Vince Tornincasa. Mid-6th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 0

Spencer Sapp hits the right field burm with his home run ball, breaking Mahala’s scoreless streak that lasted five innings.
Dane Giesler reaches first on a dropped third strike. Jordan Falls nabbed the ball and threw toward first, hitting Giesler in the back. Dave Pishkur argues that Giesler was inside the baseline, which would be interference. The home plate ump disagrees and Giesler is on first, chalking up the base to an error.
Blake Blessinger flies out to left field.
Tory Hall also flies out to left field, that’s two out with one on first.
Wendholt grounds back to the mound to end the inning. End 6th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 1

Seventh Inning
Mark Pishkur takes first on a four-pitch walk.
Mahala strikes out swinging for the first out.
Pishkur stays on first as PJ Mason’s ball into left field is snagged just before it hits the ground.
Doolin reaches and Pishkur advances on a fielding error by Caleb Begle at short.
Wendholt runs down another one in center field, Jordan Falls’ ball hit into the outfield. Mid-7th inning: Andrean 6, Jasper 1

Nick Gobert flies out to left field.
Eric Schnaus takes first on a high-hop ball that is called a single after it hits the glove of first baseman Matt Doolin.
Caleb Begle hits into a double play. Andrean wins a state championship!! Final score: Andrean 6, Jasper 1

From the desk of the ever-changing semistate baseball venue: Parking is now free.

Tickets for the semistate are still $6 per person, but the $4 fee usually charged by Coveleski Stadium will be waived for Saturday’s games.

Andrean is still waiting on a foe as the Bellmont Regional has been moved to Indiana Tech and is slated to be played at 3:30 Region time. That helps the Niners, because while the requisite 72 hours will have passed between when the starting pitcher throws tonight and Saturday’s noon game, there’s still a matter of physical ability from the winning hurler — is three days enough rest?

The complete semistate schedule once again at Coveleski is?
Andrean (27-6) vs. Bellmont Regional winner, 12 p.m.
Munster (23-8) vs. FW Carroll (24-6), approx 2:30 p.m.

As the spring seasons wind down, here are your weekly Top 10s. What do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment at the bottom of the post if you think we’re dead-on or dead wrong. Records are through Wednesday’s games.

Baseball
1. LaPorte 22-3 (1)
2. Corwn Point 23-3 (3)
3. Lake Central 18-3 (2)
4. Andrean 18-5 (5)
5. Munster 17-7 (4)
6. Valparaiso 17-7 (6)
7. Bishop Noll 16-5 (9)
8. Whiting 19-5 (8)
9. Wheeler 17-5 (10)
10. Clark 17-5 (NR)
On the bubble: Highland (17-8), Portage (14-9)

Softball
1. Crown Point 25-1 (1)
2. Wheeler 24-2 (2)
3. Andrean 17-4 (3)
4. Lowell 18-9 (7)
5. Hanover Central 18-6 (6)
6. Chesterton 18-6 (4)
7. Highland 16-8 (5)
8. Bishop Noll 18-9 (10)
9. Lake Central 16-10 (NR)
10. LaPorte 17-10 (9)
On the bubble: Munster (17-9), Portage (12-9), Westville (19-1), Whiting (17-6).

Boys Golf
1. Boone Grove (2)
2. Valparaiso (1)
3. Chesterton (3)
4. LaPorte (4)
5. Lake Central (7)
6. Crown Point (5)
7. Rensselaer (8)
8. Michigan City (10)
9. Portage (9)
10. Andrean (6)
On the bubble: Hobart, M.C. Marquette, Munster

We’ll post the full list of IHSAA baseball sectional pairings on nwi.com as soon as they’re all posted by the IHSAA. The following are the Region brackets:

8:22 a.m.
Class 4A sectionals drawn!
at Munster
Game 1 — Highland v. West Side
Game 2 — Game 1 winner vs. Lowell
Game 3 — Munster vs. Lake Central
Game 4 — Morton vs. E.C. Central

at Crown Point
Game 1 — Michigan City vs. Merrillville
Game 2 — Hobart v. Portage
Game 3 — Crown Point v. Valparaiso
Game 4 — Chesterton vs. LaPorte

8:08 a.m.
The Class 3A sectional brackets are announced:
at Gavit
Game 1 — Clark vs. Hammond
Game 2 — Game 1 winner vs. Roosevelt
Game 3 — Lew Wallace vs. Gavit

at Andrean
Game 1 — Griffith vs. Rensselaer
Game 2 — Andrean vs. Knox
Game 3 — Calumet vs. Kankakee Valley

7:57 a.m.
There seems to be an interesting hiccup in the ihsaasports.org system, as Google Ads are taking over the video live stream before each class is finished with its announcement. This means that several schools are missed thanks to a 30-second ad about “General Hospital”. Guess is that the Google Ads are set to run at a specific time and the ihsaasports.org announcement is dragging through that schedule.

7:50 a.m.
The Class 2A draw is announced
at Wheeler
Game 1 — Hanover Central vs. Wheeler
Game 2 — Game 1 winner vs. Bishop Noll
Game 3 — River Forest vs. Lake Station.

at Culver Community
Game 1 — Boone Grove vs. Culver
Game 2 — North Newton vs. North Judson
Game 3 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 — Hebron vs. Winamac

7:36 a.m.
The IHSAA draws Class A first, here are the pairings for the first two rounds:

At Washington Township
Game 1 — Washington Twp. vs. Kouts
Game 2 — Whiting vs. LaCrosse
Game 3 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 — Bowman Academy vs. Morgan Twp.

At South Central (Union Mills)
Game 1 — South Central vs. Westville
Game 2 — Oregon-Davis vs. Triton
Game 3 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
Game 4 — Marquette Catholic vs. Argos

6:38 a.m.
The IHSAA will draw the boys baseball sectional pairings and we’ll have your updates right here as soon as they’re posted. In the meantime, here are the local teams ranked in the IHSBCA top 10 and the sectional alignments:

Class 4A
2T. Crown Point
LaPorte
8T. Lake Central

Class 1A
3. Whiting

Class 4A
1. Munster (7): East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Morton, Highland, Lake Central, Lowell, Munster.
2. Crown Point (8): Chesterton, Crown Point, Hobart, LaPorte, Merrillville, Michigan City, Portage, Valparaiso.

Class 3A
17. Hammond Gavit (5): Roosevelt, Lew Wallace, Hammond, Clark, Gavit.
18. Andrean (6): Andrean, Calumet, Griffith, Kankakee Valley, Knox, Rensselaer Central.

Class 2A
33. Wheeler (5): Bishop Noll, Hanover Central, Lake Station, River Forest, Wheeler.
34. Culver Community (6): Boone Grove, Culver Community, Hebron, North Judson, North Newton, Winamac.

Class A
49. Washington Township (6): Bowman Academy, Kouts, LaCrosse, Morgan Township, Washington Township, Whiting.
50. South Central (Union Mills) (6): Argos, Marquette Catholic, Oregon-Davis, South Central (Union Mills), Triton, Westville.

Here are this week’s Times Top 10 polls for the spring sports. Tell us what you think. Do you agree, disagree or are you still hunting for your team’s name? Leave a comment in the box below or give us your own Top 10. (Don’t see the box? Click on the headline of this post, the box will appear.)

Times Top 10 polls for May 14. Results through Wednesday night. Previous rankings in parentheses. NR = not previously ranked.

Baseball
1. LaPorte 19-3 (1)
2. Lake Central 16-2 (2)
3. Crown Point 20-3 (3)
4. Munster 13-6 (6)
5. Andrean 14-5 (4)
6. Valparaiso 15-6 (5)
7. Highland 16-6 (7)
8. Whiting 15-4 (9)
9. Bishop Noll 14-5 (10)
10. Wheeler 13-4 (NR)
On the bubble: Portage (12-8); Hanover Central (9-7-1); Washington Twp, (11-7); Westville (10-5-1).

Softball
1. Crown Point 22-1 (1)
2. Wheeler 20-1 (3)
3. Andrean 17-3 (4)
4. Chesterton 17-5 (5)
5. Highland 15-7 (3)
6. Hanover Central 14-6 (6)
7. Lowell 16-9 (10)
8. South Central 12-3 (NR)
9. LaPorte 13-7 (7)
10. Bishop Noll 17-9 (NR)
On the bubble: Boone Grove (10-6), Morton (14-7), Munster (16-8), Portage (11-6), Westville (16-1), Whiting (13-6).

Boys Golf
1. Valparaiso (1)
2. Boone Grove (4)
3. Chesterton (2)
4. LaPorte (5)
5. Crown Point (6)
6. Andrean (7)
7. Lake Central (9)
8. Rensselaer (3)
9. Portage (8)
10. Michigan City (10)
On the bubble: Hobart, M.C. Marquette, Munster.

Girls Tennis
1. Highland (1)
2. Munster (2)
3. Chesterton (3)
4. Michigan City (5)
5. Valparaiso (4)
6. Merrillville (NR)
7. Portage (6)
8. Crown Point (7)
9. Lowell (8)
10. Kankakee Valley (9)
On the bubble: Lake Central.

Boys Track
1. Chesterton (2)
2. Valparaiso (1)
3. Hobart (5)
4. Merrillville (3)
5. Lowell (7)
6. Andrean (6)
7. Lake Central (8)
8. Highland (4)
9. River Forest (NR)
10. Boone Grove (9)
On the bubble: E.C. Central, Gavit, Roosevelt, West Side.

Girls Track
1. Lake Central (1)
2. Valparaiso (2)
3. Munster (3)
4. Merrillville (7)
5. Chesterton (4)
6. Crown Point (6)
7. Portage (5)
8. Lowell (8)
9. Hebron (9)
10. Highland (NR)
On the bubble: Andrean, Griffith, Kouts, Morton, West Side.

Here are this week’s Times Top 10 polls for the spring sports. Tell us what you think. Do you agree, disagree or are you still hunting for your team’s name? Leave a comment in the box below and give us your Top 10. (Don’t see the box? Click on the headline of this post, the box will appear.)

Records through Wednesday night. Previous rankings in parentheses. NR = not previously ranked.
Baseball
1. LaPorte 16-2 (2)
2. Lake Central 14-2 (3)
3. Crown Point 17-2 (1)
4. Andrean 13-4 (6)
5. Valparaiso 14-5 (4)
6. Munster 12-6 (9)
7. Highland 14-7 (5)
8. Portage 12-6 (8)
9. Whiting 14-3 (7)
10. Bishop Noll 12-4 (NR)
On the bubble: Wheeler (11-4); Clark (10-5); Hanover Central (8-5-1);
Westville (9-4-1); Boone Grove (11-10).

Softball
1. Crown Point (1) 15-1
2. Wheeler (3) 17-1
3. Highland (4) 14-6
4. Andrean (2) 9-2
5. Chesterton (5) 17-4
6. Hanover Central (6) 12-4
7. LaPorte (NR) 13-6
8. Boone Grove (7) 10-6
9. Portage (8) 11-6
10. Lowell (9) 12-8
On the bubble: Bishop Noll (12-8), Calumet (13-6), Lake Central (13-9),
Munster (12-7), South Central (10-2), Westville (12-1).

Boys Golf
1. Valparaiso (2)
2. Chesterton (1)
3. Rensselaer (3)
4. Boone Grove (4)
5. LaPorte (6)
6. Crown Point (5)
7. Andrean (8)
8. Portage (10)
9. Lake Central (7)
10. Michigan City (NR)
On the bubble: Hobart, M.C. Marquette, Munster.

Girls Tennis
1. Highland (1)
2. Munster (2)
3. Chesterton (3)
4. Valparaiso (4)
5. Michigan City (6)
6. Portage (5)
7. Crown Point (7)
8. Lowell (8)
9. Kankakee Valley (9)
10. Lake Central (10)
On the bubble: M.C. Marquette.

Boys Track
1. Valparaiso (1)
2. Chesterton (2)
3. Merrillville (3)
4. Highland (4)
5. Hobart (5)
6. Andrean (6)
7. Lowell (7)
8. Lake Central (8)
9. Boone Grove (10)
10. Crown Point (9)
On the bubble: E.C. Central, Munster, Roosevelt.

Girls Track
1. Lake Central (1)
2. Valparaiso (2)
3. Munster (3)
4. Chesterton (4)
5. Portage (5)
6. Crown Point (6)
7. Merrillville (7)
8. Lowell (8)
9. Hebron (NR)
10. Griffith (NR)
On the bubble: Highland, Kankakee Valley, Kouts, West Side.

Crown Point holds the No. 1 spot in the IHSBCA weekly polls, a spot that surprises Bulldogs coach Steve Strayer.
“I think there are teams out there that are playing better baseball,” Strayer said after Crown Point beat Portage 12-2 in five innings on Monday.
The Bulldogs have been top in the 4A polls since the preseason, followed closely behind by LaPorte. This week, the two Duneland Athletic Conference teams were joined by Lake Central at No. 3.
Is the Duneland the best conference in the state? The coaches poll voters are either saying that they are or are keeping the down-state teams from the top for one reason or another. Cathedral has a 13-1 record that matches Lake Central’s and is the only team not in the Duneland to be receiving first-place votes.
The love for the NCC seems to have gone away, as Highland, a preseason top 10 team, is no longer even receiving votes. Andrean, ranked No. 1 in 3A to start the season, is out of the top 10 entirely after a three-game losing streak last week.

All four classes of IHSBCA polls follow:
Class 4A
1. Crown Point (15-2) (4) 66
2. LaPorte (15-2) (1) 59
3. Lake Central (13-1) (1) 47
4. Hamilton Southeastern (15-3) 45
5. Cathedral (13-1) (1) 43
6. Bloomington North (12-1) 32
7. Bloomington South (12-1) 30
8. Kokomo (13-2) 22
9. Brownsburg (13-3) 17
10. Homestead (11-1) 11

Others Receiving Votes:
Lawrence Central (11-3) 6, Northview (13-2) 5, Valparaiso (12-4) 1, Westfield (11-3) 1

Class 3A
1. New Palestine (15-1) (4) 67
2. Brebeuf (14-2) (2) 63
3. Crawfordsville (13-3) 45
4. Vincennes Lincoln (13-2) 42
5. Yorktown (14-4) 35
6. Mount Vernon (Fortville) (12-2) 30
7. Batesville (11-1) (1) 27
8. Leo (12-2) 24
9. Northwestern (11-3) 13
10. Bellmont (11-2) 10

Others Receiving Votes:
Andrean (10-4) 8, New Haven (11-3) 6, Benton Central (11-3) 5, Silver Creek (14-5) 4, Roncalli (12-3) 3, South Bend St. Joseph’s (10-3) 2, West Vigo (10-3) 1

Class 2A
1. Heritage Christian (16-3) (3) 60
2. Cambridge City Lincoln (15-3) 58
Forest Park (14-3) (2) 58
4. Centerville (12-2) 46
5. Fountain Central (13-3) 31
6. Fairfield (11-1) (1) 24
7. Eastern (Greentown) (10-2) (1) 21
Union County (12-4) 21
9. Park Tudor (12-4) 19
10. Elwood (11-4) 13

Others Receiving Votes:
Wapahani (11-4) 11, Northfield (12-5) 5, South Spencer (9-4) 4, Evansville Mater Dei (9-3) 4, Delphi (10-4) 4, Cardinal Ritter (12-5) 3, Taylor (9-3) 2, Garrett (10-5) 1

Class A
1. Cowan (13-1) (4) 67
2. Frontier (17-1) (2) 62
3. Lafayette Central Catholic (12-3) (1) 56
4. Whiting (12-3) 45
5. Edinburgh (9-2) 28
North Daviess (10-3) 28
7. Trinity Lutheran (11-3) 26
8. North White (10-3) 23
9. Rockville (12-6) 15
10. Pioneer (10-4) 8

Others Receiving Votes:
Shakamak (9-4) 6, Barr-Reeve (11-6) 6, Argos (4-3) 5, Loogootee (10-6) 4, Lanesville (8-4) 3, Covington (9-5) 1, South Central (Elizabeth) (8-5) 1, Washington Township (0-0) 1

Here are this week’s Times Top 10 polls for the spring sports. Tell us what you think. Do you agree, disagree or are you still hunting for your team’s name? Leave a comment in the box below and give us your Top 10. (Don’t see the box? Click on the headline of this post, the box will appear.)

Records through Wednesday night. Previous rankings in parentheses. NR = not previously ranked.
Baseball
1. Crown Point 14-1 (2)
2. LaPorte 13-1 (3)
3. Lake Central 12-1 (4)
4. Valparaiso 10-3 (5)
5. Highland 12-5 (9)
6. Andrean 9-4 (1)
7. Whiting 11-2 (8)
8. Portage 9-5 (6)
9. Munster 9-6 (NR)
10. Wheeler 10-3 (10)
On the bubble: Merrillville 7-8, Clark (9-5), Bishop Noll (8-3).

Softball
1. Crown Point (1) 11-1
2. Andrean (3) 8-1
3. Wheeler (2) 15-1
4. Highland (4) 11-4
5. Chesterton (6) 14-4
6. Hanover Central (7) 8-4
7. Boone Grove (5) 7-4
8. Portage (8) 10-4
9. Lowell (10) 9-6
10. Bishop Noll (NR) 12-6
On the bubble: Calumet (9-5), Kankakee Valley (8-6), South Central (10-1), Westviille (9-1). Lake Central (12-8), Morton (12-4).

Boys Golf
1. Chesterton (1)
2. Valparaiso (2)
3. Rensselaer (3)
4. Boone Grove (4)
5. Crown Point (5)
6. LaPorte (6)
7. Lake Central (8)
8. Andrean (9)
9. Munster (7)
10. Portage (NR)
On the bubble: Hanover Central, M.C. Marquette, Michigan City.

Girls Tennis
1. Highland (2)
2. Munster (1)
3. Chesterton (3)
4. Valparaiso (4)
5. Portage (8)
6. Michigan City (10)
7. Crown Point (5)
8. Lowell (7)
9. Kankakee Valley (6)
10. Lake Central (9)
On the bubble: E.C. Central, Michigan City Marquette.

Boys Track
1. Valparaiso (1)
2. Chesterton (2)
3. Merrillville (3)
4. Highland (6)
5. Hobart (4)
6. Andrean (5)
7. Lowell (7)
8. Lake Central (8)
9. Crown Point (9)
10. Boone Grove (10)
On the bubble: Gavit, Munster, River Forest, Roosevelt.

Girls Track
1. Lake Central (1)
2. Valparaiso (2)
3. Munster (3)
4. Chesterton (5)
5. Portage (4)
6. Crown Point (6)
7. Merrillville (7)
8. Lowell (8)
9. Kouts (10)
10. Highland (NR)
On the bubble: Griffith, Kankakee Valley, Rensselaer, West Side.