by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers volleyball team’s terrific season came to an end on Saturday, and it took the best to beat the Tigers.

Fishers fell to No. 1-ranked Yorktown in three sets, 25-16, 25-23, 25-17, in the championship match of the Class 4A Noblesville regional. The win kept Yorktown undefeated at 33-0, while Fishers’ final record was 25-5.

The Tigers played well, but Yorktown’s big hitting and tenacious defense kept Fishers at arm’s length. Yorktown steadily built a lead in the first set, which ended with consecutive kills by senior Kenzie Knuckles.

In the second set, the Tigers came close to doing something that only one other team has done all season: Take a set off Yorktown. Fishers trailed 18-10 in the set, but roared back to score eight straight points and tie things up at 18-18.

Bryn Roberts and Audrey Haworth started the run with kills. Haworth hit another kill to make the score 18-15 out of a Yorktown timeout, then Rose Duffy tipped a ball over for a Fishers point.

Roberts served an ace, forcing another timeout by Yorktown. Camryn Haworth put down a kill on the next point, and the score was tied.

A couple points later, Haley Soper’s block put the Tigers ahead 20-19. The back and forth continued, with Roberts spiking a kill to get Fishers ahead 23-22. But that would be all, as Yorktown won the next three points.

“We had some success on a couple attacking balls in the first set,” said Tigers coach Steven Peek. “But when you see it at six or seven different points in 49 rallies, it’s not going to stick out to you. We started getting streaks and going on some runs.”

Yorktown seized the momentum in the third set, leading 13-7, then 19-8. The Tigers made one last run, scoring five straight points to cut a 23-12 Yorktown lead to 23-17. Audrey Haworth hit two kills, Camryn Haworth had one and Soper made another block.

“One thing we’ve talked about, especially the last five weeks, is we can never have a point or a rally where we are giving up or don’t think we can win,” said Peek.

Yorktown took a timeout at that point, and then won the next two points. Knuckles ended the match with a successful block.

Audrey Haworth hit 12 kills for the Tigers, with Jada Allen putting down eight. Camryn Haworth hit seven kills, Roberts had four and Duffy hit two, in addition to 27 assists. On defense, Emma Rosenberg collected 16 digs, while Camryn Haworth had 10 and Audrey Haworth five.

In the semi-finals, Fishers beat Zionsville in three sets, 25-15, 26-24, 25-17. The Tigers cruised through the first set, with Roberts hitting back-to-back aces late in the set, and Camryn Haworth finishing things with a kill.

The second set was very tight. The Eagles led 7-2, then Fishers came back to lead 10-9. Neither team led by more than one point until the Tigers got ahead 21-19, then 23-20. Zionsville came back to tie the set at 24-24, then Allen hit back-to-back kills to close the set.

Fishers had an easier time in the third set, scoring five straight points to lead 22-14 late in the set. Camryn Haworth was the finisher again, hitting a kill to give the Tigers the match.
“I thought it was a really, really, really great start from us,” said Peek. “We have not always been the best team at starting matches, coming out strong, coming out right away and creating the big gap. But we did that and I do think that that allowed us to have some struggles and still win.”

Hamilton County Reporter

For the first time in over a decade, the Fishers boys cross country team is a semi-state champion.

The Tigers dominated the field at the New Haven semi-state, which took place Saturday at The Plex at Purdue Fort Wayne. Fishers scored 63 points, well ahead of runner-up Concordia Lutheran’s 148. The Tigers also earned the first of six qualifying spots for next Saturday’s state meet at Terre Haute.

Fishers had its top three runners all finished in the top 11. Ethan Meyer led the Tigers by taking fourth, followed by Drew Smith’s 10th-place finish, and Alex Meyer’s 11th-place result.

In the team scoring, Ethan Meyer scored two points, with Smith scoring eight and Alex Meyer nine. While Concordia Lutheran had two runners finish in the top five (scoring one and three points), the Tigers had its top six runners place in the top 34, and all of them finished before Concordia Lutheran’s third runner did, thus clinching the title early.

The semi-state title is the second for Fishers. The Tigers’ first semi-state came in 2007, the same year they won the state championship. Fishers will be making its fifth consecutive state appearance and eight overall.

Hamilton Southeastern also qualified for the state meet, finishing in fifth place with 165 points. Grant Wilson led the Royals by taking 27th. Southeastern will participate in its 13th state finals next weekend at Terre Haute’s LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course.

In the girls meet, HSE placed second with 98 points, while Fishers was third with 117; both schools advance to state. Fort Wayne Carroll dominated the meet, scoring 44 points to take the championship.

The Royals’ Lulu Black finished in third place to led her team, while freshman Vera Schafer took 13th to lead the Tigers. Southeastern qualified for its seventh state meet, while Fishers made it to state for the fifth time.

At the Shelbyville semi-state, three teams and three individuals qualified for state after their performances at Blue River Park.

In the girls meet, Carmel placed third and Noblesville finished fourth, thus sending their teams to Terre Haute. Zionsville won a close meet by scoring 76 points to Brebeuf Jesuit’s 82. The Greyhounds scored 95 points and the Millers totaled 141.

Phoebe Bates was back for Carmel, and she cruised to a runner-up finish in a time of 17:43.4. The race winner was Greencastle’s Emma Wilson, the defending state champion, who clocked in at 17:31.0. Wilson and Bates were the only girls runners to break 18 minutes at the meet.

Noblesville was led by Madison King, who placed 24th. Meanwhile, Hamilton Heights’ Maria Mitchell qualified for state as an individual; she took ninth place. The top 10 individuals not on an advancing team also earn a ticket to Terre Haute.

The Greyhound girls continued their remarkable streak of qualifying for state to 38 years – Carmel has participated in every state meet since the IHSAA began the tournament in 1981. The Millers will make their ninth appearance at state.

In the boys meet, Carmel finished a close second to Cathedral, with the Irish scoring 78 points and the Greyhounds’ 90. Carmel extended its record state qualifying streak to 43, and its 45th state appearance overall. Patrick Campbell led the ‘Hounds by placing 10th.
Noblesville finished seventh, just missing a state qualifying spot by five points. The Millers will have an individual at state, as Travis Hickner placed sixth, easily earning one of the 10 individual places.

Westfield finished 12th as a team, with Mahamat Djour leading the Shamrocks by taking 57th.

Guerin Catholic’s Quinn Gallagher qualified as an individual, placing fifth. Gallagher was the highest-finishing Hamilton County runner at Shelbyville and will return to state for a third consecutive year.

The Legacy Bible Church received unanimous approval from the Fall Creek Board of Zoning appeals September 27th, granting a special exception allowing plans to move forward with their construction of a church along Howe Road, just north of the Fishers city limits.  However, Mike Henn, a resident in the area of the planned house of worship, is still unhappy with the decision of the board.

Henn told LarryInFishers most of the crowd at the meeting were part of the church congregation in favor of the zoning measure, but he said roughly 10 people from the neighborhood were also in attendance opposing the variance.

According to Henn, the city listed 7 elements that must be met to qualify for a special exception under the Uniform Development Ordinance.  In Henn’s view, the church did not meet all seven conditions.

Megan Schaefer from the Fishers City Planning and Zoning Department wrote the staff report on the request, which recommended approval by the board, as long as a list of conditions were met by the church.  Two of the major commitments made by the church include  not housing a daycare, school or preschool at the church facility.  Also, Legacy Church must  seek to preserve the existing vegetation as identified in a written concept plan.

LarryInFishers asked to speak with the Fishers City Planning & Zoning Department about this staff report, but the city did not respond to that request.

The Fishers City Council approved a new Unified Development Ordinance last August, allowing special exceptions in certain instances, such as houses of worship.  Legacy Bible Church requested the zoning variance under that provision of the ordinance.

The new proposed church building would be a 20,000 square foot structure with 300 parking spaces and a detention pond for storm water management.

Mr. Henn says he was not the only one at the zoning board meeting opposed to this project.  “I was glad to note that I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t for it,” Henn said.

Henn described the guidelines explained during the meeting as “pretty grey stuff,” particularly one dealing with excessive expense.

There are no plans to challenge the decision in court, Henn said, but he maintains that he and others in his neighborhood are not pleased with the process in this case.

Friday was ground breaking day for Central Indiana Orthopedics, as the firm joined Envoy Inc. and Fishers City officials for the ceremonial moving of the dirt.  This will add yet another medical facility to the Fishers corridor around the area of 136th Street and I-69, the Saxony neighborhood.

The new structure is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2019.

“The new medical center and MedTech Park will allow our doctors and staff to continue offering advanced training and specialized care to our patients, and encourage additional investment in the area,” said Dr. Nimu Surtani, President of Central Indiana Orthopedics, in a company news release. “The MedTech Park vision is to attract a critical mass of innovative medical service providers and ultimately be a regional destination for those in need of expert care.”

The new facility is described as state-of-the-art by the firm.  Expansion of Central Indiana Orthopedics’ services in Hamilton County will include a clinic, surgery center, imaging, and physical therapy–among other services. The medical-office building will house Central Indiana Orthopedics’ Fishers-based operations, currently located in St. Vincent’s Hospital.

“Central Indiana Orthopedics’ concept for an emerging medical services and technology corridor embodies the innovation-driven vision that has become synonymous with Fishers,” said City of Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “MedTech Park will be an economic driver, as well as a resource for health care for the entire region.”

Julie Chambers is running for Hamilton Southeastern School Board, District 4.  Here is my conversation with her…

HAND Incorporated is a Hamilton County nonprofit organization that works on affordable housing issues in our county.  I talked with Jennifer Miller and Andrea Davis about the work HAND does in local communities

by

Fred Swift

Hamilton County Reporter

(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton County Reporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com.  This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com) 

Are voters more enthusiastic or more “turned off” by the upcoming general election which is now less than three weeks away? If absentee and early voting are indications, the answer seems to be they are much more interested than in most non-presidential elections.

The county elections office reports that walk-in traffic for early voting is averaging 500 per day. And, more than 5,000 voters have requested mailed ballots. The great interest is partially because of the increasing popularity of early voting coupled with particular interest due to national publicity over the importance of control of Congress.

In any event, Hamilton County does have an important local election with dozens of offices to be voted upon. This year is called an off-year election, but with all the offices at stake from U.S. Senate to township board, it has more implications for local residents than the presidential year election.

For example, voters will choose school board members who can alter the course of local school systems. Township officials will be elected who in some communities will decide the future of their fire and rescue services.

At the county level, races for sheriff, county commissioner and county council will determine whether or not there will be any major changes in public services ranging from law enforcement policy to highway improvement.

And, of course, at the national level, the outcome of our Senate race could possibly determine majority control and therefore future of national administration policy.

So, it is probably not wise to listen to cynics who may say elections don’t matter and politicians are all the same. Such statements are by and large not true. Elections do matter.

Both political parties, of course, know this and are working harder than in most off-year elections to get their voters to participate. Democrats, feeling there is a national trend in their direction, are working harder locally than they have in years. Republicans, knowing they have a challenge, are also working harder than they usually do in fall elections to maintain their advantage.

Adam Aasen & I had to go into hiatus with our weekly podcast Hamilton County Goes To The Movies, but we have produced a special edition.  Adam talks about films he has seen lately, and I talk with the filmmakers behind an Indiana-based movie, Bullitt County.

The Hamilton Southeastern Schools are in the process of changing the district boundaries for grades kindergarten through 8th grade.  The proposed boundaries in some of the proposals posted so far have created a lot of conversations with the families within the Hamilton Southeastern Schools.  I asked to speak with school officials about the process so far and how the redistricting timeline will work as it moves forward.

In this podcast, I spoke with HSE School Board President Matt Burke, HSE Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff and Interim HSE Assistant Superintendent Bill Carnes.

All schools within the Hamilton Southeastern School District recently received Gold Star recognition from the Indiana Department of Education.  According to my news gathering partners at the Hamilton County Reporter, that news was announced by local State Representative Todd Huston (R-Fishers).