Sports

The Huntington North baseball team opened its postseason run on Wednesday, May 24, at Huntington University’s Forest Glen Park, earning a 10–3 comeback win over New Haven in sectional quarterfinal action.

The Forester track and field program wrapped up the year by enjoying two national titles and 11 All-American honors at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships at IWU’s Wildcat Complex in Marion. Freshman Addy Wiley made it look easy by cruising to a pair of national titles within a two-hour span Friday afternoon. She crushed the competition by eight seconds in the 1500 meters by posting a time of 4:14.56. Not long after, she toed the line of the 800 meters and sailed around the track twice in 2:04.29 to beat the defending champion by nearly four seconds.

Brayden Vought will finish his track and field career at the IHSAA State Finals after earning a spot in the 400 meter dash to lead the Huntington North boys team to a 17th place finish at the Carroll Regional Thursday, May 25. Voght placed third in the 400m dash with a time of 50.40 to qualify for the state meet. Voght also anchored the 4x400m relay team with Caleb Reust, Noah Wagner, and Tony Decker as they finished in 13th place. Caleb Reust finished fifth in the 300m hurdles with a time of 40.80.

Huntington North’s Ella Colclesser placed third in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:19.48  at the Carroll Regional Tuesday, May 22, to earn a spot in the IHSAA Girls Track and Field State Finals. The state meet begins at 3 p.m. June 3 at Indiana University Bloomington. The junior also competed in two relays at Carroll, teaming up with Johanna Bragg, Elle McDonald, and Gracie Fields in the 4x800m relay for fifth place, and with Raegan Double, Alyse Geiger, and Fields for a 14th place result in the 4x400m relay.

It took an extra inning but the Huntington North softball team pulled out a tight 4-3 win over Homestead in the championship game of the Class 4A Columbia City championship game Thursday night, May 25. Homestead, the visiting team for the night, struck first with two runs right off the bat in the top of the first inning. Huntington North answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. After a scoreless second inning, both teams scored a run in the third inning to remain tied at 3-3. The score remained 3-3 after seven innings, forcing extra innings.

The Huntington North boys golf team competed at the Northeast 8 Conference Meet on Saturday, placing fifth with a team score of 336. Javin Gray led the way for the Vikings, firing a round of 74, which tied for fourth overall in the individual standings. Cole Collins and Griffin Husband each turned in scorecards of 87 to tie for second on the team, with Austin Williams on their heels with a score of 88. Kamden Lahr recorded a non-scoring 89 to round out the Huntington North contingent.

The Huntington North baseball team fell behind early but dominated New Haven in a 10-3 win in the opening round of the Class 4A Columbia City Sectional Wednesday night, May 24. Viking pitchers Wes Huff and Cole Martz combined to pitch a 3-hitter, shutting the Bulldogs out over the final six innings. New Haven took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first but the Vikings quickly answered in the top of the second inning with four runs to take a 4-3 lead.

Eleven Foresters will represent Huntington University at the 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships slated for May 24-26 at Indiana Wesleyan’s Wildcat Track & Field Complex in Marion. (The NAIA Outdoor Nationals took place after the Huntington Tab’s deadline.) The Forester women, ranked fifth in the latest USTFCCCA National Rating Index, are entered in three running events, four field events and the heptathlon. Freshman Addy Wiley, one of the nation’s top runners, will toe the line of the 800 and 1500 as the top seed in each race.

Ava Poulson and Mara Hendryx teamed up to hold New Haven to just five hits and one run in a 13-1 Lady Viking win Monday, May 13. Poulson got the win, going four innings, giving up one run on five hits with nine strikeouts while Hendryx pitched a perfect fifth inning to secure the five-inning win. Huntington North led 6-0 after three innings then put the game away with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Poulson also led the way at the plate going 3-3 with four RBIs and three runs, while Corrine Martz was 3-4 with one RBI, and Kinlee Landrum went 2-3 with four RBIs and one run.

The Huntington North baseball team wrapped up a perfect Northeast 8 Conference (NE8) slate on Tuesday, May 16, defeating New Haven 10–1 to earn its second NE8 crown in program history and first since 2018. The win improved the Vikings’ season record to 14–3 and rounded out their NE8 record at 7–0. Huntington North had clinched a share of the conference title after defeating Norwell the week before, but last week’s win gave the Vikings their first-ever solo NE8 title, with their 2018 win being a shared crown.

The Huntington North girls track and field team turned the page to the postseason on Tuesday night, May 16, competing in the New Haven Sectional. The Lady Vikes placed third in the team standings with 78.5 points. Huntington North’s performance was highlighted by winning three individual events and placing second in two relay events, with each automatically advancing to the Carroll Regional.

HU junior Breanna Hines and sophomore pitcher Karlee Franklin were among the list of Crossroads League All-Conference honorees as announced by the league office. Hines has been recognized by the league each spring with this year’s designation a Second Team honor as Huntington’s DP. She was a Second Team pick as a rookie and last season was tabbed Honorable Mention. The Frontier High School product paced HU at the plate with her team-leading 46 hits. She also led her team with 24 RBI and a .331 batting average. She scored 19 times, drew ten walks and struck out just twice this season.

The Lady Viking softball team continued its strong season with a winning streak that reached 11 games as of Wednesday, May 11. Huntington North easily handled Bishop Dwenger, 14-1, Thursday, May 4. The Lady Vikes scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and six in the second to cruise to the win. Maya Hendryx got the win on the mound, going five innings and giving up one run on two this with three strikeouts.

The Huntington North baseball team is on a seven-game winning streak as after defeating Oak Hill, Leo, and Norwell last week. HN 15, Oak Hill 1 The Huntington North baseball team trailed Oak Hill, 1-0, after one inning, then dropped 15 runs on the Golden Eagles to take a 15-1 win Friday, May 5. The Vikings scored six runs in the top of the second inning and closed the game out with five in the top of the seventh in the runaway win.

The Huntington North softball team scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and cruised to a 12-2 win over DeKalb for a conference win Wednesday, May 3. Ava Poulson pitched a complete-game five-hitter, giving up two runs and struck out nine batters. Reece Douglass went 4-4 with three RBIs and two runs, while Madison Ptak went 2-3 with four RBIs, Emma Helvie was 2-4 with one RBI and one run, and Corinne Martz went 2-4 with two runs. Mara Hendryx went 1-4 with two runs, while Kinlee Landrum had one hit and one RBI.