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Another year is coming to a close, and so we faithful followers of the local sports scene are left with mere memories of all we've seen in the last 365 days.
Of all the shake and bake no-look passes Wawasee superstar Shanna Zolman dished out right in front of us, leaving us to wipe our eyes and wonder if a high school girls basketball player could really do that.
Of the celebration when Tippecanoe Valley's Bill Patrick picked up his 500th career win, and how he did it all the while never having a losing season.
Of Triton's girls basketball team winning the state title on a last second shot, a shot heard around the state, not just in Etna Green, Bourbon and Tippecanoe.
Of how Warsaw won its first Northern Lakes Conference football title in a decade, and how the Tigers were so close to knocking off powerful Penn in the sectional.
Of how Biomet's race team finished fourth in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series points, and driver Brian Ross took rookie of the year honors.
And the list goes on.
This past year has been more than exciting in terms of local sports. In an attempt help relive those memories, I, along with some help from a large group of co-workers, put together a list of the year's top highlights.
Please remember this is only opinion, and that not every single game or moment could be mentioned in the limited amount of space.
10. WARSAW GRAPPLER KRIS HUEBER WRESTLES DOWN UNDER
After posting a 33-4 record his junior season, Warsaw grappler Kris Hueber, now a senior at WCHS, was selected to represent the U.S. in the 2000 Down Under Games in Austrailia the first week of July. Hueber, who wrestled the 215-pound class, notched 57 victories over his sophomore and junior years and advanced to the semistate round of the state tournament. Hueber was ranked as high as third in the state during his junior campaign.
9. T. VALLEY BOYS GOLF TEAM GOES TO STATE
For the first time in school history, Tippecanoe Valley's boys golf team advanced to the state finals at Prestwick Country Club. Prior to the golf team's trip to state, the only Viking sports teams to advance to the state finals were football teams in 1977 and 79. Brandon Eaton was the lone senior of the five participants at state for Valley. Anthony Domenico, Drew Shafer, Andy Martin and Brian Love all return as seniors for Roger Moriarty's Vikings during the 2001 season.
8. VALLEY BOYS CAGERS TOP COUNTY RIVAL WARSAW
When all was said and done, it was Bill Patrick's Tippecanoe Valley Vikings boys basketball team that got the last laugh on Al Rhode's Warsaw Tigers. In what may be the last meeting of the county rivals, Valley topped Warsaw 59-56 on its home floor. The win over the Tigers was just the fourth in school history for Valley. Senior Cody New, possibly the areas best all-around player, led all scorers with 24 points and hit four free throws in the final 29 seconds to pick up the win.
7. WAWASEE WARRIORS KNOCK OFF DEFENDING STATE CHAMPS IN SECTIONAL
In front of a near-packed house, Wawasee's varsity girls basketball team stunned defending Class 3A state champion NorthWood 48-44 in the second round of the Wawasee Sectional. The Warriors went on to beat Angola in the championship, picking up their first sectional title since 1986 before falling to state runner-up Columbia City in the regional championship game. Wawasee is currently 12-0 and ranked No. 3 in the state.
6. BIOMET DRIVER NAMED ARCA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
After driving four races during the 1999 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series, Biomet/Damon RV driver Brian Ross was named 2000 Rookie of the Year. The 38-year old Plymouth native also finished fourth in the overall points standings driving the Mary Louise Miller-owned ML Motorsports No. 67 Monte Carlo. Ross has been involved in racing various divisions of racing for 21 years and was named 1999 Kendall Indiana Late Model Series champion.
5. TIPP. VALLEY, TRITON, WARSAW HOOP TEAMS ADVANCE TO SEMISTATE
If area high school boys basketball fans were hungry for post season success, they got their fill in 2000. Three boys teams - Tippecanoe Valley, Triton and Warsaw - advanced to the semistate round, with Warsaw and Triton making it to the championship round of the semistate - the final four in their respective classes. Triton knocked off No. 1 Blue River Valley in the morining game of the Class A Kokomo Semistate, while Warsaw knocked off No. 4 Merrillville in the semifinal round of the Lafayette 4A Semistate before falling to state champion Marion in the championship. The trip to the 3A semistate for Valley was the first time a Viking boys team advanced past the regional, and came in coach Bill Patrick's second year with the team.
4. WARSAW FOOTBALL TEAM CATCHES STATE'S EYE
After years of being tabbed nothing more than a basketball school, Warsaw went through the 2000 football season with a 9-2 record, including a 6-0 record in the tough Northern Lakes Conference. In picking up their first outright NLC crown in 10 years, the Tigers topped host NorthWood in overtime, something they haven't done since 1990. Warsaw's season came to an end in the second round of the sectionals at No. 2 Penn on a last second field goal. Penn, held to its lowest point total of the year, won 10-7 and went on to win its fourth state championship in four years, topping the rest of the tournament field by an average of 30 points per game. The Tigers have gone 17-4 overall and 11-1 in conference play the last two years. Senior linebacker Kris Hueber was named 5A AP first team All-State, while six of his teammates were named honorable mention. Nine Tigers were named to the NLC All-Conference list following the 2000 season.
3. WAWASEE'S SHANNA ZOLMAN CHOOSES U OF T
After attracting attention from nearly every major women's college basketball coach in the country, Wawasee superstar Shanna Zolman, a junior this year, verbally committed to play for Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee, arguably the best women's college program in the country. The 5-foot-10 Zolman led the state in scoring her freshman and sophomore years, and after being second for a short time as a junior, she again currently leads the state in scoring, pouring in over 33 points per game. As a sophomore she made 63 consecutive free throws, as a junior she ran the streak up to 54. Zolman currently has the Warriors at 12-0 and ranked No. 3 in Class 3A.
2. BILL PATRICK PICKS UP WIN NO. 500
In these parts, Bill Patrick is as much a part of high school basketball as Coke and apple pie are to American summers. In 31 years of coaching, the silver-haired, old school coach never had a losing season. After 29 years in the Whitko Corporation, and then a three-year hiatus, Patrick took his record to Tippecanoe Valley, where on Jan. 14, 2000 he picked up his 500th career coaching win, a 55-39 home win over Northfield. In just his second year with the Vikings, he then took them to the semistate for the first time in school history. Now in his 32nd year overall and third at Valley, Patrick is currently 515-195 (.725). Patrick was the 20th person in Indiana high school basketball history to reach the 500-win milestone and is currently fifth in wins among active coaches.
1. TRITON GIRLS WIN STATE BASKETBALL TITLE
To most, this is probably the biggest thing - sports related or not sports related - to ever happen to the towns of Bourbon, Etna Green or Tippecanoe. Entering the 2000 girls basketball state tournament unranked, Triton won the Class A state title - winning by 30 points or more at times - with a 57-54 overtime win over No. 4 Rising Sun at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse. The only senior on the team, Missy Nifong delivered two key three-pointers in the final minute of overtime. Then, as time ran out, sophomore Amber Feldman attempted her only shot of the game, a three-pointer from the right side of the arc, and nailed. Game over. Triton wins the state title. Nifong, now playing at Manchester College, won the Mental Attitude Award. Triton is currently 10-0 and ranked No. 1.
