BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Baseball Rossville 15, Pioneer 1 (5 innings, Monday): Pioneer’s Jaxson Merrick had a two-out RBI single in the first inning, but host Rossville answered with 15 unanswered runs to hand the Panthers a season-opening loss Monday. Hunter Stover also had a hit for Pioneer. Pioneer got the leadoff man on base in the second, third and fifth innings but did not score. Pioneer pitchers walked 13 batters and also hit two.  Lane Weldy took the loss

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Pioneer 12, Faith Christian 2 (5 innings, Tuesday): Madyson Shaffer had three hits and an RBI, and Ava Beasy singled twice and drove in two runs as the Lady Panthers rolled past host Faith Christian Tuesday. Lois Layer also had two hits and two runs scored. Addison Kennell and Averi Layer each had a double and an RBI. Ava Ott, Tori Bingaman and Hallie Lebo had one hit each. Ott also walked twice and scored twice. Lois Layer pitch

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Softball Pioneer 10, Rossville 5 (Monday): Lois Layer went 4 for 4 at the plate as part of a 12-hit Lady Panther attack and also earned the win in the circle as the Pioneer softball team opened with a road win over Rossville Monday. Addison Kennell went 3 for 4 with a single, two doubles, a walk and two RBIs. Ava Beasy had a double and three RBIs. Tori Bingaman singled twice and drove in a run. Averi Layer doubled and drove in a run, and

Triton’s Patrick named conference MVP BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Lane Hook Logan Mollenkopf Ryan Meredith Karston Black Eight RTC area boys basketball players, including three from runner-up Winamac, were selected first-team All-Hoosier North in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media. The eight players included Winamac’s Justin Potthoff, Will Malchow and Jaybin Hines; Caston’s Lane Hook and Loga

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Women’s college basketball Former Pioneer guard Ashlynn Brooke is transferring to Northern Illinois. The announcement was made on the Northern Illinois’ women’s basketball account on social media. Brooke spent the previous three seasons at Ball State. She played in 24 of Ball State’s 33 games and averaged 2.7 points per game in 2025-26 as the Cardinals shared the Mid-American Conference regular season title with Miami (OH). She did not pl

Caston, N. Miami, Pioneer in same 1A football sectional BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Rochester girls and boys basketball teams both lost to Oak Hill in their respective sectional finals, and they might see them again the next two years. They will also remain in the same volleyball sectional with powerhouse Southwood. Those were among the revelations when the IHSAA released new sectional assignments for fall and winter sports for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school yea

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Boys Basketball Player of the Year Logan Mollenkopf It was early in the Caston boys basketball team’s sectional quarterfinal game against North White in which Logan Mollenkopf dribbled quickly down the court and dunked. One could say that it was a microcosm for Mollenkopf’s season. He did things all year that put him head and shoulders above everybody else – literally. And for that, the sophomore guard-forward is our RTC4 Player of th

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Girls Basketball Player of the Year Kandace Kroft One can tie the improvement with Winamac’s girls basketball program with Kandace Kroft’s improvement as a player. Winamac won four games her freshman year. They won 14 in both her sophomore and junior years. And as a senior in 2025-26, Winamac won 19 games. It was Winamac’s most wins in a season in 14 years. Their team scoring average increased by almost nine points per game. Kroft had

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Boys Wrestler of the Year Hartley Hoover North Miami senior Hartley Hoover is everything one might want in a wrestler. He is strong enough that he can overpower most opponents. And if you are one of the few that can match him in strength, he moves so well that he is a great defensive wrestler. It all clicked to the point where he became the first wrestler in the history of his school to make it to a state championship match. Hoover l

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Girls Wrestler of the Year Laine Peppler Laine Peppler could have rested on her laurels after her junior year. The Rochester wrestler had just finished sixth at the IHSAA state finals at 170 pounds. Her performance was more than admirable. Instead, she spent more time in the weight room and worked on her technique to become a better offensive wrestler. Matched with her formidable defensive skills and positioning, she went from being o

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Boys Swimmer of the Year Tucker Whetstone Tippecanoe Valley junior Tucker Whetstone narrowly missed going to state in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, but his times were more than good enough to be our RTC4 Boys Swimmer of the Year. Whetstone finished second in the 200 freestyle at both the Indiana Northern State Conference and sectional meets. He won the 100 butterfly by nearly seven seconds at conference, and then improved

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Girls Swimmer of the Year Hayden Lute With rare exceptions, Culver’s Hayden Lute was dominant in the distance events, and as a result, she is our RTC4 Girls Swimmer of the Year for the second straight year. Lute won the 200 freestyle at the Hoosier North meet by nearly 27 seconds. She beat the runner-up in the 500 freestyle by a minute. And after swimming a 2:06.95 in the 200 freestyle at conference, she cut more than 3.7 seconds off

Pioneer’s H. Zeigler, 8 area boys players earn honorable mention BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has named Winamac’s Kandace Kroft, Pioneer’s Mia McKaig and North Miami’s Grace Sailors first-team Academic All-State. They are among 87 seniors – 44 boys and 43 girls – statewide chosen for the honor. In addition, 233 more boys and 181 more girls were recognized as being honorable mention Academic All-State. “The IBCA Academic All-

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls golf Pioneer senior Mia McKaig has signed with Taylor University to continue her academic and golf careers, according to a social media post from Pioneer’s athletic department account. McKaig was the Hoosier North medalist in 2024 and 2025 and a state qualifier as a junior in 2024. She was also a first-team All-Hoosier North basketball player at Pioneer in 2026. Taylor is an NAIA school located in Upland.

McFatridge, Rine, Scott score 8 each for Panthers BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Gabe Scott Phillip McFatridge FULTON — The Pioneer boys basketball team came into their postseason opener 5-1 in games in which they scored at least 50 points. Of course, that also meant they were 2-14 in games in which they did not score 50. Against DeMotte Christian in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at Cast

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Manchester QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Wabash 68, Eastern (Greentown) 62 Oak Hill 73, Manchester 30 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Rochester vs. Wabash, 6 p.m. Lewis Cass vs. Oak Hill, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Columbia City QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City 75, West Noble 33 Wawasee 49, Tippecanoe Valley 38 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Fairfield vs. Columbia City, 6 p.m. NorthWood vs. Wawasee, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Clas

BOYS Rochester 56, Maconaquah 48 Elkhart Christian 70, Argos 41 Bremen 65, Culver 22 Tri-County 61, Pioneer 46 Three Rivers Conference boys Rochester 56, Maconaquah 48 Wabash 71, Peru 62 Tri-Central 53, Northfield 45 (nonconference) Southwood 67, Bluffton 52 (nonconference) Mississinewa 48, Manchester 47 (nonconference) Lafayette Central Catholic 59, Lewis Cass 46 (nonconference) Whitko 53, Lakeland Christian 26 (nonconference) Hoosier North boys Elkhart Christian 70, Argos 4

Popejoy, Iverson, Culver’s McCune, Berndt, Caston’s Douglass, Pioneer’s McKaig, Argos’ Bollenbacher also make first team BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Kandace Kroft Winamac senior Kandace Kroft was named the Hoosier North MVP in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media. Kroft averaged 18.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.2 steals per game for the Lady Warriors. She led the team in scoring, assists and steals and guided

Valley to see former teammates vs. Wawasee; Caston draws N. White for home sectional while Pioneer gets DeMotte Christian; Argos gets O-D while Culver gets N. Judson; Winamac to face Knox; NM draws Southern Wells BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Rochester was the only RTC area team to receive a bye in the boys basketball draw released Sunday. In addition, the Zebras would not have to face No. 2 Oak Hill until the sectional final. Also, Tippecanoe Valley will not have to

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball West Central 33, Pioneer 32 (Saturday): Avery Haselby hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 points, but Pioneer dropped the Class 1A, Sectional 50 final to West Central Saturday. Mia McKaig added nine points, and Lois Layer added six. Macie Allen led West Central with 12, and Emily Bunger had nine, including the go-ahead putback in the fourth quarter. Each team made seven 3-pointers. West Central led 12-11 at halftime and ext

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC All five members of the Pioneer boys wrestling team were eliminated in the ticket round at the Logansport regional Saturday, ending their season. Harrison (West Lafayette) won the regional with 169 points. Rensselaer was second with 148.5. Either Harrison or Rensselaer has won the regional every year since 2013. Pioneer wrestlers competing at the regional included Hunter Ward (120), who lost 9-0 to Lafayette Jeff’s Parker Bernard 9-0; Cha

Valley 200 free relay finishes 2nd to Culver Academy; Parker has pair of top 3 finishes in sprints BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls swimming Culver senior Hayden Lute finished second in the 200 freestyle at the Warsaw sectional Saturday, missing out on going to state by 0.63 seconds. Warsaw junior Matilda Granger won in 2:02.59, and Lute swam a 2:03.22. Meanwhile, the Tippecanoe Valley 200 freestyle relay team that qualified first in Thursday’s preliminaries, finis

Douglass leads Caston with 12, scores 1,000th career point BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Mia McKaig Camila Hernandez-Rios Girls basketball Pioneer 34, Caston 29 (Friday): Mia McKaig hit three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points, and Lois Layer added nine as the Pioneer girls basketball team eliminated Caston from the sectional for the second straight year in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal at

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Wabash QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Rochester 56, Manchester 55 Wabash 44, Eastern (Greentown) 41 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Rochester 38, Lewis Cass 36 (2 OT) Oak Hill 70, Wabash 43 FINAL: Rochester vs. Oak Hill, 7:30 p.m. today Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Tippecanoe Valley QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City 58, West Noble 26 Fairfield 46, Wawasee 38 SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Valley 54, Columbia City 41 Fairfield 43, NorthWood 20 FINAL: Valley vs. Fairfield, 7:30 p.

Culver’s Lute qualifies 2nd in 200 free, 4th in 500 free BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Tippecanoe Valley 200 freestyle relay team qualified first at the Warsaw sectional preliminaries Thursday, and three members of that team also qualified for the finals in an individual event. Meanwhile, Culver senior Hayden Lute qualified for the finals in both the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle. No swimmers from Rochester or Pioneer advanced to an individual final, but the Roc

C. VanMeter, N. VanMeter, Price all finish 2nd BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Pioneer boys wrestling team scored 119.5 points and finished third out of nine teams at the Twin Lakes sectional Saturday. Rensselaer won their ninth consecutive sectional title and their 17th in school history with 273.5 points. Benton Central was second with 193.5. Pioneer had no individual champions, but they did advance five wrestlers to the regional. Pioneer wrestlers advancing inclu

Next up: vs. Caston, 6 p.m. Friday at N. White BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Mia McKaig Pioneer 46, North Newton 19 (Tuesday): Mia McKaig scored six of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Liz Kennell added 13 for Pioneer in a rout of North Newton in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 quarterfinal at North White Tuesday. Lois Layer added nine, and Avery Haselby had eight for the Lady Panthers (9-15). Piper Ivey led North Newton (6-18) with eight p

Class 2A, Sectional 38 at Wabash QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Rochester vs. Manchester, 6 p.m. Eastern (Greentown) vs. Wabash, 7:30 p.m. SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Lewis Cass vs. Rochester-Manchester winner, 6 p.m. Oak Hill vs. Eastern (Greentown)-Wabash winner, 7:30 p.m. FINAL, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Class 3A, Sectional 20 at Tippecanoe Valley QUARTERFINALS (TUESDAY) Columbia City vs. West Noble, 6 p.m. Wawasee vs. Fairfield, 7:30 p.m. SEMIFINALS (FRIDAY) Valley vs. Columbia City-West Noble

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The following sporting events scheduled for Tuesday were postponed due to inclement weather: Girls basketball The Western-Rochester game has not been rescheduled. The Wawasee-Tippecanoe Valley game has not been rescheduled. The Carroll (Flora)-Caston game has been rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Caston. The Caston-DeMotte Christian game scheduled for Thursday has been postponed to Saturday. Start time is 2:30 p.m. at DeMotte Christi

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The following sporting events have been postponed due to inclement weather: Boys basketball The Winamac-Delphi game postponed Saturday has been rescheduled for Feb. 17. Start time is 7:30 p.m. at Delphi. Swimming The Manchester-Pioneer meet scheduled for Monday was canceled.

Buschman, Carrington win individual titles, lead Culver to 3rd BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys wrestling Led by 106-pound champion Justin Housinger, the Winamac boys wrestling team was the highest finishing RTC area team at the Hoosier North boys wrestling tournament at Triton Jan. 17. Winamac was second with 196.5 points, Culver was third with 142.5, Pioneer was fourth with 121.5, and Caston was seventh with 94.5. North Miami, wrestling one week after winning thei

Valley gets bye; Caston, Pioneer could meet in semis; Culver gets S. Central, Argos draws Trinity Greenlawn; Winamac to play Career Academy BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The Rochester girls basketball team beat Manchester on Saturday. They found out that they will play them again in the sectional on Sunday. That was among the revelations of the IHSAA draw. In addition: Tippecanoe Valley will not only have the home court advantage in their sectional, but they received

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC The following sites will hosts post season tournaments for the spring sports season: Softball Class 2A, Sectional 38 at ROCHESTER: Eastern (Greentown), Lewis Cass, Manchester, Oak Hill, ROCHESTER, Wabash Class 3A, Sectional 20 at NorthWood: Columbia City, Fairfield, NorthWood, TIPPECANOE VALLEY, Wawasee, West Noble Class 1A, Sectional 50 at North White: CASTON, DeMotte Christian, North Newton, North White, PIONEER, South Newton, Tri-Count

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC ARGOS — The offensive upswing for the Pioneer girls basketball team continued against host Argos Saturday. Mia McKaig scored 14 points, Liz Kennell notched a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Lois Layer added 11 points as the visiting Lady Panthers spoiled the Lady Dragons’ senior night with a 53-12 win. Pioneer led 30-7 at halftime and extended the lead to 42-12 after three quarters. When McKaig and Avery Haselby hit 3-po

GIRLS Tippecanoe Valley 44, North Miami 26 Caston 53, Bethany Christian 25 Oregon-Davis 55, Argos 32 Culver 39, Triton 30 BOYS Lewis Cass 49, Rochester 45 Jimtown 51, Tippecanoe Valley 43 Argos 53, Oregon-Davis 40 Triton 39, Culver 30 DeMotte Christian 50, Pioneer 33 Winamac 56, North Judson 19 Three Rivers Conference girls (none) Three Rivers Conference boys Lewis Cass 49, Rochester 45 Peru 78, Maconaquah 71 Southwood 65, Whitko 27 Manchester 49, Wabash 41 Tipton 50, Northwe

McKaig leads Pioneer with 13 in loss BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Natalie Warner ROYAL CENTER — The Caston girls basketball team played Pioneer twice last year. They were outscored by a combined total of 33-1 in the third quarters of those games and came away with two losses, including a season-ending loss in the sectional quarterfinals. They flipped the script during Tuesday’s rematch at Pioneer Caston scored the first six points of the second half and outscored Pio

GIRLS Culver Academy 48, Culver 34 BOYS Rochester 65, North Judson 55 Brownsburg 66, Tippecanoe Valley 39 Caston 63, Carroll (Flora) 52 Winamac 57, Argos 23 Triton 68, Pioneer 35 Three Rivers Conference girls Northfield 57, Southwood 45 Whitko 73, Manchester 45 Three Rivers Conference boys Rochester 65, North Judson 55 (nonconference) Taylor 57, Northwestern 13 (nonconference) Wabash 45, Maconaquah 41 Southwood 70, Peru 63 Hoosier North girls Culver Academy 48, Culver 34 (non

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Pioneer boys basketball coach Darren McKaig is used to getting off to a late start due to the success of the football team. What makes this season different is exactly how many of his players also play football. Seniors Micah Rans and J.J. Solano, junior Shiloh Rine and sophomore Phillip McFatridge are four key basketball players who were playing against South Putnam under the Lucas Oil Stadium spotlight in helmets and shoulder pads just

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Football Player of the Year Brant Beck No one was more omnipresent on a football field than Rochester’s Brant Beck, and as a result, he is our RTC4 Football Player of the Year for the second straight year. Offensively, Beck ran for 1,283 yards on the season while crossing the 4,000-yard barrier for his career. He also made a position change on defense, and he led the defense with 66 tackles. Most notably, he leaves Rochester with a c

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Volleyball Player of the Year Betty Shepherd Tippecanoe Valley had never had the RTC4 Volleyball Player of the Year. Until now. The high-flying, powerful Betty Shepherd deserves the honor by leading her team in kills and being the go-to hitter for her team against its extremely tough schedule. More than any player on Valley’s team, she was the one opponents had to game-plan for. And sometimes, she got so high off the ground that oppo

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Boys Cross Country Runner of the year Logan Fredel We saw it at the Caston Invitational back in September. There were some runners who could hang with Winamac senior Logan Fredel for the first mile. There were still a couple who could keep pace with Fredel for the second mile. But by the third mile, he was on his own. Strong, competitive and the frontrunner on a conference championship team, Fredel is our RTC4 Runner of the Year and

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC Runner of the Year Allyson Calloway It was not that Rochester senior Allyson Calloway ran alone, but she was a runner who had accomplished outstanding things in search of a pack to lead. She finally had one this year, and Rochester was better off for it, going from incomplete team to second place in the Three Rivers Conference in one year. From lone wolf to leader of the pack, Calloway, a Purdue Northwest signee, is our RTC Runner of

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Girls Golfer of the Year Olivia Bailey The girls golf season in the RTC area could not be summed up in a sight so much as a sound. The sound was the ball making an unusual thawack into the 17th hole on Olivia Bailey’s slam-dunk hole-in-one at Sandy Pines Golf Club in DeMotte during the regional. It was a historic shot during a historic round of 67 in which Bailey earned regional medalist for the third straight year. For that and many

https://team1sports.com/rtctv4/?B=3211347 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Micah Rans the 2025 Class 1A Blake Ress Mental Attitude award winner INDIANAPOLIS — Pioneer quarterback Micah Rans won the Blake Ress Mental Attitude Award at the IHSAA football state finals Friday. Rans also revealed he suffered a fractured fibula during the Panthers’ regular season finale against North Judson Oct. 17 and gutted out the injury during the team’s state tournament run, which ended w

VanMeter runs for 151 yards, 2 TDs; McFatridge becomes 4th Pioneer back to rush for 1,000 yards https://team1sports.com/rtctv4/?B=3211347 BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC 2025 Class 1A State Runner Up Pioneer Panthers INDIANAPOLIS — The Pioneer football team’s defense was ranked eighth in the state in defensive scoring average coming into the Class 1A state championship game against South Putnam at Lucas Oil Stadium Friday, and the first half was more of the same. They h

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Class 1A state championship game: Pioneer (13-1) vs. South Putnam (12-2), 11 a.m. Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis The Pioneer football team’s ground game reliance continued in their 31-14 win over host South Adams in the semistate Friday. Pioneer ran the ball 62 times and passed it three. All 374 yards of offense came on the ground. Fullback Noah VanMeter ran 25 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns, right wingback Shiloh Rine

Next up: vs. South Putnam, 11 a.m. next Friday BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Pioneer Football team 2025 Semi-State Champions Football Pioneer 31, South Adams 14 (Friday): The No. 5 Pioneer football team beat host and 10th-ranked South Adams Friday to advance to the Class 1A state championship game. After a scoreless first quarter, Pioneer jumped to a 10-0 lead at halftime and extended the lead to 17-0 after three quarters. The semistate title is the sixth in Pioneer s

Pioneer 31, South Adams 14 Hoosier North Pioneer 31, South Adams 14 (1A) Indiana Northern State Conference Fort Wayne Luers 35, Knox 0 (3A) North semistates 1A: Pioneer 31, South Adams 14 2A: Andrean 24, Adams Central 19 3A: Fort Wayne Luers 35, Knox 0 4A: Fort Wayne Dwenger 28, South Bend St. Joe 7 5A: Merrillville 41, Concord 14 6A: Westfield 35, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 14 RTC football schedule – Nov. 28-29 Nov. 28 state finals schedule 1A: Pioneer vs. South Putnam, 11 a.m. 3A

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Pioneer (12-1) at South Adams (10-3), 7:30 p.m. (Winner plays South Putnam-Milan winner in Class 1A state championship game) Pioneer had 71 offensive snaps last week in their 34-14 win over LaVille. All of them were runs. Fullback Noah VanMeter had 30 carries for 139 yards, left wingback Phillip McFatridge had 21 for 140, and right wingback Shiloh Rine had 20 for 182. The carry totals were season highs for all three and career highs for M

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Girls basketball Clinton Central 45, Pioneer 32 (Tuesday): Mia McKaig scored nine points, and Hannah Zeigler and Leah Zeigler scored seven points each for Pioneer in a loss to visiting Clinton Central Tuesday. Avery Haselby canned a pair of 3-pointers and scored six. Carly Davison scored 13 of her game-high 26 points in the second quarter. She went 6 for 6 from the foul line. Clinton Central led 20-18 at halftime and extended the lead to