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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
For approximately the last 15 years, Tippecanoe Valley was in volleyball and basketball sectionals with schools to its east and north.
They were also in a football sectional in which it was typically one of the southernmost schools.
The sectional realignments revealed Tuesday changes that Valley is now the easternmost school in its volleyball and basketball sectionals and the northernmost school in its football sectional.
Here is how sectionals will look for all of Tippecanoe Valley’s fall and winter teams covering the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years:
Girls basketball
It could be argued that the greatest win in Valley history was their win over Rochester at the Tiger Den at Warsaw in the 2015 Class 3A semistate.
For the first time since, Rochester and Valley are both in Class 3A, but this time, they would meet in the sectional.
Bremen, Culver Academy, John Glenn and Knox are the other four schools that will join the Lady Zs and Lady Vikings in Sectional 18.
Valley has had nine straight winning seasons and is the defending Three Rivers Conference champion.
Culver Academy won a sectional title in February, but top scorer Taylor Bowen, a Lipscomb University recruit, graduates.
Bremen, like Rochester, also moves up to Class 3A based on increased enrollment and has had five winning seasons in the last six years.
Knox has had five consecutive winning seasons and has also won three sectional titles during that span.
John Glenn, who will also be a new addition to Valley’s regular season schedule, has had nine winning seasons in the last 10 years.
New Rochester coach Joel Burrus inherits a program that has had 10 winning seasons in the last 12 years.
Boys basketball
Once again, Valley is in a five-team boys basketball sectional, but none of the other four teams were in their previous sectional.
This time, the other four in Sectional 18 are Bremen, Culver Academy, John Glenn and Knox.
Both Culver Academy and John Glenn had their seasons ended against eventual state runner-up Mishawaka Marian last year.
Culver Academy lost to Mishawaka Marian 39-38 in the regional final after a 19-win season and their fifth sectional title in six years under coach Mark Galloway.
John Glenn went 24-2 last season and was ranked No. 1 going into the state tournament before losing to the No. 2 Knights in the sectional final.
Bremen bumps up from Class 2A based on enrollment. They are also a new addition to Valley’s regular season schedule.
Knox, like Valley, also has a current coaching vacancy.
Volleyball
Like boys basketball, Valley is in Class 3A, Sectional 18 with Bremen, Culver Academy, John Glenn and Knox.
Culver Academy is coming off back-to-back sectional titles in 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Knox hasn’t won a sectional since 2010, Bremen has not won one since 2003, and John Glenn has not won one since 1998.
Valley has never won a volleyball sectional title, but they are coming off an 18-win season in Ashley Derf’s first season as coach.
NorthWood had won three consecutive sectionals in Valley’s previous grouping.
Football
Valley stays in Class 3A but moves from Sectional 26 to Sectional 28, and two other TRC teams will join them there in Peru and Maconaquah.
The other five schools are Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Indianapolis Chatard, Northwestern and Oak Hill.
The most noteworthy opponent might be Indianapolis Chatard, who has won 15 state championships. The 15 state titles, including back-to-back state titles in 2019 and 2020, are the most in IHSAA history. Indianapolis Chatard has not gone more than four years without winning a state title since 1997.
Valley is coming off an undefeated regular season in 2021 but has not won a sectional title since 1992.
Mishawaka Marian, who eliminated Valley in each of the last two sectionals, is staying in Sectional 26, which means Valley would not face them until the semistate.
In fact, none of the other seven teams in Valley’s sectional last year are in their new sectional.
Girls soccer
Entering their second year as a varsity program, coach Mark Gordon’s team is in Class 2A, Sectional 22 along with Culver Academy, Fort Wayne Dwenger, Fort Wayne Concordia, Garrett and Leo.
Leo is the defending regional champion. Leo was No. 10, and Culver Academy was No. 17 in last year’s season-ending poll.
Boys soccer
New Valley coach Trevor Brown’s team is one of four TRC teams in Class 2A, Sectional 22 along with Rochester and reigning conference co-champs Manchester and Wabash.
The other teams in the seven-team field are Culver Academy, Fort Wayne Dwenger and Fort Wayne Concordia.
Fort Wayne Dwenger is a reigning regional champion who was ranked No. 9 in last year’s final poll. Fort Wayne Concordia was ranked No. 4, and Culver Academy was ranked No. 11 in last year’s final polls.
Valley has never won a sectional title in boys soccer.
Fort Wayne Canterbury, who won last year’s sectional, was moved to Sectional 23.
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