BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Baseball Player of the Year Carson Paulik It was a standout season for two high school baseball teams in particular in our area in 2026. North Miami won just their third sectional title ever and then followed it with their first regional title. Caston also won their third sectional title. But our RTC4 Baseball Player of the Year, Rochester senior pitcher-infielder Carson Paulik, did not attend either of those schools. Paulik singleha

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Softball Player of the Year Dalynne Bussard We had a pretty good idea whom we were picking for RTC4 Softball Player of the Year before sectionals week started. What happened during sectionals week only confirmed what we had already been thinking: Dalynne Bussard deserves it again. Bussard, a senior from Tippecanoe Valley and a University of Indianapolis recruit, is the first two-time winner in the six-year history of the award. She a

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Boys Golfer of the Year Ivan Reyes Once again, our RTC Boys Golfer of the Year is from Pioneer. But this time, it is a different player. Last year, it was Micah Rans. This year, it is Ivan Reyes. A junior, Reyes is our pick after winning medalist honors and leading his Panthers to a Hoosier North title. He also shot a 76 at the Logansport sectional to lead his team to a third-place finish and a return trip to the regional. This was a

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Maci Parker Karley Hallstrom In the six-year history of naming the All-RTC4 Girls Tennis Player of the Year, somebody from Tippecanoe Valley has won it every year. That streak continues in 2026. Our picks as Co-Players of the Year are Karley Hallstrom and Maci Parker, the No. 1 doubles players for the Lady Vikings. They were the senior leaders for a team that made his

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Boys Track Athlete of the Year Harrison Dunwoody Harrison Dunwoody added the 100 meters and the long jump to his track repertoire in 2026, but the event in which his name will be listed on the record board inside the hallway above the concession stand at Rochester High School is the 110 hurdles. And thanks to that record-breaking performance, he is our RTC4 Boys Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. Dunwoody is a gi

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC RTC4 Girls Track Athlete of the Year Betty Shepherd For the third straight year, our RTC4 Girls Athlete of the Year is a 300-meter hurdler. And for the second time during that span, it is Tippecanoe Valley’s Betty Shepherd. Shepherd also was our Girls Athlete of the Year in 2024 when she made state as a sophomore. She did not make state in 2025 as friend and rival Audrey Wagner from Rochester was our Athlete of the Year. But that did not

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Emmalie Grossman Emmalie Grossman final year in 4-H included an appearance in the Supreme Master Showmanship Contest at the Fulton County 4-H Fair Thursday. Grossman is a 10-year member of 4-H. She qualified for the contest by winning Master Sheep Showman earlier in the week. Madisyn Douglass wound up winning the Contest, which involved each contestant showing a dairy cow, a sheep, a beef cow, a pig and a goat. Grossman said she thought s

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Gavin Leininger Gavin Leininger spends much of his life trying to impress judges. He tries to impress judges while showing sheep at the Fulton County 4-H Fair. He also tries to impress judges as a member of the Tippecanoe Valley diving team. He has more experience with the former than the latter. The former is the present. The latter is the future, as the 2026 Valley grad is bound to continue his diving and academic careers at Franklin Co

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Boys golf Wes Parker Tippecanoe Valley senior golfer Wes Parker was named to the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association honorable mention Academic All-State team. He was the only RTC area golfer to receive an All-State academic honor.

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS Sports Editor, RTC Sports have defined Alexa Holland’s life, and she has been everywhere to make it happen. From the Super Bowl to the Kentucky Derby to a Division I college football team to state championship events in different sports all over the country, her experiences are vast and widespread. But when the athletic director position at Tippecanoe Valley became open last fall, she understood it as an opportunity to head close to home and be near family.