We want to welcome a brand new readership to the Viking Sports Report. From August 2017 until now this weekly summary of VHS athletic events had been published to VCS staff only on Friday mornings. With this edition we are including all of our VCS families. The purpose of the Viking Sports Report is to provide a weekly summary of the multitude of athletic events our freshmen through varsity teams compete in. Additionally, we include a calendar of events for the upcoming week. We hope you enjoy reading about the successes of our VHS student-athletes.
The boys’ swim team competed in the IHSAA Sectional this past weekend. The team took second overall to Chesterton. They will be sending four swimmers and a diver to the state meet in Indy this weekend. Sam Behrend, Ryan Hrosik and Cole St. Aubin in their individual events, along with the 200 free relay team of the previously mentioned swimmers and Will Miltenberger along with diver Jack Schwartz. The 200 Medley Relay of Sam Behrend, Cole St. Aubin, Ryan Hrosik and Will Miltenberger placed second with a VHS school record of 1:34.54. In the 200 Free Shenal Karunaratne took 7th, Isaac Anderson 11th, and Liam Shepherd 13th. In the 200 IM Sam Behrend placed 4th, Zach Juhl 5th, and Alex Stamp 8th.In the 50 Free Ryan Hrosik was the sectional champ with a sectional record, Chesterton pool record (beating Olympic gold medalist Blake Pieroni's time) and VHS school record with a time of 20.38. Will Miltenberger finished in 9th place and Ben McQuestion in 13th. In the 100 Fly Ryan Hrosik placed 2nd with a VHS school record of 49.66 and also qualifying for state in 4th place was Sam Behrend with a 51.45. In the 100 Free Cole St. Aubin was the sectional champ in a time of 46.54 with Will Miltenberger 5th and Clay Hatch 9th. In the 500 Free Shenal Karunaratne placed 5th, Isaac Anderson 7th, and Liam Shepherd 9th. The 200 Free Relay of Cole St. Aubin, Will Miltenberger, Ryan Hrosik, and Sam Behrend were sectional champs with a sectional and school record of 1:25.07. In the 100 Back Zach Juhl placed 7th, Ben McQuestion 11th, and Nic Bergstrom 14th. In the 100 Breast Cole St. Aubin was the sectional champ in a time of 57.76. Clay Hatch was 6th and Sam Stazinski was 8th. The 400 Free Relay of Alex Stamp, Shenal Karunaratne, Zach Juhl, and Clay Hatch were 4th. The sectional diving champ was Jack Schwartz and Matt Puskar was 16th. Coach Boomer Nellessen was named coach of the year. Outstanding team effort and job well done! Good luck at the state meet!
The DAC gymnastics meet went wire-to-wire this past Saturday, with Chesterton edging Valpo in the final rotation, 113.35 to 113.075. The Vikes were on Beam while Chesterton competed Floor, and the crowds from both teams were loud and crazy! Valpo went 4 for 4 on routines, but it wasn't quite enough to win the meet. Props to Whitney McKeon (1st, 9.55), Jenna Algozine (4th, 9.3), Megan Wagenblast (7th, 9.0), and Rachel Moneta (12th, 8.85) for staying focused in a tense situation. McKeon also took 2nd All-Around and on Floor, while Moneta was 5th on Floor and Vault, and 6th All-Around. Algozine placed 3rd on Bars and tied for 5th on Floor, with Sabrina Falk successfully completing her first Tsuk on Vault for 12th place. Lizzy Wilson had an outstanding meet, taking 2nd on Floor, and 3rd on Bars and Vault, with her new layout Yurchenko. The team, ranked #3 in the State, will compete in the IHSAA Sectional Saturday at noon at Chesterton.
The boys’ basketball team took on DAC rival Chesterton this past Friday evening and suffered their first conference loss 71-61. Nathan Aerts led the way with 2 points followed by Brandon Newman with 21 points and four rebounds. Colin Walls added four assists. Depending on the outcome of this week’s Chesterton vs. Portage game, the Vikings are guaranteed a DAC co-championship with Merrillville and possibly Chesterton. On Saturday, they travelled to Concord for double overtime thriller defeating the Minutemen 70-66. Brandon Newman dropped in 45 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Nate Aerts added 10 points and six rebounds with Colin Walls and Charlie Healy adding seven and four assists respectively. They are now 16-5 and 6-1 in the DAC. They JV defeated Chesterton 44-36 with Brandon Mack scoring 13 points with six rebounds and Luke Balash adding 10 points and 3 rebounds. They defeated Concord 60-45 with Logan Mersman scoring 15 points with six rebounds and two assists, Cooper Jones with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. Peyton Krutz also added nine points and four rebounds. The JV are now 19-1 and undefeated in the DAC.
Season tickets for the IHSAA boys’ basketball Sectional are on sale in the VHS Athletic Office for $10. Single game admission at the gate is $6 each night.