Regional Reviews Continued: Indiana 1A, Sections 53-56

Kyp Harasymowycz June 4, 2020 @ 08:50 AM

As we work our way through all of our sections in the Hoosier State, we will find some diamonds in the rough that, for lack of a better term, multitask. Listed below are many multisport athletes that have hit our radar. Section 56: Blue River Valley In the shadow of volleyball powerhouse, New Castle (defending 4A state champ) is a tiny school with success of their own. It doesn’t look like they’ll relinquish control of section 56 in the Muncie area, and with only one senior graduating from last season, it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon. Leading the charge for the Vikings is Mallory Cross (Munciana 17 Mustangs, ’21, 5-7, OH), who led Blue River Valley with over four kills per set. She also stars in basketball and tennis. Section 55: Cowan Defending state champ Cowan is also in Muncie’s neighborhood, hence their perennial dominance in this section. Our favorite from this team is [player_tooltip player_id="85735" first="Gracie" last="Conway"] (Munciana 17 Aztecs, ’21, 5-11, OH/RS), whose 24 kills in the state final led the way for the Blackhawks. She also led the team in blocks in 2019. Section 54: Covington One could argue that Lafayette Central Catholic is the power in this section, but not in 2019. Due to the blind draw that the IHSAA implements for all team sports, the clear favorites for the sectional final happened to be paired in the first round, with Covington squeaking out a five-set win over LCC in extra points. Returning for the Trojans in the fall of ’20 are Holly Linville (COA 16 Chaos, ’22, 5-9, MB/OH) and Nai’a Pettit (’21, 5-7, OH/RS). Both were in the top three in kills in ’19. For LCC, we really like Kaycie Hicks (’21, 5-6, DS), who is no stranger to winning, as LCC makes regular runs in the state tournament. Kaycie will be the libero again, and we look forward to what coach Brad McCarter can reload with come 2020. Section 53: South Newton Lizzie Glassburn (Ignite Elite, ’23, 5-8, S/RS) is the freshman phenom for the Rebels, as she runs a modified 6-2 while easily leading the team in aces, averaging over an ace per set. We are also fans of Samantha Warren (Impulse VBC (IL), ’21, 5-10, MB), who will be the best attacking option returning for the Rebels.