FORT WAYNE -- Manchester's Dylan Stroud remained undefeated in his quest for a state championship after winning the 126 pound weight class at the New Haven Semi-State Saturday, Feb. 15.

Stroud was the only Squire to advance to state while Wabash will have two representatives this weekend in Indianapolis.

Stroud (39-0) gave up just three points in his semi-state run. He started the day with a pin over Landon Roy from West Noble followed by a 7-0 win over Bellmont's Litchfield to clinch a spot at state. The Squire sophomore won his semifinal match 8-3 over Delta's Payne Blackburn then outlasted Bluffton's undefeated Landon Bertsch 3-0 in the championship match.

SHARPSVILLE -- In an instant the dream ended.

Blue River Valley led Northfield 37-34 with the Norse in possession of the ball with 21 seconds left in regulation of the regional championship game Saturday, Feb. 15.

After a Northfield time out, the Norse worked the ball around for a game-tying three-pointer. Kenzie Baer inbounded the ball to Emma Hoover who found Fayth Leming outside the arc. Leming let the ball fly with eight seconds remaining but her shot went in-and-out and Blue River Valley grabbed the rebound and a 39-34 win.

Blue River Valley looked like they were going to run away with the game taking an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes.

WALTON -- What looked like a blowout turned into a battle until the final minute of play in the championship game of the Lewis Cass Sectional Saturday, Feb. 8.

Rochester was in complete control midway through the second quarter but needed three seconds in the final minute of the game to clinch a 39-33 win over Manchester to claim the sectional title.

Manchester’s Mackenzie Day got the Squires on the board first with a basket 50 seconds into the game.

Rochester answered, scoring the next eight points for an 8-2 lead after the first quarter.

The Zebras extended the lead to 12-2 in the second quarter before Emma Garriott’s three-pointer cut the lead to 12-5 with 6:28 left in the quarter.

The Squires won a thrilling road conference game in double overtime at Tippecanoe Valley by outlasting the Vikings 71-66.

After a tight first half that saw the Squires up 21-20 leading at halftime, the Vikings took a 41-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Manchester battled back to send it to overtime at 52-52.

In the second overtime the Squires jumped ahead early and put the game away.

PERU -- In a neck-and-neck battle with Manchester at the top of the leaderboard throughout Peru Sectional Saturday, Feb. 1, the Wabash Apaches got the points they needed to capture its second consecutive title.

Manchester led the group of 10 teams heading into the final round of fifth, third and championship matches with a one-point margin over Wabash but the Apaches came out on top with 224.5 points to Manchester's 215.5 points.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Wabash High School senior, Derek Vogel was joined by his family, coaches, teammates and friends to sign a letter of intent to further his running career as a student athlete at Indiana University Kokomo.

Max Carter scored on a rebound and put-back with four seconds left in the game to give Manchester a come-from-behind 48-47 win at Rochester Friday, Jan. 24.

Rochester led by as many as 13 points but the Squires got the final word in a back-and-forth fourth quarter to get the win.

Thane Creager led Manchester with 13 points and five rebounds, followed by Caleb Stout with 12 points on four three-pointers, Carter with eight points and five rebounds, Weston Hamby with seven points and eight assists, Kreeden Krull with six points and nine rebounds, and Austin Underwood with two points and three rebounds.

Manchester improved to 7-7 and 2-2 in the TRC. The Squires will travel to Tippecanoe Valley Friday, Jan. 31.

Wabash wrestler Kiersten O'Neill finished second at the IHSWCA Wrestling Girls State Finals Friday, Jan. 17 at Kokomo High School.
O'Neill won her first match by pin in 90 seconds to advance to the semi-finals where she recorded a second pin to advance to the championship match.
In the championship round O'Neill fell short to end the tournament with a second-place finish in the state.
Manchester’s Haley Clifford finished fourth at the state finals
Clifford, the 3-seed, defeated the 2-seed from Hagerstown in her opening match by pin at 1:17. Clifford lost a back-and-forth match to Carmel in the semi-finals and finished fourth her final match to Penn 11-2.