On last year’s Columbus North boys basketball team, Sam King often was overshadowed by standouts Blake Barker, Cooper Horn and Reese Harmon.
But this summer, King is making a name for himself while playing for the D-I Indiana UA Rise 2022 travel team. The squad has gone 11-1 over the past two weekends in Atlanta and Dallas to qualify for this weekend’s 17-and-under UA Finals north of Indianapolis.
King, who will be a senior at North, has split time with one other center for D-I Indiana this summer. King, who has grown two inches to his current height of 6-foot-7, said he has drawn attention from New York University and Marian.
“I’ve been playing really well,” King said. “I’ve been getting a lot of looks from colleges.”
The UA Finals begin Friday and continue through Sunday at the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield and Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville.
Local volleyball players compete in nationals
Several local volleyball players were part of Circle City and Team Indiana club teams that played in the USA Volleyball Junior National Championship earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Columbus North’s Sarah Bennett and Reagan Kane and Columbus East’s Reece Whitehead helped Circle City VBC 17 Black to an 11th-place finish in its division. East’s Cadence Gilley helped Circle City VBC 17 Purple to a 15th-place finish in its division.
East’s Gabby Dean helped Team Indiana VBC 17-1 to a 19th-place finish in its division. East’s Caroline Frost and Chloe Gilley helped Circle City VBC 15 Purple to a 25th-place finish in its division.
This was a bid-only tournament, meaning teams had to win or place high at a qualifying event.
Lighting proposed for baseball, softball fields
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. director of operations Brett Boezeman said lighting has been proposed for the Columbus East and Columbus North baseball and softball fields.
Boezeman said new dugouts for baseball and softball and a new softball field at East also have been proposed. The new softball field would be behind the football field in Clifty Park.
Bode, McIntosh selected honorable mention All-State
Two players from the Conference Indiana and sectional champion Columbus North baseball team have earned honorable mention honors on the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State team.
Senior catcher Austin Bode and senior pitcher-shortstop Kyler McIntosh were named to the list. Bode led the Bull Dogs with 10 doubles and five home runs and batted .333 with 25 RBIs and 26 runs scored; while McIntosh went 8-1 with a 1.68 ERA and led North with a .394 average, five triples, 39 RBIs and 29 runs scored and had four home runs.
Hauser’s Poole commits to Calumet College
Recent Hauser graduate Frankie Poole has committed to continue his baseball career at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting.
The Crimson Wave are members of the NAIA and play in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Poole, who also played basketball at Hauser, helped the baseball team to a share of the Mid-Hoosier Conference title this season.
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-379-5628.
