What's New LaPorte » Sports

Winterfest Ice Fishing Derby canceled

Staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:05:06 +0000

It’s a bit unusual for January/February in these parts, but the LaPorte Winterfest Ice Fishing Derby has been called off due to lack of ice.

The ice on Pine Lake is not safe, and Stone Lake is almost entirely open thanks to thousands of waterfowl.

The derby was postponed once and rescheduled to this coming weekend, but now has been canceled entirely, according to the LaPorte Park and Recreation Department.

Kingsbury KVA baseball, softball registration is Feb. 9, 11

Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:40:41 +0000

Registration for Kingsbury KVA T-ball, baseball, and fast-pitch softball will take place Thursday, Feb. 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration will be held at the Kingsbury Fire Station on Main Street in Kingsbury

The league is open to boys and girls ages 6-14. Your child must be at least 6 years old on April 30 of this year. Cost is $80 for the first child and $70 for each additional immediate family member. Twenty dollars of each registration is refundable through raffle ticket sales.

All interested players, coaches, assistant coaches, and umpires must sign up at one of these times.

You must provide a copy of your child’s birth certificate the day of registration for the league to keep on file.

E-mail kingsburykvainfo@comcast.net if you have any questions, or visit Kingsbury KVA on Facebook.

La Lumiere’s Jordan Ransone will play football for Butler

Staff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:09:38 +0000

Jordan Ransone signs with Butler as Coach Art Walker (left) and Headmaster Michael Kennedy stand by.

(Click photo to enlarge)

La Lumiere School senior Jordan Ransone has accepted an athletic scholarship to play football at Butler University. Ransone, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Carey B. Ransone of Long Beach, is the first Division I football recruit from La Lumiere in over 20 years.

In addition to being an outstanding athlete, Ransone has earned the distinction of being named a Commended Student in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program and a semifinalist in the 2012 National Achievement Scholarship Competition.

La Lumiere Head Football Coach Art Walker commented on Ransone’s choice: “Jordan chose Butler for its combination of academic and athletic offerings. Butler’s philosophy of striving for excellence on and off the field mirrors the philosophy of La Lumiere School. Ransone should feel right at home suiting up for the Bulldogs.”

Sign up Feb. 21, 23 for LP Parks’ baseball, softball, t-ball

Staff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:40:18 +0000

The LaPorte Park and Recreation Department will hold signups for its boys baseball and girls softball programs as well as the t-ball program. Signups will be held Tuesday, Feb. 21, and Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Civic Auditorium.

The registration fee is $45 for the first child and $35 for each additional child in the same household. All new participants must bring a copy of their birth certificates.

Beginning March 12, there will be a $20 late fee added for each child.

For more information, contact the LaPorte Park and Recreation Department at 326-9600.

Slicer runner Mitch Hubner signs with IUPUI

Staff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:58:02 +0000

Photo and info by Mike Kellems

(Click on photo to enlarge)

On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, Slicer cross country standout Mitch Hubner signed his National Letter of Intent to run for IUPUI in Indianapolis. Mitch, who achieved second place in the state this past season, intends to carry his winning ways to the Jaguars in Indy next fall. Pictured with Mitch are his mother Jane and dad Jeff, and (standing) Slicer Track Coach Bob James (left) and Slicer Cross Country Coach Time Beres.

The boys of summer … in February?

Staff — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:38:30 +0000

Photos and info by Mike Kellems

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Who’da thunk it? The groundhog hadn’t even decided whether to emerge, yet the LaPorte Slicers baseball squad took to the grass of Schreiber Field on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012.

Buried in a blizzard one year ago, this week the field is ready to take on practice grounders and fly balls.

Slicer baseball skipper Scott Upp said this is the first time that anyone could recall holding a pre-season workout outside on the first day in February.

Native LaPortean captures Super Bowl buzz in Indy

Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:09:32 +0000

The giant sign as seen from ExactTarget offices.

Photos by Lindsey Cooper

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Indianapolis is alive with activity this week as tens of thousands gather for festivities surrounding Super Bowl XLVI. Native LaPortean Lindsey (Boardman) Cooper, who has a bird’s-eye view of some of the hoopla from her downtown Indy workplace, ExactTarget, snapped a few shots of the fun.

The Roman numerals with the backdrop of Monument Circle.

Super signage.

Super Bowl Village, offering all kinds of fun activities, has been packed.

Alums thrive on Hoosier Hysteria, LaCrosse style

Staff — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:32:18 +0000

The "three amigos" -- Don Tonsoni, Steve King and Greg Fruth -- stand outside the LaCrosse High School Gymnasium.

Story and photos by Mike Kellems

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The Jan. 27, 2012, south-county rivalry between South Central and LaCrosse not only delivered an exciting basketball game in a backdrop that was made for Hoosier basketball, it was the scene of a reunion of former LaCrosse teachers, a couple of D.A.R.E. officers, and an alumnus.

For those who have never been, the LaCrosse gymnasium — and the school, for that matter — look like they’re straight out of “Hoosiers.” The LaCrosse gym is a twin to the gym used in the movie. Legend has it that the LaCrosse gym was scouted for the movie, but wasn’t used because it didn’t have a parquet floor. (It does now!)

Walk through these doors and you'll step back in time ...

When you walk in the front door of the gym, take six tiny steps and you’re under the basket. The basket on the opposite side is just a few steps from a stage. The seating consists of six rows on each side. The capacity is just over 700; at Friday night’s game, the crowd was estimated at over 900. Not bad for a town whose population is around 600.

When you walk through those double doors, you take a step back in time. The place reeks of nostalgia. Until this school year, the school was still run by the township trustee, one of only two in Indiana not incorporated. The other unincorporated school in Indiana? Wanatah.

For the past few years a group of LaPorteans with ties to the tiny town near the southern tip of LaPorte County have talked about going to see a ballgame. The biannual game on Jan. 27 offered the opportunity. Greg Fruth, a longtime LaPorte High teacher (now retired), taught at LaCrosse in the 1970s and coordinated the reunion along with Norm Kleist, LaCrosse’s superintendent. Greg was joined by former 1970s LaCrosse teachers Don Tonsoni (currently LaPorte’s attendance officer) and retired LaPorte County Judge Steve King. Myself and John Boyd, both veteran officers of the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, taught elementary and high school Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) programs in the 1990s. To round out the group, Judge Richard Stalbrink, who replaced Judge King in LaPorte County Superior Court 2 and is a 1986 LaCrosse graduate, came along.

Not only did we have an opportunity to see a great ballgame, the prinicipal left the school doors unlocked — which afforded us a great chance to take a walk down memory lane. Judge King and Don Tonsoni walked us through their old classroom on the second floor; they joked that while at LaCrosse they were the “co-chairs” of the social studies department. (The inside joke was that they were also the only two teachers in that department!) Up on the fourth floor, better known as the Crow’s Nest, Judge Stalbrink discovered a box full of old record books and found the score book from his senior year on the basketball team.

I have to admit, it was a great history lesson as the tour came to a stop on the second floor and the group started rehashing memories of the old days; the names of the principals, teachers and staff, where they were now, how they came to teach at LaCrosse. And boy, has the world changed. We spent the better part of an hour touring and chatting; it turned out to be one of the best lessons I’ve ever had in a school building.

The basketball season is winding down, with only a few more weeks before the sectionals start. If you are any kind of fan of the game … if you have any love for history … if you want a great night of nostalgia and Hoosier Hysteria … don’t waste any time. Get to the LaCrosse Gym soon.

MIKE KELLEMS is a sergeant in the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department, liaison officer at LaPorte High School, and a LaPorte School Board member.

Superintendent of Schools Norm Kleist (left) stands with Don Tonsoni, Steve King and Greg Fruth in LaCrosse High School.

Judge Richard Stalbrink (yellow shirt) shows Judge Steve King the basketball scorebook from his senior year at LaCrosse.

LaCrosse-South Central battles rekindle rivalries of yesteryear

Staff — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:25:39 +0000

South Central's Adam Clindaniel shoots for two over the top of LaCrosse's Joey Matta.

Photos and story by Mike Kellems

(Click on photos to enlarge)

The hoops rivalry in the south county lived up to the hype Friday night, Jan. 27, 2012, in LaCrosse during the battle for bragging rights between the visiting South Central Satellites and the Tigers of LaCrosse.

The basketball varsity doubleheader began with the girls varsity game. The Satellites took a quick lead; the Lady Tigers battled back in the fourth quarter. But LaCrosse could not overcome Central’s double-digit lead. The final in the girls game was Satellites 51, Tigers 40.

The girls varsity game provided a great warm-up for the capacity-plus crowd as the second game got under way. The boys teams provided a vivid reminder of what Hoosier Hysteria is all about. With numerous lead changes throughout the game, LaCrosse and South Central played a game that brought into focus the reason the word “rivalry” was invented.

South Central led at the end of the first quarter, 17-12. LaCrosse wasn’t fazed by the early Satellite lead and worked its inside game, closing the gap to within two points at the end of the half — 34-32.

The Tigers owned the third quarter, breaking open to lead on a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers and closing the quarter with the lead, 55-50. The see-saw fourth quarter saw both teams take turns leading and tying. With the frenzied crowd at a fever pitch, South Central won the battle at the free-throw line, a place where LaCrosse struggled, and finished the game with the final score South Central 75, LaCrosse 73.

LaCrosse's Jimmy Rippe alley-oops the ball as Central's Marcus Kammrath defends.

Satellite Marcus Kammrath sails to the basket.

LaCrosse sophomore Sam Culver grabs a defensive rebound.

Lady Tigers and Lady Satellites fight for the ball as it heads out of bounds.

Tiger Gabbie Sievers drives toward the basket as Satellite Sydney Satoski attempts to block the shot.

4 La Lumiere athletes nominated for McDonald’s All American Games

Staff — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:52:12 +0000

McDonald’s All American nominees Obij Aget, Hanner Perea, Rapheal Davis and Jay Simpson. (Click on photo to enlarge)

La Lumiere School seniors Obij Aget, Rapheal Davis, Hanner Perea and Jay Simpson have been nominated for the 2012 McDonald’s All American Games. Six hundred men and women from throughout the country, including just 13 from Indiana, received nominations. The four La Lumiere seniors will face stiff competition to be among 24 men chosen to participate in the Games, which will be held March 28 at Chicago’s United Center.

“The McDonald’s All American Games present the finest opportunity to preview the country’s best up and coming basketball talent,” said Morgan Wootten, chairman of the selection committee. “This year’s nominees represent some of the top student-athletes in the country. We are privileged to acknowledge these individuals for their success on the basketball court, in the classroom, and in the community.”