Falls Sports Roundup 2020
Seniors on the girls soccer team
The girls soccer team (above) winning the Indiana Crossroads Conference championship and senior Jacob Sitzman’s third trip to the IHSAA Cross Country Semi-State were highlights of the Scecina fall sports season. All Crusaders fall sports athletes and coaches should be proud of how they persevered through the season this year.
Cheerleading
Head Coach Jana Montgomery
The cheerleading squad had a late start to the year because of a change in coaching staff. Jana Montgomery took over the cheerleading duties for Scecina. She also coaches the Eastside Crusaders Cheer and Little Flower’s winter and competitive spring cheer.
The cheerleaders could not cheer at as many games this year, but they were spirited as a squad and took on all new and more challenging cheers. The squad had only two returning Scecina cheerleaders and consisted of one senior, Kaitlin Dunn, and two juniors, three sophomores and six freshmen. With such a young group, Coach Montgomery is very excited for the squad’s growth and preparation for basketball and competition cheer.
Cross Country
Head Coach Olivia Page ‘14
Seniors Elijah Clegg, Liam Rolfson, and Jacob Sitzman set the pace for the boys team, while fellow seniors Kaylee Spears, Grace Swinefurth, and Madeleine Witsman lead the girls.
Jacob Sitzman ’21
In the City meet, led by Jacob Sitzman’s fifth-place finish, the boys team finished in seventh place. At the Conference meet at Blue River Memorial Park, the girls finished sixth while the boys finished seventh.
Jacob Sitzman ended his decorated career win his third consecutive trip to Semi-State. Jacob’s other accomplishments throughout his Crusader career were: All-ICC all four years, three-time All-City honors, and the ninth-fastest time ever run by a Crusader.
Football
Coach Ott Hurrle ‘70
The 2020 football season, the 67th in Scecina’s school’s history, will “certainly go down as the most bizarre and difficult to navigate,” said Coach Hurrle.
“COVID 19 caused us to eliminate practices and change how often we could meet as a team,” he said. “We lost two games (forfeits), thus two weeks of practice, in the middle of the season, and the thought of what might be around the corner was never far from our minds.”
Hurrle praised the leadership of the eight seniors: Jackson Pruitt, Jack Eichholtz, Jameson Welborn, Thomas DeFreese, Greg Miles, Myles Dais, Jack Longshore, and Anthony Hentz.
“They did an outstanding job of holding the team together and set positive examples for the younger players to build upon,” he said.
If one looks simply at the team’s 4-5 record, it would seem to be a disappointing year and, based solely on the record, it also was for the team’s goals.
“However, let‘s look at what the senior class accomplished during their four years of representing Scecina and those players who came before them,” said Hurrle. “The seniors were part of 23 varsity wins and were undefeated when playing their JV years.”
The Crusaders allowed the fewest points in a season in the last 40 years. The defense had a game average of 10.6, giving up only 95 points all season. The defense played so well that the Crusaders lost only one game by more than a touchdown.
DeFreese moved to second in the record book for interceptions in a game and seventh in career interceptions. Sophomore Mason Beriault set another school record when he returned an interception for a 95-yard touchdown.
The Indiana Football Coaches Association named DeFreese (defensive back) and Pruitt (defensive lineman) to its 2A All-State and named Ben Dugan as the 2A Assistant Coach of the Year.
“The team of 2020 will be remembered as one that overcame events beyond their control and represented Scecina and Scecina Football in a manner that in the future we can and will be very proud of,” said Coach Hurrle.
Girls Soccer
Head Coach Kurt Guldner
Scecina’s girls soccer made school history by winning the first Indiana Crossroads Conference girls soccer championship in school history. They finished 7-0 in conference and 9-2 overall.
The team opened the season with a 3-1 victory over conference foe Speedway, the same team that later would end the Crusaders’ season at Sectionals.
The team loses only five seniors: Olivia Smith, Amori Curiel, Allie Minton, Faith White, and Camille Schroeder. Coach Guldner and Assistant Coach Matt Black agree that to be successful in the future, the team must build upon the solid foundation that the 2020 girl soccer team set.
Boys Soccer
The 2020 season was “definitely different,” said Coach John Hegarty. The team, like other high school sports teams, got off to a late start practicing in the summer and played under strict constraints throughout the season.
“To be honest we doubted that we would ever play a game, but play we did,” said Hegarty.
Led by 14 seniors, the team was ranked in the top 10 in the state throughout the season. During the season, they scored two goals against the eventual state champions, Our Lady of Providence, in a loss early in the season.
The boys also defeated No. 2 Park Tudor and tied with No. 3 Heritage Christian, who eventually made it to the final game of the Semi-State.
Against the background of COVID-19 19 and a new coaching staff, the team did very well and won the Huskey Classic for the fourth time in a row. Special thanks to coach Sean Bosley ’93, who came back to his alma mater to share his extensive coaching experience.
Because of this year’s adversity, Hegarty said, “This unprecedented year, I believe, was the most successful of years.”
The team played all scheduled games and won more than half, fielded a JV team throughout the season, and, more importantly, not one player or coach caught the virus.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Scecina administration and the Athletic Department of Mr. (Jason) Kehrer and Mr. (Ben) Dugan for putting in place procedures that kept us all safe,” said Hegarty. “We look forward to next season, hopefully, one without masks, daily check-ins, and 6-foot limits. Thanks to all the families and especially the players who played the game they love, while keeping themselves and those around them safe.
The team says goodbye to 12 seniors: Osighe Akpeokhai, Israel Garcia Rodriguez, Cirilo Gonzalez, Carlos Guerrero, Nicholas Guevara, Anthony Hentz, Anthony Higgins, Daniel Linares, Garrett Nolan, Owen Schreiber, Alex Trejo, and Eric Urzua.
Boys Tennis
Coach Nick Batuello
The team completed another successful year. The team consisted of one junior, five sophomores, and one freshman. With only three returning players from the 2019 team, they knew they would have to continuously get better throughout the season.
Following the leadership of Henry Carey ’22, Jakob Kehrer ’23, and Quinn Schreiber ’23, the Crusaders finished second in the Speedway Invite, fourth in Conference, and sixth in the City Tournament. With all seven varsity players returning next year, Coach Batuello has an exciting future for the boys tennis team.
Volleyball
Coach Kevin Griffin ‘76
The team got off to a great start with a win over New Palestine.
“In spite of that, we had a lot of work to do because of missing the summer workouts,” said Coach Kevin Griffin. “We continued to improve throughout the season and had winning record during our regular season. We were led by an awesome group of seniors, including All-City outside hitter Mallory Cox, and defensive specialists Ava Frank and Kelcie Lincoln.
Some season highlights included the win over New Pal, the Senior Night win over Cascade, and winning two five-set matches against Ritter.
“The wins against Ritter were especially important, as the first one helped our team attain a second-place finish in conference, and the second win helped us advance to the final four of the City Tournament,” Griffin said.
