Can the Falcons win state? Page design

Page design for Oct. 23, 2012 edition of the Herald Journal.

Can the Falcons win state?

It’s the right question.

With the sectional tournament concluded, it is no longer premature to ask whether the 2012 Frontier volleyball team can take the program further than last season’s barrier-breaking squad that made the final four.

Tonight is the first step.

The talk around Frontier has been focused on early November since the preseason, but it has taken until now to see the clear path forward for what teams get to make the trip to Muncie for the state finals.

Actually, I doubt anyone connected to the Frontier program will want to speak about anything further than the regional match tonight against Riverton Parke. Messing with the karma of sports is never a good idea, and looking past an opponent is possibly the most dangerous of those transgressions.

That doesn’t mean we don’t get to speculate though.

Thus far, the 2012 Falcons have accomplished almost every realistic goal for the regular season and sectional. Midwest Conference champs, check. Sectional repeat champs, check. The Falcons avenged a few regular season losses from 2011 along the way as well. There was no undefeated streak this season, and it was possibly that 0-1 start and opening loss to Lafayette Jeff that kept the Falcons mired at the bottom of the Class 1A rankings throughout the season, even dropping out of the top 10 at one point before earning
wins over higher ranked foes Pioneer and Rossville in the second half of the regular season.


Whether the Falcons indeed follow through on their goals to move past last season’s accomplishments will be determined by no one else but Frontier’s players and coaches and the opponents they see across the net.

These are the reasons Frontier is in the conversation:

2011 vs. 2012

While Wes-Del proved how far ahead it was from the rest of Class 1A in 2011, the Falcons’ three-set loss in the semistate finals against the eventual state champion doesn’t tell the whole story. There’s a reason 2011 Frontier had yet to drop a set in the state tournament before the final four, and it’s not a provocative one: Frontier was good. Good enough on the court to challenge for a state title in fact, but Frontier had yet to be forced into a position to handle any shortcomings before Wes-Del presented the Falcons with a giant problem.

While Frontier enters the 2012 postseason with a better record (and has again not been forced into a fourth set in either of its sectional games), it has come with a new set of trials and a less wide-eyed approach
to the regular season. There have been few times this season that players and coaches haven’t mentioned
the different framework of how this roster has come together. Coach Shelly  Pullins doesn’t believe that it is empty rhetoric either.

“You have six seniors starting on the floor. They’re very tight, they’re very close knit, and I think we had breakdowns last year where we didn’t play together as a team,” Pullins said. “I think with these girls, that’s not happened very much this season. Overall I don’t think that’s going to happen the way it did before.”

The rotation

The difference in a year is more than just a mindset. Frontier has only gotten better since last season’s finale, both with its star players and the rotation around them, and the depth now displayed for the Falcons has been the key in 2012.

The offensive statistics don’t go very deep, with only four hitters holding significant kill totals, but what they show is a team that has learned how to best utilize its players. Senior middle hitter Jenna Sullivan was a force before 2011, but it has been a season of role change to get to where the Falcons are now. Sullivan’s offensive tools have been more showcased in her senior season, already eclipsing her 2011 kill total
by 47 even with nine less sets on the year, and the 6-foot-3 athlete has added nearly 100 blocks to her
2011 total while holding her own in the back row instead of rotating off of the court.

Kattie Lee, the addition for last season that moved Frontier from an also-ran to a power, is no longer as much of the focal point for every Frontier possession even as her impact has remained unchanged. While her total attack opportunities have dropped over 100 from last season, her errors have lowered just as precipitously even as Lee’s average kills per set remains close to its previous level, a drop from 3.98 to 3.78.

After besting Rossville for the sectional title, Lee said the performance was an example of what the Falcons can do when they are at their best.

“I think once we get in a rhythm, we’re unstoppable. Clearly tonight we had our moments, and we held (Rossville) under 10 (points) in the first game, being as good a team as they are, I thought, ‘Well, OK,’” Lee said. “Our passing and our serving really came, our offense and defense came ready to play, and I think it will always be there for us defense-wise.”

The emergence of Alyssa Marzke (147 kills) has provided another outside threat for the Falcons, while Jesah Marlatt ranks just behind Lee in total digs while having 100-plus kills of her own. Added with setter
Megan Doyle (who has been in the position for a full year as opposed to one month in 2011), defensive specialist Corin Runk and libero Brynleigh Jensen, and the full rotation is rarely altered. That kind of consistency has worked thus far.

Sullivan credits the inherent competition felt throughout the roster as the difference.

“One thing that we have that a lot of teams don’t is that everyone on the court is always competing. We have that competitive drive, and we always have it within us,” Sullivan said.

The bracket

Having been beaten by No. 5 Cowan for the sectional title, Wes-Del will not have a chance to defend its state title. No. 3 Loogootee knocked off No. 1 Barr-Reeve in Sectional 63, further thinning the pack. Not counting Frontier, six of the state’s top 10 ranked teams made the regional level, and four were placed in the Loogootee semistate bracket.

Frontier, in the Caston semistate bracket, does have king-slayer Cowan as a possible future foe, as well
as No. 6 Pioneer whom the Falcons beat 3-1 to secure the MWC title.

“I think that if these girls play, for instance the way they did (against Rossville), and they can and they keep
things consistent, it’s going to take a really good team to stop them,” Pullins said. “They’re so deep on their
hitters and they’re so good on defense. I think if they play their game, they can go all the way.”

Frontier will begin the post-sectional tournament tonight at 7 p.m., playing Riverton Parke at home for the regional title.

This column was printed in the Oct. 23, 2012 edition of the Herald Journal.

Paterno persona never true to real life

One description of the adulation and, to be blunt, worship directed at college football coaches has always stuck with me.

The questioner could not understand why intelligent individuals would become small children again in the presence of those in charge of an athletic program, and the response placed those coaches, those pivotal figures in the most popular sport in the country, as the modern day equivalent of Scipio Africanus, Caesar, Alexander the Great or possibly even Hector of Troy. Sports are a modern supplement to the warring of our previous societies, it was argued, and those in the lead are put on the same pedestal.

I can’t buy into the designation entirely, mostly because it is usually a poor idea to be glib about the actual sacrifices of modern warriors in our military branches in comparison to games, but the hero worship involved in college athletics can’t be denied. My own family is not immune. Bo Schembechler, the former Michigan great, passed away the same week as my father in 2006, and you would have thought my great big family that worshiped at the altar of the Big House was saying goodbye to both.

Most people that claim to love Joe Paterno have never met him. They know him vicariously, the image that is projected on their television set and through targeted media by a staff that has been built with the sole purpose of projecting that great persona. That Joe Paterno, the Joe Pa that was listed as among the most noble among his profession, will forever remain untarnished in the eyes of those who loved him, and that’s fine, because he was never real.

I don’t begrudge those who still defend Paterno, even after revelations have come forward that he was far more involved in the Jerry Sandusky scandal than he portrayed himself to be. Joe Paterno lied, it’s best to start saying it out loud, but the image cultivated in Penn State fans’ minds can remain untarnished because the truth had very little to do with it in the first place.

It’s best to just start saying that too. 

Column printed in the Herald Journal on Saturday, July 14, 2012.

Local racer preps ... Design, Saturday, March 17, 2012

- Design for article on local racer with shot at Indianapolis 500.

Local racer preps for spot at IRL peak, Saturday, March 17, 2012

Brandon Wagner is picking a tumultuous time for his best shot at the apex of his sport, and that’s the way he wants it.

The IndyCar Racing League is ushering in a new era on the heels of one of its most horrific tragedies, and it is into that maelstrom that the Lafayette native will make his strongest bid yet for a seat among the top racing names attached to the famed Indianapolis 500. A 2005 graduate of Lafayette Central Catholic High School, Wagner has made his home on Lake Freeman since graduation as he has pushed his racing career from the go-kart tracks of Benton County and local midget racing leagues to the doorstep of an Indy 500 opportunity.

“There’s nothing like it in the world. The Daytona 500 can say it’s the best race in the world, but it’s not even close to the Indy 500. Everyone wants to win the Indy 500, or at least be a part of it. It would just be nice to be one of those people in the event,” Wagner, who has raced four times at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the IndyCar Light Freedom 100, said.

Building the Future

Beginning with his family racing team in the United States Auto Club circuits, Wagner’s racing potential skyrocketed after an opportunity to test on an IndyCar Light racecar led to an introduction with IRL driver Davey Hamilton. Now a four-year veteran of the final stop before the IZOD IndyCar Series, Wagner took his first win at the IndyCar Lights level in the final race of the 2010 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He followed up with three top 10 finishes in 2011, pushing his career total to six, while building a reputation for speed and smarts that led to his carrying another team’s number in the final races of 2011.

Team Moore Racing, based in Pittsboro, Ind., needed a driver to carry its No. 22 car through the final races of the season after a fast start was put in jeopardy by original driver Gustavo Yacamán’s financial woes. Owner Mark Moore asked Wagner to race the final races in combination with Davey Hamilton Racing, and wound up with the best finish among four replacement drivers that season, fourth at Kentucky Speedway, and was the only driver to take on more than one race for Moore.

“A lot of time when you get called up like that, it’s because they know you’re good but that you’re also going to respect their equipment,” Wagner said. “They know you won’t wreck their car. Obviously things happen, we all know that, but they at least have faith that you’re going to run hard, give them a chance to win, but they know that you’re going to bring that car home with all four corners on it.

“It was a respect thing, that he called me and said hey, we want you to do this. And it was nice that he put that trust in me.”

Wagner is now hoping to use those top finishes to convince financial backers to take a chance on a young racer. With Hamilton’s help, Wagner has been put on a publicity tour that puts the young racer in the comfortable position of talking about racing but also in the new position of building relationships as a brand spokesperson.

“The part people don’t see behind the scenes is the meetings and the trips. It’s so much marketing and advertising. You’re selling yourself, so you’re meeting with sponsors all over the country about all kinds of things,” Wagner said. “Companies want to sponsor a guy who is well spoken, that doesn’t go out there and make an idiot of himself, who isn’t arrogant and mean to people, they want people to go out and be the face of their company. So they’re putting trust in you to go out there and make their company look good on track but also off track.”

Wagner’s hopes are as high as he will allow them to be after several stalled attempts at the same goal. He hopes to be able to run a full IndyCar Lights schedule besides Streets of St. Petersburg on March 24 while participating in four oval track races on the full IndyCar level. Having been brought up on ovals, as opposed to road courses like most international drivers, Wagner’s learning curve will be a steep one, but he hopes to have company on the slope.

Now or Never

Wagner’s spur to action comes as IndyCar introduces its first new chassis since 2007 as well as its first introduction of new engines since 2006. Wagner hopes that the new components will set each team back a step, allowing him to make up some ground as a rookie, even while the powerhouses like Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske Racing use their resources to get the quick advantage.

“It’s a good time to come into it, because it’s going to be a little more of an even playing field. The big guys, like Penske and Ganassi, have a leg up because their budgets are huge,” Wagner said. “But the old car, they’ve run it for about 10 years, and they have endless amounts of data pretty much … but it’ll be a more even playing field on the new car and it’s easier for me to come into it while everybody else is still learning. I’ll be learning no matter what, so as long as they’re learning also, my learning curve will still be steep but they’ll be on a learning curve as well.”

The car won’t be the only change. The IRL will begin the 2012 season without one of its top names, as British driver and 2011Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon lost his life in the final image of the 2011 IRL season in a 15-car crash in Las Vegas. Wagner said this year’s Indy will be surreal, given how the most recent champion’s face graces the tickets of each 500, but that he has grown to accept the dangerous nature of his sport.

“You know something can happen, but you want to be pushing it every lap, and if you have that doubt in your mind, that’s when you should get out of the car. You’re going to be worried, you’re going to be running slow, and that’s when things can happen,” Wagner said, adding that his own experience with the crowded field in Vegas for the Lights race was an intense one.

“After the race, I said that was a lot of fun, but it was crazy. Even our Lights race was insane. I had three tires with wheel marks on them from hitting tires, and you just don’t do that in IndyCars.”

Family Ties

What began as a family endeavor has become much more for Wagner. Combined with his partnership with Hamilton, a racer who has seen everything that IRL has to offer in the form of a second place series finish in 1997 and a crash in 2001 that put him out of racing until a return in 2007, Wagner now hopes to take his local roots to racing’s biggest stage while completing his other family legacy.

The son of Dr. John and Shari Wagner, Brandon is pushing himself to complete his pre-chiropractic degree at Purdue University in between his racing career so that he might follow in the steps of his father and sister Julia in the family practice. His current career, however, is more based around his and brother Nick’s passion, as the brothers grew up challenging each other on the race track.

For the Wagner family patriarch, the new team combinations that have led to Brandon’s push to the top of IRL have given him the chance to take a step back as team owner and step into a more familiar role: Dad.

“We just enjoy spending time with all three of the kids … We’re supportive of all of our kids and we’re excited for (Brandon),” John Wagner said. “If I tell you that I’m not nervous watching him getting into the car, then I’m just lying to you. That is definitely an emotion. But I trust his skills, I trust the passion he puts into it, and seeing him accelerate has been so much fun.

“When both (Nick and Brandon) get out of the cars after they race, they always thank me for allowing them to be in the cars. Brandon doesn’t get out of an IndyCar Light car without giving me a hug and thanking me, and I just say, ‘I’m your dad, Brandon.’ It’s an emotional rollercoaster some days, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Brandon now hopes to take on the Indianapolis 500 with his local roots still intact. Carrying several Lafayette-based sponsors like Triple XXX Family Restaurant, Nine Irish Brothers and Harry’s Chocolate Shop, Brandon holds on to hope that a born Hoosier can find the track in May.

“I live on Lake Freeman still, love going out to The Sandbar on the weekends when I’m not racing, and it’s nice to have the local support,” Brandon said. “When you go to places like Indy, where you have a lot of (racers) who are (from) oversees, and everyone says Indy is so special and I think it is special, but it’s so much better for people who are from the state and really realize just how big the history is of the whole racing at the Indy 500 and the speedway is just unbelievable.

“I’ll just be happy and be very pleased just to have my name attached to and be a part of the best racing in the world.”

- Feature article on local racer on the verge of finalizing deal for a ride and spot in qualifying for Indianapolis 500.

Host with the Most, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012

It’s not uncommon to expect certain privileges as a high school senior.

Maybe the rules are a little more lax, some schools allow open campus, and there is of course the all-important spot on the front row of the student section riser. In recent years, that front row at Twin Lakes High School had not been met with more support than a row or two in total for the Twin Lakes Roadies, the club name for the boys basketball student section, but as anticipation for a senior-laden Indians team combined with an 8-2 start, the crowd size across from the scorer’s table at TLHS began to climb higher and higher in the sometimes over-large home gym.

The larger crowds come at a pivotal time for the Indians and for the Roadies, as Twin Lakes opens its first sectional tournament since 1995-96. It will be the largest stage for Ruben Flores and the rest of the Roadies, and the Twin Lakes senior and unofficial yell leader has already put out a guarantee for tonight’s crowd.

“All I have to say is that we will not disappoint,” said Flores, who has set the bar for audacious outfits with his elderly woman look earlier in the season, including a cane.

“We’re going to be loud, we’re going to be good, and we’re not going to stop yelling.”

The Roadies are somewhat of an anarchist club at Twin Lakes, with no set leaders or organization beyond simple seniority along class lines and the level of creativity a student can bring. Organization does become apparent, however, when the coordinated costumes are seen and game-specific cheer sheets begin to be passed around. Twin Lakes senior Holly Adams credited several members with doing a higher level of research, while the recent swelling of the student section’s ranks could be attributed to a certain level of wrangling on the older students’ part.

“Cole Guingrich has always come up with a lot of ideas, and him and Jordan Crabb have looked up chants that we can do,” Adams said. “We also invited the middle-schoolers to stand behind us, so that lets us look bigger. Other schools have roadie sections too, so now it’s like a competition to see who can be best. We’re there to watch the game, but we also want to outdo their roadie section too.

“It’s kind of a competition.”

That kind of competition was likely at its most fierce in an overtime thriller in Monticello against Delphi. The Oracles student section, with more than a few other White County students in attendance to take on the county bully, was a sea of black in the otherwise red-tinted crowd, and each played to the other’s newest barbs. Other senior members of the Roadies, including Wyat Ezra, Levi Lotz and Harry Dickson, put a greater emphasis on being clever in their chants as opposed to driving for a skewering line. The crowd isn’t above playing to the stereotypes surrounding an opposing community, though.

“It’s a lot more about the school’s location, and if you know people there it’s a lot easier to takes stabs at them without being too mean,” Dickson said.

While the crowd size has grown to a level not seen in several years, Twin Lakes has not been without its own controversy this season. In a heated matchup against Hoosier Conference rival West Lafayette, a plastic cup full of ice was hurled onto the court in the closing seconds. The following technical helped ensure the Red Devils’ win, and the question remained on how the Roadies would respond, even if the thrower was not technically a member of the club.

The response has been a lesser emphasis on singling out certain players, and the student section along with the members of the basketball team (many of whom are in the club on top of on the team) showed a high level of maturity in the aftermath.

“We talked about it, that obviously we don’t want to be like that, we want to have good sportsmanship as well as making our cheers more clever and not making fun of people,” Adams said. “We want to have good sportsmanship and keep people thinking about what we’re saying.”

For the remaining seniors, the status of the Roadies heading into sectional play has already been lifted, but they hope that the tradition endures even after they step down from the stands for the final time.

“I think we’re setting it to where next year it’s going to be just as intense, just as good,” Lotz said.

Ezra added that the future is safe with several underclassmen ready in the wings.

“There are always a couple people in each grade that like to step up and show an example for the next grade,” Ezra said.

- Article on the growth that a local student body has seen in its student section as the new host of a local sectional playoff tournament.

Boys basketball sectional preview, Monday, Feb. 27, 2012

Front page layout for previews of the boys basketball state tourney games.

Football sectional preview, Friday, Oct. 21, 2011

Sectional preview for county schools for 2011 playoff season.