Many of the people following sports in Valparaiso have had a great 2010. Looking back, there's been a lot to root for on all levels, from middle school tournament wins, to teams like the high school's basketball, cross country, and football teams advancing deep into the state tournaments, to collegiate success with Purdue and Butler, to Chicago-area sports teams having great seasons.
It's all good. Here are the top 10 articles in ValpoLife Sports for 2010, in no particular order. Enjoy!
VHS Football and Soccer Players Sign National Letters of Intent (with Photos) - written by Brett Fuller
Four Valparaiso Viking football players and one Viking soccer player signed their National Letter of Intent, solidifying their collegiate futures and guaranteeing they will play for their future schools.
Seniors Tony Gallianti, Matt Hittinger, Michael Perkins, Nick Thompson, and Max Van Houten gathered in the Valparaiso High School cafeteria today in a brief ceremony recognizing their accomplishments and wishing them luck in the future.
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Vikings Season Ends on Late Three in Sectional Championship (Photos) - written by Brett Fuller
Valparaiso High School fell late in their Sectional Championship to Merrillville 50-47 after the Pirates’ Jeremiah Jones hit a deep three with 3.5 seconds left on the clock to seal the game.
The Vikings were led by senior Brad Karp’s 20 points, 17 of which game in the second half. Karp put the Vikings on his back, but came up just short in a great game."
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Hummel Named Third-Team All-American By FoxSports.com - written by PurdueSports.com
Already recognized as one of the top talents in the Big Ten, Purdue junior forward Robbie Hummel was named a third-team All-American on Tuesday by Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com.
Hummel has also earned USBWA All-District V and first-team All-Big Ten honors in the last two days.
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An Open Letter to LeBron James: Come Play in Chicago - written by Brett Fuller
First off, I’d like to congratulate you on a great start to a career that could one day be looked at as one of the all-time great careers in NBA history. By being forced to shoulder much of the load on bad-to-mediocre teams for the first seven years of your career, you have recently been questioned whether or not you're a "real winner" and what your end-goals of playing basketball for a living really are.
Let's not get out on the wrong foot here, though: I am not one of those questioning the drive. I've watched a ton of Cavs games over the years. When you're rolling, they're rolling. When you're cold, well, let's just say there haven't been a lot of secondary options over the years. For the first seven years, you've had an organization picking and choosing who would play with you. Now, its your decision.
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Valparaiso Basketball Community Remembers John Wooden - written by ValpoLife.com
With the recent passing of John Wooden, an Indiana native and college basketball legend, we reached out to a few members of the Valparaiso basketball community to get their reaction to the news of the passing and to send us some of their memories of the "Wizard of Westwood" and how he affected their lives on and off the basketball court.
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Summer Football Benefits Public Education Foundation of Valparaiso written by Ryan McCormick
It was another hot and sticky day as 5 area high schools took the field June 24, 1010 to battle it out against one another in a scrimmage/tournament hosted by the Valparaiso Vikings. Wheeler, East Chicago, Boone Grove, and Munster all took part in the competition that benefited the Public Education Foundation of Valparaiso (PEFV). President of the PEFV, Steve Buck said, "All the proceeds and admissions are going to go to the [PEFV], and we supply scholarships to VHS grads and many grants to teachers to do something extra in the classroom that will enhance the educational process here at Valpo."
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Valparaiso Triathlon Photos Online, Available for Sale written by Brett Fuller
The 2010 edition of the Valparaiso Triathlon was a hit with the biggest turnout in history. We were there taking hundreds upon hundreds of photos of all of the runners, swimmers, bikers, along with many in the crowd and those who volunteered.
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Kent's Run 5K 2010 Raises $30,000 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - written by Reggie Flesvig
A check in the amount of $30,000 will be presented to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Tuesday, October 12, 2010, in honor of Kent Ribordy, a Boone Grove High School student who passed away from leukemia in 2007.
Kent's Run 5K raised $18,000 in 2008 and $28,000 in 2009 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The 2007 event hosted 500 participants, and the 2008 event drew 600 participants. This year's race saw 800 runners run the quiet country roads around Boone Grove Middle School in southern Porter County. Kent's Run is held each year on the last Saturday in May.
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VHS Girls Cross Country Place 6th in the Top 10 at the Indiana State Cross Country Championships - written by Barby Alfredson
Coaches Karen Devries and Adam Nellesen took their Valparaiso Girls Cross Country team to the State Cross County Meet on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 in Terre Haute, IN. The meet was held on the Levern Gibson Championship Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center. Schools that qualified from all over the state ran that day.
The Valpo XC Girls did an awesome job Saturday, placing 6th out of 24 schools qualifying for the state competition. Senior Erica Wirsing made the Top 25, finishing 25th with a time of 19:11. What an honor to represent your school in the best of the best competition at State! Making the top seven qualifying runners for Valpo were:
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VHS Football Team Advances to Semi-State with Victory Over Mishawaka written by Brett Fuller
The Valparaiso High School football team became the last remaining undefeated team in the 5A Class in the state of Indiana after they defeated the Mishawaka Cavemen 21-14 on Friday night in route to a Regional Championship.
The Vikings were pressed with their backs against the wall a couple of times after two flukey interceptions, though the squad ultimately pulled through on the team’s strengths this season: running, special teams, and defense.