Monroe Central's case that its high school sports top the state this year looks pretty legit.
Going into boys basketball sectionals, which begin across the state Tuesday and continue through the weekend, Monroe Central is a remarkable 81-14 in football, volleyball, girls basketball and boys basketball (the school does not have soccer teams).
That’s a winning percentage of .853.
To put those numbers in perspective, the next-best school in those four sports The Star Press could find was Hamilton Southeastern, which is 71-21 for a winning percentage of .780. Lafayette Central Catholic (77-22, .778), Carmel (75-22, .773), Greensburg (69-21, .767) and Zionsville (74-23, .763) are also having substantial success across those four sports (according to John Harrelland MaxPreps).
“It’s one of those things I’ve told parents, fans and anyone else who will listen that we need to enjoy this, because it just doesn’t happen every year,” Athletic Director Chris Landis said. “Or ever. It’s unbelievable, these numbers.”
Related:
- Dustin Brown is the best kind of cliche
- Nash leads Monroe Central to thrilling win
- Monroe Central girls basketball wins sectional title
- Monroe Central football continues to build momentum
Monroe Central went 61-32 in those four sports in 2015-16, which is still better than most schools. The boys basketball team lost 14 games by itself, but it tied Riverton Parke for having the most-improved regular season records of 11 wins this season.
This incredible stretch began with football coach John Hochstetler leading the Golden Bears to a perfect regular season in just the program’s eighth year of existence before falling in the sectional championship and finishing 11-1. And then Kyle Garrett’s volleyball team, featuring just one senior in its rotation, went 25-8.
Leigh Ann Barga piloted the girls basketball team to a 24-3 record in her second season, just a handful of points away from winning a regional. And Justin Ullom has continued that success with the boys basketball program, as Israel Nash, Dustin Brown and company are 21-2. The only school with better combined records in basketball is Oak Hill (46-5), which beat Monroe Central in the girls basketball regional championship.
While the regular-season success has been plentiful, the Golden Bears have one sectional title to show for it. The boys basketball team nearly knocked off eventual 2A state champion Lapel in the sectional final, the volleyball team lost to eventual 2A champion Wapahani in the sectional semis and the girls basketball team ran into eventual 2A runner-up Oak Hill in regionals.
To reverse that trend this week, the Golden Bears could have to beat Frankton and Lapel, which have combined for a 2A title and 2A runner-up finish the last two seasons. Or Wapahani, which is the only team to beat them in their last 22 games. In other words, it won’t be easy.
When Landis came to Monroe Central from Blackford in November 2014, he saw talented underclassmen. But he didn't see this level of success coming.
He thought Hochstetler would continue the football program’s run, but he had no idea the defense would become dominant in allowing under five points per game. And with few seniors in the volleyball and girls basketball programs, well, it’s hard to fathom.
“Without any seniors, you really don’t know because making the jump from junior high to high school, you don’t really know how they’ll adjust,” Landis said.
“We really did expect — maybe not to the level we reached — but we did expect to have really successful teams. Just not a combined 45-5 in boys and girls basketball.”
Contact sports features writer Ryan O’Gara at (765) 213-5829. Follow him on Twitter @RyanOGaraTSP.
ECI Boys Basketball Sectional Openers
Tuesday: Central (8-14) vs. Jay County (13-9), 6 p.m. at Fort Wayne Wayne Sectional; Wapahani (15-6) vs. Lapel (15-8), 6 p.m. and Burris (3-19) vs. Monroe Central (21-2), 7:30 p.m. at Lapel Sectional; Daleville (4-18) vs. Anderson Prep (1-22), 6 p.m. at Wes-Del Sectional; Blackford (1-21) vs. Hamilton Heights (9-12), 7:30 p.m. at Marion Sectional; Winchester (11-10) vs. Hagerstown (16-7), 7:30 p.m. at Hagerstown Sectional; Union (5-13) vs. Randolph Southern (4-17), 6 p.m. and Blue River (9-13) vs. Tri, 7:30 p.m. at Blue River Sectional
Friday:Yorktown (2-17) vs. Tipton (13-8)/Marion (10-12), 6 p.m. and Delta (14-9) vs. Blackford/Hamilton Heights, 7:30 p.m. at Marion Sectional; Wes-Del (16-7) vs. Daleville/Anderson Prep, 6 p.m. and Cowan (7-14) vs. Southern Wells (12-10)/Liberty Christian (9-14), 7:30 p.m. at Wes-Del Sectional;New Castle (16-6) vs. Greenfield-Central (11-12)/Pendleton Heights (17-6), 7:30 p.m. at New Castle
