Latest news with #ParkTudor
Indianapolis Star
3 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Notre Dame recruit's speed, patience leads Park Tudor baseball to sectional final
Park Tudor shortstop Desmond Francis stands about 5-10 and weighs 175 pounds, but the respect he gets in the batter's box is on par with a more prototypically sized slugger. The Notre Dame commit's calling card is speed. He gets down the first-base line in 6.4 seconds, an elite time for a prospect his age. When Francis is on first, ending up on third is almost a given, yet pitchers rarely challenge the junior with pitches in the zone. During his first three at-bats of Saturday's sectional semifinal against Covenant Christian, Francis saw just one strike, drawing three walks. Francis knows he may not see a ball over the plate all game. His strong sense of the strike zone allows him to avoid chasing pitches, and he's content with taking a walk. IHSAA baseball sectionals: Central Indiana scores, schedule, updated pairings Late in the game, the Panthers put runners on base ahead of Francis, forcing the Warriors to pitch to him and he produced a single in the sixth and a two-run triple in the seventh, helping Park Tudor hold on for a 15-14 win. Park Tudor (14-9) advances to face University (18-11) for the Class 2A Sectional 42 championship Monday. "Just understanding the strike zone and knowing what your strike zone is," Francis said of how he stays patient at the plate. "I got a majority curveballs to start off the at bat, even if it was a strike they'd be away or just miss in the dirt. "Just never getting yourself out and understanding that you're good enough to hit every pitch that is thrown at you." Francis went 2-for-2 with three walks, four runs scored, three RBIs and one stolen base. Derek Ai, Miles Dubie, M.J. Gaines and Dominic Gasper each added two hits. Santana Jackson hit a two-run single in the sixth. Francis' strong game raised his batting average to .429. He has a .520 on-base percentage with 20 walks to just eight strikeouts. The future Fighting Irish outfielder has the skillset of a true leadoff hitter, but he serves multiple roles for the Panthers offense. "I'm proud of him today, because guys who are in his shoes have a tendency to do too much," Park Tudor coach Courtney Whitehead said. "He understands you get your one pitch, if you get your one pitch that at-bat... Early in the game he wasn't trying to force anything. Taking what they were giving him, getting walks, stealing second. Where some guys would lack some discipline." Every run Francis scored was needed as Covenant Christian mounted multiple comebacks. Park Tudor led 6-1 after two. The Warriors (17-12) scored five in the third, tying the score at 6-6. Park Tudor led 15-9 after six innings. Bryce Eagen hit an RBI single in the seventh. Gabe Unger plated one with a bases-loaded walk, and Weston Laughlin cleared the bases with a three-run triple, cutting the Warriors' deficit to one. With the tying run on second, Dubie entered in relief and induced a fly ball to end the game. Eagen and Laughlin had two hits each. Unger had three RBIs and a run scored.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Anni Amalnathan embracing the pressure that comes with leading Saint Joseph girls tennis
Wins and losses don't matter much to Anni Amalnathan right now. She's more focused on embracing her final season as a member of the South Bend Saint Joseph girls tennis program. The senior star wants to make sure that her final go around for the tradition-rich Huskies is an enjoyable one. Advertisement More: HS Tennis: Who are the top prep girls tennis teams this season? Last spring: Saint Joseph girls tennis claims elusive state title with 3-2 decision over Fishers "This is the last time together with my high school friends, and I want to make sure to enjoy it and have fun," Amalnathan said. "I just want to go out there and be the best that I can be. I also want what is best for our team." A decorated career Amalnathan has known nothing but success at St. Joe. She posted a 27-1 mark at No. 1 doubles as a freshman in 2022. Anni teamed with older sister, Ashi, to go 18-0 and win the No. 1 doubles state championship in that season. Advertisement She then was 28-1 in 2023, going 19-0 at No. 3 singles and 9-1 at No. 2 singles. Amalnathan was 28-1 at No. 3 singles in 2024, playing behind senior stars Molly Bellia and Ashi as the Huskies won the team state championship. Amalnathan has moved into the No. 1 singles spot this season for her team. She admits that there are more eyeballs on her now to succeed for a squad that was 77-9-1 the past four seasons and has been to the State Finals each of the past four years, with runner up finishes in both 2021 and 2023. "There is definitely pressure," Amalnathan said. "Molly and Ashi were definitely great players and definitely made a name for themselves. Now, I'm the captain and I'm in a new spot at No. 1 and playing the top players on every team. "I have a lot of belief in myself and that's what I need to focus on. I need to learn from my losses and keep looking forward." Advertisement Amalnathan started the year 4-0 before losing three of four matches against top flight competition. She lost versus the top player from No. 4 Westfield April 25 and then to players from No. 6 Fishers and No. 10 Columbus North in the loaded Park Tudor Invitational April 26. Longtime Saint Joseph coach Bill Mountford isn't concerned about the losses. "Anni will be fine," said Mountford the day after his team placed third in the Park Tudor event. "Honestly, this was a bump in the road. She did not play her best and lost to some very good players. "Is Anni one of the best players in the state? Yes she is. She knows what it takes and will go back to work and put in the time on her game. She has all the shots and the game to do it. She just needs to get her mojo back." Advertisement Amalnathan bounced back after the tough go down South by winning Monday versus Elkhart and Tuesday versus Culver Academy. The Huskies, who were ranked No. 15 in the latest coaches poll, are 6-1 through Wednesday's matches. An expected showdown with rival Penn Thursday, May 1 was postponed to Tuesday, May 6, due to weather. "Playing at No. 1 singles is a whole different ballgame, and Anni is learning that," Mountford stated. "It makes a difference when you are playing every team's best player every match. Then-Saint Joseph junior Anni Amalnathan pumps her fist after scoring a point during a girls tennis semistate match against Carmel Saturday, May 25, 2024, at Culver Academies in Culver. "The thing about Anni is that she knows her way around the court. She has a complete game. It's just all about her confidence. She beat a good player (in the win at Culver Academy) and played a lot better. It was fun to see her figure it out." Advertisement Amalnathan admitted that she had almost decided not to play collegiate tennis until opting to commit to Colorado State. "I contemplated quitting tennis and just playing club in college," Amalnathan explained. "But then I found I loved the game. I'm so excited now to play for Colorado State. I fell in love with the environment there on my visit and the coaches there are just the sweetest people." 'How am I still alive?' Concord senior reflects on crash that nearly killed her, recovery More: Here are the best South Bend area high school girls sports performances, April 28 - May 3 Amalnathan did note that she does miss playing with her sister and Bellia. Ashi is now playing at South Carolina State, while Bellia is at the United States Naval Academy. Bellia played No. 1 singles each of the past four years and was the individual state champion in 2021. Advertisement "Ashi and Molly were the best role models, and I learned a lot from both of them," Amalnathan said. "Molly had grit and perseverance and never gave up. Ashi was able to bounce back from tough things." Amalnathan has been around the game her entire life. Her father Arul currently teaches tennis in South Carolina. He used to be a teaching pro at the South Bend Racquet Club. Amalnathan is keeping things in perspective as the Huskies chase another long postseason run starting later this month. She will also try to navigate through the No. 1 singles tournament as well. "The obvious goal is to win state," Amalnathan said. "That's always the goal. But tennis isn't everything." Advertisement Mountford praised the makeup of his top player on a team that boasts some strong underclassmen like sophomore Libby Yergler and freshman Coco Burfien. "Anni is definitely a team kid," Mountford said. "She has a great attitude. The right attitude. She's a tennis rat and a bright kid." This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Anni Amalnathan is making sure to enjoy her final prep tennis season
Indianapolis Star
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Moneyball comes to IHSAA track and field: Inside these students' sports analytics project
Park Tudor students are analyzing IHSAA track and field data in a computer science class. The students and teacher Ryan Ritz are figuring out to make IHSAA track and field the best it can be. They post findings to @trackinsights on Instagram. INDIANAPOLIS — Park Tudor track and field coach Ryan Ritz wanted fair varsity standards for years. He and his fellow coaches typically developed the times and marks themselves, but it was imperfect — always easier to letter in some events than others. A 2023 Indiana High School Athletic Association mandate changed how Ritz, also a computer science teacher at Park Tudor, approached varsity standards. The IHSAA asked coaches to make all meet results available on the platform DirectAthletics. Ritz's son Cason, then a junior, started exploring the data, trying to figure out how his 4x800 relay time stacked up to others across Indiana. "That got me thinking, 'It would also be interesting if we could utilize this software to help generate varsity standards for our track and field program,'" Ritz said. "What we were able to do with this program was figure out what the 50th percentile was for each event across all the sectionals, and then utilize that number as our varsity standards." One problem solved. A new world of information unlocked. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Ritz's analysis of the data involved many of the same skills he was teaching his data science students. He started using the IHSAA data in that class last year, noticing students were engaged because of the real-life applications. He took it a step further in his computer science seminar class this school year, centering the course around it — finding the data, cleaning it, sorting it and using it for analysis. His seven students post findings to an Instagram account called Track Insights, followed by many in the IHSAA track and field community. Their work has become a chance to examine long-debated questions. What happens if the state meet's scoring is changed? Are small schools at a disadvantage? What could improve IHSAA track and field? Recent Instagram posts have highlighted whether there's a correlation between a school's size and state meet team placement, the top candidates to win the 2025 IHSAA track and field championship and what sprinters were fastest among all sectionals last season. It was an arduous, semester-long process just to get to this point. The raw data was on the internet but unorganized. The students needed it collected in a way where athletes were connected to their school, times and specific meets. Several challenges arose. Senior Emily Wang said they discovered an athlete with the last name Null, which in the programming language SQL means something doesn't exist and drops it from the database. When students searched his name, it would return nothing because it was as though they put in a zero. They put the athlete's names in quotations as a fix, she said. Students also had to figure out how to organize names of athletes with two last names and those connected by a hyphen, junior Justin Li said. "I thought that was really cool," Li said. "This isn't synthetic. This is a very natural way to learn about data science." The group worked into winter break to make sure the data was usable by the spring. It's been full speed ahead since. Among the first analysis they conducted: examining the percentage of relays per class that qualified for state. Track and field is a one-class sport, so they used football classes (A-6A) to determine schools' classes. They found no A or 2A schools qualified relays to state in girls track and field over the past two seasons. The percentage of large school relays went up dramatically from sectionals to regionals to state, Ritz said. "Everyone would understand those numbers in terms of why that's the case," Ritz said. "But, when you see it graphed out, it's more apparent — the disparity between a 1A and 6A school." The group is in the early stages of what Ritz envisions as a years-long project. But they've already found one outlier when it comes to small schools' challenges qualifying relays to the state meet: Bishop Chatard. The 3A school sent 10 relays to state from 2023-24 — the second-most of any school in the state. Chatard coach Sean McGinley has stayed in touch with Ritz about the project. He's felt having a good team at the state level requires 20-25 talented athletes. What Ritz's class has found backs that theory, McGinley said. "But you, as a smaller school, can still find ways to be successful," McGinley said. "To have 20-25 kids is a lot, but maybe find different relays or events each year that we feel can have a lot of success at the state level." 'Changed my life for the better.' Why Shelbyville track and field grows as school shrinks McGinley is among several Indiana track and field coaches engaging with the project. The Instagram account features an email where followers can send requests. Followers have asked them to find the fastest sectionals and analyze pole vaulting. Ritz also took several students to an Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches conference in February, where they connected with coaches and others in the track community. They heard comments about how frustrating it was to be a small school stuck in a competitive regional. Others told them how cool their work was. Several approached them saying, "Some of the data that you guys are showing says stuff that we've talked about or debated for years. Now we have the actual numbers and data to prove our side." "What really surprised me is how many track coaches, particularly small school track coaches, resonated with this data and how many of them were actually interested," Li said. "It surprised me in the moment, but it makes sense now because track is all about numbers." Another request from coaches: understanding the impact of the state meet's scoring. Track and field only counts the top nine finishers toward state meet scoring — different from a sport like swimming and diving, where 16 athletes from the final and consolation final count toward a team's score. This method drives up the score for schools with a handful of standout athletes versus programs with many well-rounded athletes. Students examined what would happen if they awarded points for places 1-20 at the state meet (only for events without preliminary heats) and doubled the relay points. It wouldn't have changed the leaderboard of the 2024 IHSAA track and field championship too much. Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern and Bloomington North would have remained the top boys teams. Warren Central still would've won the girls title. But the Brownsburg girls would've shot to second under the different scoring, up from fifth. Coaches who spoke to IndyStar aren't interested in a multi-class system. Neither is the IHSAA, track and field commissioner Jane Schott said. But she said she wouldn't have predicted what Park Tudor has found in terms of large schools' relay dominance. Questions of fairness — from how sectionals and regionals are organized to changes to scoring — are central to Park Tudor's research. But Ritz also acknowledged fair is a "moving target," particularly with sectionals as they trend up and down over the years. "We compared the sectionals to see how they stack up against one another," Ritz said. "What you see, which is not too surprising, is some sectionals are going to be more dominant than others. It might be by event group. ... It's never perfect. It's never going to be perfect. But coaches would feel, if you're in a tough sectional, you're at a disadvantage." The data has changed how track and field coaches view the state of the sport in Indiana. It's also resonated with Ritz's students, some of whom run track and field. Pretty much all want to go into computer or data science programs. Several mentioned how interesting it's been to see their work have real world applications. Li runs track and noticed he's viewed meets through a more analytical viewpoint. At the Hoosier State Relays, informally known as indoor state, he watched Bishop Chatard excel in the small school division and run times that would've secured top finishes in the large school division. Li thought about Chatard as an anomaly among schools, then reflected on how small and large school divisions would work in outdoor track. Several questions have come up in class that initially didn't have answers, like "How does one map all of the high schools in Indiana?" Ritz and the class weren't sure. But student Aashiv Jain explored the topic, conducted independent research and created a map — an awesome accomplishment, Ritz said. The goal is to make IHSAA track and field the best it can be, Ritz said. There will be more certainty about how to do that as the project continues. One idea they have in mind now: automating the process of qualifying from sectionals to regionals, then regionals to state. Currently, it takes days to figure out which athletes have advanced because the process is done by hand and involves figuring out at-large bids alongside automatic qualifiers. Student Owen Warner is working on automating that in Ritz's class. The IHSAA has several of its own data analysis systems, Schott said, but always looks for input from member schools. She doesn't have any specific needs in mind now, but said the IHSAA will keep its options open. There are more conclusions to be drawn, more data to be studied. It's all a learning process, one marked by curiosity and enthusiasm. "Whenever you see that, you know as a teacher you've inspired students and that's what this is all about: inspiring them in the work that they're doing and being able to broaden their horizons," Ritz said.
