IHSAA postseason picks up the pace

In search of its first soccer state championship, undefeated Noblesville ousted its fourth consecutive opponent by shutout last Saturday to reach the IHSAA Final Four. The second-ranked Millers, who haven't allowed a goal in three weeks, dethroned the defending champion No. 7 Cathedral Irish, 2-0 for the North Central Semistate title. In their march to Indianapolis' Kuntz Memorial Stadium, Noblesville topped No. 4 Zionsville, 2-0, in the sectional finals. In the regional, the Millers defeated New Palestine, 3-0, before overtaking No. 18 East Central, 2-0. The 15th Annual Girls Soccer State Finals is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Noblesville (19-0-2) faces Evansville Memorial (20-2) in the semifinals. The fifth-ranked Zionsville Eagles earned their first trip to the IHSAA State Finals after posting back-to-back shutouts over No. 18 Center Grove and unranked Noblesville at the North Central Semistate. The program's semistate berth was its first since 2002 and fifth regional championship in school history. The Eagles (19-3-1) will face Mishawaka Marian (15-6) at noon on Saturday in Indianapolis. (In other IHSAA postseason news) CROSS COUNTRY: The Carmel boys' and girls' cross country teams rewrote history this weekend, claiming both team championships at the Franklin Central Semistate. The title marked the boys' 17th overall and most ever accumulated by a single program. A week prior, the Greyhounds netted a historic 29th regional team title to add to their record-setting 34th consecutive sectional championship. The girls' semistate victory pushed their overall total to 12. To date, the Lady Greyhounds have 26 sectional and 23 regional crowns all-time - both the most ever garnered by an Indiana high school cross country program. Individually, North Central freshman Futsum Zeinasellassie posted the state's fastest time, running 5K in 15:16.55 to win the Franklin Central Semistate. Drew and Alex Shields of Fishers followed at 15:21.28 and 15:22.45, respectively, to comprise the state's top-three semistate times. North Central's Emily Mossler gave the Panthers the individual sweep behind a blue-ribbon run of 18:13. Franklin Central's Jasmine Al-Anzi (18:17.20) and Lake Central's Dana Payonk (18:17.61) posted the second and third fastest semistate times last weekend. The IHSAA State Finals is Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The girls race begins at 1 p.m. The boys is set for 1:45 p.m. VOLLEYBALL: This weekend 11 central Indiana volleyball sectional champions were crowned, including top-ranked 4A Cathedral and No. 3 Avon. The Irish defeated Lawrence North, 3-0, to claim the Indianapolis Broad Ripple Sectional 10 Tournament championship. Avon (34-1) equaled the feat, sweeping Ben Davis 3-0 in the Brownsburg Sectional 12 Tournament final. Unranked Hamilton Southeastern won the Westfield Sectional 9 title, and No. 7 Center Grove (27-8) was victorious in the Perry Meridian Sectional 11 finals. Class 3A champions were: No. 6 Brebeuf Jesuit and Hamilton Heights. Class 2A winners were: No. 7 Park Tudor, No. 9 Hauser and Tri-West Hendricks. Class A champions were: No. 10 Morristown and No. 8 Indianapolis Lutheran.