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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: A look ahead at the fall sports

  • 4 min to read

Practices for fall sports — except for girls' golf, which began last Friday — officially got underway across the state Monday.

With that in mind, let’s take a quick look back at last year and ahead to this year in all of the fall sports in Clark and Floyd counties.

GIRLS’ GOLF

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Paige Giovenco 

Floyd Central won its 11th straight sectional title on the way to its third straight trip to the IHSAA State Finals last year. The Highlanders return three of their top-five players (in Paige Giovenco, Chloe Cook and Abby Wright) off the team that won the Corydon Central Sectional with a state-record-tying score of 281 and went on to place sixth (led by Giovenco, who tied for sixth individually) at the IHSAA State Finals.

Floyd Central checked in at No. 4 in the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association’s preseason poll while New Albany, which will be led by junior Kaidyn Wardlaw, came in rated 18th.

BOYS’ TENNIS

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Floyd Central’s Riley Doddridge hits a shot at the net last season. He went 27-1 while playing No. 2 singles for the Highlanders.

Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Lanesville and Silver Creek each won sectional titles last year. The Highlanders went on to claim regional and semistate championships as well before falling 3-2 to Columbus North in the state quarterfinals.

The Highlanders are slated to return four starters from that squad, so they could be in line for a similar run this season.

UNIFIED FLAG FOOTBALL

Floyd Central, the only local school to field a team in the postseason, blasted Jasper 56-26 in the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional semifinals before falling 46-26 to the host Stars in the final.

The Highlanders will likely have to beat BNL, which has won six straight sectional championships, if they’re going to win their first postseason title.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Floyd Central (Class 3A), Providence (2A) and Rock Creek (A) each won sectional titles last year. It was the Lions’ first, the Highlanders’ second straight and the Pioneers’ 12th in a row.

Providence, after spending two years up in 2A due to the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s “success factor,” moves back down to Class A. The Pioneers should become immediate state-title contenders. They checked in at No. 2 in Class A in the Indiana High School Soccer Coaches Association’s preseason polls.

Floyd and rival New Albany should once again be the top contenders in their sectional.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Floyd Central (3A), Silver Creek (2A) and Providence (A) each claimed sectional championships last year. For the Highlanders it was their eighth in a row, for the Dragons it was their fourth straight and for the Pioneers it was their third in a row.

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Silver Creek’s Jordan Lewis dribbles the ball up the field last season. She tallied a team-high 35 goals, five assists and a team-best 75 points for the Dragons, who won their fourth consecutive Class 2A sectional title.

All three — but especially Providence — should be in postseason title contention once again. The Pioneers, led by the dynamic duo of senior Molly Richards and junior Kamden Pierce, were ranked No. 1 in Class A in the IHSSCA polls released earlier this week.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Providence captured its second straight Class 3A state championship last fall. For a reward, the Pioneers get bumped back up to Class 4A for at least the next two years. If that isn’t enough of a challenge, Providence also has to deal with the fact that it lost a bulk of its roster from last year to graduation.

Providence’s Maddie Dotson hits a spike during the Pioneers’ 3-1 victory over Bellmont in the Class 3A state final at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena in Muncie last November. She’s one of only a few returnees for Providence, which moves up to 4A this year due to the IHSAA’s “success factor.”

The Pioneers return to a very formidable 4A sectional that includes local rivals Floyd Central and New Albany. The Highlanders have won three straight sectional titles and look to make four in a row behind standout senior setter Carly Fonda. The Bulldogs should also be improved.

Providence’s return to 4A could pave the way for Silver Creek to follow in the Pioneers’ recent footsteps in 3A. The Dragons, led by University of Louisville-commit Addison Makun, could be ready to make a run at their first state championship.

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Silver Creek's Addison Makun goes up for a spike during a match last season. 

In Class A, Christian Academy and Borden could battle it out for a sectional title.

BOYS’ CROSS COUNTRY

Floyd Central ran away with its third straight sectional title last year before finishing second at the regional and eighth at the IHSAA State Finals. The Highlanders return two of their top three runners (seniors Luca Cirincione and Noah Nifong) from that squad. Cirincione finished 15th last October at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute to earn All-State honors. Nifong, who earned All-State recognition as a sophomore, placed 37th last year. Both should be primed to make runs at All-State recognition this fall.

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Floyd Central's Luca Cirincione runs to a fourth-place finish in the Evansville Reitz Regional last October. The senior will be one of the area's top cross country runners this fall. 

Silver Creek could be the Highlanders’ biggest competition for sectional supremacy. The Dragons took third at Crawford County last year and are slated to return every key runner from that squad.

GIRLS’ CROSS COUNTRY

Corydon Central captured its first sectional title, ending Floyd Central’s 11-year reign last fall. Even though the Highlanders graduated Kaitlyn Stewart, one of the best runners in program history, from that squad they should still be able to regain the sectional title. Floyd will be led by a strong sophomore class that includes Adeline Shultz, who finished fifth at last year’s Crawford County Sectional. The Highlanders also have a strong group of freshmen coming in. 

FOOTBALL

For the second straight year, Providence was the lone local sectional champion in 2023. The Pioneers graduated a plethora of players from that squad. However, they should still be one of the area’s top teams and a contender in their Class A sectional. The best news for Providence is that Indianapolis Lutheran, which knocked it out of the past two postseasons, has finally moved up to 2A due to the IHSAA’s “success factor.”

Floyd Central had a great season in 2023, going unbeaten in the Hoosier Hills Conference to capture their first league title in 20 years. The Highlanders’ campaign, however, came to an unceremonious end with a loss in the sectional semifinals. Floyd also lost a great deal to graduation, but it should still be solid and a potential sectional-title contender.

The Class 4A postseason becomes a lot more interesting with county-rivals Charlestown and Silver Creek now sectional rivals too after the Pirates bumped up from 3A. The Dragons, who return most of their skill-position players from last year’s 6-4 squad, could make some noise in the Mid-Southern Conference as well as the sectional.

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Silver Creek’s Samuel Conn drives the ball up the field during the Dragons’ 28-14 loss to Martinsville in their Class 4A, Sectional 23 matchup last October. He’s one of skill-position players set to return for Silver Creek.

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