Repayment.
It’s the word that kept coming up when I thought about the 2023-24 high school sports season in the South Bend area.
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This year, there were five team state champions from the region — four from Indiana, one from Michigan. Four of them told very similar stories of redemption that motivated them in their respective seasons.
Motivation to finish the season right for Marian, Brandywine, South Bend Saint Joseph and Bethany Christian
The Mishawaka Marian boys soccer team lost in the 2022 IHSAA Class 2A state championship game. That feeling drove them so much this year that their celebrations after victories in the sectionals, regions and semistates were muted. Their sole focus was winning a state championship, and they did that with a 4-0 victory over Evansville Memorial in late October. Senior Eli Moody scored all of the goals, setting a state record for a single game.
The knights found their salvation.
The Brandywine boys basketball team made a magical run to the MHSAA Division 3 semifinals in 2022-23 before losing in that round. With nearly the entire roster back, the Bobcats used the disappointment of the state championship to motivate themselves for a historic season. After surviving a wild semifinal game against McBain, Brandywine beat Detroit Old Redford 56-48 to claim the Division 3 title.
The Bobcats have found their salvation.
The South Bend Saint Joseph’s girls tennis team’s season ended against Carmel the last three years — in the state finals in 2021 and 2023 and the semifinals in 2022. But this was the Huskies’ year, and they knew it. Led by senior Molly Bellia and sisters Ashi and Anni Amalnathan, Saint Joe beat Carmel in the semifinals — and won three more matches the next weekend to win an IHSAA state championship.
The Huskies have found their salvation.
Although it was not a loss at the state level, Bethany Christian’s boys soccer team had lost to Westview in each of the last three postseasons. The Bruins finally overcame the Warrior hurdle in the regional semifinals this fall before defeating Forest Park in a thriller to win the IHSAA Class 1A state title, the first championship in school history.
The Bruins have found their salvation.
Individual champion in Brandywine, Fairfield and Penn
Even some of the individual state champions had similar sentiments. Brandywine senior Gavin Schoff reached the MHSAA Division 4 semifinals in wrestling last year before capping his final season with a state title this winter. The same goes for Bobcat junior Maddison Ward, who used her third-place finish at the 2023 state championships as motivation for an MHSAA state championship in girls wrestling this season.
Brayden Miller of Fairfield had a chance to win the IHSAA state title in boys golf last year but fell short. He didn’t get it this time, as the junior shot 5 under par over two days to win by four strokes.
South Bend Riley senior Christopher Bartmess has come close to winning the IHSAA state swimming title in the past, and he accomplished that feat last winter when he won the 100-yard breaststroke.
Last year, Penn senior Elijah Coker finished third in the long jump at the IHSAA track and field state finals. This time, he jumped seven inches further to secure a state title in the event.
Several other teams used last season’s losses as a catalyst for their long postseason runs. NorthWood football used painful losses the past two years to reach the IHSAA Class 4A title game. Brandywine’s girls basketball team finally broke through after some tough postseason losses to reach the MHSAA Division 3 finals. Buchanan’s softball team made it to the MHSAA Division 3 Final Four after losses in the 2021 state finals and the 2023 quarterfinals.
Not only the redemption that has produced great teams and athletes this year
Redemption is a great motivator. But it doesn’t always require a team or individual to be great.
New Prairie baseball faced doubts from the outside that they wouldn’t advance deep into the tournament, but last weekend they left Victory Field in Indianapolis with the IHSAA Class 3A state championship.
Penn senior Lily Christianson was chasing her legacy more than anything in the pool this winter. She cemented it by winning the IHSAA state championships in three events (50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle relay), giving her six titles in her career. She was joined on the relay by senior Kaia Podlin, sophomore Alayna Riggins and freshman Molly Barnes, giving the region a total of nine athletes winning individual state gold.
Both Penn and New Prairie softball were looking to prove themselves. After winning the IHSAA Class 4A and 3A state championships last year, they were out to prove that success was no fluke. Both teams reached the semifinals this spring, cementing their claim as the state’s top programs.
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And then there were the truly surprising runs. Who would have thought that Saint Joseph’s boys basketball team would reach the IHSAA Class 3A title game? Or that Marquette Catholic’s girls basketball team would reach the Class 1A state finals? Or that Bremen’s girls basketball team would get lucky and make it to the final four of Class 3A? And few would have expected Penn’s boys swim team to finish second at the state championships.
Whatever motivated our teams around the region this year – redemption, doubt, legacy, validation – created one of the most historic seasons ever. Multiple state champions on both sides of the state line are rare, which should make the 2023-24 season one that will stay in people’s memories for a very long time.
This article originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune: Redemption was the main reason for South Bend area high school sports success in 2023-24
