On Monday night varsity, junior varsity and freshmen athletes from all six Portage High School winter sports, plus members of the cheerleading and dance teams, gathered in the West Auditorium to recognize the many accomplishments of PHS athletes over the last four months.
Athletic Director Jeff Smith and Assistant Athlete Director Kelly Bermes had many people to thank throughout the night, including coaches, assistant coaches, athletes, parents, team managers, principals and secretaries. Principal Caren Swickard spoke about the time and effort that the athletes put into their sports.
“We are very excited about our future with the talent of our younger athletes. You are all role models; you are all ambassadors for Portage High School. This is a huge responsibility and students you need to take this responsibility seriously and always make us proud on and off the field,” Swickard said.
Each coach had the chance to speak about the accomplishments of his or her team this season. First up was boys basketball coach Rick Snodgrass, who raved about the effort that his team put in and the talent of the younger players despite the team’s losing record.
“I’m so proud of them for battling adversity and I’m looking forward to next season,” Snodgrass said.
Senior David Jercha was named the boys basketball Most Complete Player. Jercha is one of three seniors to graduate from the team, along with Kyle Carter and Nikola Nacovski. Jercha will play baseball at Indiana State University next season.
Junior Nicki Monahan received the Top Indian Award for the girls basketball program. Head coach Chris Seibert said that Monahan has a tremendous work ethic and is the ideal student-athlete. Monahan has been chosen to play in two all-star games and is eighth on the all-time Portage girls scoring list entering her senior season. She was also named an all Duneland Athletic Conference and All-Area player this year. The lady-Indians, who made up one of the area’s best defensive teams, finished with a sub-.500 record but many of their losses were by fewer than ten points.
“This season for us was a season of all-mosts,” Seibert said.
Eric Mundt just completed his first year as the head boys swim coach after several seasons as an assistant on the girls side. He and his brother Greg, the girls head coach, combined the two teams for practices this season.
“We kind of made it one big happy family this year,” Eric Mundt said.
Greg Mundt pointed out that that the new system allowed for the girls to have faster competition to compete against in practice, while the boys had the motivation of not wanting to lose to girls.
“The competitive atmosphere benefited everyone and that clearly showed in our results,” Greg Mundt said.
Alec Ayers, Cor Braner, Nick Longoria, Jordan Simmons, Tayler Bayer and Sierra King were honored as four year letter winners for the swimming program this year. King, who qualified for state in the 100-yard breastroke, was named the girls’ MVP, while sophomore Mikey Janes took MVP honors for the boys.
Smith spoke about the wrestling team in place of first year head coach Leroy Vega, who was unable to attend. Vega led the Tribe to a sectional championship this year, with 13 of the team’s 14 individuals qualifying for regionals. Senior Zach Thorn (135 lbs) and junior Julian Torres (126 lbs) both made appearances in the state meet. Thorn and Tom Duff were honored as four year letter winners, while Torres was named the MVP.
The gymnastics team was the most successful of all six squads this winter. The lady-Indians are the final PHS team left in competition as they will perform in the state meet on Saturday at Ball State University. This is the first time that Portage has sent a gymnastics team to state since 1975. Freshman Madison Kurtz, sophomore Danielle Solis and junior Mackenzie Barcelli were all named to the all-conference squad. Barcelli earned the MVP award, while Ali Johnson received her four year letter winner award.
According to head coach Karen Barcelli, the Indians competed against over 20 different teams this season and lost to only one squad. Portage was second in the conference, second in the DAC Meet, second in the sectional and second in the regional. The team’s motto for Saturday’s state meet is “Red is the new green,” referring to both the fact that Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day and that the Indians are looking to replace Valparaiso in the state’s top spot.
Sandy Cherry spoke about the cheerleading team. The cheerleaders were there to root on the athletes at football and basketball games, making their season twice as long as most sports. Four year letter winner Bre Beal was recognized, as were three year letter winners Shelby Bailey and Erika Gaffney. The dance team placed second in the regional this season and seventh in the state meet, led by MVP Sydney Goetschel and four year letter winner Lisa Cruz.
The most coveted award of the night, the Academic Excellence Plaque, goes to the team with the highest grade point average each season. The girls swim team won the award for the third time in the last four years.