Indiana
2024 is an Olympics year. Here’s a look at best Hoosier athletes of 2023 eyeing Paris.
This Hoosier could ‘break’ barriers in the 2024 Olympic games
Carmarry “Pep-C” Hall, a b-girl with Breaking for Gold USA, could represent the United States in the 2024 Olympics, where breaking will become an event.
Jenna Watson, Indianapolis Star
If past is prelude, Chloe Dygert will win a gold medal in Paris.
Even if she doesn’t, that the Brownsburg cyclist is in position to do so this year is the kind of comeback story that draws billions of viewers to the Olympic Games.
Dygert is among 2023 honorees in this annual listing of top Indiana athletes in Olympic sports — three per gender in pro, college and high school categories:
PRO WOMEN
∎ Gold: Chloe Dygert, cycling. She won gold in the time trial at World Championships, three years after a career-threatening crash in the same event. She was so ill in Glasgow, Scotland, she almost didn’t race, crossing the finish coughing after a climb over cobblestones. Dygert also won gold there in individual pursuit, a non-Olympic event. She was so far ahead of defending champion Franziska Brausse that she passed the German on the final lap. After winning the 2019 time trial by a record 92 seconds, Dygert crashed at 2020 worlds in Italy, badly lacerating her left leg. She won team pursuit bronze at the 2021 Olympics but was sidelined repeatedly — by follow-up surgeries, Epstein-Barr virus, surgery for a fast heartbeat, another crash. She turned 27 on Jan. 1.
∎ Silver: Lilly King, swimming. The 26-year-old from Evansville remains formidable, if not invincible. At worlds, she won silver in the 50-meter breaststroke and gold in 4×100 medley relay . . . but was out of the medals (in fourth) in 100 and 200 breaststrokes. Before that, Indiana University’s 2016 Olympic gold medalist swept all three breaststrokes in nationals at Indianapolis.
∎ Bronze: Lee Kiefer, fencing: Notre Dame graduate, 29, won world bronze medal and ended 2023 ranked No. 1 in the world in foil. In 2021, the three-time Olympian became first U.S. foil fencer to win individual gold.
PRO MEN
∎ Gold: Yared Nuguse, track and field. Notre Dame graduate, 24, set American records indoors in the mile and 3,000 meters, outdoors in 1,500 and mile. At Diamond League final, he was second in the mile in 3:43.97, breaking Alan Webb’s 16-year-old American record. Nuguse was fifth at worlds in the 1,500, ranked No. 2 in the world by Track & Field News and placed sixth in T&FN voting for U.S. athlete of the year.
∎ Silver: Tyrese Haliburton, basketball. Pacers guard played for USA Basketball team that lost the bronze-medal game to Canada at World Cup. Haliburton averaged 8.6 points in eight games and led team at 5.6 assists. He said afterward he wants to play at the Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old tops NBA in assists and led Pacers to title game of in-season tournament.
∎ Bronze: Rajeev Ram, tennis. At 39, Carmel native teamed with Joe Salisbury for third straight U.S. Open doubles title and repeat ATP doubles title. Ram pushed career earnings past $9 million.
DOYEL: Rajeev Ram used lessons of father to reach No. 1 world ranking
COLLEGE WOMEN
∎ Gold: Addy Wiley, track and field. As Huntington freshman, she set collegiate 1,500 record of 3:59.17 and became No. 2 collegian ever (1:57.54) at 800 in span of five days in Europe. She was fifth in 1,500 at USA Championships and ninth in mile at road worlds. In 2023 calendar year, she ran to eight NAIA titles. Wiley, 20, is on 2024 watch list for Bowerman Award, track’s version of Heisman Trophy.
∎ Silver: Olivia Markezich, track and field. NCAA steeplechase champion for Notre Dame and third-fastest collegian ever (9:17.93). In other NCAA races, she was second in indoor 3,000 and third in cross-country.
∎ Bronze: Kelly Pash, swimming. Carmel swimmer was third in 200-yard butterfly at NCAAs and helped Texas to second place in team standings. Won five medals at Pan American Games, including silver in 100-meter butterfly and two relay golds.
COLLEGE MEN
∎ Gold: Andrew Capobianco, diving. After winning a third NCAA 3-meter title, IU diver finished fourth at worlds. Capobianco, 24, won synchro silver at 2021 Olympics.
∎ Silver: Jake Mitchell, swimming. Carmel Olympian won silver medal in 4×200 freestyle relay at worlds. At nationals, he was third in 400 free and fourth in 200 free. Mitchell, 22, was fifth in NCAA 500-yard freestyle for Florida.
∎ Bronze: Brendan Burns, swimming: NCAA champion in 100-yard backstroke, runner-up in 200 butterfly for IU. Big Ten swimmer of the championships for a third year in a row.
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS
∎ Gold: Alex Shackell, swimming. First swimmer from Carmel girls program to win a world or Olympic medal, anchoring USA to silver in 4×200 relay at World Championships. As a sophomore, she set state records in 100-yard butterfly (50.89) and 50 freestyle (21.93), and she swam on two relays setting national records. At December’s winter juniors, the 17-year-old was first in seven events, bettering state records in six. In 200-yard butterfly, her 1:50.15 smashed national record for girls 17-18 and made her No. 5 of all time in that event. Her 49.49 in 100 butterfly nearly set another national record.
∎ Silver: Keagan Rothrock, softball. The All-America pitcher led Roncalli to third straight Class 4A championship game. She was 25-2 with 0.50 ERA and 334 strikeouts. She also batted .490 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs. Rothrock ended career with 1,080 strikeouts and state record of 13 perfect games (among 22 no-hitters). She is now freshman at Florida.
∎ Bronze: Lauren Harden, volleyball. MaxPreps national player of the year helped Hamilton Southeastern become fourth undefeated Class 4A state champion. The 6-3 outside hitter committed to Florida.
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS
∎ Gold: Josh Hedberg, diving. Noblesville 16-year-old won first individual senior national title on 10-meter platform, qualifying for February’s worlds at Doha, Qatar. In 2022, at age 15, Hedberg became the youngest U.S. male diver to compete at a worlds.
∎ Silver: Will Modglin, swimming. As Zionsville senior, he repeated as Swimming World’s high school swimmer of the year. He set national prep record of 45.08 in 100-yard backstroke and lowered state record in 200 individual medley to 1:43.74, completed three-year sweeps in both. Modglin is now a Texas freshman.
∎ Bronze: Kole Mathison, cross-country/track: In cross-country, Carmel runner helped Team USA to a bronze medal at under-20 worlds. In indoor track, he lowered state records in mile and two-mile to 4:06.48 and 8:47.11. And outdoors, he ran to a state triple — third in 4×800 relay, second in 1,600, repeat title in 3,200. Mathison redshirted at Colorado last fall.
Contact IndyStar correspondent at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
Indiana
Indiana governor delivers 2026 State of the State Address
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WSBT) — Indiana Governor Mike Braun focused on affordability in his 2026 State of the State Address.
The governor delivered his address in front of a joint session of the general assembly on Wednesday night.
He said the most important part of affordability is creating new jobs and having higher wages.
He said one of the biggest issues when he took office was property taxes.
“It’s a major driver of the affordability crisis, that’s why I led the way to a historic, meaningful property tax reform. Our historic tax cut on property taxes, 1.5 billion dollars over three years, it ensures local governments have resources for essential services and Hoosier homeowners can keep more of their money in their pocket,” said Governor Mike Braun, (R) Indiana.
Indiana Senate Democratic Leader Shelli Yoder delivered the rebuttal to Governor Braun’s State of the State, saying his policy decisions have failed to deliver real relief for Indiana families.
Indiana
A pond for Ponds: Bloomington names body of water after Indiana CB
D’Angelo Ponds announced himself to the nation by returning an interception of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore for a touchdown on the first play of the College Football Playoff semifinal last Friday. That moment cemented his place in Hoosiers lore — and, now, on Bloomington’s map.
The city temporarily renamed a local pond “D’Angelo’s Pond” in honor of the Indiana cornerback after a social media post calling for such a move went viral. The city’s communications team approached Mayor Kerry Thomson with the idea, and she was quickly on board.
“(We) thought it was brilliant, really. It helps lift up some of the less visible players,” Thomson told The Athletic. “This was a great opportunity to highlight that our city is a place where potential is unlocked, and this team has really shown that.”
The retention pond — designed to temporarily hold stormwater runoff — sits just a few minutes from Memorial Stadium. Thomson’s office leaned into the metaphor in its announcement, writing that “like a great cornerback, a well-designed stormwater pond knows how to contain and protect.”
Ponds told Fox 59 that the renaming was a “once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
“Just to have a pond named after me is something that’s always been talked about, but I was just really shocked to see it come to life,” he said.
After drawing little attention from major programs out of high school because of his size, the 5-foot-9 defensive back committed to James Madison and coach Curt Cignetti in 2022. Ponds earned Freshman All-America honors in 2023 before following Cignetti to Bloomington, where he’s emerged as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks. He was named Defensive MVP of the Rose Bowl in Indiana’s win over Alabama, then earned the same honor in the Hoosiers’ rout of Oregon.
Bloomington’s honor also rewards Ponds’ loyalty to the Hoosiers. He was offered by 30 programs after entering the portal last April — including Alabama, Tennessee and Miami. He told The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman that he had second thoughts after committing to Indiana, a school better known for its basketball program. But he chose to stick with Cignetti and the Hoosiers, and is now on the precipice of winning the school’s first national championship and completing one of the greatest turnarounds in sports history.
“The vibe in Bloomington recently around football has been quite different than it has been in the past 30 years,” Thomson said. “The whole community has really come together around this team and around their story.”
Asked why the new name for the previously unnamed pond wasn’t permanent, the mayor said an official name change would’ve required the use of public resources.
“It’s unofficially official until the end of time,” she said. “… But, at the end of the day, who knows? Anything’s possible.”
While Thomson has not gotten the chance to speak with Ponds, she’s heard that the cornerback is planning a visit when he returns from Miami. The pond is not swimmable, so Thomson hopes to toss a football across the pond to Ponds.
Indiana
Chicago-area weather forecast: Several inches of snow expected for NW Indiana Wednesday, Thursday
CHICAGO (WLS) — Parts of northern Indiana could see several inches of lake-effect snow Wednesday and Thursday.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 7 a.m. ET Wednesday until 1 p.m. ET Thursday for La Porte County, Indiana and Berrien County, Michigan.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
There is a Winter Weather Advisory from 8 a.m. Wednesday until 4 a.m. Thursday for Porter County, Indiana.
There is a Winter Weather Advisory from 7 a.m. ET Wednesday until 1 p.m. Thursday for Starke County, Indiana.
Bands of heavy snow are expected Wednesday afternoon. Two to 5 inches of snow are possible in Porter, while La Porte parts of Berrien could see more than 6 inches of snow, ABC7 Chicago meteorologist Tracy Butler said.
Snow will continue through Wednesday night into Thursday morning before tapering off during the day on Thursday.
A band of snow is expected to move through the Illinois part of the Chicago area around 7 a.m. Butler said light accumulations of less than an inch are possible.
Temperatures across the area will drop steadily throughout the week.
Cook County Radar | DuPage County Radar | Will County Radar | Lake County Radar (IL) | Kane County Radar | Northwest Indiana Radar
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