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.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man is dead after a shooting Thursday night on Indy’s near east side, police say.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, just after 8 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on a report of a person shot.
When officers arrived, they found an adult male inside an apartment with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services transported the man to a hospital in critical condition, where died shortly after arriving.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene to begin the investigation.
Crime Resources
Gov. Mike Braun asked state regulators to reconsider their decision to greenlight a $71 million rate increase for AES Indiana, doubling down on his condemnation of a move that could leave Indianapolis residents with higher electrical bills for years.
Braun wrote in a June 18 news release that he had asked Indiana Utility Counselor Abby Gray, who heads the office representing ratepayers in proceedings before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, to petition for a rehearing of the AES rate case.
Gray indicated in the release that her office would submit the petition shortly. No petition had been posted on the IURC’s online docket as of this story’s publication.
The rate increase, which was approved by the IURC on June 17, was substantially less than the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It was also less than the amount proposed in a settlement last October between AES and major electricity consumers.
But the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which Gray leads, came out strongly against any increase to AES’s base rates. In September, the OUCC called for a $21 million reduction instead.
As the Republican Party grapples with rising discontent over affordability, Braun has used opposition to rising utility rates to telegraph that he’s committed to keeping costs down for Indiana residents. He signed a law in February that allows the state to make rate-setting decisions that reward or penalize utilities based on metrics including affordability.
In March, he told reporters that he would take on Indiana’s five investor-owned utilities, describing himself as the “new sheriff in town.”
And after the IURC voted 3-1 to approve the AES rate increase, he wrote in a post to X that he was “deeply disappointed.”
Braun wrote in the June 18 news release that he had appointed Gray, a longtime OUCC lawyer and judge, to her current post because he knew she “would help me fight for Hoosiers.”
According to AES’s estimates, the rate increase will cost households an additional $5 per month for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity they use, beginning in July. A second hike will take effect in January.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
The Protect College Sports Act, legislation meant to introduce and codify sweeping reforms related to college athletics, passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday morning.
It now heads to the Senate floor.
The bill passed out of committee by a 19-9 vote. Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young voted no, his decision reflecting Big Ten concerns over the bill.
A spokesman for Sen. Young told IndyStar, “Senator Young hopes that additional changes can be made to the bill to address concerns raised by the Big Ten.”
Co-sponsored by Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), the Protect College Sports Act represents Congress’ most substantial success so far in a yearslong effort to bring legislative reform to college athletics. Since before the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders in college sports — including the NCAA, member conferences and schools, and other major players — have lobbied for national solutions to what have become state and regional problems.
Several pieces of legislation have been introduced across the last several years, only to fizzle long before reaching the floor of either chamber. The SCORE Act, introduced last year in the House of Representatives, gained some traction and passed out of committee, but was never brought to the floor.
Which makes Thursday’s news meaningful. Moving the Protect College Sports Act to the Senate floor, while not a guarantee of any outcome, potentially takes the bill past a threshold no other such piece of reformative legislation has yet been able to cross.
Cruz told Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger on Thursday that Cruz believes Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is committed to introducing the bill to the Senate floor soon.
The bill provides a legal framework for a host of potential reforms and protections for college sports. It grants limited antitrust protection to the NCAA, places limits on certain things including potential conference realignment, builds safeguards meant to protect non-revenue and Olympic sports, addresses potential broadcast rights reforms, and more.
It enjoys significant backing, and not just among leaders in college sports. This week, the NFL, its players’ association, the National Basketball Players Association and Major League Baseball all voiced their support for the bill.
Two key constituencies not in lockstep on the bill voiced their own concerns Thursday.
In a joint statement issued just after 10 a.m. Thursday, the Big Ten and SEC — far and away the two most powerful conferences and arguably two greatest power centers, full stop, in college athletics — suggested they still hold significant reservations over the bill.
“From the outset, we identified a set of essential revisions to the PCSA necessary for the long-term sustainability of college athletics,” the statement read. “We have worked with both majority and minority staff to advance those revisions, which focus on better supporting student-athletes and stabilizing the college sports environment. We continue to believe revisions are needed to secure our support for the bill.
“Despite our sustained engagement and good faith efforts, these critical revisions have not been accepted.”
The statement went on to note the “several Commerce Committee members that share our concerns and support these recommendations.”
Young is one of several members of the committee representing a Big Ten state, including one of three Republicans. He is the only Republican member of the committee whose state contains multiple schools in the conference.
Allowing for those reservations, Thursday’s news is still significant. It marks the first time a bipartisan bill on the subject has reached this point in the Senate and, should it be brought to the floor, it would be the first such legislation to reach that stage, in either chamber.
The bill could be brought to the Senate floor as early as July, though that timeline remains fluid.
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