Hickerson Rises As New Champion, Peterson Repeats At TOC
NORTH WEBSTER – Repeat and redemption were the themes for the 2015 Shoop Sports and Youth Foundation-sponsored Tournament of Champions. Kelsie Peterson and Joey Hickerson took the top spot in their respective boys and girls tournaments at the annual event held Saturday morning at North Webster Elementary School.
The TOC, which is an academic scholarship event where the top four competitors earn money toward college tuition, is a ten-event gauntlet of varying levels of athletic prowess. Athletes began with the mile run, the free throw contest and then meandered through the 40-yard dash, football/softball throw, obstacle course, standing long jump, pull-ups, shuttle run, soccer course and concluded with the three-point shoot-out.
Competitors earned points based off top-four finishes, with four points per win, three for second, two for third and one for fourth. All ties were split in points accordingly.
Peterson, last year’s champion, eclipsed her 2014 points total of 20 with a 20.5 effort this year. The West Noble graduate and current Grace College athlete scored in nine of the 10 events, winning four of them. Peterson won both the free throw and three-point shootout, obstacle course and tied with Jackie Ferguson for first in the 40-yard dash. With top honors Peterson took home a prize of $2,000.
As far as the boys were concerned, it was a battle of former Tigers for the top spot. Last year’s champion David Johnson amassed 16 points but was outdone by Hickerson’s 24 points. The Grace College product scored his redemption after finishing as runner-up to Johnson in 2014 by scoring in nine events, winning four of them. Hickerson was first in pull-ups, soccer, long jump and the 40-yard dash to earn his $2,000 prize.
Johnson, a Franklin College product, took home the second place prize of $1,500 thanks to five second place finishes. Amy Walker, a Wawasee graduate and current University of Indianapolis student, took home second place in the girls tournament for the fifth consecutive year. Walker won both the mile run and the shuttle run.
Claiming third place prizes of $1,000 each were Caleb Ray and Micaela Sylvester. Ray, a Warsaw grad and current Purdue Boilermaker, took first in the obstacle course and tied for first in free throws while Sylvester claimed first in the soccer challenge.
The final prizes of $500 were awarded to both fourth place finishers, Zac Patrick and Ferguson. Both athletes are current Purdue products and each had their taste of winning. Ferguson, in addition to her tie in the 40, won the long jump while Patrick took first in the football throw.
Alex Clark beat out former Wawasee hoops teammate Jake Hutchinson for top spot in the three-point shootout, Clark will suit up for IUSB next semester. Grace product Tyler Houvener won the mile run. IPFW products Kurtis Liston and Megan Kratzsch both found the winner’s bracket on Saturday as well, Liston in the shuttle run and Kratzsch in pull-ups. Ashley Ousley, an IUPUI product, was tops in the softball throw.
In all, 28 athletes competed in the TOC, 14 men and 14 women.
The Shoop Sports & Youth Foundation has put on scholarship events for area youth for over 40 years. The tournament is run by Mitch Willaman and his wife, Gretchen. This year’s dedicated volunteers were Brett Willaman, Jace Stewart, Keith Bollman, Dan Gause and Steve Possell.