Menu
Tradition continues, GHS captures three academic state titles
WEST LAFAYETTE -- With 19 academic state titles already to its credit, not too many firsts were left for the Greencastle High School Academic Super Bowl team to accomplish in Saturday's state finals.
Yet in winning three state championships during competition in the 28th annual Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) Academic Super Bowl at Purdue University, GHS academic teams managed to do just that Saturday.
With Class 3 championships in English, Science and Interdisciplinary, it marks the first time since competition began in 1987 that GHS has brought home three state titles the same year.
Additionally, the 2015 victories by the English and Interdisciplinary teams makes it a three-peat -- another first -- for both squads that initally won in 2013 and repeated in 2014.
That was particularly impressive for the Nicole Kempf-coached English group that won back-to-back titles with a veteran team of upperclassmen in 2013 and 2014. This year, however, the champion English team is composed of two sophomores (Kelly Hansen and Alex Weliever) and a freshman (Ben Gellman).
Meanwhile, the Science team's triumph also rates as a first for coach Brad Kingma who leads students Sam Savage, Zach Wilkerson, Connor Stimpert and Beth Ann Hansen.
The GHS Interdisciplinary team is comprised of Kelly Hansen, Colin Dombrowski, Cecilia Pohlar and Beth Ann Hansen, which means both Hansens -- senior Beth Ann and sophomore Kelly -- emerged as members of two state championship academic teams for 2015.
Science team coach Kingma was thrilled to break through making great runs and coming up just short in 2013 and 2014.
"I was very pleased with the effort the team put in studying," Kingma told the Banner Graphic, "and it was great to see that rewarded with a championship.
"I am particularly pleased for my senior, Beth Ann (Hansen), who put four years into science. We came up just a little short each of the last two years against another very good team and it was a little frustrating for her. So I am thrilled for all of her hard work to have paid off."
Meanwhile, the other two GHS teams that qualified for the state finals (five overall) -- Fine Arts and Social Studies -- both finished fourth in the state in Saturday's event.
The Class 3 Fine Arts title was won by Taylor High School of Kokomo, while the Social Studies championship went to Eastern High School of Greentown.
The only other Putnam County team earning a trip to the state finals, the South Putnam Fine Arts team, did not place in the top five in Class 3.
True to form, the GHS English team -- which entered the state finals coming off the highest area contest score, 24 of 25, of any team regardless of division -- led most the way on Saturday to earn its title three-peat.
It was different story, however, for the Interdisciplinary team, which had to go down to the wire to hold off second-place Speedway High School for the Class 3 title.
"It came down to the last question," coach Kempf noted. "It was a nailbiter to the end."
With 22 overall state titles now to its credit, Greencastle will need to revise the new signage put up during the first semester heralding the school's academic prowess.
Fortunately the new signs were created with room to add more successes, as Principal Russ Hesler pointed out at the time.
"It's designed so we can add more years to it," he said. "That's the expectation. That's my expectation."
And that was right on again Saturday.