Clay City Eels

There was a slight delay to Tuesday’s Terre Haute South girls track and field Sectional due to a few buses getting stuck in traffic on I-70. However, for several Northview runners and a pair of Clay City athletes, the extra preparation time in the warm mid-May sun was well worth the wait as both schools will have representatives in next Tuesday’s Bloomington North Regional...

Last spring, on a similarly warm May morning as it was Saturday, Clay City’s Demi Wolfe and Northview’s Lauren Sackett locked horns in a pitcher’s duel that will go down in the county rivalry’s all-time pitching matchups. Sackett ultimately got the best of the Eels as the current Indiana State University freshman no-hit Clay City to run the Knights’ winning streak against their cross-county rivals to six in a row...

As the temperature continues to rise in Clay County, the high school boys golf scores keep lowering themselves for Clay City and Northview. Both groups feature youthful rosters that are – for the most part – going through their first varsity season this spring...

Throughout his time at Clay City, Blake Patterson has spoken highly – and openly – about his older brother, Bryce, and the bond they share. Patterson said he always wanted to follow in the footsteps of Bryce. So, when he signed to run track at Indiana State University a couple of years ago, it lit a fire underneath Patterson to do the same...

As the collegiate baseball and softball regular seasons come to an end – or have ended – we went around the country to catch up on the former Clay City and Northview standouts that are shining on the diamonds. Below are the season statistics for each student-athlete:...

There were several incentives for Clay City’s track and field team to get Thursday night’s Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference dual meet against North Daviess in despite the precipitation that splashed down throughout the afternoon and put it into serious jeopardy...

On Jan. 8, Clay City’s Russell Butts was in a serious automobile accident with his older brother, Corbin, that left him with a broken mandible, elbow, spine, pelvis and ribs, as well as a pair of severely sprained ankles. Butts was sent to IU Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he began his long road to recovery alongside his family...

Earlier in the week, the IHSAA released its new sectional assignments for the 2022-23 high school sports seasons. Clay City and Northview were both impacted in various ways. The new sectional assignments and the teams playing in the respective sectional are listed below:...

As the start of the week began to unfold Monday with a win over Cloverdale, Clay City softball head coach Jason Sinders admitted this was an important stretch of games for the Eels as they hosted Terre Haute North on Tuesday before welcoming Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference rival North Daviess on Wednesday and then visiting Class 3A state runner-up Sullivan on Friday...

Each year Clay City hosts the annual Keith Jones Classic track and field invitational, it serves as a ‘where are we’ meet as several of the Eels’ Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference and sectional opponents participate in the event. This year, however, it was even more important for the programs to see where the stack up against the local competition, Clay City head coach Cole Schroer said...

Entering the week, Clay City’s baseball team was ranked No. 7 in the Class A MaxPreps and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association polls. A big reason for the Eels’ standing around the state has come from a trio of freshmen in Logan Stoelting, Zain Keller and Wyatt Johnson that have been thrown into the varsity baseball fire and have fared extremely well...

Last Wednesday, Clay City’s Sophie Moshos signed her letter of intent to play softball for Transylvania University. Moshos had dozens of supporters in the Eel Dome to celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments of her life. The senior left-handed pitcher and outfielder credited each and every one of them for helping her get to the point of becoming a collegiate athlete...

There’s something about Clay County baseball and softball teams throwing no-hitters through the first half of their respective seasons. It was Northview’s Landon Carr twirling back-to-back no-no’s first. And on Friday, it was the freshmen combination of Lizzy Sinders and Abby Shearer that no-hit Shakamak to pick up the Eels’ third straight win...

Clay City opened the high school baseball season with five consecutive wins, marking the best start to a spring in head coach Larry Shaw’s five-year tenure. And while the Eels have scuffled as of late, dropping two of their last three entering a Saturday afternoon matchup with visiting Owen Valley, the six wins they’ve tallied are one shy of matching last year’s total...

If throwing his first-ever high school no-hitter last week against Greencastle wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, Northview’s Landon Carr one-upped himself Tuesday night at Owen Valley. The senior right-hander threw his second no-no in as many starts, blanking the Patriots to snap the Knights’ two-game losing skid...

As a youngster growing up on the softball field, Clay City’s Sophie Moshos always saw a future with herself playing at the collegiate level. Unlike many at that age, though, Moshos had the wherewithal to understand that while getting to one of the highest levels the sport has to offer is of significant importance, picking a school based solely on the softball program would be a mistake...

Throughout most of the high school softball season, Clay City has been a part of numerous blowout affairs. The Eels have either steamrolled their opponents or been downed in fewer than seven innings in their three losses, leaving them with very little close game experience...

For what felt like the first week of the high school spring season, Mother Nature didn’t disrupt too much around Clay County, which has allowed teams from Clay City and Northview to settle in. Northview boys golf Northview picked up its first win of the year Thursday evening at Parke Heritage...

For the first time in program history, Clay City’s softball team entered its name in the Bulldog Invitational hosted by Columbus North High School. There, the Eels were scheduled for a pair of round-robin games against Columbus North and South Bend Adams that would then slot them into a seeded final game – based upon their record in the first two contests – against a team from a separate group, which turned out to be North Harrison...

Down 8-0, host WRV looked ready to fold and prepare for another day when it played Clay City Friday. Instead, WRV fought back and eventually took the lead as it won 10-8. “I told them after the first inning, once we finally got through it, the game plan hasn’t changed,” Coach Mark Walton said. “We’re still going to do what we want to do and it goes from there. They believed in it. That’s what I want to get them to do is believe in it.”...

As has been the case for the first few weeks of the high school spring sports season, rain played a factor in how many games, matches and meets transpired during the early portions of the week. There was, however, plenty of action that took place which was highlighted by Clay City’s baseball team extending their start-of-season winning streak to five games and Northview’s softball season pulling off an improbable comeback to pick up its first conference win of the year...

Clay City’s softball team entered the week with a sparkling goose egg seated in the loss column next to its name after opening the year with back-to-back wins over Greencastle and Parke Heritage. The Lady Eels extended that winning streak to three with a 15-5 victory over North Knox on Thursday before splitting Saturday’s doubleheader with Barr-Reeve. Clay City was victorious in the first game, winning 4-2, before falling in the night cap, losing 5-3...

Unlike the last few years at the Patriot Invitational held at Terre Haute North High School, rain was minimal during the meet. In years past, athletes from across Indiana have attended the meet and ran in downpours. However, despite the luck drawn on the rain, the Indiana temperature had other plans for the meet. The low to middle 30s and 40s made the meet cold, harsh, and challenging for many athletes. At times, sleet, snow, and rain repelled down on the athletes and fans...

Mother Nature tried her very best to cancel or postpone just about every game on the docket for Clay City and Northview this past week. And while she succeeded in knocking out several of them, there were also many games and meets that took place despite the unpleasant weather conditions that have become so familiar for spring athletes in the state of Indiana...

The forecast for Saturday’s Northview Invitational held at Forest Park Golf Course called for frigid temperatures with a chance of flurries throughout the afternoon. With rain falling during the week and especially for most of the day Friday, the course was full of water, making for tough conditions to post low scores...

With the thermometer fluctuating between the upper 30s and the lower 40s, which felt much chillier than that with 15 mph winds gusting through the openness of Rea Park Golf Course, Clay City’s boys golf team got its season underway Thursday night against West Vigo...

For the first time in four years, Clay City will open the boys high school golf season without Justin Hopkins penciled into the No. 1 spot in the team’s lineup. Clay City head coach Clarence Johnson said not having one of the best – if not the best – boys golfer in program history around has been different. ...

Most of the early and mid-week high school sports action was washed out due to inclement weather that’s seemingly hovered over the Wabash Valley the last couple of weeks. However, there were some events that were played. Those scores and results are listed below:...

As J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series book series, once said, ‘A good impression can work wonders.’ For Clay City’s high school softball team, four underclassmen had the chance to make their first impressions Monday night in the program’s season-opening game against visiting Greencastle...

There’s a bundle of excitement coming from the Clay City boys and girls track and field programs this spring. With a record-high number of student-athletes ready to compete on the boys’ side and several key returners to go along with talented underclassmen for the girls, head coach Cole Schroer is looking forward to developing the Eels throughout the season in hopes of some of them making a deep run in the postseason portion of the schedule...

Coming off last year’s Class A state runner-up finish, the Clay City softball team was eager to get its season underway last week to begin the journey back to what the Lady Eels hope is a second consecutive title game appearance. However, Mother Nature had other thoughts and washed out their season-opening game against fellow state finals representative Sullivan, as well as their two-game set in the Loogootee tournament over the weekend...

The high school baseball season got underway in Clay County over the weekend with Northview hosting a three-team round robin tournament with Shakamak and Bloomington North while Clay City made the trip to Loogootee for a three-team round robin tournament with Loogootee and Eastern Greene...

After finishing as the Class A softball state runner up last spring and with a large portion of that team returning this year, Clay City knows there’s a target on its back. Head coach Jason Sinders has emphasized to his group that they’ll likely get the opposition’s best shot every time they step onto the field...

While in high school, many students devote their time to academics, athletics and other extra-curricular activities. Most of these students succeed in all their endeavors, but most club, academic and job successes go unnoted. For most students, they are fine with not publicizing these successes, as these are the milestones that carry them to their future lives outside of high school. Most of these side activities become hobbies, a passion, and a drive for students to look forward to...

With the boys and girls high school basketball seasons in Clay County coming to an end recently, and the offseason awards portion of the calendar year wrapping up, we are back to check in on the former Clay City and Northview baseball and softball standouts that are thriving at the collegiate level...

Former Clay City standout and current forward on the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods women’s basketball team Avalee Jeffers had one of the most memorable eight-day spans in collegiate sports recently. Jeffers received a pair of prestigious awards to go along with a magical tournament run, leaving the senior thankful for the experiences and honors that will last a lifetime...

Throughout her time at Clay City High School, Avalee Jeffers was known as a standout athlete on the hardwood. However, the legacy she left behind her inside the Eel Dome went much farther than that, as she was also an excellent student and a committed member of the local community...

White River Valley had lost two games at the buzzer this season so it was only fitting the Wolverines finally hit a shot at the horn when it mattered most in its sectional opener. Freshman Luke Hall was not the person the Wolverines wanted with the ball but Hall did not care. He launched his deep 3-pointer over a Clay City defender as the ball rattled in. WRV had prevailed 42-40 as his teammates ran over to celebrate with Hall at the other end of the court...

The SMWC Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is proud to announce Senior Women's Basketball player Avalee Jeffers and Freshman Men's Basketball player J.J. Evans as the River States Conference Champions of Character for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. The award recognizes student-athletes who display the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. Honorees are recognized for their character-driven attitudes both on and off the court...

The last few months inside the Clay City boys basketball program have been a little more turbulent than the Eels would have liked. From having multiple players quarantined due to COVID-19 contact tracing to an automobile accident that affected the team much more than having two rotational big men out of the lineup for an extended period of time to the flu spreading through the locker room to nagging ailments that have kept several players from playing at 100 percent, there have been several speed bumps and pot holes the Eels have had to avert on their path to the postseason.. ...

The last time Northview’s boys basketball team opened up the postseason against Western Indiana Conference rival West Vigo, the Knights were crowned sectional champions and advanced to a regional championship game a week later. That was last year. Northview’s hoping the script is a duplicate as it, for the second time in as many years, kicks off the Class 3A Edgewood Sectional against the Vikings Wednesday night...

Several former Clay City and Northview standouts were on the diamond over the last week and had performances to remember, which included several firsts – for the season for some and for the career for others. Below are those results: Ellie Jackman (IU Southeast softball)...

For the second straight game, Clay City was playing without its full three-man backcourt when it traveled to Riverton Parke Friday night. On Wednesday, Reilly Myers, the team’s leading scorer and lead ball handler, was sidelined with flu-like symptoms, keeping him out of the Northview contest...

With Clay City and Northview scheduled to play a boys basketball game against each other for the first time in 733 days, there was a prime opportunity for the school’s principals – Clay City’s Jeff Bell and Northview’s Chris Mauk – to thank their respective communities for all of the donations and prayers that have been sent the Butts and Rains family’s way after the automobile accident that left Clay City junior Russell Butts and his older brother and Northview alum Corbin Butts with countless injuries and a long pathway towards recovery.. ...

Indiana State University’s men’s and women’s track and field teams finished off the indoor portion of the regular season last weekend at the ISU Open. Both Sycamore teams finished first in the event, sending them into the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships on a high...

Over two years had passed – 733 days to be exact – since Northview and Clay City last squared off in a boys basketball game. Because of cancellations caused by COVID-19 and postponements brought on by Mother Nature, the Battle of Clay County hadn’t been able to be played for quite a while...

Prior to Monday’s boys basketball game against visiting Eminence, Clay City’s Saydee Hauer and Blake Patterson were presented with the West Central Indiana Fellowship of Christian Athletes Character Counts award. Hauer and Patterson are both multi-sport athletes for the Eels and have spent the winter playing for Clay City’s girls and boys basketball teams...

Over the last two weeks, college softball and baseball seasons got underway around the country and several former Clay City and Northview standouts were among those to kick things off on the diamond. Like we have in the past, the Brazil Times will have a weekly college report to check in on how the former Eels and Knights are doing and what’s ahead on the schedule for them...