Ivy Tech Athlete of the Week Ballot Spotlights Game-Deciding Basketball Performances

Macyn Hughes’ halfcourt buzzer in overtime gave Seeger a 65-64 road victory over North Vermillion and anchors the Journal & Courier’s Ivy Tech Athlete of the Week ballot covering Feb. 23-28. The ballot, published March 2, 2026, highlights gymnastics sectionals, state swim-and-dive top-five finishes and late-week boys basketball plays that decided outcomes.

The ballot is presented by Ivy Tech and asks readers, "Which female gymnast and male swimmer or basketball player stood out?" Voting is open to the public; "Voting is unlimited. Polls close Thursday at noon."

Among the male nominees are two state meet top-five finishers. "Korchnak, a signee to Ball State ended his stellar career at the IHSAA state swim and diving championships last Saturday and finished fifth in backstroke with a time of 50.25 seconds." William Armstrong is also listed among the male nominees; "Armstrong finished fifth in the 1-meter dive at the IHSAA state championships with a final score of 420.80 points."

The ballot lead uses the phrase "Two male swimmers finished with top five finishes at the IHSAA state championships" while the nominee entries distinguish swimmer Anthony Korchnak and diver William Armstrong. The entry language places Korchnak in the backstroke and Armstrong in the 1-meter dive rather than grouping both under one event label.

Two late-season boys basketball performances appear on the ballot alongside the swim-and-dive results. Hughes is listed with eight points and the halfcourt buzzer that ended the game in overtime. West Lafayette junior Calvin Snyder "continued his strong finish to the regular season and scored 19 points with 10 rebounds to beat Rossville on the road 73-48 last Friday."

Female gymnast nominees reflect sectional scoring at Lafayette Jeff. Emilie Bullington of Tri-County "finished second in the all-around at the IHSAA sectional at Lafayette Jeff. Bullington finished with 35.25 points and placed second on beam, tied for sixth on the uneven bars and sixth on vault." Benton Central’s Attalia Budreau "automatically qualified in the all-around for IHSAA regionals after finishing sectional with 33.675 points."

The ballot frames the week as a local finish to the regular season: "The final week of the IHSAA boys basketball regular season capped a fiery finish in Seeger while Lafayette Jeff and West Lafayette each ended on high notes." Related coverage linked on the ballot page includes "Harrison gymnastics advances to regionals, Tri-County freshman shines" and "Seeger cheer, football supporting Riverton Parke following tragedy." An Instagram excerpt included with the feature congratulated past winners: "Congrats to Maya Layton of Lafayette Jeff girls basketball and Wyatt Tudor of Delphi wrestling for being voted the Athletes of the Week."

For questions or to follow the coverage, contact Ethan Hanson, sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, at atehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and on Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.