Parke Heritage Wins Class 2A Semistate, Advances to State Finals on Fourth Try

Isaac Pickel flipped the opening tip over his shoulder, junior Brenden Goins found the 6-foot-9 forward in stride, and the two-handed slam that followed told Linton-Stockton exactly what kind of night it was going to be. The fourth-ranked Parke Heritage Wolves (26-4) used that dunk to ignite an 18-3 run Saturday night at Southport Fieldhouse, then never let up, beating eighth-ranked Linton-Stockton (25-5) 66-53 to reach the IHSAA Class 2A state finals for the first time after three consecutive semistate heartbreaks.

Parke Heritage led wire-to-wire. After losing to Linton-Stockton 87-59 in the 2023 semistate semifinals, then falling to Brownstown Central 66-56 and University 53-47 in the past two Southport Semistate championship games, the Wolves turned a venue that had repeatedly ended their seasons into the site of a long-awaited breakthrough.

"We had to answer the door," senior Treigh Schelsky said. "Last year, I felt like we kind of let up in the championship game. We kind of expected it maybe to be given to us. Tonight, there was none of that. Our guys were locked in. They knew it was going to take a great effort."

The tone was set before most fans had settled into their seats. Pickel's over-the-shoulder tip and Goins' immediate feed gave the Wolves a emphatic opening statement and the momentum never shifted.

"That's part of our offense, getting an early lead to get us going, so we can get running," Pickel said. "And with that dunk right off the tip play, it got everybody hyped. We got the juice flowing, and it was good for us."

The win carries the weight of years of near-misses. Parke Heritage has been a regional champion five times in the past six years and reached a 2A state runner-up finish in 2021 after winning the Washington Semistate, yet Southport had become the consistent endpoint of their postseason runs despite back-to-back 20-plus win seasons. This was the program's fourth straight semistate trip and third consecutive championship finals appearance at that site.

For Schelsky, the destination that awaits made it all register: "I've had the dream of making it to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and playing for a state championship since I was a kid. It's in the back of your mind, but you don't think it's possible, but once we've gotten here the past three years, it's stung not to break through the door. To get it done this year, honestly, it still hasn't sunk in yet. Not that I knew we were going to win, but I had a feeling our guys were going to come to play, and we weren't going to let this happen again."

Parke Heritage now advances to the IHSAA Class 2A state finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.