Indian Hill Chieftain

October 2014

Leading the soccer team as a captain, James Pflughaupt isn’t your typical surf-loving Californian. James still enjoys his iconic Californian activities such as surfing, longboarding, skateboarding, and mountain biking even after coming to Indian Hill. He excels at surfing and mountain biking and used to be highly ranked in California for the sport of mountain biking. He still loves to visit his hometown of Newport Beach and surf with friends when he can. James is an active athlete at Indian Hill playing both soccer and lacrosse. He is a team captain of the soccer team, playing “sweeper” for the varsity team. He has helped his team out tremendously so far and will continue doing so for the remainder of the season. Whichever 

college Flop attends, he also plans to play college soccer at the club level. James also plays lacrosse during the spring time. He plays midfield and functions as a faceoff man and defensive midfielder. That is not to say he doesn’t take the ball down and play offense, as he often does, but he  excels at defense and primarily sticks to the defensive side of his position. James as a player, for both soccer and lacrosse, has improved greatly and has become a great athlete here at Indian Hill. He has become a key contributor to both sports he partakes in. James is a well-rounded person. He not only has a social and athletic life, but he is deeply driven in his academics. He has with hopes of applying and attending a wide array of highly prestigious schools such as Rice, OSU, Purdue, and Drexel. James wants to study chemical engineering or business administration when he goes to college. Both are highly respected and challenging degrees that will take a lot of effort and hard work to obtain. He is already preparing for these possible degrees with the classes he is taking currently at Indian Hill, such as Principles of Engineering, a class dedicated to engineering and the disciplines involved within the broad field. Overall James is a well-liked guy with a natural athletic and academic talent. He will be will be very successful in years to follow.

September 2014

With the start of fall sports in full swing, the Indian Hill men’s soccer team is looking promising once again. The Braves have only lost a few games this year, and one of the losses occurred against a powerful Loveland team. Indian Hill had a few key players injured during the game and ended up with a few more injuries by the end. The team has matured since then and hopes to get key player, Chris Duncan back on the field. The varsity team held their own in a tie against Dayton Carroll, the 2010, 2011, and 2012 state champions. The Brave’s defense played spectacular and shutdown the fierce Carroll offense. The defense this year is looking to be one of the most promising factors of the men’s team. The Braves have also acquired solid, confidence boosting wins this year. Their first win was in their first game against Anderson.. This was a great way to start off the season for the Braves, and they came out on top with a 1-0 win. Also, the boys also beat Mariemont in a 1-0 thriller. As commented by junior Jake Young, “We are showing a lot of potential and should be better when Chris Duncan comes back, our team is still maturing into a great team and we hope to pull it together soon”. This Braves varsity team has what it takes to be successful and has great senior leadership. They currently sit second in the CHL conference, behind Wyoming. The Brave’s junior varsity team is also holding their own, and is showing an array of future players who will be leading the varsity squad eventually. Currently the team is being led by sophomore goalkeeper Matt Hayes, who unexpectedly became the goalie and has proven to be a key factor.. Both he and sophomore Andy Garcia commented on how progressive the team is. They believe they will continue to become better, as they have played very good teams this year. Both think that the team will do well in the CHL. The sky is the limit for both of these teams, it will be exciting to watch them as the season continues.

Kush Patel | February 2014

It’s that time of year again. The greatest three weeks in all of sports have finally arrived with the annual Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, known widely as March Madness. The top 64 teams in college basketball will compete in a single-elimination tournament and vye for the biggest prize – a Championship title. The tournament, created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has become one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States garnering millions of viewers each March. Ohio State University’s Coach Harold Olsen has made March popular for college basketball fans not only to watch the games, but also to predict and bet on results by participating in the ESPN Tournament Bracket Challenge. Whether it is the joy of rooting for a specific collegiate team or choosing the winners, the biggest phenomenon in March sports is finally here.

The tournament teams are comprised of 32 Division I conferences, which receive automatic bids and 32 other teams, which are awarded at-large berths and chosen by an NCAA selection committee. These 68 teams split into four regions - East (New York), West (Anaheim), Midwest (Indianapolis), and South (Memphis). All four regions have 16 teams ranked from #1 to #16 seed. ESPN bracketologist (yes, that is a real thing) Joe Lunardi pegs the top four seeds this year to be Syracuse, Arizona, Wichita State, and Statistically, the #1 seeds have an easier shot at advancing, but nothing is certain in the tournament. This year, the Syracuse Oranges and Wichita State Shockers have been the two most dominant teams in college basketball. They have yet to lose a game. But not everyone is sold on them. “I think Ohio State will still come out as champions,” English teacher Mr. Millard stated.

With March Madness being a single-elimination tournament, 64 teams quickly diminish to 32, and gradually from the Sweet Sixteen to the Elite 8 to the Final Four and lastly, the Championship game..

A college basketball team’s season can be over within a matter of hours. Part of winning such a tournament is getting lucky and being paired with weaker teams. Part of what makes the tournament so enjoyable is the unpredictability of its outcome. “It is always fun filling out a bracket, thinking I have it all right, then getting most of my picks wrong,” stated senior David Robinett. There are only 1 or 2 correctly picked brackets each year, and even some of those are lucky guesses. With so many games going on at the same time, it is close to impossible to consistently pick the winners of all the games. Even the #1 seeds are not guaranteed a spot in the final four, as “Cinderella teams” emerge each year as a surprise to many. These teams are the underdogs, the after-thoughts, the ones no one expected to make a deep tournament run. However, year in and year out, there are always a couple 15 or 16 seeds that shock the nation. Just last year, the little known school of Florida Golf Coast University beat the likes of #2 seed Georgetown and #7 seed San Diego State. That goes to show that no matter how talented or prepared teams are, the single-elimination style of the tournament allows for many shocking results each year.

Many passionate fans are ready for the tournament to start and already have their brackets filled out. There is little left to do now but kick back and enjoy the action. “I think this is Cincinnati’s year to win it all, they have the depth and talent necessary to make a deep tournament run, and Sean Kilpatrick has ice in his veins,” states junior Mark Misali. Will it be Cincinnati’s year? Ohio State, maybe? An underdog like Harvard? The possibilities are endless. But only one champion will be crowned. The players are ready, the coaches are ready, the referees are ready. Are you ready?