What’s recently happened?
Hobart High School’s (HHS) Boys Swimming and Diving team recently made its appearance at the Indiana High School Athletic Association Sectional championship on February 18.
Freshman Evan Harness swam the only individual event for HHS finishing in eighth place for the 200 Individual Medley, an amazing accomplishment for his first year competing at the high school level.
AJ Garibay, Jaden Cano, Ayden Witting, and Durgon Click competed in the 400 freestyle relay finishing in fourth place. Click swam the first 50 yards in just 26 seconds. Almost everyone finished the season with a new personal record and the HHS Brickies finished fifth overall out of 14 teams.
As for diving, Senior Ethan Robles came in second for Sectionals which made him a Regional qualifier. He scored 46 points at Regionals, sending him to State. Diving since freshman year, this will be his first State appearance.
“It’s crazy that I’m the one that’s going to be diving after watching years of other divers go to State,” said Robles.
Robles traveled down to Indianapolis on February 24 for the State finals. He finished his HHS diving career coming in 26 place out of 32 of Indiana’s best divers.
What’s coming up?
On March 5, Business Professionals of America (BPA), a club led by Business Teacher Valentine Torres, and members of National Honor Society are teaming up to host their March Madness 3v3 Tournament for the second year in a row.
“Last year’s game was incredible; being a part of something like this was a high school experience I won’t forget,” said Junior Kolin Gladney.
Students can register a team of three for just $30. Spectators can either pay a $3 entry fee or bring three non-perishable food items to donate for Hobart Food Pantry. All cash proceeds go to HHS Unified Track and Field for new uniforms and gear. This tournament has quickly become a new highlight of the school year, fostering a sense of unity and competitive spirit among students.
“By spectating and participating in this tournament, you have fun while also contributing to your community and school,” said Taylor Pope, a member of BPA.
To ensure the event’s success, volunteers from both organizing clubs are working hard promoting the tournament and rallying the school community to participate and attend. The last day to sign up is March 1, and all students involved will be receiving community service hours.
Staff spotlight:
Heidi Polizotto has been educating French and German students for the past 10 years at HHS while being the French Club sponsor and Key Club advisor. Prior to teaching at HHS, she was an educator at Whiting High School, Wheeler High School, and Crown Point High School.
Key Club is an international organization that is built on four main values: leadership, character building, care, and inclusivity. HHS’s chapter of Key Club currently consists of 50 members. Polizotto is serving both at HHS and at the state level as the District Administrator of Indiana, where she oversees 135 clubs. Members do countless service projects, leadership activities, and attend different conferences and workshops.
Three years ago, Elijah Puente, Key Club Indiana Governor at the time, began to work with Polizotto and Taka Ogata to form a sister club between HHS and a Key Club in Kobe, Japan. Last year, Kenjie DeCastro and Polizotto officially signed as a sisterhood between HHS and Canadian Academy Key Club in Kobe, Japan. Students in Key Club meet with the members from Japan monthly through Zoom doing different workshops and service projects.
“Out of all the Key Clubs in the entire world, and there’s over 1,000, we are the first ones to sign an international treaty,” said Polizotto.
This year, Polizotto was invited to Japan in May along with two students, President Grace Krejci and Vice President Abigail Allen, for nine days to attend different events and give speeches.
Polizotto’s favorite part about advising Key Club is seeing how her students thrive from the experiences and watching their growth from freshmen to seniors as they get involved in different service projects as they gain confidence.
“Just seeing the opportunities that are out there for these kids and watching them take advantage of it is cool because this is what students go to college for, but they are doing it in high school,” said Polizotto.
Polizotto stays pretty busy during the school year with this position, but she enjoys supporting her students by attending different sports games or events throughout the year. In any freetime she may have, Polizotto loves to travel. She has been to 15 countries and is going to be taking a group of students to France and Italy during Spring Break of 2025.
“I love learning new things, trying new foods, and meeting new people so traveling has always been a way for me to experience that!” said Polizotto.
Student spotlight:
Addy Black is a senior at HHS and has spent the last four years enjoying every minute of her high school experience. She balances both her varsity athletics with her honors academic life, maintaining high A’s throughout the past four years.
Black began her track and cross country journey in middle school, and she carried that passion into high school. Her freshman year, she lettered in both sports. She is going to finish out her senior year running long distance in track.
“Running has been my favorite part of school. Getting to share the same moments as my fellow teammates, we really became a family,” said Black.
This past winter, Black managed the Boys and Girls Swim teams for the first time. She was in charge of taking splits for all the swimmers while also being their biggest cheerleader. She really enjoyed getting to spend time with the team and putting herself in a new environment.
“Since it was my senior year, I wanted to do something new. I really encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zones and try something different,” said Black.
After high school, Black plans to continue her education in radiation therapy at either Indiana University Indianapolis or Ball State University. Having an impact on others' lives pushed her into going into the medical field.
“Everyone always asks what class I took that persuaded me to go into this field, but the truth is I began thinking about this career when my grandma was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. Seeing the treatment process, I knew I wanted to help others that were going through that,” said Black.
Outside of school, Black currently works at Dairy Queen where she has met some amazing friends. She is also taking advantage of the time left before college to spend time with both her family and friends by attending different HHS sports events and activities.