The Penn High School Jazz Combo, under the direction of Mr. Lavon Oke, received the "Judges Award" (third place) at the Purdue Jazz Festival on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The prestigious Purdue Jazz Festival is the largest Jazz Festival in Indiana.

David Richards was also awarded a $200 scholarship to the Indiana University Summer Music Clinic as an Outstanding Soloist.

Penn Jazz Combo members are Ashton Hershberger, Matt Long, Chris Mazurek, Chase Murray, Brian Oke, Santiago Retzloff, and David Richards.

Penn High’s Girls Wrestling Team repeated as the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling State Championship in the second season for the event, outdistancing the state finals field at Lawrence North High School on Friday, Jan. 19.

Penn placed first with 193 points to claim the 2018 State Crown. Hamilton Heights placed second with 64 points. Lafayette Jefferson was third with 59 points.

Penn boasted four individual state champions — Jaden Johnson (88), Madison Burke (152), Aiesha Helepa (170) and Andelisia Henry (220).

Penn results

88: Jaden Johnson, 1st.

106: Eryn Benak, 5th.

126: Anjali Pant, 3rd.

132: Olivia Nixon, 8th.

138: Grace Selis, 4th; Emily Spitaels, 7th; Karmyn Pollock, 8th.

145: Emma Ringer, 5th; Autumn Hale, 6th; Ashley Benak, 7th

152: Madison Burke, 1st.

160: Amanda Feder, 2nd.

170: Aiesha Helepa, 1st

182: Sadie Kunze, 7th

195: Katie Selis, 4th.

220: Andelisia Henry, 1^st

​

The Penn Girls Basketball Team wrapped up the Northern Indiana Conference Championship with a 33-31 victory at South Bend St. Joseph on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Penn is 11-0 in the NIC, and 20-1 overall.

Sara Doi led the Kingsmen with 15 points.

Tia Chambers and Jordyn Smith added seven points each in Penn’s victory.

The Kingsmen look to complete a perfect NIC season when next week they face Mishawaka at home on Thursday, Jan. 25, for senior night.

By DAVID OBERT

​Student Reporter

Paul Moala has been impressing fans on the football field for four years. This 6-foot-1, 200-pound defensive back made big plays for the Penn Kingsmen all season.

On Saturday, Jan. 20, Moala hopes to make big plays in the Polynesian Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kickoff is set for 11 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed online at ESPN3.

In his senior season for the Kingsmen, Moala scored a total of eight touchdowns — two from returned kickoffs, two from returned punts, two defensive touchdowns, and two receiving touchdowns.

Moala was a force to be reckoned with on the Wild Bunch this season, leading the team with 79 tackles, recovering two fumbles, and intercepting a pass. Opposing teams feared him, coming off a great 2016 season where he picked off seven passes — four of which he returned for touchdowns.

All of these incredible feats earned him the title of Indiana High School Defensive Player of the Year, and a scholarship from the University of Notre Dame to play for the Fighting Irish.

Added to this list of honors is his invitation to play in the Polynesian Bowl.

The Polynesian Bowl will be played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, Jan. 20. Dick Vermeil, who led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl title and Terry Donahue, who coached at UCLA will serve as the head coaches. NFL players Danny Shelton and DeForest Bucknerwell will serve as honorary team captains. The game ambassadors include the Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Baltimore Ravens’ Ronnie Stanley, the Tennessee Titans’ Marcus Mariota, and the Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Bennett.

You can see Penn’s Paul Moala playing for Team Mauka. He will wear No. 20 in a green jersey. Catch the game at 11 p.m. ET on Saturday, streaming live on ESPN3.

The Penn Girls Basketball Team beat South Bend St. Joseph, 33-31, on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Penn’s victory wrapped up the Northern Indiana Conference Championship.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Participate in the Indiana Pacers STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) Fest 2018 and you can help your school earn up to $2,000 through the STEM School Incentive program.

The school with the highest attendance at the Indiana Pacers STEM Fest 2018 when the Pacers take on the New York Knicks on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, will receive $2,000 to be used toward STEM kits or equipment.

Click this link to purchase tickets. The deadline to order tickets is Thursday, Feb. 1.

The Indiana Pacers STEM Fest 2018 is being conducted in partnership with CONEXUS INDIANA.

Here are the details:

• Sunday, February 11, 2018
• Bankers Life Fieldhouse
• STEM Fest: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks: 5 p.m.

Discover Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math through hands-on activities with local Indiana companies, universities, and non-profit organizations. Enjoy a fun-filled day as you get a glimpse into how the Indiana Pacers and other local teams use STEM in SPORTS! Come back for the Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks game starting at 5 p.m. Tickets are only $10 per person for both the STEM Fest and the Pacers game!

INDIANA PACERS STEM FEST 2018 FOR FAMILIES:

A STEM Mentor from a local company, university, or non-profit organization will take your family on an interactive journey through various STEM activities on the main concourse of Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Concession stands will be open and available to purchase food & beverage throughout the STEM Fest. Participants can meet Pacers Mascot Boomer and the Pacemates. Participants will also see how the Pacers & other local sports teams use STEM in SPORTS.

Activities also include "Get in the Lane with STEM" and meet future college representatives & employers representing STEM organizations – it’s never too early to start helping your children plan for their future!

Parking will be available in the Virginia Avenue Garage on a first come, first served basis for $15 per space for covered parking, and $6 per space for rooftop parking (limited number of spaces available)

TICKETS ARE LIMITED & SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. HURRY AS THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT! WALK-UP TICKETS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON DAY OF EVENT. TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE!

THE DEADLINE TO ORDER TICKETS IS: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018.

The Penn Boys Basketball Team beat Northridge, 78-67, in double overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 16.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Penn point guard Drew Lutz scored the first seven points of the second overtime to ignite a 17-point Kingsmen explosion in the period and help Penn outlast Northridge, 78-67, in a double-overtime high school basketball battle on Tuesday, Jan. 16. Penn outscored Northridge 17-6 in the second overtime.

Penn Head Coach Al Rhodes praised the defensive effort of the Kingsmen, which held Northridge scoreless in the first overtime.

“A huge key to the win was the defensive work of Beau Ludwick, Drew Schneider, and Luke Carlton!!!” Rhodes said.

“Lutz’s 7-0 run featured three fearless driving lay-ups (including an And-1) as the Kingsmen bolted to the victory after a scoreless first overtime period.

Lutz finished with 21 points, six assists and six rebounds. He also nailed a buzzer-beater 3 at the end of the third quarter to give Penn a 50-49 lead.

Noah Applegate and Kegan Hoskins each posted a double-double for Penn.

Applegate led the Kingsmen with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Hoskins scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Lutz, Applegate and Hoskins are all juniors.

PENN 78: Drew Lutz 21, Drew Schneider 2, Beau Ludwick 4, Luke Carlton 2, Noah Applegate 28, Noah Krathwohl 3, Kegan Hoskins 18, Jeffrey Hemmelgarn 0.

Northridge 67: Connor Utley 18, Braden Tadeo 2, Joey Rowan 3, Nick Yoder 9, Camden Knepp 3, Jackson Erekson 11, Kyle Carson 6, Micah Yoder 4, Alex Stauffer 5, Josh Hochstetler 0, Carter Stoltzfus 6.

PENN             21        12        17        11        0          17 – 78

Northridge     14        18        17        12        0          6 – 67

Three-pointers: PENN 5 (Noah Applegate 3, Drew Lutz 2); Northridge 12 (Erekson 3, Utley 2, Yoder 2, Stoltzfus 2, Rowan 1, Knepp 1, Stauffer 1).

Penn's Girls Swim Team earned its 22nd consecutive Northern Indiana Conference Championship.

The Kingsmen placed second to South Bend St. Joseph in the NIC meet on Saturday, Jan. 13, but the Kingsmen were undefeated and won the regular-season crown, with St. Joe placing second in the regular season.

Penn won the NIC Championship by virtue of the tiebreaker, which was Penn beating St. Joseph in the head-to-head regular-season competition.

Makenna Bottorff and Maddie Ziegert won NIC Championships in four events each.

Penn High School boasted six individual champions and stormed to the Northern Indiana Conference Championship at the league meet on Saturday, Jan. 13.

The Kingsmen of Coach Brad Harper finished with 292 points. Mishawaka finished with 219 points.

Penn’s title is the eighth in a row for the Kingsmen.

Penn's Tanner DeMien started off the Kingsmen championship parade when he captured the 126-pound weight class NIC Championship with a pin in 1:39.

Michael Garcia, a last-minute entry at 160 due to the illness of Kingsmen starter Colin Wilson, pulled off a series of upsets to claim the NIC crown. He won the final with a 5-2 decision.

Noah Brown earned the NIC title at 170 with an 8-3 victory in the final.

Max Chaffee's pin in 5:43 earned him the 182 NIC title.

Rockne Hurley captured the NIC Championship at 195 with a thrilling 2-1 victory in double overtime.

Adam Berta claimed the NIC crown in the 220 division with a pin in 2:45.