Penn Football electrifies Blazers for NIC title share

By GARRETT WENZEL

Penn's Kingsmen celebrated Senior Night in 2017 by capturing a share of the Program's 36th Northern Indiana Conference Championship and seventh in a row. The Kingsmen beat Elkhart Central 47-3 to clinch a share of the NIC North Division crown on Friday, Oct. 6. Penn can win the title outright in the season finale with a victory at Mishawaka on Friday, Oct. 13.

Hunter Whitlow scored on a 2-yard run on Penn's first drive to put the Kingsmen on top 7-0. 

Ryan Whiteman scored from the two as Penn built a 14-0 halftime lead.

Camryn Szynski ignited a huge second-half for the Kingsmen with 23-yard Pick-6 for a Kingsmen TD.

Whitlow scored his second TD of the night on the next possesion for the Kingsmen, a 10-yard run to put the Kingsmen up 27-0.

Zach Usenick made a sensational over-the-shoulder catch on a pass from Ryan Lynch for a 37-yard TD.

Trenton Horvath added touchdowns of 60 yards and two yards to complete the Kingsmen scoring.

Penn is 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the NIC North.

Atkins’ last-minute goal lifts Kingsmen to Boys Soccer Sectional Crown

By GARRETT WENZEL

Sammy Atkins scored a header goal off assists from Micah Craig and Hayden Hurn with 19 seconds left to stun South Bend Riley, 2-1, and lift Penn to the Championship of the South Bend Boys Soccer Sectional on Saturday, Oct. 7. It was the seventh consecutive Sectional Championship for Penn and the 11th overall.

Atkins struck in the 36th minute off an assist from Hurn to give Penn a 1-0 lead.

The Kingsmen, 15-1-2, play Goshen at 10:30 a.m. in the Merrillville Regional on Saturday, Oct. 14. The Penn-Goshen winner plays the Lake Central-Crown Point winner at 7:30 p.m. for the Regional title.

No. 1 Penn Girls Soccer storms to Sectional crown

By GARRETT WENZEL

No. 1-ranked Penn fought through a torrential downpour most of the game and overpowered LaPorte, 7-0, to capture the Class 3-A Sectional Championship on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Kingsmen own the state's best Sectional Championship winning streak, owning 11 Sectional Championships in a row.

Kristina Lynch ignited the Kingsmen attack off an assist from Lauren Cernak in the seventh minute.

Allie Lankowicz sliced through the LaPorte defense for a goal in the 19th minute.

Lynch scored her second goal in the 38th minute to give Penn a 3-0 lead.

Lynch wrapped up the hat trick one minute later, scoring in the 39th minute.

Molly McLaughlin scored off an assist from Lynch to put the Kingsmen up 5-0 in the 44th minute.

Brooke VanDyck scored in the 45th minute as the Kingsmen built their lead to 6-0.

VanDyck scores her second goal in the 48th minute to put the Kingsmen up 7-0.

Penn is (19-0-1) and plays Northridge at noon on Saturday, Oct. 14, at South Bend's Tallman/Beyrer Field in the Class 3-A Regional. The Penn-Northridge winner plays the Munster-Chesterton winner at 7 p.m. for the Regional Championship. 

Penn Girls Cross Country wins 14th consecutive sectional title

By ELIJAH HONESTY

Penn Girls Cross Country raced to its 14th consecutive Sectional Championship and 26th overall on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Erskine Golf Course in South Bend.

Penn dominated the Sectional, placing six runners in the Top 10 and seven in the Top 12.

The Kingsmen finished first with 29 points, followed by Mishawaka with 52 points. Penn advances to the Regional at Elkhart's Ox Bow Park on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Lauren Frank led Penn with a second-place finish in 20:15.72.

Brooke Neal was second in 20:20.64.

Reagan Hoke was third in 21:25.40, Riley Keppler was fourth in 21:35.88, and Aislynn Alkire was fifth in 21:38.94.

Penn Boys Cross Country repeats as Sectional Champions

The Penn Boys Cross Country team earned its second consecutive Sectional Championship as the Kingsmen claimed the title at Erskine Golf Course on Saturday, October 7.

The seniors helped lead the way for the Kingsmen as the Kingsmen managed to place five of their seven runners in the top 10 overall. 

Curtis Cornell led the Kingsmen by placing third overall, running a time of 17:14. 

Chandler Neal followed with a time of 17:24 and an overall place of fourth. 

Matt Long and Colton Shail placed fifth and sixth overall by running times of 17:31 and 17:39. Chad Piatt then crossed the finish line in a spot at ninth overall with a time of 17:58. 

The Penn Boys team earned their 22nd Sectional Championship by finishing with a final score of 27 points. The Kingsmen hope to carry their momentum heading into Regionals and win a Regional Championship at Oxbow Park on Saturday, October 14.

Three Penn players named first-team all-NIC Girls Golf

Penn's Lyvia Li, Grace Szklarek and Abbey Hamilton of Northern Indiana Conference Champion Penn were named first-team all-NIC.

Ryen DeToro of Penn was named honorable mention.

Penn won the NIC regular-season title with a 12-0 record, and the Kingsmen won the NIC tournament. 

Li was the NIC Tournament Medalist.

Penn Boys Soccer Sectional Championship Photo Gallery

The Penn Boys Soccer Team won its seventh consecutive Sectional Championship and 11th in program history with a thrilling 2-1 victory against South Bend Riley on Saturday, Oct. 7.

A Photo Gallery is posted below.

Kingsmen Power Couple: Vern and Ruth Thompson celebrate 50 years of being Penn season-ticket holders

By Eric Wood

Pennant Student Reporter

For about as long as about anyone can remember, my grandparents — Ruth and Vern Thompson — have been a constant staple at Penn Kingsmen football and basketball games. They have been loyal attendees since my uncle (their son), Mike, began playing in the PHS Marching Band in 1967.

That’s 50 years of wearing Black and Gold and cheering on the Kingsmen!

“We figured that since we were coming to the (marching band) events anyways, we might as well watch the football games, too,” Ruth said.

Vern & Ruth Thompson meet Dr. Thacker and Sen. Donnelly
Vern & Ruth Thompson meet Dr. Thacker and Sen. Donnelly

Ruth and Vern were honored at the football game vs. Elkhart Central (Friday, Oct. 6) for 50 years of Kingsmen loyalty. P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Thacker was joined by U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly, P-H-M Board Members Jamie Woods and Chris Riley, and Penn Principal Sean Galiher to honor Vern and Ruth midfield before kickoff. Click to watch the video below of the midfield recognition on Friday, October 6.

A couple of weeks before the recognition, my grandparents visited me at Penn. I sat down with them to find out what keeps them coming back year after year, my grandma always attests that the feeling of community and the excitement that Penn teams bring is special.

Penn student Eric Wood interviews his grandparents, Vern & Ruth Thompson
Penn student Eric Wood interviews his grandparents, Vern & Ruth Thompson

“It just never gets old,” Vern Thompson said. “It’s a great stress reliever after a long week. It’s always fun to go to the game, and fun to talk about the game afterwards.” 

Through both tumultuous and serene periods of their lives, my grandma and grandpa have remained devoted Kingsmen fans.  
 

My grandparents met at a square dance, whereas my grandpa describes, “It was love at first sight.”

Both grew up locally, Vern realizing his love of sports while playing basketball and running track at Madison, and Ruth playing drums in the marching band at Riley High School. She was the first female drummer in the Riley Marching Band.

The two happily married in 1950, just months before Vern would be shipped away to Fort Worth, Texas, to begin Army training. This past summer with U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Walorski’s help, Vern was finally awarded five medals for his service in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve during the Korean War: Good Conduct Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with three bronze service stars, and United Nations Service Medal. Click to watch a story that aired on WSBT after he received his long-awaited medals.

It’s been an honor to learn about community support and commitment from my grandparents.

And take it from someone who knows, there is nobody more deserving of being honored by Dr. Thacker and the Penn Community than my grandparents.

 

Vern & Ruth Thompson
Vern & Ruth Thompson in the stands cheering on the Kingsmen at one of their many games

Penn receives “A” letter grade from IDOE

With the release of the 2016-17 Accountability Grades, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is proud to have nine schools received A's:
 

Overall, 62 percent of Indiana schools received an A or B. For more information on and to view the 2016-17 School Accountability Grades, please click here to visit the IDOE website.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation has received an “A” grade from the Indiana Department of Education for the past seven years and expects to again be named an “A” Rated School District by the IDOE when that data is released.

Nine P-H-M Schools receive “A” letter grades from IDOE

With the release of the 2016-17 Accountability Grades, Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation is proud to have nine schools received A's:
 

Overall, 62 percent of Indiana schools received an A or B. For more information on and to view the 2016-17 School Accountability Grades, please click here to visit the IDOE website.

Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation has received an “A” grade from the Indiana Department of Education for the past seven years and expects to again be named an “A” Rated School District by the IDOE when that data is released.