Welcome to another special summer poll as our readers pick the Herald-Times IU Health 2025-26 Team of the Year.
Sorry, IU football is not eligible with the choices limited to the top high school teams in the Bloomington area.
Congratulations to Edgewood’s football/basketball/baseball standout Carter Hayden, who won the Boys Athlete of the Year poll with 34.9% of the vote (2,517) to top Lighthouse Christian’s Timothy Lautenbach (28.9%).
Readers may vote as much as they like until the poll closes on Thursday, July 16 at noon. Here are the nominees:
South baseball
Panthers capped off the school year with a thrilling run to the Class 4A title game, that included winning a 1-0 game while being no-hit in the semi-state final. It was their first appearance in the final since BHS did it 1972.
Lighthouse Christian girls basketball
Coming off a 1-win season, the Lions went 11-12 winning the first sectional game in program history, dumping Dugger Union behind 38 points from Ellie Mae Winders.
South girls basketball
It was a tough ending with the injury to Julia Lashley, but the Panther seniors put on another good show, finishing 19-6 after beating North and then Terre Haute South for a sectional title.
North boys cross country
The Cougars made it back to the podium as a team, taking fourth place in Charlie Warthan’s last year as head coach lead by Jacob Mitchell (fifth), Caelan D’Onorfrio (10th) and Caleb Winders (20th).
South girls cross country
Panthers posted the program’s best finish ever, taking third, led by Jasmine Martoglio (ninth), Lexi Kollbaum (15th), Aurelia Martoglio (37th) and Mary Asplund (56th).
South football
The Panthers went 11-2, winning the last Conference Indiana title and then a fifth straight sectional and a third straight regional in Class 5A.
Edgewood girls golf
The Mustangs had never made it out of sectional as a team until this year’s group, Marley Jackson, Boston Chambers, Ava Norton, Libby McElhinney and Eden Norton got the job done with a 387 and a third place finish.
South boys golf
The Panthers came up with their best when it mattered most, bouncing back from a runner-up finish at sectional with a season low 295 to take second at the Washington Regional.
Eastern Greene boys soccer
The T-Birds made plenty of history in their third season, going 8-7-2 and picking up the first two postseason wins in program history, beating Mitchell 5-3 behind a Griff Hengeveld hat trick, and Lighthouse Christian 3-1.
South boys soccer
Rebuilt Panthers, even after losing star player John Henry Berry, still went 17-2-3 under new coach Jake Kabrick, winning sectional and consecutive regional titles for the first time since 2015 before running into eventual champ Carmel.
Edgewood softball
Mustangs (27-5) were the area’s only sectional champion, coming up with a shocking 13-0 clubbing of 24-win No. 6 Cascade in the final before running into a hot New Palestine team at the 3A regional.
South boys swimming
The Panthers, led by two-time state champ Peter Kovacs, placed seventh as a team with 85 points.
Edgewood girls swimming
The Mustangs had their best finals ever at sectionals, tying for their highest finish, fourth, but with by far the most points they’ve ever scored (254), led by history-making two-time individual champ senior Ellie Vagedes.
South boys tennis
Panthers topped Bloomington North and Edgewood for the sectional title but had no luck against Avon in the regional final.
South girls tennis
Panthers repeated as sectional champions, reversing a regular season loss to North, then beat Greencastle to make the regional final vs. Plainfield.
North boys track and field
Won the first state team title in program history and Bloomington’s second dating back to 1904. Caleb Winders won the 800 title and the Cougars completed a four-year sweep of the 4×800 relay. Caelan D’Onofrio medaled in the 800 and 1,600, James Bosco in the 400 and Adis Hamidovic in the discus.
South girls track and field
Another best ever for the Panthers who were runners-up to power Carmel at the state meet with setting three school records. Ellie Barada won the 800 title with Adriene Shaevitz (100 hurdles) and Jasmine Martoglio (3,200) medaling. South was the only school to medal in all three relays.
North boys volleyball
Cougars’ first season was a memorable one, ending with a winning record and a trip to the sectional finals before losing to Evansville Memorial.
South girls volleyball
The Panthers (28-7) broke through with their first sectional title since 2018, beating Terre Haute North in five, Terre Haute South and Martinsville before the season was halted by Floyd Central at regional. South tied the program record for wins in a season dating to 1977.
Owen Valley boys wrestling
The Patriots proved their mettle in the postseason, tying a program record with 11 regional qualifiers, then pushing through the largest group ever at eight to semi-state. OV was third at sectional and fourth at regional as a team.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: VOTE Herald-Times 2025-26 Team of the Year poll presented by IU Health
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
