Caylie Teel keeps a close eye on the state’s top player, Princeton’s Jackie Young, at last weekend’s state finals. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

AKRON – Last Saturday, the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team ended its historic season by finishing as the IHSAA Class 3-A state runner-up in the program’s first-ever title game appearance. While the run for the Lady Vikings was far from expected by anyone in the Valley community, perhaps one girl should have seen it coming.

Valley senior Caylie Teel played a major role in her team’s postseason run serving as a co-captain and stalwart defender for the Lady Vikings. But it’s Teel’s lineage that makes her appearance in the state championship so interesting.

“I guess it runs in the family,” remarked a smiling Teel.

The senior became a third generation state finalist with when she started against Princeton last weekend, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandfather.

Lorene (Spearman) Teel made her name known as a track star while at Wawasee High School. She made her first state appearance in the 1974-75 season as a freshman where she won the 220-yard dash. That was the first of three individual titles won in the event (1975-76, 1976-77) making her only the second female runner to accomplish the feat at the time.

Lorene Teel hugs her daughter Caylie after her team be Rochester to win semi-state.

The 1975-76 season was the pinnacle of Spearman’s career as she not only claimed the title in the 220, but also the 100-yard dash and 440-yard relay. By the end of that championship meet, Spearman and Wawasee claimed the state title, the first and still only IHSAA state team championship in school history. The 1975-76 Lady Warriors also remain as the smallest team (four athletes) to win a state title.

But how does the state finals experience compare nearly 40 years later?

“It was just as nerve-racking as what my daughter did out there tonight,” Lorene Teel said with a laugh.

It makes one wonder how the experience of being in a state championship event compares even further back. Roughly, 69 years back.

“It’s different now than it was back then,” stated Robert “Bob” Spearman, Caylie’s grandfather.

“But,” added Spearman in a way that only a grandfather could, “the thrill, the honor and the privilege is still there. Win, lose or draw, it’s still an honor to be on that floor.”

That’s a good point, but what makes Spearman a good source for knowledge on the subject of Indiana state championships? Experience, and a lot of it.

Before being the first in a now highly decorated line of athletes, Spearman ran track and played basketball at Anderson High School. While there he was a member of four state championship teams, winning team track titles in 1944, 1946 and 1947 and the school’s second basketball title in 1946.

Caylie’s family shows its love and support as she accepts her state runner-up medal.

Basketball and track success seems to run in the family, and while Caylie Teel reaped the rewards on the court this season, she almost missed out as she was intent on focusing are her true passion, volleyball.

“Oh, she was adamant that she was not playing basketball this season,” stated Lorene Teel. “She did not want to go out for basketball at all. She told us ‘no’ I don’t know how many times.”

But, she played basketball.

“It was definitely a big ‘We told you so’ moment for my parents,” Caylie admitted. “I obviously couldn’t be any happier with the decision I made because we have come so far.

“Making it to the finals is a great experience and I am glad I could kind of uphold that tradition of being a state finalist in my family.”

Now that the basketball career is officially over for Teel, she can turn her attention fully to playing volleyball at Grace College next fall.

“It makes me truly happy to be playing so close to home,” Caylie stated with a noticeable level of excitement. “I’ve already had people from the community telling me that they are going to come see me play next year.

“I couldn’t be more excited to start playing for Grace. This chapter of my life was great, but I can’t wait to see what this next chapter has in store for me.”