Erin Clemens was one of seven Warsaw Community High School basketball players chosen as Honorable Mention Academic All-State by the IBCA. (File photo by Mike Deak)

INDIANAPOLIS – Sixty-nine Indiana high school seniors – 35 boys and 34 girls – have been chosen as First-Team Academic All-State by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

In addition, 180 more boys and 139 more girls were recognized as Honorable Mention Academic All-State for 2015, IBCA executive director Steve Witty said.

Of all the nominees, seven Warsaw boys and girls basketball players were selected Honorable Mention by the panel of judges from the IBCA.

Earning status from the Warsaw boys basketball team were Rashaan Jackson, Jake Mangas, Nick Sands and Tim Swanson. For the Warsaw girls basketball team were Jodie Carlson, Erin Clemens and Vicki Harris.

The IBCA Academic All-State team is a program where academic prowess and athletic prowess both are considered in the selections. Items such as grade-point average, college board scores and academic class rank are considered along with athletic performance in areas such as points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game and shooting percentage.

“The quality of these student-athletes shows that success in academics and success in athletics are not separate entities,” Witty said. “Rather, in many cases, a player’s success in the classroom directly contributes to his or her success on the floor.”

IBCA-member head coaches from schools across the state may nominate their seniors who meet criteria that include a 3.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale, a class rank in the upper 25 percent of one’s class, an SAT score of 1,500 or an ACT score of 23.

The IBCA has selected an Academic All-State team for boys since 1973. The program was expanded to include a girls’ Academic All-State team in 1980.

Earning boys Academic All-State First Team on a local level were Blake Berger of LaVille, Sol Brenneman of Bethany Christian, Jeremy Coney of Central Noble, Nick Floyd of Jimtown, Ryan Lutz of Penn and Jasen Webb of New Prairie.

Earning girls Academic All-State First Team on a local level were Claire Comer of Wabash and Cassandra Morton of Penn.

Earning boys Academic All-State Honorable Mention on a local level were Seth Adelsperger of Peru, Justin Bachelder of Columbia City, Chase Bair of John Glenn, Nolan Brimbury of Peru, Mason Coverstone of Columbia City, Bill Doslak of Penn, Cassten Everidge of Prairie Heights, Logan Gerke of DeKalb, Blake Goss of Churubusco, Cole Hartman of DeKalb, Jacob Heller of Prairie Heights, Noah Kirk of Southwood, Cameron Maxwell of Elkhart Memorial, Nate Miller of Penn, Taylor O’Dell of Argos, Jacob Strong of John Glenn, Alex Turnbow of Churubusco and Sam Weiss of John Glenn.

Earning girls Academic All-State Honorable Mention on a local level were Taylor Beachy of DeKalb, Maddy Fifer of DeKalb, Taylor Fisher of West Noble, Cara Groff of West Noble, Mickella Hardy of Culver Community, Macie Hinen of Columbia City, Taylor Miller of Northridge, Baily Rentsschler of Columbia City, Tatum Schultz of Culver Community, Alexis Shepherd of West Noble and Shelby Stone of Wabash.