Morristown, Waldron announce intent to discontinue competing in Shelby County tournaments

Waldron Athletic Director Tommy Coy fully realizes the implication of the decision by Shelby Eastern Schools to pull out of participating in further Shelby County Tournaments.

The announcement released Monday separately by all four county schools – the Shelby Eastern Schools of Morristown and Waldron as well as Triton Central and Southwestern – brought shock and dismay to many.

Both Coy and Morristown Athletic Director Dan Theobald understand the emotions involved. And both insist the decision was not a spur-of-the-moment, knee-jerk reaction, but rather the conclusion to months of internal discussions between all four schools.

Talks initially centered on ending all county tournaments below the high school level because of lack of competitive balance and sheer lack of number of participating athletes.

More discussion followed the conclusion of the 2026 Shelby County basketball tournaments, one in which the 100^th year for the boys' tournament and 50^th year for the girls' tournament were celebrated.

Waldron hosted the 2026 Shelby County Basketball tournaments.

Dwindling attendance figures, even for a historic event like this year’s county basketball tournaments hosted by Waldron, and an overall lack of interest from its student-athletes bothered by the lack of a competitive atmosphere drove the final decision.

“Our job as athletic directors is to think about the athletic program as a whole and not just one specific sport,” said Morristown athletic director Dan Theobald Tuesday afternoon.

Several options were explored, including ending all county tournaments except basketball. That just didn’t seem fair to Coy or Theobald.

“It got to the point where we were all (in agreement) on ending the junior high (county) tournaments,” said Coy Tuesday morning. “Then we were on the brink of keeping basketball but not everything else. I felt it wasn’t right putting basketball on a pedestal above everything else.”

“It was hard for me to pick one or two tournaments (to keep),” said Theobald, a 2003 Morristown graduate who has participated and coached in past county tournaments.

With the release of statements online, confusion and disappointment followed. While there was no public input collected during the discussion process, both Coy and Theobald talked with their respective sports coaches and several student athletes.

The apathy expressed by the students caught them off guard.

“I talked to most of our coaches quite a bit and asked them what they thought,” said Coy, who was the baseball coach at Waldron and a teacher in the school system before becoming athletic director just last fall. “They were supportive of whatever decision was made.”

Triton Central's 2025 Shelby County Tournament champions in girls tennis.

Coy said he has not heard from one coach expressing disapproval with the decision. He admits there may be those opinions, but none have been brought to his attention.

Coy also said he talked with several student-athletes at the school. Again, no backlash as to the decision.

Theobald expressed similar sentiment to his in-school discussions with coaches and athletes.

“There were a couple of coaches that wanted to keep things the same,” said Theobald. “There were some coaches that didn’t want to play any longer. And there were some coaches in the middle.”

Shelby Eastern Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Hitchcock was supportive of the decision.

Morristown's 2025 Shelby County Girls Track and Field championship squad.

At the heart of the discussion was Triton Central’s dominance over the last decade in nearly every county tournament. Both Coy and Theobald found athletes not excited for another county tournament because of the Tigers’ overall success rate.

The 2026 county basketball tournaments had running clocks in four of the six games contested. In the history of the girls' tournament, Triton Central has never lost a semifinal game.

Triton Central’s baseball dominance in the tournament stretches more than a decade now. The Tigers’ softball program has never lost a game in the tournament.

In Coy’s first year as athletic director, he put great emphasis on making the milestone county basketball tournaments a big event.

“It didn’t hit like I thought it would,” admitted Coy.

Waldron hosted the 2018 county tournament and made just over $12,000 off the event that was split four ways – each school getting $3,100.

The 2026 tournament netted $5,600 – or $1,400 per school.

The costs associated with running a county tournament are not an issue. Coy just feels like the event has lost its luster in the 21^st Century.

“The financials have to be something we have to take into account. That was never a decision from mine and Dan’s end,” said Coy. “It was part of the discussion. We are not losing money. We are not making money either. We know that’s not what we are doing these tourneys for. The attendance is dropping.”

“We really thought the 100^th year (of the boys' tournament) would be a packed house – a big event,” said Theobald. “It wasn’t.”

Triton Central won the 2025 Shelby County Baseball Tournament.

While Triton Central athletic director Bryan Graham agreed there needed to be discussions about moving on from county tournaments below the high school level, the escalation to end all high school county tournaments was surprising.

“I respect the decision. I understand some of their decision making in that,” he said. “The county (tournament) doesn’t have the same meaning. You already know the results.”

The enrollment differences between Triton Central and the three smaller county schools are significant. Based on the most recent Indiana High School Athletic Association release of enrollment figures, Triton Central’s high school enrollment is 482. The enrollment at Waldron (185), Morristown (176) and Southwestern (149) totals 510 students.

And Triton Central has built itself into one of the strongest Class 2A athletic programs in the state.

• Football has produced double-digit win seasons in six of the last eight years
• Volleyball won 25 matches this past season and reached the Final Four before losing to eventual state champion Barr-Reeve
• Boys basketball won 23 games and sectional and regional championships this past season before losing in the semistate to eventual state champion Parke Heritage
• Girls basketball has won at least 20 games in a season in nine of the last 15 years
• Baseball won 20 games and a sectional championship in 2025
• Softball has won regional championships twice in the last four seasons

The three school corporations did agree to keep their respective junior high teams on all regular season schedules.

At the high school level, that decision to continue to playing Triton Central, which is the only school of the four not in the Mid-Hoosier Conference or same class (TC is 2A, Morristown, Southwestern and Waldron are Class A), will occur on a sport-by-sport basis.

“Time will tell,” said Theobald. “We have not made any blanket decisions on the high school sports. We will still play in junior high sports.”

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