Tough schedule prepared Parke Heritage for run to state title

The dream for Treigh Schelsky was always there – cutting down the nets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

After three straight failures to reach the Class 2A state championship game, Schelsky helped get the Wolves to downtown Indianapolis on the last Saturday in March. And once there, Parke Heritage had to rely on every ounce of experience to prevail over Westview, 57-56.

“I was thinking about it all week, when you are in the state championship, you either win or lose,” said Schelsky after the postgame media conference. “I tried to think what would happen if we did win. You can’t really prepare for this. The emotions just come out. It is a great feeling that really hasn’t sunk in yet. I am just super proud of our guys and super happy for our guys and our coaches and the community that showed up today.”

The 2026 schedule was designed to challenge the Wolves. The overall number of wins was less important than winning the final game. The magic of an early-season buzzer-beating win was the sign something special was happening in Rockville. Schelsky drained a long three-pointer at the buzzer to defeat Class 4A, top 10-ranked  Terre Haute North on Nov. 29 to close out the Gobbler Games.

“That game was a crazy game,” recalled Schelsky. “It sounds weird but I’m not sure we totally deserved to win that game. But we fought back. Hit a crazy shot that early in the season. That gave me a lot of confidence … just to think back to then and see where we are now is crazy for me.”

Parke Heritage followed its scintillating win over Terre Haute North with a rout of North Vermillion, 77-45. The Class A Falcons finished one win short of reaching the Class A state championship game.

Three more wins followed before a marquee matchup with the top-ranked team in the state. The Wolves battled Fishers but did not have enough firepower to keep up with the Tigers, suffering a 60-38 defeat.

“That was great. Obviously we lost by 20 or so but going into that game, we had nothing to lose,” said Schelsky. “Those matchups only made us better. That did make us better. Seeing those kinds of athletes, the success Fishers has had the last 3-4 years is incredible so to be able to share the court with a program like that, and I think we are a great 2A program as well, I think it was a good game. I’m glad I got to play in it.”

The Wolves earned an overtime win over top-10 ranked Northview, 58-54, on Dec. 29 before losing in overtime one night later to Terre Haute North, 56-50.

Sitting at 9-2 as the calendar flipped to 2026, Parke Heritage would lose just twice more – on Jan. 17 to Zionsville (68-53) and Jan. 31 to Ben Davis (50-41).

“Ben Davis is a great team. They have a little better athletes than us,” said Schelsky. “Just seeing those kinds of athletes, maybe with more skills than teams in our area, helped us get to this point. We knew we might have to endure some losses throughout the season in order to get better.”

All four losses in Parke Heritage’s season came to 4A schools.

The Wolves needed overtime to escape its sectional opener at Greencastle, 56-44.

“A lot of our guys, even if they don’t  admit it, we’re playing really nervous that night,” said Schelsky. “We knew that would be a tough game as well. Our path has not been easy at all. Greencastle had a good season. We were fortunate to beat them twice during the regular season. Playing them on their home court in the first round of the sectional, we knew they would be amped up to play.”

The Wolves scored the sectional championship with wins over South Vermillion (85-22) and South Putnam (63-44). That set up a showdown with No. 5 Centerville that never materialized. Parks Heritage got off to a fast start and cruised to a 66-46 win and another trip to the Southport Semistate.

Parke Heritage’s ability to match any style of play and experience against 4A strength and size proved fruitful at the semistate against top-10 foes Triton Central and Linton Stockton.

The Wolves were comfortable with the slower pace to defeat Triton Central, 44-38, then endured a physical battle to knock out Linton, 66-53.

“The first game we knew was going to be tough no matter what,” said Schelsky. “Triton Central is a great team with a great player and a great coach. That game was slow. For us to win that type of slow-paced game showed a lot about our maturity.

“In the (championship) game and playing a team like Linton that is super physical and willing to go up and down with us, it was a good contrast of two styles. To be able to win two games like that definitely helped us.”

If Parke Heritage was nervous Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, it never showed. Brenden Goins sank a trio of first-quarter 3s to get the Wolves a 20-11 lead at the first break.

Westview settled in, scored the last five points of the second quarter and cut the lead to 30-28 at halftime.

Daniel Yoder and Bryce Yoder combined to hit five 3s in the third quarter but it was not enough to wrestle the lead from Parke Heritage. That came early in the fourth quarter on a Kaden Grau score at the rim and an Austin Schlabach 15 footer that put Westview up 52-48.

The Wolves were challenged – and responded.

“That is exactly what we talked about before the game – the tougher team was going to win this game,” said Schelsky. “We talked a lot about that this year. That is something this program tries to preach all the time is toughness. They made a lot of shots. It felt like every 3 they took went in but we withstood that. We were patient enough on offense in the second half and got some good shots and converted them.”

Schelsky and Isaac Pickel each scored at the rim to get the game tied at 52-all. The Wolves eventually led 55-54 and spread the floor to run the clock. Schlabach ended that plan with a steal and dunk for a 56-55 lead with 1:21 left on the clock.

Parke Heritage was running out of time. It needed a break.

It came in the form of a turnover when Leyton McMullen pressured Grau in front of the Warriors’ bench and he stepped out of bounds with 31 seconds left.

The Wolves looked to Schelsky to make on more play in his storied career. The senior guard attacked to the rim and when the defense collapsed on him, he found Pickel all alone for the state championship winning shot.

For Schelsky, Pickel and fellow senior Carter Kelly, their Parke Heritage careers ended with a win.

The 2027 Wolves will be a different team facing different challenges – and based on the success factor – a different postseason road.

“The guys that are coming back, we will be in (Class) 3A next year,” said Parke Heritage head coach Rick Schelsky. “It will look a lot different for the team we have coming back in terms of our tournament path due to the success factor.”

On Tuesday, the IHSAA revealed the sectional pairings for the next two-year cycle. The Wolves will compete in Class 3A, Sectional 28 with Bedford North Lawrence, Edgewood, Indian Creek, Northview and Owen Valley.

Carter Crum, who will be Parke Heritage’s leading returning scorer next season, is not yet ready to think about the road ahead.

“The last two years of my high school career we fell short in the last game,” he said from the podium while still wearing one of the championship game nets around his neck. “It feels good to finally break down that door.”