Where does one even start with ranking the 10 best athletes from Penn High School the last 25 years?
Penn isn’t just a standard bearer for high school athletics in the South Bend area, but for the state as a whole. Since the turn of the century, the Kingsmen have won 14 state titles: four in baseball, three in girls golf, two each in girls soccer and volleyball, and one each in girls basketball, football, softball and wrestling. There have been dozens of other teams to reach the state finals as well, not to mention the several individual state champions crowned at Penn.
All of this is to say that picking the 10 best of this era is difficult. And if you’re selected, you’re truly one of the best this area has had to offer in the 21st century so far.
More:Find all of the Tribune's high school "best of the last 25 years" stories here
Without further ado, here is the Tribune’s list of the 10 best Penn athletes of the last 25 years, in alphabetical order. Numerous honorable mentions are listed below as well.
Markus Burton, class of 2023
Burton became the first boys basketball player from the area in nearly three decades to win the prestigious Indiana Mr. Basketball award. His 2,273 points scored is the most for any Saint Joseph County boys basketball player and ranks 24th all-time in state history. The current Notre Dame sophom*ore led Penn to two sectionals and a regional title, reaching the semistate championship game in 2023 as well.
Lily Christianson, class of 2024
Christianson finished her swimming career with six state championships, including three in her senior season. It’s the second-most individual state titles for a girls swimmer in the area’s history. Christianson also competed in the 2024 Olympic Trials this summer before she heads to North Carolina State University for her collegiate career.
Annie Drews, class of 2012
Although she couldn’t suit up for Penn until the regional round of the 2010 postseason, Drews made her time with the Kingsmen volleyball program count. She helped Penn finish off a Class 4A state title in 2010, then led it to a repeat championship in 2011. Drews was named a high school All-American after her senior season. She’s found volleyball success since high school, notably winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Bethany Galat, class of 2014
Before Christianson won six swimming state titles, Galat was the school’s all-time leader in that category with five. Galat was a three-time state champ in the 200-yard individual medley (2012-14) and two-time champion in the 100-yard breaststroke (2013, 2014). She helped Penn finish as the team state runner-up in 2013, tied for the best finish at the finals in program history.
Drew Hildebrandt, class of 2016
Hildebrandt had a dominant final two seasons on the wrestling mat, finishing state runner-up at 113 pounds as a junior and winning the 120-pound division state title as a senior. His combined record those two seasons was 84-2. His runner-up showing helped the Kingsmen team win the 2015 state championship.
Sarah Hildebrandt, class of 2011
Nobody has arguably had a greater impact on a sport from our area in the last 25 years than Sarah Hildebrandt with wrestling. She became the first female in IHSAA tournament history to reach the semistate round, doing so in 2010. Hildebrandt also won a match at the now-defunct team state championship meet, the only woman to win there as well. She is a seven-time gold medalist at the Pan American Wrestling Championships, a four-time medalist at the World Wrestling Championships and earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She will compete for Team USA once again at the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.
Kristina Lynch, class of 2018
Lynch led Penn to back-to-back girls soccer state championships in 2016 (2A) and 2017 (3A), graduating as the program’s all-time leader in points (328), goals (130) and assists (68). Lynch was named Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year and a USA Today All-American in both 2016 and 2017, the national player of the year by United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer in 2017 and the IndyStar’s Female Athlete of the Year for the 2017-18 season. Lynch went onto win two NCAA national titles at Florida State (2018, 2021) before wrapping up her collegiate career at Notre Dame.
Julia Potter, class of 2006
Potter was on all three Penn girls golf teams that won state championships in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Her best individual finish at state came in 2004 when she tied for medalist honors, losing the championship in a playoff to North Decatur’s Angela Gauck. The 68 Potter shot in her second round in 2005 is tied for the second lowest in state tournament history. Potter went onto play golf collegiately at the University of Missouri and won U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur championships in 2013 and 2016.
Skylar Szynski, class of 2016
Szynski was a dominant pitcher for the Penn baseball team, especially in his final two seasons. Across the 2015 and 2016 campaigns, Szynski compiled a 20-3 record with a 1.40 ERA and 202 strikeouts, which included pitching a complete game in a 3-2 victory in the 2015 Class 4A state championship game. Szynski was drafted right out of high school, being taken in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics.
Danielle Watson, class of 2017
Watson was a sensational pitcher for the Penn softball program, helping the Kingsmen win three sectionals, three regionals and a semistate title during her tenure. She pitched no-hitters in both the sectional and regional final in 2016 as part of Penn’s state runner-up season. Watson finished with a 73-9 record, 0.96 ERA and 878 strikeouts in her four seasons with the Kingsmen. She went onto play collegiately at both Louisville and Florida State, reaching the Women’s College World Series with the latter in 2021.
Honorable mentions
Camden Bohn (class of 2016), Alexandria Brinker (class of 2012), Camryn Buhr (class of 2016), Braxston Cave (class of 2008), Trinity Clinton (class of 2020), Elijah co*ker (class of 2024), Ben Gregory (class of 2022), Kaitlyn Hickey (class of 2012), Niko Kavadas (class of 2017), Maya Locagnato (class of 2019), Ashleigh Macleod (class of 2017), Paul Moala (class of 2018), Chase Osborn (class of 2015), Brooke VanDyck (class of 2018), Mackenzie Wood (class of 2018), Kobe Woods (class of 2016), Madison Woods (class of 2014), Mikaylah Woods (class of 2015).
Special thanks to former Tribune sports reporter and current Penn teacher Curt Rallo for his help with this list.
