By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Matt Wilson, starting center on the Campbell County boys’ basketball teams that won back-to-back 10th Region championships, will continue his career at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
The 6-foot-8, 235-pound senior made his commitment last week, according to Campbell County coach Aric Russell.
“We know that he has a very bright future ahead of him in basketball, and especially with the education he will receive at West Point,” Russell said. “It takes a special young man to take on this challenge and Matt is just that. I’m personally very proud of him and know he will do great things.”
West Point graduates serve as commissioned officers in the U.S. Army. The basketball team competes on the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Patriot League. The Black Knights finished last season with a 15-15 record.
Wilson has scored more than 800 points and snagged more than 350 rebounds in his last two seasons as a starting center for Campbell County. He was voted to the Northern Kentucky Basketball Coaches Association Division I All-Star Team both of those years.
Last season, Wilson averaged 14.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 54 percent from the field. He was named most valuable player on the 10th Region all-tournament team after scoring 22 points and pulling down 17 rebounds in the championship game against Scott.
In the 2014 10th Region final, Wilson had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help the Camels come away with a win over Montgomery County.
Ryle quarterback among the state’s leading passers after four games
Ryle junior quarterback Tanner Morgan has already passed for 1,072 yards in four games this season, but he currently ranks second in the state behind Bullitt Central senior Cameron Dukes, who has 1,255 passing yards.
After opening the season with a 451-yard passing performance against Covington Catholic, Morgan has thrown for 621 yards in the Raiders’ last three games. Dukes surged into the lead by passing for 1,068 yards in his last three games for Bullitt Central.
Both of their teams are off to 4-0 starts, but they won’t be playing each other this season. Ryle competes on the Class 6A level while Bullitt Central is in Class 5A.
Morgan is on pace to exceed 2,000 passing yards for the third consecutive year. As the starting quarterback for Hazard High School, he threw for 2,346 yards as a freshman and 2,536 yards as a sophomore.
Morgan, who transferred to Ryle last December after his mother got a teaching job in the Boone County school system, has already received scholarship offers from several major colleges, including Louisville, Wake Forest and Cincinnati.
Brossart boys’ soccer team advances to All “A” Classic boys’ state tournament
Brossart defeated St. Henry, 4-2, in the sectional round of the All “A” Classic boys’ soccer playoffs on Thursday to secure a berth in the eight-team state tournament to be played Sept. 26-27 at Capitol View Park in Frankfort.
The score was tied, 1-1, at halftime before Brossart pulled away. Dylan Geiman had two goals and one assist for the Mustangs. The team’s other two goals were scored by Justin Rolf.
This is the third consecutive year that Brossart has advanced to the small-school state tournament. The Mustangs won the 2013 state championship and lost in the title game last year.
In the girls’ sectional final played on Wednesday, Newport Central Catholic posted a 3-1 win over Brossart to advance to the girls’ small-school state playoffs. The eight sectional winners in the girls’ bracket will also compete in a state tournament on Sept. 26-27 at Capitol View Park in Frankfort.
Both of the local sectional winners will face teams from Oneida Baptist Institute in the opening round of the All “A” Classic state tournament on Saturday, Sept. 26. The NewCath vs. Oneida Baptist girls’ game will kickoff at 11 a.m. and the Brossart vs. Oneida Baptist boys’ game is set for 1 p.m.
Knee injury cuts short Holmes grad’s first year on West Virginia basketball team
Holmes graduate James “Beetle” Bolden is expected to miss the 2015-16 men’s basketball season at West Virginia University after suffering a torn ACL and sprained MCL in his right knee last Saturday.
There were no details on the wvusports.com website about how Bolden sustained the injury. The 6-foot freshman guard had already made a good impression on his coaches and teammates by getting 32 points, 10 steals and eight assists in three games that the Mountaineers played in the Bahamas during August.
Following surgery, Bolden will work with Randy Meador, coordinator of athletic training services at West Virginia, to recover from the injury. If he does miss the upcoming season, Bolden should still have four years of eligibility as a college athlete.
“Obviously, our thoughts are with Beetle as he prepares for surgery and begins the rehabilitation process,” said West Virginia coach Bob Huggins. “Beetle’s a great kid, and I know he will put the time in with Randy and come back stronger and hungrier than ever.”
CovCath cross country coach discontinues long-standing invitational meet
After watching his team sweep the boys’ varsity and junior varsity team titles in the 48th annual Covington Catholic Invitational on Saturday, CovCath cross country coach Tom Arnold announced his decision to discontinue one of the state’s long-standing high school events.
“We will not host this meet in future seasons due to low attendance,” Arnold said in an email. “The market for invitational meets is over-saturated and teams are choosing to attend other meets this weekend for many reasons.”
In the final CovCath Invitational on Saturday, there were 43 runners in the boys’ varsity race and 27 in the girls’ varsity race. Four years ago, there were more than 80 runners in each of those races and those numbers have dwindled steadily since then.
The winning runners in Saturday’s 5,000-meter varsity races were CovCath sophomore Owen Piatt in 17:42 and Walton-Verona freshman Megan Wells in 22:10. Walton-Verona also won the girls’ varsity team title.