By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
After the final relay event in the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference track and field championship meet for small schools on Tuesday, Newport Central Catholic coach Dave Ueding told everyone on his boys’ team to go home instead of waiting for the final scores to be announced.
About an hour later, Ueding found out his team won the boys’ conference title for the first time in his 45-year coaching career at NewCath by a one-point margin.
“I thought we were going to end up being third by eight or 10 points,” Ueding said. “But most of my kids did about as good as they could’ve done. It was just a big surprise.”
All of the track events in the conference meet were relays. In each of the field events, two teammates combined their best distance or height and points were awarded according to the totals.
NewCath placed first, second or third in all but two events and finished with 95 points. That was one point better than Brossart, last year’s Class A state champion, and St. Henry, the host of the conference meet.
“I’ve always said, and I think it holds true to every team, that you’re as good as your seniors,” Ueding said. “And our seniors are pretty darn good.”
Brossart has now placed second by close margins in three local meets this spring. The Mustangs finished one point behind Covington Catholic in the Diocese of Covington Championships and one-half point behind St. Henry in the Donnie Carnes Invitational.
Brossart coach Chris Davis said two of his top athletes did not compete in the conference meet due to medical problems.
“It took a good team effort for us to stay up with them,” Davis said of NewCath and St. Henry. “You can’t be missing guys against those two schools and expect to win.”
The girls’ conference meet for small-school teams was dominated by defending Class A state champion St. Henry. The Crusaders finished with 125 points, followed by NewCath with 54 and Beechwood with 50.
The conference meet for large-school teams is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26 at Campbell County High School.