By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
After closing the book on their high school sports careers with impressive senior seasons, Lexi Held of Cooper and A.J. Mayer of Covington Catholic were named LaRosa’s High School MVPs of the Year for 2017-18 at the annual awards banquet.
Held was the second leading scorer in Kentucky girls basketball with a 28.2 average. She was voted first-team all-state in a statewide coaches poll after being named Division I Player of the Year by Northern Kentucky coaches. Earlier this month, she played in the annual Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Games that showcase the top seniors in each state.
A varsity basketball player since the 8th grade, Held led the Jaguars to the 9th Region final during her junior season. In addition to being the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,430 points, she tops the charts in assists, steals, field goals, free throws, blocked shots and numerous other categories. She will continue her basketball career at DePaul University in Chicago.
Mayer played key roles on CovCath state championship teams in both football and basketball during his senior year.
As the quarterback on the football team, Mayer led the Colonels to their first-ever perfect season. In 12 of their 15 victories, they took commanding leads behind his offensive leadership and officials went to a running clock.
Mayer, who was recruited by the Miami University football team, passed for 3,114 yards and 40 touchdowns to set single-season school records in both categories. He finished his three-year varsity career with a school-record 7,602 passing yards and 77 touchdowns.
He was voted first-team all-state in a post-season poll of coaches and nominated for Mr. Kentucky Football. The other honors he earned during his senior season included Kentucky Class 5A Player of the Year, Most Valuable Player in the Class 5A state championship game, finalist for Northern Kentucky’s “That’s My Boy” Award and first-team All-USA Kentucky by USA Today.
In basketball, Mayer was a starting forward on CovCath’s 35-4 state championship team. He was named to the state all-tournament team after scoring 12 points and snagging eight rebounds in the title game. He also received the Ted Sandford Award that’s given to the top student-athlete in the state tournament.
After Mayer and Held received their awards at Sunday’s televised banquet, two former Northern Kentucky athletes and a legendary coach were among six people inducted into the LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame.
The new members included all-state basketball player Dicky Beal of Holmes, state champion quarterback Gino Guidugli of Highlands and state champion football coach Mike Yeagle of Beechwood.
Beal was the starting point guard on Holmes teams that compiled a 58-9 record during the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons. During his senior season, he averaged 23.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists on a team that won the 9th Region championship and made it to the semifinals of the 1980 state tournament.
Guidugli led Highlands football teams to back-to-back Class 3A state titles in 1999 and 2000 by passing for 7,516 yards and 92 touchdowns in 30 games. He was also a two-year starter in basketball and named most valuable player in the 2001 9th Region tournament after scoring 19 points in the championship game.
Yeagle was one of the most successful high school football coaches in Kentucky. In 15 seasons at Beechwood, his teams compiled a 183-27 record for an 87.1 winning percentage, played in 10 Class A state championship games and claimed eight state titles.
This is the 43rd year that the Buddy LaRosa High School Sports Hall of Fame has honored outstanding athletes and coaches in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Guidugli is the seventh inductee from Highlands, Beal is the second from Holmes and Yeagle is the first from Beechwood.