Prep Sports Notebook: Holmes puts former assistant coach in charge of girls basketball program


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Danielle Wells, an assistant on the Holmes girls basketball coaching staff last season, has been put in charge of the highly successful Bulldogs program.

Danielle Wells

Wells was hired to replace Greg Ash, who resigned as Holmes head coach after just one season. His team was 9th Region runner-up and finished with a 21-8 record.

The Bulldogs have won between 21 and 30 games each of the last four seasons. All of those teams made it to the 9th Region championship game and two of them won back-to-back regional titles in 2016 and 2017.

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead these girls,’’ said Wells, a business teacher at Holmes. “I want to be a positive influence in their lives. I want them to be successful.’’

The new head coach played basketball at Leslie County High School and Alice Lloyd College. She joined the Holmes coaching staff last season when three senior starters led the Bulldogs back to the regional final, where they lost to Ryle.

Kamari Graham is the top returning scorer for Holmes.

“We are pleased to have Danielle Wells assume the leadership role,” said Holmes athletic director Stan Steidel. “She is a hard worker who will take pride in the leading role that a good program must have. Ms. Wells will develop quality basketball players and top-notch students.’’

Wells will be building this year’s team around senior guard Kamari Graham and junior forward Deara Stowers, the top returning players from last season.

“I want to grow the program by reaching out to girls who are younger,’’ said coach Wells, who plans to have varsity team members mentoring players in junior high and elementary school.

“They will be positive role models for the younger kids,” she said.  “When you learn to serve others, you make it more about the team and not one specific player. If we are going to be successful, this is what we have to do.’’

Holmes is one of six 9th Region girls basketball teams that will have a new head coach next season. The others are Dayton, Lloyd, Holy Cross, Newport Central Catholic and Notre Dame.

CovCath football team ranked No. 1 in state after 3-0 start

Covington Catholic is the top high school football team in Kentucky, according to computerized rankings posted by two of the state’s leading newspapers.

The 3-0 Colonels are ranked No. 1 in both the Litkenhous Ratings published by the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Dave Cantrall Ratings published by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Both rankings are based on margin of victory, strength of schedule and other factors. CovCath, the defending Class 5A state champion, jumped to the top spot by winning its first three games against Class 6A opponents by margins of 33, 41 and 47 points.

The Colonels, who have an 18-game winning streak dating back to last year’s 15-0 season, are one of four local teams among the state’s top 20 in the Litkenhous Ratings. The others are Highlands at No. 7, Beechwood at No. 8 and Campbell County at No. 20.

The Dave Cantrall Ratings have Beechwood at No. 14, Highlands at No. 16 and Simon Kenton at No. 19. Beechwood is the defending Class 1A state champion.

Regional champion cross country runner switches to soccer

Abby Jones

Newport Central Catholic sophomore Abby Jones, the Class A regional champion in girls cross country the last two years, is playing soccer instead of running in meets this season.

NewCath athletic director Jimmy Ryan said there was only one other girl who signed up to run cross country so Jones switched to soccer because she wanted to be part of a team.

Jones had two goals and two assists in the first six games for the NewCath girls soccer team that has a 4-2 record and won the 9th Region All “A” Classic title.

Jones can return to distance running in track. Two years ago, she won a Class A state title in the 1600 run and came in third in the 3200 run. Last year, she placed sixth and seventh in those races and was on a state runner-up 4×800 relay team.

Walton-Verona wins 8th Region All “A” Classic girls soccer title

Walton-Verona won the 8th Region All “A” Classic girls soccer championship Saturday with a 5-0 win over Carroll County in the title match.

The Bearcats scored their first two goals on headers by Emma Gutman and Audrey Carrico off corner kicks by Megan Kunkel. With less than two minutes left in the first half, Kunkel scored to give her team a 4-0 lead at the break.

Walton-Verona goalkeeper Abigail Daly made three saves and her replacement Camryn McPherson made one to post their team’s fourth shutout of the season.

The Bearcats will play 7th Region champion Louisville Collegiate in an All “A” Classic sectional game on Friday to determine a berth in the small-school state tournament to be played Sept. 22-23 at Capitol View Park in Frankfort.

Brossart will play Calvary Christian in the 10th Region All “A” Classic girls final on Saturday. The winner of that match will play Newport Central Catholic in another sectional game.

Local swimmer competing in open water international meet

Mariah Denigan, a 15-year-old member of the Northern Kentucky Clippers competitive swim team, will represent the United States in the FINA World Junior Open Water Championships that begin Thursday in Israel.

Open water swimming takes place in bodies of water like lakes, rivers and ocean bays. There are no starting blocks or designated lanes in the point-to-point races and weather conditions can be a factor.

Denigan received an invitation to the international meet after winning the USA Swimming 5K Junior Open Water Nationals and placing third in the USA Swimming Open Water Nationals.

Earlier this summer, she earned silver medals in the 800 and 1500 freestyle and 400 individual medley at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Fiji.


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