By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Newport Central Catholic boys basketball coach Ron Dawn will be going for his 500th career victory on Wednesday when his team visits Boone County for a game scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
This is Dawn’s 25th season as a high school head basketball coach. He has a 408-180 record in 21 seasons as a boys coach and 91-28 record in four seasons as a girls coach. That gives him an overall record of 499-208 for a 70.5 winning percentage.
Dawn got his first head coaching job at St. Henry in 1985 and his teams compiled an 89-35 record in four seasons.
He has spent the rest of his career at NewCath, where he has posted a 319-145 record in 17 seasons as boys head coach and 91-28 record in four seasons as girls head coach.
This season marks Dawn’s third stint as head coach of the NewCath boys team. He was also in charge of the program 1989-2001 and 2013-2016.
The Thoroughbreds have won four of their first five games this season even though senior starters Evan Mullikin and Caleb Jefferson are both sidelined with injuries until January.
Dawn, who is now principal at NewCath, is the only coach to win All “A” Classic state titles and 9th Region titles in both boys and girls basketball.
In his two previous stints as boys coach, NewCath won two 9th Region titles (2000, 2016) and three Kentucky All “A” Classic state championships (2000, 2014, 2015). While he was girls coach, the Thoroughbreds won the 2010 All “A” Classic state title and 2011 9th Region title.
CovCath football players will sign letters of intent on Wednesday
Two seniors on Covington Catholic’s undefeated state champion football team will sign letters of intent with Division I college programs during a ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday in the school auditorium.
Michael Mayer was recruited by the University of Notre Dame to play tight end and Lucas Jones will be going to the Cornell University as an offensive lineman. They were both three-year varsity starters for the Colonels, who won two Class 5A state championships and compiled a 44-1 record with them in the lineup.
During the signing ceremony, Mayer will receive the 2019 Mr. Kentucky Football award from the Kentucky Football Coaches Association. He was also named Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky.
Trey Gronotte, the placekicker on CovCath’s team, also has something to celebrate. He raised $5,631 in pledges for Team “B”elieve, an organization that provides support for patients battling ALS.
Gronotte created an online platform where people could pledge a dollar amount for every point he scored this season. He ended up kicking nine field goals and 68 extra-points for 95 total points.
The junior started the fundraiser because CovCath football coach Eddie Eviston’s older brother, Brian, was diagnosed with ALS in 2016. That’s when Team “B”elieve was created to support Brian’s family as he battles the degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
Three local wrestlers win weight class titles in Ryle Raider Rumble
Three wrestlers from Northern Kentucky high schools won weight class titles at the Ryle Raider Rumble last Saturday.
In the first match of the championship round, Walton-Verona sophomore Spencer Moore defeated Ryle freshman Olivia Messerly to take the 106-pound title. Last year, Messerly won that weight class in the first state wrestling tournament for girls.
The other local winners on Saturday were Ryle teammates Cole Thomas (120) and Noah Duke (182). Thomas won last year’s 106-pound boys state championship.
The second-place finishers on Saturday included Seth Lutes of Scott (132), Jacob Grindstaff of Conner (145), Daulton Mayer of Walton-Verona (195) and Casey Rauch of Campbell County (220).
There were 18 teams from Kentucky and Ohio in the tournament. Lebanon of Ohio placed first with 254.5 points. Campbell County was fourth (178.5) and Ryle was sixth (149).
The Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference wrestling championships will take place this Saturday at Holmes High School.
New head coach will face former team in Simon Kenton Invitational
Pendleton County boys basketball coach Sam Elsbernd will be facing a familiar opponent when his team plays Holmes in the opening round of the Simon Kenton Invitational at 7:45 p.m. Friday.
Elsbernd is a Holmes graduate and former assistant coach for the Bulldogs. He was on the coaching staff when Holmes won its first state championship in 2009.
This is Elsbernd’s first season as a boys head basketball coach. He was in charge of the Bracken County girls program the last two seasons.
Pendleton County is one of six teams that will play two games during the Simon Kenton Invitational this weekend. Here is the schedule for both days:
Friday – Lexington Catholic vs. Simon Kenton, 6 p.m.; Grant County at Scott, 6 p.m.; Pendleton County vs. Holmes, 7:45 p.m. Saturday – Simon Kenton vs. Pendleton County, 1 p.m.; Lexington Catholic vs. Scott, 3:15 p.m.; Holmes vs. Grant County, 5 p.m.