By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Girls wrestling and indoor track are two sports sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association for the first time this year and Ryle senior Viktoriya Emelianova won individual state titles in both of them.
At the first indoor track state meet last Saturday, Emelianova won the Class 3A girls shot put with a best mark of 38 feet, 7.5 inches. She added that gold medal to the one she received for winning the 185-pound weight class at the inaugural girls state wrestling tournament in February.
Last spring, Emelianova placed first in the shot put and second in the discuss at the Class 3A girls outdoor state track meet. There was no discus event at the indoor meet held at Norton Sports Center in Louisville.
The other local athletes that won Class 3A events at the indoor meet were Campbell County junior Olivia Holbrook in the girls 800-meter run (2:15.58) and Conner senior Joey Carroll in the boys 3,000-meter run (8:35.37).
Covington Catholic took the Class 2A boys team title, but there were no individual winners from Northern Kentucky in any of those events. CovCath scored most of its points on second-place finishes in five boys events.
In the Class 1A indoor state meet, local athletes won seven events and Beechwood placed second in both the boys and girls team standings.
The boys event-winners were Brossart senior Nathan Rust in the 800 run (2:01.13), Bellevue junior Marcello Herald in the long jump (21-1.5), St. Henry senior Josh Brockman in the pole vault (11-6) and the Brossart 4×800 relay team (8:19.23).
The girls who won gold medals were St. Henry eighth-grader Hayden Harlan in the high jump (5-3), Beechwood sophomore Lily Parke in the 1500 run (4:47.88) and the Beechwood 4×400 relay team (4:14.37).
Newport senior surpassed 1,000 mark in career points, rebounds
Newport senior forward DeAyjah White was one of the few Northern Kentucky girls high school basketball players who finished the regular season with double-figure averages in both scoring and rebounding.
In her fifth year as a varsity player, White averaged 17.2 points and 11.7 rebounds for the Wildcats and pushed her career totals in both of those categories over the 1,000 mark. She was a stabilizing force on a young Newport team that won four of its last eight games to draw some satisfaction from a 7-24 season record.
“DeAyjah has been a hard worker and team-first player,” said Newport coach Marcus Harris. “She has helped her teammates as the only senior on the team, demonstrating her leadership qualities throughout her time with us.”
White played only two full seasons due to injuries, but she still managed to get 1,096 points and 1,062 rebounds during her varsity career. She attributes that to “playing hard, listening to my coaches and trusting my instincts.”
Named to the Division II conference all-star team by local coaches this season, White said she is being recruited by college teams and she has not yet made a decision about her future.
St. Henry girls basketball coach stepping down after five seasons
Todd Smart is stepping down as head coach of the St. Henry girls basketball team after compiling a 69-72 record over the last five seasons.
The Crusaders finished 15-15 this season and made it to the 9th Region tournament for the second consecutive year. They had winning records in three of the previous four seasons under Smart.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude for his unwavering dedication, leadership and passion for the game of basketball,” school officials posted on X. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for our team and the countless lives you’ve touched along the way.”
St. Henry had six graduating seniors on the roster, including leading scorer Kayla Unkraut and leading rebounder Taylor Hill.