By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Scott sophomore Lexus Goff became the first Northern Kentucky student-athlete to win an individual state title in archery on Tuesday when she shot the highest score in a field of 295 girls at the state championships in Lexington.
Goff’s final score of 296 included 26 10-point and four 9-point targets in 30 attempts. She finished one point ahead of eighth-grader Kimber Collins of Jenkins, who had 25 10s and five 9s for 295 total points.
The best previous finish by a Northern Kentucky girl or boy in the state archery championships was second place by Paige Robbins of Simon Kenton in the 2017 girls tournament.
Harrison County won the girls team title Tuesday with 2,004 points. Scott tied for ninth place with 1,931 and Simon Kenton was 16th with 1,899 in the 22-team field.
The other top individual scorers among local girls were Conner senior Alexis Smith (282), Simon Kenton junior Cora Beth Mehltretter (281), Scott senior Taylin Smith (281), Highlands senior Reagan McPhedran (279) and Simon Kenton senior Emma Vickers (279).
Anderson County swept the boys state archery titles with sophomore Ryan Heng posting the highest individual score of 295 and his team finishing on top with a 2,000-point total.
Ryle placed second in the team standings with 1,995 points. The Raiders’ team leader was sophomore Jordan Evans with 287 points, followed by eighth-grader Jack Albertson, seventh-grader Ethan Pauciulo, junior Kennan Caudill and senior Jacob Klette, who all shot 285.
Cooper placed 17th out of 22 boys teams. The Jaguars’ top scorer was sophomore Kayson Stone at 285. Complete results from the state archery championships are posted on the khsaa.org website.
Cooper football player plans to announce college commitment Friday
Cooper football player Austin Alexander plans to announce his college commitment during a ceremony that’s open to the public at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the high school’s cafeteria.
The long list of major college teams that have offered scholarships to the 6-foot-3, 243-pound junior includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Louisville, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois and Stanford.
Alexander was a two-way starter on the Cooper football team that was Class 5A state runner-up last season. He caught 67 passes for 1,138 yards and 19 touchdowns as a tight end and wide receiver. He made 81 tackles, including 19 quarterback sacks, playing defensive end and outside linebacker.
Alexander is also an outstanding student with a 4.46 GPA and has an impressive family tree.
His uncle is Boone County graduate Shaun Alexander, who was a running back for Alabama and the Seattle Seahawks. One of his cousins is Holy Cross graduate Derrick Barnes, who was a linebacker at Purdue and now plays for the Detroit Lions.
Beechwood graduate has highest batting average on college team
Beechwood graduate Logan Castleman has the highest batting average on the Morehead State University baseball team that posted its 20th win Tuesday with a 7-2 victory at Marshall.
The senior outfielder had a run-scoring single in Tuesday’s game and now has a team-high .386 (22 of 57) batting average for the 20-16 Eagles. He got one or more hits in 11 of the last 13 games and batted .446 (21 of 47) during that run.
Last Friday, Castleman had three home runs and five RBI during a 16-5 win over Western Illinois and was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week.
You forgot to include the 3 other boy archers who represented NKY. These boys included Dixie Heights High School Archery’s Lucas Powers, an 8th grader from Turkey Foot Middle School, who shot 282. Plus Griffen Sanders (284) and John Dougherty (278) of Highlands Heights High school.