By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cross country runners Will Sheets of Covington Catholic and Paul Van Laningham of Cooper qualified for the Nike NXN national championship meet with high-level performances in the Southeast Regional meet on Saturday in North Carolina.
In a field of 273 boys from multiple states, Sheets finished fourth with a time of 14:44.97 and Van Laningham placed sixth in 14:56.20. The winning time was 14:23.46 by Keegan Smith of Tennessee.
In the girls regional qualifier, the top local finisher was sophomore Lily Parke of Beechwood, this year’s Class 1A state champion. She placed 52nd in a field of 248 runners with a time of 18:17.94.
There were eight regional qualifying meets for boys and girls across the country. The 19th annual Nike national championships are scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7 in Portland, Ore.
Sheets, a University Virginia recruit, posted the fastest 5K time in the state (14:44.57) during the regular season. Earlier this month, he placed second in the Class 2A state meet and led CovCath to the team title. Van Laningham won the Class 3A boys state meet that same day.
Wrestlers returning for another run at state titles
Walton-Verona senior TJ Meyer heads a local group of high school wrestlers who made it to the final four in the boys state tournament last February and look to be top contenders this season.
Meyer, a state runner-up the last three seasons, was No. 2 in the 138-pound weight class in the Kentucky wrestling coaches preseason rankings. His final record last season was 42-4.
The other returning state runner-up is Simon Kenton senior Jonah McCloskey, who is No. 2 in the 132-pound weight class behind Union County sophomore Jayden Raney. Last season, they met in the 126-pound state final and Raney pinned McCloskey.
Four local wrestlers who won third-place matches at the state meet are also returning. They are Ryle sophomore Luke Cornwell (120), Ryle senior Landon Evans (126), Ryle senior Rider Trumble (165) and Walton-Verona junior Luke Hyden (215).
Conner sophomore Clayton Badida (113) finished fourth in that weight class after forfeiting his final match.
Two winners in the first sanctioned girls state wrestling tournament last season were Walton-Verona teammates Sophie Anderson and Emma Moore, who are both returning to defend their titles.
Holy Cross grad starting on college volleyball team
Holy Cross graduate Julia Hunt has started 27 matches as a freshman middle blocker on the University of Washington volleyball team that has a 19-9 record going into its final two regular season matches against Big 10 Conference opponents.
Hunt leads the Huskies in blocks (119) and attack percentage (.332) with 180 kills and 56 errors in 373 attempts. During the team’s 13-0 start, she totaled 103 kills and 68 blocks.
In her five varsity seasons at Holy Cross, Hunt had more than 2,200 kills and 500 blocks. She was named Ms. Kentucky Volleyball and Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky after her senior season when she led the state in kills with 658 and had 114 blocks.