By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Three players received Top 26 Awards for the second consecutive year at the Northern Kentucky Football Coaches Association post-season banquet on Wednesday.
Each of the 20 high school coaches in the association select one of their players to receive an award and coaches vote on six more players to be recognized.
One of the repeat award-winners was Ryle junior Jacob Savage, a two-way starter on the Class 6A state runner-up team. He led the Raiders in rushing yards (1,085) and points scored (158) as a running back while making a team-high 141 tackles as a linebacker.
Newport senior quarterback Kyle Lee and Dixie Heights running back Armani Gregg were then other players honored once again this year.
Newport made it to the Class 1A region finals with Lee passing for 2,145 yards and 24 touchdowns. Gregg rushed for 1,321 yards and 18 TDs after making the switch from quarterback to running back for Dixie Heights this season.
Dylan Stewart of Conner received the John Schlarman Lineman of the Year Award. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior was a two-way starter up front for the Cougars and has received offers from several Division I college teams.
Randy Borchers of Cooper was named 2024 Coach of the Year and Chad Montgomery of Bellevue received the Owen Hauck Award that goes to the coach of the area’s most improved team. Steve Burns of Simon Kenton and Ben Brown of Cooper were co-winners of Assistant Coach of the Year.
The coaches association will be selecting finalists for the annual Brian Williams “That’s My Boy” Award that goes to the top student-athlete in Northern Kentucky high school football. They use a rating system that awards points for achievements in football, academics and community service to determine the winner.
TOP 26 AWARDS
Beechwood – Clay Hayden. Bellevue – Brayden Sizemore. Boone County – Jayden Jackson. Brossart – Cam Mandel. Campbell County – Garyn Jackson. Conner – Dylan Stewart, Wyatt Hatfield. Cooper – Austin Alexander, Isaiah Johnson. CovCath – Tate Kruer, Mason Dietz. Dayton – Peyton Young. Dixie Heights – Armani Gregg.
Highlands – Max Merz, Adam Surrey. Holmes – Quincy Huling. Holy Cross – Litello Johnson. Lloyd – Isaiah Sebastian. Ludlow – Matt Brock, Dameyn Anness.. NewCath – Kaleb Cole. Newport – Kyle Lee. Ryle – Jacob Savage, Dillon Smith. Scott – Kaymon Coleman. Simon Kenton – Aven Bohms.
Cooper cross country runner places 33rd in Nike national championship meet
Cooper cross country runner Paul Van Laningham placed 33rd in a field of 198 runners at the Nike national championships meet last Saturday in Portland, Ore.
Van Laningham finished the rain-soaked 5K race in 16 minutes, 03 seconds. He was the 11th underclassmen to cross the line and the third finisher from the Southeast Region that included runners from 12 states.
Another qualifier from the Southeast Region was Covington Catholic senior Will Sheets, who placed 133rd with a time of 16:57. The winning time on the muddy course was 15:28 by Charlie Vause of New Mexico.
At the Kentucky high school state championship meet in November, Van Laningham won the Class 3A boys race and Sheets placed second in Class 2A as the lead runner on CovCath’s winning team. They both entered the state meet as region champions.
Brossart grad is record-setting senior on women’s
college basketball team
Brossart graduate Marie Kiefer is a record-setting starting forward on the Ball State University women’s basketball team that will visit Northern Kentucky University at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
The 6-foot-2 senior is averaging 8.9 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds for the Cardinals, who have a 6-4 record that includes losses to nationally ranked Ohio State and North Carolina. She also has 15 blocked shots and recently became the team’s all-time leader with 152 blocks in four seasons.
Kiefer was named 10th Region Player of the Year after her senior season at Brossart. She averaged 20.1 points and 10.9 rebounds on a 21-6 team that won the region championship.
She ended her high school carer playing in the annual Kentucky-Indiana All-Star series and set a record with eight blocked shots in two games to go along with 16 points and 22 rebounds.