By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Brossart girls soccer team that won last year’s All “A” Classic state tournament will return to defend its title after defeating Beechwood in the sectional round of the small school playoffs on Monday at the Mustangs Athletic Complex.
The score was tied, 2-2, after two 40-minute halves and went to a penalty kick shootout. The tie remained after the first five penalty kicks, but Brossart freshman Macy Smith, the head coach’s daughter, won the tense playoff match on the seventh penalty kick of the tiebreaker shootout.
“I’m exhausted,” coach Andy Smith said after the dramatic victory. “The other team came to play, man. They have some really nice players.”
Brossart’s two goals were scored by freshman Rylee Fuller and sophomore Kiley Smith. Senior goalkeeper Maddie Broering made the stops the Mustangs (11-1-2) needed to post the win.
Walton-Verona also qualified for the All “A” Classic girls state tournament. The Bearcats defeated Louisville Brown, 1-0, in a sectional game last week to earn a berth in the final eight-team bracket.
The first-round matches on Friday at Louisville Collegiate High School include Walton-Verona vs. Bardstown Bethlehem at 1:30 p.m. and Brossart vs. University Heights at 3:15 p.m. The winners will meet in a semifinal match at 7:45 p.m. Friday.
The only local team in the All “A” Classic boys state tournament is Brossart, a 2-1 winner over St. Henry in their sectional game on Saturday. The Mustangs got goals from Luke Neltner and Max Runge in that match.
The Brossart boys will play University Heights in the first round of their eight-team bracket at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at Louisville Collegiate High School. The winner will move on to a semifinal match at 7:45 p.m. that night.
The All “A” Classic championship matches will be played Sunday with the girls at 11 a.m. and the boys at 1 p.m. Complete brackets for both state tournaments are on the allaclassic.org website.
Distance runners make college commitments
State champion distance runners Paul Van Laningham of Cooper and Lily Parke of Beechwood have accepted scholarship offers from NCAA Division I programs.
Van Laningham made a committment with the University of Wisconsin and will be joining a men’s cross country team that placed fourth in the 2024 NCAA championship meet.
Parke will be going to the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats cross country team placed 17th in the Southeast Region last year.
Parke won five gold medals in Class 1A girls cross country, indoor track and outdoor track during the 2024-25 school year.
She became the first Beechwood girl to win a state cross country championship meet. At the state outdoor track meet, she set Class 1A records in the 800 and 1600 runs.
Van Laningham won last year’s Class 3A boys state cross country meet and went on to place sixth in the Nike Nationals Southeast qualifier. In track, he won the 1600 run in the Class 3A indoor and outdoor state meets.
This summer, Van Laningham placed second in the 3,000-meter run at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. A few weeks ago, he opened his senior year with a victory in the Moeller Primetime Invitational and set a new course record (15:09).
SK volleyball player breaks team record for kills
Simon Kenton senior volleyball player Jenna Kitchens has broken the team record in career kills with 1,165 over five varsity seasons.
In the Pioneers’ last four matches, the 6-foot middle blocker recorded 39 kills in seven sets to surpass the previous team record of 1,151 career kills set by Keira Hans, who graduated last spring.
Going into Monday’s match at Williamstown, Kitchens had 114 kills in 24 sets for a 4.75 average this season. Last year, she posted 385 kills in 105 sets for a 3.67 average on Simon Kenton’s 8th Region runner-up team.
Kitchens plays club volleyball for NKYVC. Last May, she made a commitment with Charleston Southern University, a member of the Big South Conference the competes on the NCAA Division I level.