By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Ballots for the all-conference teams selected by the Northern Kentucky Boys Basketball Coaches Association will be emailed this week and it’ll be interesting to see how the voting goes for the Division II Player of the Year.
Last year, Sam Vinson of Highlands was the top vote-getter, followed by Scotty Draud of Beechwood and Wyatt Vieth of St. Henry. All three of the senior guards have had exceptional seasons once again, so each coach will have to decide where to rank them on his ballot.
Over the weekend, Draud became the all-time leading scorer in 9th Region boys basketball when he raised his career total to 3,082 points. He entered the final week of the regular season needing 13 points to become one of the top 25 scorers in the state record book.
Vieth also grabbed some headlines by being named most valuable player in the All “A” Classic state tournament on Saturday. St. Henry won the championship trophy for the second straight year with Vieth scoring a team-high 48 points in the final two games of the statewide playoffs.
Highlands has won nine straight games with Vinson leading the way. He posted a double-double in six of those nine victories and is now averaging 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting 58 percent from the field and 71 percent from the line for the Bluebirds.
Holy Cross sophomore guard Jacob Meyer is another candidate for the top player award in Division II. He finished the regular season as the 9th Region’s leading scorer with a 25.5 average.
Simon Kenton senior guard Kelly Niece, who has a 30.6 scoring average that ranks second in the state, is considered the leading candidate for Division I Player of the Year. He finished second in the voting for that award the last two years.
The other leading contender on the Division I ballot is Covington Catholic junior center Mitchell Rylee, who is averaging 16.7 points and 8.5 rebounds. He has the highest field-goal percentage (69.8) among Northern Kentucky players.
Ludlow sweeps conference tournament championship games
Ludlow swept the boys and girls championship games in the first-ever NKAC D3 Classic basketball tournaments on Saturday at Dayton High School.
Small-school teams in Division III of the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference organized the tournaments because pandemic cancellations disrupted the season-long schedule of games that usually decide the division champions.
In the final game of the girls tournament, Ludlow routed Bellevue, 59-17, to maintain a perfect record against Division III opponents. Sophomore guard Mylee Garrett was named the tournament’s most valuable player after getting 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Ludlow in the title game.
There was a lot more drama in the boys championship game as Ludlow edged Calvary Christian, 59-57. In the final seconds, Calvary missed a 3-point shot to decide the winner.
Ludlow junior forward Ryan Gaiser scored a game-high 19 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. His sophomore teammate Jaxson Rice came off the bench to score 16 points, 10 above his season average.
Calvary’s leading scorers were junior guard Luke Rowe with 14 points and senior forward Logan Hinkle with 12. The Cougars had 10 3-point goals, but missed the last one that would’ve won the game.
Ludlow (16-7) has a 3-0 record against Calvary (17-8) this season with the final margins being two, six and two points.
Bill will give high school student-athletes extra year of eligibility
Kentucky high school seniors will be eligible for an extra year of interscholastic sports competition if a bill that was unanimously passed by state senators last week is approved by the House of Representatives and then signed by the governor.
Senate Bill 128 would allow high school students to retake or supplement courses that were interrupted by the pandemic during the current school year.
The bill also says the Kentucky High School Athletic Association “shall allow a 2020-21 high school student a fifth consecutive year of eligibility at the same school, but the participation age limit of being no older than 19 years old that’s currently in place, will stay in its original place. Also, no transfer regulations are waived.”
If the bill does pass, students and families who want to take advantage of the “do-over” year would have until May 1 to submit a request to the local school district. By June 1, school boards would accept all or none of the applications. By June 16, the districts would have to submit their plans for waivers to the Kentucky Department of Education.
Sisters repeat as state champions in girls wrestling tournament
Ryle sophomore Olivia Messerly received the outstanding wrestler award after winning her weight class in the Kentucky high school girls state tournament on Saturday.
Messerly defeated Hannah Pittman of Anderson County, 20-3, in the 106-pound weight class final to claim a state title for the third consecutive year. She won all three of her matches by wide margins to record technical falls.
Her sister, Addison Messerly, won the 113-pound weight class to claim her third state title. She pinned all three of her opponents in the first period of each match.
Cooper also had a pair of weight class state champions — Hannah Thompson (160) and Angel Hilton (182). Zoey Smith of Simon Kenton was state runner-up in the 138 bracket.