By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Five of the top seven teams in the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings are in the same bracket for the state tournament that beings Friday at Valley High School in Louisville.
Whatever team battles its way through that bracket will be the favorite in Sunday’s championship final and Notre Dame Academy is among the leading contenders.
A blind draw determined the state tournament pairings. The first-round matchups in the lower bracket on Friday include No. 4 Lexington Henry Clay vs. No. 5 Notre Dame at 12:30 p.m. and No. 7 North Oldham vs. Scott at 11 a.m.
The other highly ranked teams in the lower bracket are No. 1 Louisville Assumption and No. 3 Louisville Mercy. If each of them wins their first-round match, they’ll meet in the quarterfinals.
Notre Dame made it to the state final the last two years, but the Pandas lost to Mercy in 2014 and Assumption in 2013. This season, four of Notre Dame’s five losses came to those Louisville powerhouse programs. The Pandas are 0-2 against Mercy and 1-2 against Assumption.
Notre Dame has eight seniors on the roster who want to end their varsity careers as state champions. The last time the Pandas won the state volleyball title was 1994. A team from Louisville has taken the title every year since then with Assumption winning 16 of the last 20 state tournaments.
Media conference to name sponsor for girls’ state basketball tournament
A media conference to officially name St. Elizabeth HealthCare as the sponsor for the 2016 and 2017 Kentucky girls’ state basketball tournaments is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the BB&T Arena in Highlands Heights.
The N. Ky. Tribune reported on Oct. 15 that St. Elizabeth Healthcare was listed as the tournament sponsor on the Kentucky High School Athletic Association website. At that time, officials at the non-profit health care corporation based in Edgewood did not respond to our requests for a comment.
The official announcement will reportedly be made at Monday’s press conference with representatives of the KHSAA and St. Elizabeth in attendance.
The KHSAA Board of Control selected the 9,000-seat BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University as the site for the 2016 and 2017 girls’ state basketball tournaments in May of 2014.
The state tournament had been played at Western Kentucky University’s Diddle Arena for the last 15 years and sponsored by Houchens Industries, a grocery store chain based in Bowling Green.
Beechwood senior drawing attention from college recruiters in two sports
Beechwood senior Brent Slusher is having such an impressive season on the football field that he could soon be getting college offers in that sport as well as baseball.
Last summer, Slusher played baseball with a select team instead of attending football camps for college prospects. He has already received baseball scholarship offers from several college teams.
But major college football recruiters are also showing an interest in the 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver, linebacker and punter for the Tigers. He made a recruiting visit at the University of Tennessee football game earlier this season.
“It’s starting to happen for him,” said Beechwood coach Noel Rash. “He walked a fine line between baseball and football (recruiting) and now he’s committed to whoever wants to come and talk to him. All levels of colleges are looking at him. We’ll see, something is going to pop eventually.”
Slusher finished the regular season as Beechwood’s leading pass receiver with 42 catches for 809 yards and leading scorer with 126 points. On defense, he is among the team’s leading tacklers while also posting team-high totals of four interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
Last Friday, Slusher caught 10 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 25 yards on four carries and recovered two fumbles in Beechwood’s 31-14 win over Newport Central Catholic. He also had a 29-yard kickoff return to finish with 252 all-purpose yards in one of the best games of his high school career.
Coaches select top high school golfers in local regions
Erin Durstock of Notre Dame and Ryan Clements of Ryle were the top voter-getters on the all-region golf teams selected by local members of the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association.
Durstock was medalist in the Region 6 girls’ tournament and Clements shot the low score in the Region 7 boys’ tournament to lead their teams to first-place finishes. Durstock then completed her high school career by tying for ninth place in the girls’ state tournament.
Karen Henderson of Notre Dame was voted Region 6 Coach of the Year in girls’ golf. The Region 7 Coach of the Year in boys’ golf was shared by John Kells of Ryle and Robb Schneeman of Covington Catholic.
Here is a list of the local golfers selected for all-region honors:
REGION 6 GIRLS
Erin Durstock (Notre Dame), Olivia Dipaolo (Ryle), Sarah Boden (Grant County), Madison Smith (Cooper), Adriane Mason (Walton-Verona), Hannah Scroggins (Williamstown), Amy Pigliano (Notre Dame), Lauren Bracken (Notre Dame), Cassidy Pressman (Cooper), Natalie Boucher (Villa Madonna).
REGION 7 BOYS
Ryan Clements (Ryle), Austin Zapp (Ryle), Trevor Yost (Heritage), Ethan Berling (St. Henry), Paul Thelen (CovCath), Griffin Flesch (CovCath).