By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Six seniors on the Holy Cross boys basketball team will be honored before their final home game at 6 p.m. Saturday and one of them could make the night even more memorable.
Jacob Meyer needs 57 points to become the all-time leading scorer in 9th Region boys basketball. The Holy Cross senior guard has a 35.8 scoring average so it will likely take him two games to surpass the existing record of 3,128 points — and the second game would be Senior Night on Saturday against Dixie Heights.
Holy Cross will visit Newport Central Catholic on Wednesday. Meyer could break the record in that game if he shoots the ball like he did last Saturday when he scored a season-high 58 points in a win over Walton-Verona at the historic Hoosier Gym in Indiana.
In that game, he was 25 of 44 from the field with one 3-point goal and 7 of 8 at the foul line. It was his highest scoring total since last season when he reached 58, 54, 53 and 50 points in four games played during December.
Meyer enters this week with 3,072 total points in four varsity seasons at Holy Cross. The existing 9th Region record of 3,128 points was set by Scotty Draud of Beechwood, who graduated in 2021.
Before he came to Holy Cross, Meyer scored 65 points as an eighth-grader on Scott’s varsity team so his career total is actually 3,137. But Scott is a member of the 10th Region so those 65 points were not included in his quest for the 9th Region career scoring record.
Meyer is being widely recruited since withdrawing from an earlier commitment he made with Western Kentucky University. He has received offers from several NCAA Division I teams, including Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Miami of Ohio, Indiana State, IUPUI, James Madison, Bowling Green, Marshall, Ball State, Iona, Manhattan and Austin Peay.
Ryle boys, Notre Dame girls win Region 7 swimming team titles
Ryle won its first Region 7 championship in boys swimming with first-place finishes in four individual events and all three relays during Saturday’s finals at Silverlake in Erlanger.
Two of the top performers for the Raiders were sophomore Andy Pleiman and freshman Chase Knauf, who each won four gold medals. Both of them were on two winning relay teams. Pleiman also finished first in the 50 and 100 freestyle events while Knauf won the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Ryle finished with 518 points and Highlands was runner-up with 473.5. Highlands sophomore Griffin Barlow was a double-winner in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.
Notre Dame won the final five events in Region 7 girls swimming and topped the team standings with 372 points, followed by Ryle with 353.
The Pandas’ winning streak started with sophomores Sadie Hartig and Claire Monahan placing first and second in the 500 freestyle. Both of them were also on the winning 200 free relay team in the next event.
In the final three events, Hartig won the 100 backstroke, senior Lainy Kruger won the 100 breaststroke and Notre Dame finished first in the 400 free relay with Kruger and Monahan in that foursome.
Kruger also won gold medals in the 200 medley relay and 200 freestyle at the beginning of the region meet. The double-winners were Ryle sophomore Reese Yauger in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly and St. Henry senior Emma Littrell in the 50 and 100 freestyle.
The state championship meet for diving and swimming is scheduled for Feb. 16-18 at the University of Kentucky’s Lancaster Aquatic Center.
Seven local wrestlers among medalists in girls state tournament
Seven wrestlers from Northern Kentucky won medals for placing among the top eight in their weight class bracket at the girls state tournament on Saturday at Lexington Tates Creek.
More than 250 girls competed in 13 weight classes at the state tournament. It was organized by the Kentucky Wrestling Coaches Association because the sport has not been sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
The local wrestlers who earned state runner-up medals were Walton-Verona sophomore Sophie Anderson in the 126-pound weight class and Simon Kenton junior Gabriella Ocasio at 145.
The other medalists from Northern Kentucky were Cooper senior Madeline Thompson (fourth at 138), Ryle junior Viktoriya Emelianova (sixth at 185), Highlands senior Angelica Jackson (seventh at 126), Boone County sophomore Rebecca McCray (eighth at 126) and Highlands eighth-grader Emma Hood (eighth at 152).
The Region 5 boys wrestling tournament will be this coming Saturday at Walton-Verona High School.