By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper football player Austin Alexander, who was named first-team all-state after his senior season, added another honor to his resume Thursday when he received the Brian Williams “That’s My Boy” Award at the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the National Football Federation banquet.
The annual award goes to the top student-athlete in Northern Kentucky high school football based on a rating system that assigns points for achievements in football, academics and extra-curricular activities.
Alexander was a two-way starter on the Cooper team that was Class 5A state runner-up last season. He received first-team all-state honors as a defensive end, finishing with 52 tackles and 13 quarterback sacks.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior also played tight end and wide receiver for the 15-1 Jaguars, catching 45 passes for 706 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Alexander is also an outstanding student. He was recruited by several Division I college teams before making a commitment with the University of North Carolina.
The other “That’s My Boy” Award finalists were Tate Kruer of Covington Catholic, Kaleb Cole of Newport Central Catholic and Cole Howard of Beechwood.
Cooper bowler rolls to state title in girls singles
Cooper senior Alexis Tignor won three games in the girls stepladder finals at the state bowling tournament on Wednesday in Louisville to come home with the singles championship trophy.
Tignor had the third highest scoring score in the qualifying round to advance to the finals. She defeated No. 1 seed Peyton Ramey of Boyle County, 267-215, to take the title. Her other two victories were against the No. 4 seed with a 249 score and the No. 2 seed with a 224 score.
She is the third Northern Kentucky girl to win a state singles title. Her three-game total of 740 in the finals ranks among the top five in girls state tournament history.
Graves County won the girls bowling team championship. Highlands, Newport Central Catholic, Boone County and Dixie Heights all lost in the first round of the 16-team playoff bracket.
Local girls among state’s best free throw shooters
Three of the best free throw shooters in Kentucky girls high school basketball will be playing in the 9th Region tournament that begins Sunday at Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena.
Going into the 33rd District championship game on Thursday, Ryle junior Jaelyn Jones and Cooper sophomore Haylee Noel were second and third in state free throw statistics on the khsaa.org website. Jones had made 123 of 140 for 87.9 percent and Noel had gone 92-of-105 for 87.6 percent.
Newport Central Catholic senior Caroline Eaglin was sixth in the state at 86.6 percent (175 of 202). She was also among the state’s scoring leaders with a 22.0 average going into the 36th District final on Thursday.