By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The first day of practice for high school volleyball, soccer, cross country and golf is Tuesday and Northern Kentucky teams have top athletes returning in those fall sports.
At last year’s state cross country meet, Cooper junior Paul Van Laningham won the Class 3A boys race and Beechwood junior Lily Parke finished first in Class 1A girls to become their school’s first individual state champions in the sport.
They are returning along with Covington Catholic senior Joe Mayer, who placed third in the Class 2A boys state meet behind two senior runners who graduated.
The Villa Madonna boys cross country team also made history when it placed first in the Class 1A state meet last season. It was the first state championship won by a boys team at the Catholic high school, but three of the Vikings’ top five runners graduated.
Notre Dame will be among the top contenders for the state volleyball championship once again with four varsity veterans back from last year’s 33-4 nationally ranked team that was upset in the state semifinals.
The returning players include setter Lizzy Larkins, who had 941 assists in 37 matches, and hitters Audrey Dyas, Gracie Portwood and Teagan Kondik, who had a combined total of 645 kills.
They’re the team leaders Madison Salkowski and Hannah Colvin will be counting on during their first season as co-head coaches of the Pandas, who have won 38 region titles, played in 23 state finals and own 10 state championships.
Scott also made it to the semifinals of last year’s state volleyball tournament. The Eagles have 10th Region Player of the Year and first-team all-state selection Milyn Minor back from that 31-12 team. She had a team-high 484 kills as a junior.
The All “A” Classic state championship teams last fall included St. Henry in volleyball and boys golf and Brossart in girls soccer.
In the post-season playoffs, Covington Catholic and Highlands were the 9th Region champions in boys and girls soccer while Campbell County swept the the 10th Region titles. But none of those teams made it to the state semifinals.
The soccer players returning from last season include seniors Tanner Robertson of CovCath and Izelee Kerns of Conner. They were named Defensive Player of the Year in boys and girls soccer by Northern Kentucky coaches.
The returning golfers who placed among the top 25 in the girls state tournament finals last year are Dixie Heights junior Tatjana Andracenko (11th) and Ryle senior Anika Okuda (22nd).