We gave you the 50 greatest sports icons from NKY last summer. Since we had so much fun with that, we’re bringing you another list of the 50 greatest things this summer…The 50 greatest prep sports teams from NKY.
Each day for the next 50 days, we’ll release one of the area’s 50 greatest prep sports teams. It starts June 22 and runs into August. This is not a ranking 1-50, it’s just a collection of the 50 best sports teams ever assembled.
We’ll preface this by saying you may or may not agree with all 50 and that’s fine. Sports editor Evan Dennison assembled a panel of dedicated and longly-tenured NKY sports fans to weigh in and give their takes on who should be on the list. I trust those people because of their history and knowledge of the game in NKY. We compiled numerous lists and identified the most certain candidates for inclusion.
Some of the traits we sought in these teams were state championships (almost certainly a requirement), dominance, and standout players and coaches. We may have cheated a little by lumping some dominant teams together that achieved numerous consecutive state titles, but that gives a few more teams an opportunity to be recognized.
I hope you enjoy this, as sports are slow in the summer. This list serves as a way to remember the past a little and keep you entertained daily as it continues.
Another note, while we respect and give coverage to golf, tennis, wrestling, bowling, track and field and cross country, we consider those individual sports, so any teams from those sports will not make the list.
Here we go!
1994 Highlands girls’ basketball
The 1994 Highlands Bluebirds girls’ basketball team fell short of the ultimate goal of winning a state championship, but still made history.
Highlands became the first team from the 9th Region to reach the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet 16 state championship game. The Bluebirds ultimately lost to M.C. Napier, 88–56, in the title game, but they set a Sweet 16 championship game record by scoring the most points ever by a losing team. Following the 1994–95 school year, M.C. Napier merged with Dilce Combs High School to form Perry County Central.
Under head coach Jim Higgins, Highlands endured an uneven start, opening the season with a 6–5 record. From that point forward, however, the Bluebirds caught fire, losing just two more games and finishing with a 32–7 overall record.
The team was led by sophomore Jaime Walz-Richey, already one of Kentucky’s premier players despite her youth. An All-State selection and a member of the Sweet 16 All-Tournament Team, Walz-Richey scored 1,078 points during the 1994 season, a total that still ranks among the highest single-season scoring marks in Kentucky girls’ basketball history. She went on to play at Western Kentucky University and finished her high school career with 4,948 points, the state’s all-time scoring record until Whitney Creech of Jenkins surpassed it in 2016. Walz-Richey currently serves as Highlands girls’ basketball coach.
Senior Megan Arnzen-Krieg, a standout three-sport athlete in basketball, volleyball, and softball, was another key contributor. She later played collegiate volleyball at Georgetown College and was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. Arnzen-Krieg and fellow senior Denise Lombardo were both named to the 9th Region All-Tournament Team.
In 2019, the 1993–94 Highlands girls’ basketball team was inducted into the Highlands Athletic Hall of Fame as a Team of Distinction.
Here’s the rundown of the 50 greatest NKY prep sports teams day by day:
Day 1: 1998 Highlands Football
Day 2: 1963 Holmes Baseball
Day 3: 2019 Covington Catholic football
Day 4: 2021 Notre Dame Academy Girls Soccer
Day 5: 1960 Highlands Football
Day 6: 1980 Villa Madonna Volleyball
Day 7: 1976 Lloyd Memorial Football
Day 8: 2009 Holmes Boys Basketball
Day 9: 1991 Beechwood Football
Day 10: 1954 Newport Catholic Baseball
Day 11: 1982 Highlands Football
Day 12: 2019 Ryle Girls Basketball
Day 13: 1987 Boone County Football
Day 14: 1981 St. Henry Volleyball
Day 15: 2021 Beechwood Football
Day 16: 2002 Covington Catholic Baseball
Day 17: 1957 Highlands Football
Day 18: 2006 Ryle Softball
Day 19: 1975 Ludlow Football
Day 20: 1979 Notre Dame Volleyball
Day 21: 1977 Bellevue Football
Day 22: 2015 Holy Cross Girls Basketball
Day 23: 1970 Highlands Football
Day 24: 2013 Notre Dame Soccer
Day 25: 2011 Highlands Football
Day 26: 2015 Covington Catholic Soccer
Day 27: 1997 Beechwood Football
Day 28: 1994 Highlands Girls Basketball
Day 29: 2017 Covington Catholic Football
Day 30: 1978 Holmes Boys Basketball
