Bellevue High School coach Rob Sanders’ association with baseball began in 1965, back when he was playing Knothole League. “I was playing for Covington Turners,” Sanders recalled. “I was 6 years old.” At 19, soon after graduating from Holmes High School, Sanders snagged his first coaching gig in 1978 — again, with Covington Turners. It […]
Author Archives: Marc Hardin
Posted inBaseball
Simon Kenton getting it done on the diamond despite early season challenges
Good and wet. That’s how you could describe the Simon Kenton High School baseball team’s soggy start to the 2025 season. “It seems like almost every game we’ve played has been in some kind of wet or windy conditions,” coach Brady Smiley said. Despite the weather, the Pioneers have compiled a respectable 4-2-2 record, riding […]
Posted inBasketball
Curtain call: Northern Kentucky’s top high school senior boys basketball players in 2024-25
Seniors were on parade during the local high school boys basketball season, creating a seemingly endless stream of colorful players, storylines, champions and memories. From the opening tip-off in December to the UK HealthCare Kentucky High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Sweet 16, seniors made sizable impacts, often cratering the hopes of their opponents. Twelve […]
Posted inBasketball
Senior power! Northern Kentucky’s top senior girls prep basketball players for 2024-25
Senior girls basketball players made the most of their final games on the northern Kentucky high school hardwood. Seventeen seniors are on the Northern Kentucky Girls Basketball Coaches Association all-star teams for Divisions I, II, and III. This is nearly half the total number of players on the teams. Four seniors made the five-player 9th […]
Posted inBaseball
Ryle ready to defend 9th Region baseball crown with a slew of seniors
One of the best ways to replace a big senior class of graduating baseball players is to have another big class waiting in the wings. Ryle High School is taking that to extremes. The Raiders are replacing eight graduates with 13 new seniors this season. No triskaidekaphobian, coach Joe Aylor counts himself lucky to have […]
Posted inBasketball
Miracle on Taylor Mill Road
Chayse Lambert stood at the free throw line in the Kentucky Christian Athletic Association boys basketball state tournament final. Community Christian Academy’s only senior was waiting to receive the ball from an official in the waning seconds. The Crusaders’ lead over Galilean Christian Academy was growing with each made free throw. Lambert was given the […]
Posted inBasketball
Senior-led Simon Kenton does it with depth, defense
Coach Trent Steiner and his five senior captains crowd into the coach’s office next to the Simon Kenton gymnasium. It’s an imposing bunch of basketball players, topped by 6-foot-9 center Bode Stone and 6-4 forward Marty Taylor. Three others 6 feet and taller join them. The fantastic five gather mere moments after a 90-minute practice […]
Posted inBowling
How Cooper’s Alexis Tignor won the girls state bowling championship
A variety of factors catapulted Cooper senior Alexis Tignor to last week’s girls singles championship at the KHSAA state bowling tournament. Jaguars coach Joe Deters explains. “Alexis is a good fundamental bowler with solid technique and power and she’s a very hard worker,” Deters said. “She’s experienced and she’s also very poised. It all came […]
Posted inWrestling
Pioneers’ McCloskey leads local contingent to state wrestling tournament
Eighteen weight class winners from the local regions and several highly ranked wrestlers head to Lexington beginning Thursday for the three-day KHSAA State Wrestling Championships at Alltech Arena. The girls meet, with four local champions, begins Thursday. The boys meet, with 14 local champs, is Friday and Saturday. One northern Kentucky wrestler making the trip […]
Posted inWrestling
Ryle eyes advantages after another Region 5 wrestling crown
At the outset of the 2024-25 high school wrestling season, Ryle coach Tim Ruschell made some estimations. “Ryle will be respectable this season, returning six state placers. We lost some good wrestlers, but we could have five or six guys who can win region,” Ruschell said in December. “We could have a few more than […]
