Highlands has quickly ascended the boys basketball ranks at the freshman and junior varsity levels. Julia Hunt is fast becoming a legendary figure at Holy Cross High School and so is Viktorya Emelianova at Ryle. Over in the 8th and 10th Regions, news is also coming quick. Likewise, here are the fastest thousand words in sports.
BLUEBIRDS SWEEP: Highlands swept the freshman and J.V boys basketball tournament championships Monday. The finals were part of the 2024 Jack Kaelin NKY Freshman Regional Tournament at Covington Catholic. The Bluebirds toppled CovCath in both finals.
Highlands’ freshmen downed CovCath, 38-35 for their first tournament title since 2001. In the semifinals, Highlands defeated Campbell County, and CovCath beat Simon Kenton. Advancing to the quarterfinals at the 12-day event along with the four semifinalists were Conner, Cooper, Holy Cross and Ryle.
Selected to the 2024 Jack Kaelin Freshman All-Tournament Team for Highlands were four players. They are Cale Harris, Tayden Lorenzen, Gabe Williams and Peyton Zimmerman. Named all-tournament for CovCath were Teegan Stava, Grayson Justice and Carson Bode.
The Highlands JV defeated CovCath, 51-38, in Monday’s other tournament final.
HUNT LAROSA’S HONOREE: Holy Cross senior volleyball/basketball standout Julia Hunt is having a memorable season. She is the fifth Northern Kentucky athlete earning a LaRosa’s weekly MVP honor this school year. Hunt, heading to the University of Washington on a volleyball scholarship, won the award for the week of Feb. 13. Other area winners: St. Henry senior volleyball player Alivia Skidmore (Nov. 21), CovCath senior football player and wrestler Willie Rodriguez (Nov. 28), Ryle senior football and basketball player Logan Verax (Dec. 12) and Cooper senior basketball player Liz Freihofer (Jan. 16).
Hunt, a 6-foot-3 power forward, led Holy Cross to its second consecutive All-A Classic girls basketball state championship. The Indians became the first team from the 9th Region to repeat. Hunt was tournament MVP for the second year in a row. That added to her lengthy list of honors and awards including membership in the 1,000-point club and 1,000-rebound club. She also holds school records for blocked shots in a season and in a career. She is third all-time in Kentucky history in career blocks.
Hunt has won an All-A Classic state title in both basketball and volleyball. This past season, she was a first-team all-state and all-region selection as a national All-American in volleyball. The middle hitter is the state leader in kills. She is the current Kentucky Ms. Volleyball. She is also the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year. Hunt was named 9th Region Player of the Year and Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Division II Player of the Year.
COVCATH’S MILLER OUT OF ACTION: Covington Catholic basketball standout Caden Miller could miss the rest of the regular season. He has a finger injury. The senior post player missed the Colonels’ home win over Dixie Heights on Feb. 16 and hopes for a return in time for the 35th District tournament. Miller last played Feb. 12 in a win over Lloyd. He logged about 22 game minutes. He had six points while nursing a bloody finger requiring attention by trainers. In the five-game run-up to Lloyd, Miller averaged nearly 20 points in 27 minutes per game. Miller leads the Colonels with 15.5 points and 10.7 rebounds. CovCath (22-5) has won 15 of its last 16 games. The team has one regular season game remaining. The start of the postseason is next week in the 35th District tournament. The Colonels open up with Holmes on Feb. 28.
ALL-8TH REGION GIRLS BASKETBALL: The 8th Region Basketball Coaches Association has its all-region girls basketball selections for 2023-24. Four players from two local schools are on it. They were Brynli Pernell and Haylie Webb from Simon Kenton, and Braylin Terrell and Elin Logue from Walton-Verona.
ALL-10TH REGION GIRLS BASKETBALL: Here are the local 10th Region Girls Basketball Coaches Association selections for 2023-24. First team: Izzy Jayasuriya, Campbell County. 2nd team: Zoee Meyers, Bishop Brossart; Kaia Peterson, Scott. Third team: Rachel Shewmaker, Bishop Brossart.
HALL OF FAME: Campbell County coach Aric Russell and player Cole Hegyi are 10th Region Hall of Fame inductees. Russell won 472 games, 284 with the Camels, and four 10th Region crowns. Hegyi scored 1,254 career points and helped lead Campbell County to the 2015 regional championship. Both will be honored March 12 at halftime of the 10th Region boys basketball tournament final at Mason County.
MORE HOOPS HONORS FOR NORSE: Northern Kentucky women’s basketball players Khamari Mitchell-Steen and Carter McCray swept the weekly Horizon League awards on Monday. Mitchell-Steen, a junior guard, is Horizon League player of the week for the first time in her career after scoring 25 and 30 points in two games last week. She is sixth in the league in scoring (14.5 ppg).
McCray added her sixth Horizon League freshman of the week honor of the season, and her third in a row. She had back-to-back double-doubles last week, tying her career high with 25 points and snaring 11 rebounds against IUPUI, and adding 20 points and 10 rebounds against Wright State.
NKU men’s basketball player Randall Pettus II is the Horizon League freshman of the week for the second week in a row. The reserve guard averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a pair of contests last week. He has recorded four double-digit scoring efforts in the last nine games.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Donnie Miller, a 2020 Newport graduate, broke the Midway University men’s basketball team scoring record Feb. 17. He also surpassed 2,000 career points with a 25-point effort in a road loss to St. Mary of the Woods. Miller, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, went ahead of Kwon Evans (2,005 points) as the program’s all-time scoring leader. He did it on a reverse layup with 8:06 to play in the first half. He began the game with 1,998 points and finished the contest with 2,023. Miller has been hot of late with at least 20 points in five of his last seven games. He is second on the team and 15th in the River States Conference with an average of 16.4 points. Last season, Miller led the conference with 21.7 points per game.
SPEED READS: Viktorya Emelianova captured the 185-pound weight class championship at the inaugural KHSAA girls state wrestling tournament. She added to her 2023 Class 3A track and field state championship in the shot put, making her Ryle’s first two-sport girls state champion.
Villa Madonna basketball senior Henry Thole surpassed 1,500 career points. He leads the team with 18 points and 15.3 rebounds per game.
The King sisters for the Ludlow girls basketball team enjoyed a milestone week. Olivia King reached 700 career points and Prestyn King scored a career-high 26 in a Feb. 15 overtime win at home against Carroll County.