After a couple of months off, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame will continue with inductions on Sept. 18 at the Gardens of Park Hills at 1 p.m.
The September class includes seven new inductees, they are:
Bill Roller (Highlands), Bob Boswell (Newport), Fred Geraci (Thomas More), Heather Kruger Parsons (Highlands), Kate Arnzen-Kruse (Highlands, NKU), Michael Zimmerman (Newport Central Catholic) and Steve Kruse (NKU).
The September class of inductees is listed below (Info submitted by Buddy Dittus):
Bill Roller, Highlands, Class of 1971
Roller played middle linebacker for three years. He was a part of two State Champion teams in 1968 and 1970. He was named All-Conference three times, All-State two times. Bill was a team leader and named team captain in 1969 and 1970. As a junior and senior, he led the team in tackles. He was named to several All-star teams. Bill was inducted into the Highlands sports Hall of Fame and was named as one of the greatest players in school history.
Bob Boswell Jr., Newport, Class of 1968
Boswell got his start like many athletes playing Knothole baseball and youth basketball at the Boys Club in Newport. He then went on to Newport High School where he was part of a basketball team that was the NKAC Conference champions in both 1967 and 1968. He was named team captain in 1967-1968. He was named All-Conference in 1968. Bob also played baseball for Newport, where he was a starter all four years. He played for legendary coach Les Redmond, Coach Redmond stated that Bob was a team leader on and off the field. He was part of the NKAC conference champions in 1967 and 1968. After high school, Bob coached and sponsored numerous youth teams for over 20 years.
Fred Geraci, Thomas More
After graduating from Purcell-Marian, Geraci went on to Thomas More to play basketball and baseball. In basketball, he scored 22 points against the University of Cincinnati and was named to the All-tourney team as a freshman. In baseball, he was a pitcher and outfielder. He pitched a two-hit shutout against Cincinnati. He also earned wins against Dayton and Xavier. He had a career record of 12-6 and an ERA of 2.34, still a Thomas More record. Geraci posted a career batting average of .329. While not playing baseball, he was the No. 1 singles player on the tennis team. He was inducted into the Thomas More Hall of Fame in 2014. After college he coached and taught for 43 years at Purcell.
Heather Kruger Parsons, Highlands, Class of 1998
Heather played basketball at Highlands from 1993-98. She was a part of five straight 36th District champions and three Ninth Region champions. She scored 2,111 career points, had 1,523 rebounds and 586 blocked shots (3rd all-time in the state of Kentucky). She was Associated Press All-State in 1998, USA Today Girls Basketball Honorable Mention in 1998 and participated in the Ky-IN All-Star game. She was named to the Highlands High School Hall of Fame in 2023.
Kate Arnzen-Kruse, Highlands, Class of 1980, and NKU, Class of 1986
Kate played basketball at Highlands for four years. She was a starter for three years, and was twice named team Captain. She was the top rebounder in 1979, top field goal percentage in 1978 and 1979 and was named to the NKAC All-Star team in 1978 and 1979.
Along with basketball, Kate played Volleyball for three years and was named team Captain in 1978 and 1979. She was named team MVP two times. She was All-State two years, All-Region two years, All-Conference two years, All-District two years, and was named the Famous Recipe All-Star of the week in 1979. Kate earned a full ride to NKU and played Volleyball all four years After college she was named head coach at Highlands for two years in 2003-04. They finished District and Regional runner-up in 2003. They were District and Regional Champions in 2004 and advanced to the Elite 8 in the State Tournament. Kate was inducted into the Highlands High School Hall of Fame in 2023.
Michael Zimmerman, Newport Central Catholic, Class of 2004
Zimmerman was the NKY basketball Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004. He was named All-Conference three times, 9th region All-Tournament team in 2004, All “A” Regional champ two times, All “A” All-Region team three times, All “A” All-State team in 2004 and honorable mention All-State in 2004. He graduated as the third All-Time leading scorer in NewCath history. He was a leader on the court and a great student as well, earning Academic All-State all four years of his career. He led NCC in scoring as well as assists for three straight years. Michael earned a full ride to Missouri-Kansas City where he had a great career.
Steve Kruse, NKU
After graduating from Oak Hills in Ohio, Kruse ran cross country at NKU where he was named an All-State Athlete in 1980, and the Most Improved Runner in 1980. He also ran two years at UC. In 1994, he was named as head coach at NKU and still holds the position today. His coaching highlights are as follows, Great Lakes coach of the year in 2006, KCCTCA coach of the year 2007, coached 20 Academic All-Americans in cross Country, five Academic All-Americans in track, 32 conference All-Americans in cross country and 22 in track. Since he took over at NKU, the program has had 51 All-Conference cross country performers, 105 All-Conference in track, three cross country conference champions, 28 indoor track champions, 34 outdoor champions, 7 All-Region cross country performances and two All-Americans. All NKU running records have been set under his coaching tenure. He has coached four NKU female and six NKU male athletes to Athlete of the year honors.