The history of sports in Northern Kentucky goes back a long way. A very long way. Decades. Centuries.
We know you’ve seen these lists before, but this is a different and unique way of presenting our “50 sports icons in Northern Kentucky” as we’ll provide you one per day over the next 50 days.
Hall of Fames are everywhere in NKY, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, NKU, Thomas More and local high schools all have something to recognize their past.
We’ll preface this series by saying this, some of you may disagree with who should or shouldn’t be in the top 50 and that’s fine. Plenty are in the Hall of Very Good, but we feel these 50 are the one’s who stuck out to us.
Sports Editor Evan Dennison spoke and conferred with several local NKY sports history buffs to get their opinions and lists of their own and who should be “locks” for the 50 sports icons. We compiled each list and came up with the 50 of our own (maybe cheated a little by putting families in as one) to present over the next 50 days.
Hope you enjoy as summer time rolls on!
The 46th of the 50 sports icons is Maureen Egan Corl, the St. Henry running star.
MAUREEN EGAN CORL
In six years at St. Henry, Maureen Egan Corl was a star in track and cross country.
Corl won a combined 14 Class A state track titles, and the list is lengthy: five in the 800 meters (1989-93), including a then-state record 2:14.50 in 1993; two in the 1,600 (1992-93); three in the 3,200 (1991-93); and three as the anchor leg on the Crusaders’ 4×800 state titlists.
She also won six indoor state titles and one in cross country in 1990 and was a member of St. Henry’s three Class A state cross country champion teams.
According to ky.milesplit.com, Egan Corl was the first Class A girl to break the five-minute barrier in the 1,600. In 2022, she was named to the Cincinnati Enquirer’s list of 50 greatest athletes and coaches since Title IX became a law in 1972.
The state titles were just part of her legacy. Her national honors included: USA Junior Olympic National Finalists, Keebler International Invitation All-American, Kinney National Cross Country Invitational, and AAU National All-American in 1992 and 1993.
After high school, Egan Corl ran at the University of Kentucky, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics. She was: a four-year captain of UK’s track and cross country teams; a Southeastern Conference All-Academic selection for two years and All-America selection for one.
Egan Corl is now a self-employed health and happiness coach and a part-time cross country coach at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati.
See the 50 sports icons on a day-to-day basis over the next 50 days
— Day 1: Dave Cowens
— Day 2: Shaun Alexander
— Day 3: Homer Rice
— Day 4: Dicky Beal
— Day 5: Jared Lorenzen
— Day 6: Jim Bunning
— Day 7: Tom Ellis
— Day 8: Nate Dusing
— Day 9: Jim Connor
— Day 10: Steve Cauthen
— Day 11: Irv Goode
— Day 12: Stan Steidel
— Day 13: Kenney Shields
— Day 14: David Justice
— Day 15: Morgan Hentz
— Day 16: Eddie Arcaro
— Day 17: Nancy Winstel
— Day 18: Steve Flesch
— Day 19: Donna Murphy
— Day 20: Randy Marsh
— Day 21: Mike Yeagle
— Day 22: Derrick Barnes
— Day 23: Dale Mueller
— Day 24: Dave Faust
— Day 25: Kirsten Allen
— Day 26: The Oldendick family
— Day 27: Martin “Mote” Hils
— Day 28: Nell Fookes
— Day 29: Owen Hauck
— Day 30: Becky Ruehl
— Day 31: Tom Thacker
— Day 32: Sydney Moss
— Day 33: Bob Schneider
— Day 34: The Walz family
— Day 35: John Toebben
— Day 36: Pat Scott
— Day 37: Bob Arnzen
— Day 38: Joan Mazzaro
— Day 39: Frank Jacobs
— Day 40: Adrienne Hundemer
— Day 41: The Draud family
— Day 42: Bill Krumpelbeck
— Day 43: The Molony family
— Day 44: Allen Feldhaus
— Day 45: The Maile family
— Day 46: Maureen Egan Corl
— Day 47: Bill Aker
— Day 48: Maureen Kaiser
— Day 49: John Brannen
— Day 50: Mike Bankemper