By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Jonathan Cummins, a recent graduate of Simon Kenton, finished second in boys singles at the U.S. High School Bowling National Championships that ended Monday in Indianapolis.
Jonathan Cummins
Cummins, who won the Kentucky state title in boys singles last February, finished the qualifying and survivor rounds at the national tournament with the second highest pin total to advance to the semifinals. He then rolled a 267 to move on to the championship final against top-seeded Noah Mandujano of Illinois.
Mandujano won the final match, 194-160, over Cummins, who’s lowest score in 10 previous tournament games was 209. The winner received a championship ring from the U.S. High School Bowling Foundation that sponsors the event.
Kara Strong of Boone County placed 17th in the girls singles qualifying round, but she was eliminated in one of the survivor rounds.
Bowlers from 21 states entered this year’s national high school tournament that began in 2016. The annual event will be held in Cincinnati next summer.
High schools hire former players to fill head coaching vacancies
Two former Northern Kentucky high school athletes became head coaches of the teams they once played on this week.
Newport Central Catholic hired 1981 graduate Jeff Martin as baseball coach. After his senior season at NewCath in 1981, he attended Northern Kentucky University on a baseball scholarship and was captain on the 1985 and 1985 teams. He replaces Jeff Schulkens, who stepped down as NewCath’s head baseball coach after 24 years to become the school’s athletic director.
Bellevue’s new head football coach is former player CiCi Wood, who has been an assistant coach for the Tigers the last seven seasons. He was promoted to head coach following the resignation of Woody McMillan, who was in charge of the program the last four seasons.
Newport football player makes commitment with Indiana State
Newport football player Kaleal Davis has accepted a scholarship offer from Indiana State University, according to a post on his Twitter account.
Last season, Davis played quarterback and defensive back for Newport. He passed for 1,070 yards and 12 touchdowns, rushed for 540 yards and seven TDs and scored a touchdown on one of five pass interceptions. He was also the team’s second-leading tackler with 62 stops.
Indiana State is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The team’s leading pass receiver last season was Cooper graduate Dante Hendrix with 47 catches for 681 yards and four touchdowns.
