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Prep Sports Notebook: Vinson voted Division II Player of the Year by boys basketball coaches


By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter

Highlands senior guard Sam Vinson, the only local boys basketball player who finished the regular season with double-figure averages in both scoring and rebounding, was voted Division II Player of the Year by the Northern Kentucky Boys Basketball Coaches Association.

This is the second straight year that Vinson has won the award. The Northern Kentucky University recruit entered the postseason averaging 23.2 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Bluebirds.

Sam Vinson of Highlands

Vinson had some stiff competition on this year’s Division II ballot. Beechwood senior Scotty Draud set a new 9th Region career scoring record this season and St. Henry senior Wyatt Vieth led his team to the All “A” Classic state championship and a top 10 ranking in the state.

There was also Holy Cross sophomore Jacob Meyer, who led the 9th Region in scoring at 25.5 points per game.

Simon Kenton senior guard Kelly Niece was voted Division I Player of the Year after finishing second in the balloting the last two years. He finished the regular season as the state’s leading scorer with a 30.9 scoring average.

There was a tie in the voting for Division III Player of the Year between Ludlow junior forward Ryan Gaiser and Calvary Christian junior guard Ethan Mulling. They both had double-figure scoring averages this season.

The three Coach of the Year awards went to Roddy Stainforth of Dixie Heights in Division I, Dave Faust of St. Henry in Division II and Dan Sullivan of Ludlow in Division III.

Faust moved into third place on the list of 9th Region boys basketball coaches with the most career wins. He has a 436-363 record in 29 seasons at St. Henry. The two former coaches ahead of him on the career wins list are Ken Shields (460) and Stan Arnzen (452).

DIVISION I

Kelly Niece (Simon Kenton), Mitchell Rylee (CovCath), Grant Profitt (Scott), Kiernan Geraci (Dixie Heights), Ian Snelling (Dixie Heights), Aydan Hamilton (Campbell County), Chandler Starks (CovCath), Evan Ipsaro (CovCath), Tyler Bush (Ryle), Spencer Couzins (Conner), Garrett Beiting (Campbell County), Riley Osterbur (Conner).

Player of the Year – Kelly Niece (Simon Kenton)
Mr. Hustle Award – Riley Osterbur (Conner)
Defensive Player of the Year – Kiernan Geraci (Dixie Heights)
Academic Scholarship – Nate Walker (Simon Kenton)
Coach of the Year – Roddy Stainforth (Dixie Heights)
Mike Swauger Scholarship – Jayden Coleman (Campbell County)

DIVISION II
Sam Vinson (Highlands), Wyatt Vieth (St. Henry), Scotty Draud (Beechwood), Jacob Meyer (Holy Cross), Will Downton (Beechwood), Jude Bessler (St. Henry), Quantez Calloway (Holmes), Joel Iles (NewCath), Luke Muller (Highlands), Stephen Verst (Brossart), Carson Schirmer (Brossart), Eian Elmer (Holmes).

Player of the Year – Sam Vinson (Highlands)
Mr. Hustle Award – Cory Shea (St. Henry)
Defensive Player of the Year – Sam Vinson (Highlands)
Academic Scholarship – Stephen Verst (Brossart)
Coach of the Year – Dave Faust (St. Henry)
Mike Swauger Scholarship – John Meyer (Holmes)

DIVISION III
Ryan Gaiser (Ludlow), Ethan Mulling (Calvary), Noah Hoffmeister (Ludlow), Luke Ruwe (Calvary), Liam Singer (Ludlow), Lorenzo Price (Dayton), Braiden Comstock (Dayton), Derek Leedy (Bellevue), Colin Chillo (Villa Madonna).

Players of the Year – Ryan Gaiser (Ludlow), Ethan Mulling (Calvary)
Mr. Hustle Award – Ryan Gaiser (Ludlow)
Defensive Players of the Year – Carter Hudson (Calvary), Matt Zwick (Ludlow)
Academic Scholarship – Jackson Bond (Villa Madonna)
Coach of the Year – Dan Sullivan (Ludlow)

Highlands bowler wins team’s first Region 5 girls championship

Abby Bach became the first Highlands bowler to win a Region 5 girls singles title with a 177-171 win over two-time defending champion Kaylee Hitt of Campbell County in the region tournament this week.

Those same two bowlers faced each other in the finals of the team bracket and Campbell County defeated Highlands, 4-1, to take the championship trophy for the third consecutive year.

In the boys singles final, Kyan Brewer of Pendleton County defeated top-seeded Jacob Billiter of Simon Kenton, 279-171, to become his team’s first region champion in bowling. Pendleton County claimed its first Region 5 team boys title with a 4-1 win over Campbell County in the championship match. 

In last week’s Region 6 tournament, Cooper swept the girls singles and team titles for the second straight year. Ranelle Ulandy repeated as singles champion with a 227-128 win over teammate Breana Brandt in the title match. In the team bracket final, Cooper defeated Boone County in three games.

Dylan Inyart of Ryle became the first member of his team to claim the Region 6 boys singles title with a 184-156 win over Andrew Ketron of Cooper in the championship final. 

Boone County won the boys team title for the first time since 2012 by defeating Beechwood in a four-game final.  The unified team bracket champions were Caitlin Reed and Rylee Phelps of Dixie Heights.

The top two teams and top four individual bowlers in each region advance to next week’s state tournament in Louisville.

Draud finishes high school career among state’s top 25 scorers

Beechwood boys basketball player Scott Draud finished his five-year high school varsity career with 3,128 total points, which currently ranks 25th on the state’s list of all-time leading scorers.

After surpassing the 9th Region boys scoring record of 3,045 points set by 2014 Dixie Heights graduate Brandon Hatton, Draud netted 81 points in his final three games to reach the state’s top 25.

Earlier this season, the senior guard eclipsed the previous 9th Region record of 2,865 points scored by his father, Scott Draud, a 1986 Highlands graduate.

Draud, who has not announced a college commitment, averaged 24.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in his senior season. He also shot 50.6 percent from the field for the Tigers, who posted a 23-6 record. This was the third consecutive season that Beechwood won 20 or more games with Draud in the starting lineup.


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