By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Three 9th Region boys basketball players were among the top 20 vote-getters for all-state honors in a statewide coaches poll conducted by the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper.
CovCath junior point guard Evan Ipsaro placed sixth in the voting and was named first-team all-state. He averaged 21.7 points and 5.8 assists for the Colonels, who won the 9th Region championship and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament.
CovCath junior guard Evan Ipsaro
Ipsaro was named to the state all-tournament team for averaging 21.3 points and 4.3 assists in three games. He also made all 21 of his free throws during his first state tournament appearance.
Holy Cross junior guard Jacob Meyer and CovCath senior center Mitchell Rylee were named second-team all-state for placing 12th and 20th in the voting.
Meyer was the state’s leading scorer with a 38.2 average while Rylee averaged 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
In the girls coaches poll, Cooper junior forward Whitney Lind was named second-team all-state for placing 17th and Newport Central Catholic senior guard Rylee Turner was third team all-state for placing 22nd.
Turner had the second highest scoring average (26.3) in Kentucky girls basketball this season. Lind was the leading scorer (16.7) and rebounder (6.4) on the Cooper team that won its first 9th Region championship and made it to the state tournament semifinals.
Simon Kenton senior places second in state archery tournament
Simon Kenton senior Mason Hammons placed second in the Kentucky boys archery state tournament on Tuesday in Bowling Green with a 293 score that was just two points behind state champion Wade Stallard of Boyle County.
Mason Hammons
Anderson County won the boys team title with a 1,989 total. Simon Kenton placed fourth with 1,974 and Ryle was 16th with 1,933. There were 22 teams in the field.
The other local boys who placed among the top 20 in the individual standings were Simon Kenton junior Reuben Hinsdale and Cooper junior Thane Hudelson, who were 17th and 18th with matching scores of 288.
Emma Vicars of Simon Kenton placed sixth in the girls state tournament with a 291 score. The winner was Abigail Stevenson of Fredrick Douglass with 296 points.
Harrison County won the girls team title with a 1,990 total that’s the third highest in girls state tournament history. Dixie Heights placed 13th (1,923) and Simon Kenton placed 17th (1.912).
Ludlow plans to dedicate upgraded baseball/softball field on May 5
The dedication ceremony for Ludlow High School’s upgraded baseball/softball field has been postponed until Thursday, May 5 when the baseball team has a 5 p.m. home game against Lloyd at the newly named Lemker Field at St. Elizabeth Ball Park.
The dedication was originally scheduled for Tuesday. The synthetic grass infield, fencing and dugouts have all been completed, but laying natural grass sod in the outfield was delayed by the weather.
The project cost approximately $500,000, according to Mike Borchers, superintendent of Ludlow Independent Schools. A banner running across the outfield fencing salutes the major financial sponsors — St. Elizabeth HealthCare, Cincinnati Reds, Duke Energy, City of Ludlow, Skyline Chili, Marshall Motors and Camporossa Restaurant.
The city-owned ball park is located less than 200 yards across the street from the high school. It has a portable pitcher’s mound that can be removed for softball games or adjusted for Knothole games. An enclosed bullpen area was also added.
Ryle names baseball field for coach who started the program
The baseball field at Ryle High School was officially named for former head coach Pat Roesel during a ceremony earlier this month.
Roesel started the Ryle baseball program when the school opened and spent 27 seasons as head coach. He retired in 2019 with a 523-412-10 record that ranks fourth in career wins among Northern Kentucky baseball coaches.
Roesel guided the Raiders to the 9th Region final four times, winning titles in 2007 and 2013. He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017 and surpassed 500 career wins the following year.
