Local year in sports a newsy one
By STAFF REPORT
Here’s a look at some of the top local stories that splashed across the Sports section at The Kentucky Standard in 2009. Check Sunday’s issue for part two. Enjoy!
February — Bardstown’s senior-dominated boys club continued the school’s stellar run in All A Classic play in Richmond, knocking off a tough Hazard squad that later made it to the Sweet 16 in the semifinals before falling 58-55 to Shelby Valley in the championship. In four consecutive trips to the All A, Bardstown went to three championship games, winning once. The 2009 tournament schedule had to be shuffled around because of the ice storm that paralyzed much of Kentucky.
Tigers make All A magic
Bardstown squeaks past Nelson — In what many expected to be a Tiger blowout — what with Nelson County returning basically no one with any varsity experience — Bardstown needed a pair of late free throws from Damian Edelen to hold off the upset-minded Cardinals, 56-52. The Cardinals surprisingly finished with a winning record despite graduating 11 seniors from the 2007-08 club.
Tigers win OT thriller over North — Bardstown and North Hardin finished up the regular season in style, as the Tigers got three free throws late in overtime from Demarco Phillips to score a 65-62 win on Senior Night in a matchup of two of the top contenders for the 5th Region crown. The Trojans later fell 82-76 in double overtime to Adair County in a wild region championship game; the same Adair team that got past Bardstown in a 63-56 OT nail-biter in the first round of the 5th Region tournament.
Tiger girls get to region — In a rough year that saw its top player sidelined just days before the season got underway, Bardstown scored a 54-48 win at Washington County in the 19th District semifinals to advance to the 5th Region tournament. The win was one of just six all year for Bardstown, but enough to enable the Tigers to make consecutive trips to the region for the first time in history.
Seaman breaks back, personal records — Michael Seaman, a state champion pole vaulter for Bardstown, made an improbable comeback from a broken back suffered at a meet in January to get back in competition for the University of Tennessee. The sophomore later transferred to Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
Tiger stunner — After losing both regular season matchups between the schools by identical 13-0 counts in five innings, Bardstown staged what was likely the biggest upset in the state when the Tigers got five runs in its final at-bat to beat top-seeded Bethlehem 10-8 in the 19th District semifinals. Bethlehem came in a 20-game winner, while Bardstown — featuring a roster littered with freshmen and middle-schoolers — had won just once going into the district tournament. The Tigers nearly added an improbable district championship to their resume’ days later but fell short 7-6 to Nelson County, a team that had outscored them 43-3 during two regular season games.
Three champs for Bardstown — At the KHSAA State Track and Field Championships in Louisville, Bardstown athletes brought home three individual state championships. Junior J.P. Willett captured the boys’ Class 1A pole vault crown, the fourth consecutive Tiger to do so. Damian Edelen rounded out his senior year in style by winning the boys’ 400-meter dash, and was also presented with the prestigious Forcht Bank Sportsmanship Award for his efforts. On the girls’ side, eighth-grader Victoria Yocum set a school record in the 200-meter dash to win her first state championship, covering the course in 59.51.
June — Former Bardstown track star Demorrio Leggett, a key cog in the Tigers’ recent run of success at the state meet, finished sixth overall in the triple jump for Union College in the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the winter, then was fifth in the triple jump in the NAIA Outdoor championships to earn NAIA All-American honors. Leggett, a freshman, won an individual state crown in the triple jump for Bardstown.
Leggett an All-American
Cards top Tigers in wild one — Alex Downs scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, spotting Nelson County a lead it would never give up in a 56-41 track meet of a renewal of the schools’ football rivalry. The teams combined for almost 900 yards of total offense. Bardstown’s Ricky Harper tallied four touchdowns in the game.
Harrison Co. forfeits to Bardstown — The Tigers got a win of the unexpected variety when Harrison County was forced to cancel their visit for a football game. Harrison County Schools officials made the decision when system-wide attendance plummeted because of a flu outbreak, one of a handful of games across the state to fall victim to the illness.
Tigers’ OT surprises — Bardstown’s girls’ soccer team lost a decisive 3-0 regular season home game to Nelson County, and dropped both its games with Bethlehem. But the Tigers shrugged off their underdog status as the No. 3 seed in the 9th District tournament, springing a 1-0 overtime upset of the Cardinals in the semifinals, then doing the same thing in knocking off the top-seeded Banshees in overtime in the championship.
Tigers snare top seed — In a game postponed a day because of heavy rains in the area, Bardstown seized control of the Class 2A District 4 race as Ricky Harper ran for 124 yards and caught a 60-yard scoring pass in a 17-15 win in the mud at Danville. Victor Kremser kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:27 left.
Kahleifeh finishes strong — Bardstown senior Adam Kahleifeh made up for a disappointing performance in the regionals in a big way, powering to a second-place finish in the Class 1A State Cross Country Championships at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. It was the third consecutive finish of sixth-place or better for the senior, and best-ever result by a Bardstown runner. Kahleifeh was also awarded the prestigious Forcht Bank Sportsmanship Award.
Kimberland looks strong in returns — Bardstown junior Daizah Kimberland missed the 2008-09 seasons, and her team suffered greatly in her absence. Since Kimberland returned for this season, she has been making up for lost time, delivering multiple 30-point games. Her team has benefited tremendously from the players’ return, while the 7-3 Tigers have already surpassed their 6-18 mark of a year ago.