By: Marc Hardin, prepsports@enquirer.com
Kentucky high school sports championship weekend continued yielding residuals Monday for the local winners and the teams that almost made it to the top.
The Covington Catholic boys' soccer team made a local breakthrough, and joined the Highlands and St. Henry girls' cross country teams, and Highlands boys' cross country runner Ethan Shuley as Saturday state champions.
"We're a school that prides itself on academics first, but this was a huge deal," said CovCath junior striker Griffin Lamb. He assisted on the first goal then scored the second and third in the Colonels' 3-0 championship win over Henry Clay at Lexington Dunbar. "The first thing they said (Monday) morning at school was we won. Everybody was congratulating us all day. It was great."
Cov Cath players celebrate their first-ever state championship and the first boys soccer title in Northern Kentucky history. Covington Catholic 3, Henry Clay 0. Boys soccer KHSAA state final. Nov. 7, 2015. Dunbar High School. Lexington KY. James Weber/Community Recorder, James Weber/The Community Recorder
Later Saturday evening, CovCath won its first soccer crown. Senior Bryce Day was selected tournament MVP. Classmates Ben Darpel and Sam Romes were named all-tournament. Coach Jeremy Robertson, who also made a state tournament breakthrough after losing in the finals as coach at Highlands, said the team will be in local television studios Wednesday talking about the big win.
In school plans is a photo shoot of the team proudly showing off the state championship trophy, which first went on display in the gym at the soccer table at Sunday's open house for prospective students. The team was celebrated with a Saturday evening reception at the Griffin Centre on campus.
Robertson said it's a team that's easy to celebrate. "We have 18 seniors, eight of them Kentucky Governor's Scholars, five who got 31 or better on their ACT, and they all worked hard for four years," the coach said. "When you have that, and you win the state championship, it hits you, but then it doesn't hit you. It'll probably really hit me later on."