By Perry Swack
As fans and followers of high school athletics, we often immortalize the moments of our school’s greatest achievements. As a Greenwood alum, I’ll never forget winning the 2008 4th Region boys’ basketball championship or hosting St. X in the 2009 Class 6A football state semifinals. 2023 was a special year for area athletic programs. Below are the ten defining headlines of the last twelve months. Feel free to comment below on any headlines you would change or add!
Warren Central Boys Basketball crowned state champions for first time since 2004
After falling by a point in the 2022 state finals, the Dragons entered 2023 with a mission to bring home its first state championship to Warren Central since 2004. Dominant from November to March , Coach Will Unseld’s club went 36-1 and answered every challenge that came its way. After surviving an overtime thriller in the 4th Region championship game, the Dragons navigated one of the deepest Sweet 16 fields in recent memory to win the state championship. With five players averaging at least nine points and three averaging at least seven rebounds, Central’s strength across the board made it virtually unbeatable. Chappelle Whitney was named the Sweet 16’s most outstanding player, 4th Region player of the year, and 14th District player of the year after leading the team in scoring and rebounding. Kade Unseld scored a tournament-best 73 points (with 17 in both the state semifinals and finals) and canned a region-best 79 three-pointers during the season. As the Dragons cut down the nets at Rupp Arena in Lexington, it seemed inevitable that this would be the defining headline of 2023.
Hart County Football reach state semifinals for first time in school history
Expectations were high around the Hart County football program coming into the 2023 season. The Raiders were coming off of a 9-3 season that saw the school win its first-ever playoff game. With a talented roster, coach Chad Griffin’s club expected to win football games. But the school’s first district, region, state semifinal berth? A 13-0 start to the season? Few outside of the locker room believed this was possible. But the Raiders achieved what seemed impossible using a vaunted rushing attack (320 rushing yards per game) to torch its opponents and break numerous school records along the way. Hunter Monroe led the way with nearly 1,300 yards on the ground and Clark Rexroat tallied more than 1,100 yards as the Raiders were a field goal away from advancing to the Class 3A state championship game.
BG Football wins 5A state championship
The Purples began the season with two losses in their first three games, but the perennial powerhouse rebounded to win 11 of its final 12 games to capture an eighth state championship with a 28-14 win over Cooper. Behind the Class 5A player of the year Deuce Bailey, Bowling Green cruised to a 28-14 victory. Bailey threw for more than 200 yards in the game (with three passing TD) and was named the game’s MVP. On the season the junior quarterback threw for more than 3500 yards and 43 TD, while rushing for another eight scores. Bailey, wide receiver Trevy Barber, lineman DeMarcus Elliot, kicker Braden Widener, and defensive back Grayson Newman were all inked as all-state selections by the Courier-Journal
Historic Season on the Links as Greenwood’s Jacob Lang is named Mr. Golf & Bowling Green blows away field at region
The 2023 golf season was one of the most riveting we have seen in years as Bowling Green and Greenwood each took the state by storm all the way to the final putt at Bowling Green Country Club in early October. Bowling Green won the region title by a known-record of 21 strokes at Indian Hills Country Club over Greenwood and Glasgow. The Purples also won prestigious tournaments such as the KIT and KGCA All-State during the regular season.
Greenwood’s Jacob Lang was named Mr. Golf after tying for fourth in the state tournament and winning a number of tournaments throughout the season, including the Spartan Clash and the Kentucky Cup. Lang’s performance at BGCC helped the Gators finish fourth as a team. Bowling Green’s Ben Davenport also tied for fourth as an individual, after winning the 3rd Region individual title.
GHS Tennis duo finish state runner-ups as Dylan Dethridge is named Mr. Golf
Before classmate Jacob Lang was named Mr. Golf in the fall of 2023, Greenwood tennis standout Dylan Dethridge was named Mr. Tennis in the summer months after an outstanding career was capped off with a strong state tournament showing. Dethridge and teammate Gary Zheng nearly won the state doubles championship but fell in the state finale. The dynamic duo won the region title as well, a second for both tennis players. Dethridge paired with James Chen in 2021, while Zheng won the 2022 title with Seth Thomas.
Area Track and Field Athletes win six state titles in Class 1A & 2A meets
Glasgow’s Caroline Murphy carried the torch for the Greater Bowling Green Area at the Class 2A state meet as she won state championships in both the 100m and 300m hurdle events. In the 100, Murphy ran a time of 15.55 seconds, while in the 300m event she won with a time of 46.47 seconds. Warren East claimed two state titles in the boys high jump and the girls 4×200 meter relay. Isiah Summers was crowned the state high jump champion with a final jump of 1.98 meters. The Lady Raider quartet of Cheyenne Stark, Makenna Rine, Tanayah Woods, and Amiyah Carter ran the 4×200 relay in 1:45.58 to win the title.
At the Class 1A state meet, Monroe County’s Ansley Turner clinched the high jump title with a final round score of 1.57m, while Russellville’s duo of Joshua Hardin and AJ Woodard tallied a mixed long jump distance of 8.17 meters to bring the medal home for the Panthers.
Bowling Green Girls’ Basketball sets New Standard
Bowling Green entered 2023 looking to accomplish what had previously seemed impossible: four region titles in four seasons. From 1999 to 2001, Allen County-Scottsville won three in a row, while Franklin-Simpson (2006-2009) and BG (2010-2013) each won three over the course of four seasons.
The Lady Purples cruised to history by way of a 15-0 record against 4th Region opponents, all by at least 15 points. Coach Calvin Head’s club defeated its three tournament opponents by a combined 85 points. Throughout the 2022-23 campaign, BG used a balanced approach to claim victory with at least six players averaging six points per game. The senior trio of Meadow Tisdale (13.2 points, 7.5 rebounds), Tanaya Bailey (10.8 points), and Saniyah Shelton (10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds) led the way for the program that ended 2023 on a 42-game winning streak against 4th Region opponents. The senior class went 60-2 against the region.
Logan County Volleyball wins 4th Region championship for first time since 2013
For the first time in a decade, Logan County brought home the 4th Region volleyball championship. The Lady Cougars won twelve matches in a row as they made it all the way to the state quarterfinals. After going 0-3 against Greenwood and 0-2 against Bowling Green in the regular season, Logan knocked off the Lady Purples in the region semifinals and the Lady Gators in the region finals. Both matches went to five sets.
Over the course of the three tournament matches, Aubrey Sears registered 89 kills and Sloan Coursey tallied 82 assists, while Lydia Owens recorded 66 digs. The Lady Cougars defeated Meade County in straight sets to open the state tournament at home, before falling to West Jessamine in the state quarters. Logan County has now won 21 straight district titles but had not appeared in the region finale since 2013. The program reached the state quarterfinals in its last two appearances as well (2008, 2013).
Bowling Green Swim & Dive win 18th consecutive region championship
Bowling Green swim and dive combined for 845 points to win its eighteenth-straight region title. Senior Cooper Reynolds won the 100-yard freestyle, the 100-yard backstroke, and led off in the 200-yard medley relay as the Purples placed first. Cooper Neal, Warren Woodall, and Alfonso Verduzco rounded out the quartet of that event with a time of 1:39.37.Bowling Green also placed first in the 1-meter diving competition with Molly Morton final score of 269.30. The Purples won the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relay with Carlie Bowen, Paige Wierson, Sophie Morris, and Maggie Morris swimming both events and cruising to victory behind times of 1:43.04 in the 200 and 3:45.75 in the 400. Coach Wilkins also won the outstanding coach award for the 2nd Region.
Greenwood Girls’ track & field captures first region title in more than 20 years
It had been a long time since Greenwood Girls’ Track & Field found itself in the winner’s circle of the Class 3A, Region 2 championship. Behind an outstanding performance from Anna Drexel, the Lady Gators clinched their first region title in more than twenty years. Drexel captured four region titles in the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes; along with the 4×400 relay with teammates Lily Clark, Caroline Freeman, and Claire Ellington. Clark and Ellington also teamed up with Kylee Sutton and Charlotte Johnson to take the 4×800-meter relay at the region meet, while Kayleigh Richards rounded out the individual region champions with titles in both the adapted shot put and discus.
