Lofton Scores 31 in Vols' Win Over Gators

Chris Lofton scored 31 points to lead the Tennessee Volunteers to an 86-76 win over the Florida Gators last night in Knoxville. Lofton was seven of 12 from the field including two of five on three-pointers. He was five of 10 from the free throw line and dished out four assists. Lofton is 14th on Tennessee's all-time scoring list with 1,468 points. Tennessee closes out the regular season Saturday at Georgia.

Lady Royals and Royals Beat Bracken County in District

The Mason County Lady Royals and Royals both defeated Bracken County tonight in the semi-finals of the 39th District tournaments. The Lady Royals used a 15-0 run to pull away for a 66-45 win over the Lady Bears. Kasey Litzinger banked in a three-pointer on the third quarter buzzer to start the run and put the Lady Royals up 40-37. De'Sarae Chambers started the fourth quarter with a trey. Litzinger had a double-double- 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Lacey Cline scored 15. Megan Reese tossed in 12 and Chambers added 10. Chelsea Ahrens was the Lady Bears' leading scorer with 11 points.
In the boys' game, Mason County led 27-14 after one quarter, and started the second quarter on a 14-0 run. Bracken County had 17 first half turnovers. Tony Browning led the Royals in scoring with 13 points. Darius Miller and Trevor Setty scored 11 apiece. Tyler Hamilton had a double-double for Bracken County- 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jesse Hall added 18 points for the Polar Bears. The district championship games are Thursday night-Mason County vs. St. Patrick in the girls' game and Mason County vs. Augusta in the boys' game.

Girls Statistics:

MC FG 39.3% 3 PT FG 33.3.% FT 61.9% REB 37 TO 13
BC FG 41.3% 3 PT FG 38.5% FT 28.6% REB 32 TO 25

Mason County (19-9) Reese 12, Menke 2, T. Chambers 7, Litzinger 20, Cline 15, D. Chambers 10
Bracken County (10-15) Figgins 8, Burden 4, Jefferson 6, Ware 2, Rogers 2, Ahrens 11, Kauini 6,
McDowell 6

MC 15 11 16 24-66
BC 12 09 14 10-45

Boys Statitsics:

MC FG 54.8% 3 PT FG 26.9% FT 58.3% REB 30 TO 6
BC FG 51.1% 3 PT FG 25% FT 45.5% REB 31 TO 23


Mason County (25-2) Scott 9, Hamm 5, Miller 11, King 8, Pawsat 8, Setty 11, Browning 13, Thompson 5, Middleton 7, Stahl 5, Tolle 2, Downing 5, Lykins 2, Rice 2
Bracken County (16-13) Smith 4, Hall 18, Feldhaus 8, Jefferson 2, Cooper 2, Hamilton 20

MC 27 24 22 21-94

BC 14 08 15 17-54

Lady Saints and Panthers Advance in District

The St. Patrick Lady Saints defeated the Augusta Lady Panthers 67-21 and the Augusta Panthers upset the St. Patrick Saints 56-50 in the semi-finals of the 39th District tournaments tonight at The Fieldhouse.
In the girls' game, after an 8-8 tie at the end of the first quarter, St. Patrick outscored
Augusta 40-7 over the next two quarters. Three Lady Saints- Chelsie Weber, Ciera Payne and
Emily Brant- scored 12 points apiece. Lauren Sebastion scored six points and grabbed 21 reboujnds for the Lady Panthers.
In the boys' game, Augusta scored the final six points of the game to avenge three regular season losses to St. Patrick. Josh White led the Panthers with 17 points. Jeremy Hardymon added 10 points. St. Patrick junior Chris Owens scored a game-high 19 points. Nick Anderson scored 13.
The Lady Saints and Panthers advance to the championship game of their respective tournaments and both earned berths in the regional tournaments.
Mason County plays Bracken County in the semi-finals of both the girls' and boys' district tournaments tomorrow night.

Girls Statistics:

St. Patrick FG 29.9% 3 PT FG 21.7% FT 76.2% REB 45 TO 21
Augusta FG 22.9% 3 PT FG 16.7% FT 28.6% REB 46 TO 42

St. Patrick (8-17) Pfeffer 4, King 2, Weber 12, Chamberlain 4, Mosler 5, Ch. Payne 2, Ci. Payne 12,
Stahl 3, Brant 12, Berry 2
Augusta (2-23) Linvile 3, Whiteman 5, Collins 2, Cummins 1, Sebastion 6, Harding 4

St. Patrick 08 20 20 19-67
Augusta 08 04 03 06-21

Boys Statistics:

Augusta FG 44.4% 3 PT FG 10% FT 65.2% REB 33 TO 14
St. Patrick FG 33.3% 3 PT FG 17.6% REB 36 TO 13

Augusta (12-14) Cummins 3, Groves 9, White 4, Staggs 9, Hardymon 10, White 17, Mofford 4
St. Patrick (12-14) Anderson 13, Thompson 5, Mason 6, Owens 19, Cummingham 2, Klee 3,
Yeary 2

St. Patrick 09 16 11 14-50
Augusta 12 09 20 15-56

Fryman Has Two Top Tens in SEC

Kentucky senior Andy Fryman was fifth in the weight throw and sixth in the shot put in the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships held this weekend in Nutter Fieldhouse at the University of Kentucky. Fryman had a personal-best toss of 62-07.75 in the weight throw, which is the fourth-best throw in school history. Fryman had a toss of 60-07.25 in the shot put which is a provisional-qualifying mark. Fryman and his Kentucky teammates will participate in NCAA qualifying events next weekend. The sites have not been announced.

Tournament Time

The girls' and boys' 39th District tournaments begin Monday night at The Fieldhouse. Here's the schedule:

Monday
(Girls) St. Patrick vs. Augusta 6:30 p.m.
(Boys) St. Patrick vs. Augusta 8 p.m.

Tuesday
(Girls) Mason County vs. Bracken County 6:30 p.m.
(Boys) Mason County vs. Bracken County 8:00 p.m.

Thursday
Girls Championship game 6:30 p.m.
Boys Championship game 8:00 p.m.

Lofton Scores 31 in UT Road Win

Chris Lofton scored 31 points to lead Tennessee to an 82-73 win over Arkansas today. It was the Volunteers' first road win in the Southeastern Conference and their 20th victory of the season. Lofton hit four three-pointers and moved past Scott Draud for fourth place on the SEC career three-pointers made list with 292. He needs nine to move into third place.
Tennessee plays its final home game of the season Tuesday night against the Florida Gators.

Mason County 84, Pendleton County 44

The Mason County Royals went on a 32-4 run in the first half and closed out the regular season with an 84-44 road win over the Pendleton County Wildcats tonight. The big run pushed the score from 17-12 to 49-16. Mason County led 51-20 at halftime. Five Royals scored in double figures- Russ Middleton with 18, Tyreese Scott and Trevor Setty 15 apiece, Tony Browning 12 and Darius Miller 10. Mason County plays Bracken County in the 39th District Tournament Tuesday night at The Fieldhouse.

MC FG 50.8% 3 PT FG 28.6% FT 70.6% REB 37 TO 5
PC FG 28.1% 3 PT FG 18.8% FT 55.6% REB 43 TO 17

Mason County (24-2) Scott 15, Miller 10, King 4, Pawsat 2, Setty 15, Browning 12, Middleton 18, N. Stahl 2, Tolle 1, Downing 2. W. Stahl 3
Pendleton County (10-13) Hardin 2, Feeback 6, Belcher 21, Crozier 8, Lambert 2, Myers 3,
Sandy 2

MC 24 27 21 12-84
PC 12 08 12 12-44

Chad Simms' Path to Coaching

(Here's a condensed and updated version of a column I wrote last year for the Mason County Beat about Pendleton County boys basketball coach Chad Simms.)

It is probably safe to say Chad Simms wouldn’t be a high school basketball coach today if he hadn’t moved to Maysville from Wyoming.
Simms, the boys varsity assistant head coach at Pendleton County, lived with his mom in Cheyenne, Wyoming from age seven to 15. Basketball isn’t that big of deal in the Cowboy State.
Simms moved to Maysville to live with his dad between his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He didn’t know a lot about Kentucky high school hoops.
"Just from talking to my family, all I knew about was Mason County and The Fieldhouse," Simms said.
He had played a lot of basketball during his summer visits to Maysville.
"I’d go down to Jack Condon’s down in Maysville and play in his backyard," Simms said.
"I also played a lot down at Rotary Park."
Simms says once he enrolled at Mason County, he met a lot of nice people who were
basketball players.
"Scott Reule, Trey Clark, Richie Butler, those guys, Shawn Myrick," Simms said. "[I] started hanging out with those guys, and things started going more smoothly for me then." Simms played basketball for three seasons and football for two years. He remembers the first time he walked in The Fieldhouse.
"I got goose bumps. It was for a PE class," he said.
Simms says he learned a lot from his coaches "about becoming a young man, doing things the right way and being accountable."
While a student at Morehead State University, Simms had a job at a local store. Mason County Royals coach Kelly Wells and his wife, Shawne, were shopping at the store, when Simms asked Wells about coaching.
"I never even really thought about it until then," Simms said. He started asking Wells about helping with the team and what he could do.
"Every question I asked, coach Wells said ‘yes’," Simms said. "He invited me out to [the first practice] October 15th ... I showed up at The Fieldhouse."
Simms was a volunteer coach at Mason County for the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams in the 1999-2000 season.. The next year, he was again a volunteer coach mainly keeping stats at the games because he was going to school at Northern Kentucky University and driving back and forth.
After his second season at Mason County, Simms decided he was going to quit coaching, and finish college. But he didn’t quit.
Buddy Biggs, who had been an assistant coach at Mason County, was named the head coach at Pendleton County. The late Pat Moore, who was also an assistant coach for the Royals, told Biggs he should hire Simms as an assistant at Pendleton County.
"I was actually at my mom’s visiting that summer," Simms said. "And I got back from Wyoming visiting, and I had about 13 messages on my phone from coach Biggs telling me to call him."
"Even after that, it took me about two days to go ahead and call him."
Biggs hired Simms as the freshman coach at Pendleton County. Biggs says Simms has been a great addition to the Wildcats program.
"I wanted somebody who would work hard and bring the passion that I was bringing to the table because I knew I was lacking experience, and we were just going to try to out-work people," Biggs said. "And Chad has brought that to the table."
Biggs says he knew Simms could coach because that first year the top four players on the freshman team were moved up to junior varsity and Simms still had a winning record with the freshman team.
"I knew right then we had a special young man as our assistant coach," Biggs said. "That proved to me he could handle just about anything."
Simms was promoted to junior varsity coach, a position he held for two seasons. He was the varsity assistant last season, and was promoted to head coach after Biggs took the coaching job at Ashland Blazer. Simms has guided a young and inexperienced team to a 10-12. Pendleton County hosts Mason County tonight. Simms is a special education teacher.

Weekly Basketball Statistics

St. Patrick junior Chris Owens is seventh in the state in scoring with an average of 24.6 points per game according to the latest statistics from the KHSAA. Mason County junior De'Sarae Chambers is sxith in free throw percentage at 83.4%. Mason County junior Darius Miller is 19th in free throw percentage at 80%. The Mason County Royals are second in scoring margin (20.6 ppg), 12th in scoring (72.4 ppg), 12th in free throw percentage (70.4%) and 12th in rebounding
(37 rpg) and 25th in scoring defense (51.8 ppg). The Mason County Lady Royals are sixth in free throw percentage (70.8%) and 10th in scoring (68 ppg). The St. Patrick Saints are 13th in rebounding (36.8 ppg).



Boys Statistics

Girls Statistics

Mason County 8th Grade Team Made Semis at State

The Mason County boys 8th grade basketball team reached the semi-finals of the state middle school tournament last weekend at the Kentucky Basketball Academy in Lexington. Mason County posted wins over Russellville (67-31), A.B. Combs (40-19) and Union County (47-19) before losing to eventual champion Waynec County 39-34 in the semi-finals. Treg Setty of Mason County was named to the All-Tournament Team. Setty scored 21 points in the win over Russellville.

Lofton Scores 20 in UT's Overtime Win over 'Bama

Chris Lofton scored 20 points to lead the Tennessee Volunteers to a 69-66 overtime win over the Alabama Crimson Tide tonight in Knoxville. Lofton had a tough night shooting but hit some big shots from the field and the free throw line. He was six of 22 from the field including three of 15 on three-point shots. Lofton was five of six from the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals. The Vols play at Arkansas Saturday at 1 p.m.

Mason County 61, Bishop Brossart 49

Darius Miller scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Mason County Royals to a
61-49 win over the Bishop Brossart Mustangs tonight at The Fieldhouse. Miller was 10 of 18 from field including one of one from behind the arc. He was eight of nine from the free throw and blocked four shots. Mason County led by 14 in the first quarter and by 17 in the third quarter. The Mustangs got to within eight at 45-37 with 5:55 left in the game but could get no closer. The Royals have won 10 in a row. The loss snapped Brossart's 10 game winning streak.

MC FG 46.3% 3PT FG 45.5% FT 75% REB 31 TO 12
BB FG 34.7% 3 PT FG 25% FT 73.3% REB 31 TO 10

Mason County (23-2) Scott 8, Miller 29, Pawsat 3, Setty 5, Browning 3, Middleton 8, Stahl 4,
Tolle 1
Bishop Brossart (24-4) Uebel 6, Kidney 4, Cooper 13, Kramer 7, Mutsch 4, Lloyd 4, Niemeyer 8,
Rebholz 3

MC 22 06 15 18-61
BB 09 13 08 19-49

Mason County 82, Lafayette 62

The Mason County Royals defeated the Lafayette Generals 82-62 tonight in Lexington for their ninth straight win.

• Trevor Setty matched his career-high with 27 points (eight of nine from the field, six of six on three-pointers and five of five from the free throw line) and Nathan Stahl scored a career-high 16 points (eight of nine from the field).
• The Royals shot 64% from the field. They hit 15 of 18 shots inside the arc in the first half.
• Mason County had its biggest lead at 60-36 with 2:55 left in the third quarter. Lafayette went on a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 10 at 62-52 left in the game.
• The Royals responded with nine straight points. Coach Chris O'Hearn moved into fifth place on the Royals' all-time coaching win list with 69. That's one more than Mason County's first coach William "Teence" Ryan had in three seasons.

MC FG 64% 3 PT FG 45% FT 75% REB 33 TO 16

L FG 40.7% 3 PT FG 32.1% FT 56.3% REB 23 TO 16

Mason County (22-2) Scott 6, Miller 6, Pawsat 8, Setty 27, Browning 5, Middleton 10,

Stahl 16, Tolle 1

Lafayette (10-16) Stewart 18, Langfels 6, Gifford 8, Barber 4, Bauman 8, Linton 9, Sanford 13

MC 20 19 23 20-82

L 15 13 20 14-62

Lady Royals 62, Lady Hounds 45

The Mason County Lady Royals defeated the Paris Lady Hounds tonight on senior night in front of a packed house at the Lady Royals' gym. Mason County pulled away in the second half.
The three seniors-Torrey Chambers, Kasey Hale and Megan Reese-were honored in a
pre-game ceremony. Lacey Cline led Mason County in scoring with 17 points. Torrey Chambers and Kasey Litzinger scored 14 apiece. De'Sarae Chambers had 12. Reese 3 (on a basket at the final buzzer) and Keller Menke added 2. The Lady Royals end the regular season with a record of 18-9. The Lady Royals play the Bracken County Lady Bears in the girls 39th Disttrict tournament on Feb. 27 at The Fieldhouse.

MC FG 37.7% 3 PT FG 35.7% FT 73.9% REB 45 TO 17
P FG 31.1% 3 PT FG 14.3% FT 44.4% REB 35 TO 14

Paris scoring-Davis 14, Myers 2, Pacas 7, Hinkson 11, Jones 5, Brooks 2,
Forsythe 4

MC 12 12 14 24-62
P 07 12 15 11-45

Shotwell Wraps Up Wrestling Season

Korey Shotwell of Maysville went 1-1 in the consolation rounds of the state wrestling tournament Friday. Shotwell, a freshman at Campbell County High School, defeated Perry County Central senior Charles Turner by fall in round two of the consolation bracket in the 130 pound class. Shotwell lost a 6-4 decision to Lafayette senior Nathan Speck in round three. Shotwell went 2-2 in the state tournament and finished the season with a record of 54-4. Campbell County finished 16th in the team standings in the state tournament.

This Week's Hoops Schedule

This the final week of the regular season for high school basketball. Here's the schedule for the
local teams:

Monday
(Girls) Paris at Mason County 7:30 p.m.
(Boys) St. Patrick at Nicholas County 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday
(Boys) Lewis County at St. Patrick 7:30 p.m.
(Boys) Mason County at Lafayette 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday
(Girls) St. Patrick at Nicholas Coounty 7:30 p.m.
(Boys) Bishop Brossart at Mason County 7:30 p.m.

Thursday
(Boys) Bellevue at St. Patrick 7:30 p.m.

Friday
(Girls) Fleming County at St. Patrick 7:30 p.m.
(Boys) Mason County at Pendleton County 8 p.m.

Lofton Scores in Vols' Loss

Chris Lofton scored 13 points in Tennessee's 81-64 loss to South Carolina today. Lofton had four rebounds and three assists. The loss snapped the Volunteers' three game winning streak.
Tennessee is 0-6 on the road in Southeastern Conference games. The Volunteers host Alabama Wednesday night.

Mason County at Rowan County DH Cancelled

The Mason County at Rowan County boy-girl doubleheader is cancelled tonight due to the weather.

Notes from Friday Night's Doubleheader

• The Mason County Lady Royals ran their winning streak to six games with the 70-43 win over Harrison County.
• Former Lady Royal player Shannon Litton, now in her eighth season as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic University, was at the game. Litton, who played on three 10th Region champion teams, is ninth on the Lady Royals' all-time scoring list with 1,176 points. She is just 43 points ahead of Mason County junior Kasey Litzinger who recently moved into 10th place.
• The Royals broke a five-five tie with a 36-6 run in their 66-40 win over Harrison County.
• Mason County has won eight straight games since losing to top ranked Scott County Jan. 12,
• Everybody played for Mason County and 10 Royals scored. Brad Pawsat logged the most minutes for the starters-18:54.
• Darius Miller scored seven points and moved past Larry Myrick into 12th place on the Royals' all-time scoring list with 1,262 points. Miller's 26 point game against Clark County last Saturday moved him past both Joe Pollitt and Allen Feldhaus junior. Miller started the season in 30th place.

Mason County sweeps DH vs. Harrison County

Mason County swept a girl-boy doubleheader against Harrison County tonight at the Fieldhouse. The Lady Royals won 70-43, and the Royals celebrated senior night with a 66-40 victory. Both Mason County teams had four players score in double figures. Torrey Chambers led the Lady Royals with 20 points and 10 rebounds. De'Sarae Chambers had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Lacey Cline scored 12 and Kasey Litzinger added 10. The Royals were led in scoring by Trevor Setty with 14 points. Russ Middleton had 13, and Tyreese Scott and Tony Browning
added 10 apiece. Mason County plays at Rowan County Saturday in a boy-girl doubleheader.
The boys' game begins at 6:30

Girls Statistics:

MC FG 45% 3 PT FG 17.6% FT 72.2% REB 49 TO 12
HC FG 30.4% 3 PT FG 21.1% FT 44.4% REB 29 TO 16

Mason County (17-9) D. Chambers 16, Cline 12, Litzinger 10, T. Chambers 20, Menke 5,
Reese 5, Doyle 2
Harrison County (13-11) Muntz 2, Hatfield 8, Turley 9, Highlander 7, Bullock 2, Johnson 9,
Dennie 6

MC 19 16 18 17-70
HC 08 11 12 12-43

Boys Statistics

MC FG 46.3% 3 PT FG 22.7% FT 41 REB 41 TO 14
HC FG 30.6% 3 PT FG 15.8% FT 25 REB 25 TO 15

Mason County (21-2) Scott 10, Miller 7, King 2, Pawsat 4, Setty 14, Browning 10, Middleton 13,
Stahl 2, Downing 2, Lykins 2
Harrison County (10-15) Franklin 10, Slade 2, Puckett 2, Brown 2, Custard 4, Jenkins 9, Mullins 10, Curtis 1

MC 23 22 10 11-66
HC 10 11 11 08-40

Middle School Indoor Track and Field Invitational

The first-ever Mason County Middle School Indoor Track and Field Invitational will be held
Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Jockey Facility on Clarks Run Road. The meet is open to the public.

Haynes Cancels Clinic

Olympian Tommy Haynes has cancelled his long jump/high jump clinic in Maysville Saturday due to illness.

Owens Scores 32 Moves Into 10th Place on Saints' List

St. Patrick junior Chris Owens scored 32 points last night to lead the Saints to a 59-58 win over the Bracken County Polar Bears. Owens moved past John Schumacher into 10th place on the Saints' all-time career scoring list with
1,272 points. Owens is averaging 24.7 points a game this season. He has scored 30 or more points six times this season.

Shotwell Goes 1-1 in State Wrestling Tournament

Korey Shotwell of Maysville went 1-1 in the state wrestling tournament Thursday in Frankfort. Shotwell, a freshman at Campbell County competing in the 130 pound class, won his first round match by forfeit, and lost his second round match to Blake Kraft of Eastern by a 7-6 decision. Campbell County is tied for 7th place in the team standings with two days left in the tournament.

Saints Host Polar Bears

The Bracken County at St. Patrick boys basketball game that was snowed out
Feb. 6 will be played tonight. Junior varsity at 6 p.m., the varsity at 7:30 p.m.

Boys Freshman Regional Postponed

The boys freshman 10th Region basketball tournament has been postponed tonight.
No make-up date has been announced.
The Ripley at Fayetteville boys basketball games are postponed tonight and rescheduled for
Feb. 19.

Lofton Scores 23 as Tennessee Beats Kentucky

Chris Lofton scored 23 points to lead the Tennessee Volunteers to an 89-85 win over the Kentucky Wildcats tonight in Knoxville. Lofton was six of 14 from the field including four of 10 on three-point shots. He made seven of eight free throws. Lofton also had five assists and three rebounds. He moved into fifth place on the SEC career 3-pointers made list with 284.

Games Postponed Tonight

The Bishop Brossart at Mason County boys' basketball game is postponed tonight and rescheduled on Feb. 21.
The St. Patrick at Nicholas County boys' basketball game is postponed tonight and rescheduled on Feb. 19.
The Ripley at Western Brown girls basketball game is postponed tonight and rescheduled for tomorrow night.

Tennessee with Lofton Hosts Kentucky Tonight

The Tennessee Volunteers host the Kentucky Wildcats tonight. Kentucky beat Tennessee 76-57 last month in Rupp Arena. That was one of the four games Chris Lofton missed after suffering a sprained right ankle. He returned the Vols' line-up two games ago. Lofton leads the SEC in scoring (20.6 ppg).
He needs three three-pointers to tie Tony Delk for fifth place on the SEC career three-pointers made list. In five career games against Kentucky, Lofton is averaging 18.4 points per game on 46.8 percent three-point shooting.

Shotwell Wins Region Six Title

Campbell County freshman Korey Shotwell of Maysville won the 130-pound
Region Six wrestling title Saturday at Holmes High School. Shotwell (47-2) defeated Simon Kenton sophomore Dusty Brown 1-0 in the championship match. Shotwell and nine of his Campbell County teammates will participate in the state wrestling tournament Thursday through Saturday at the Frankfort Convention Center.

Lofton Scores 16 in Win Over Vandy

Chris Lofton scored 16 points and the Tennessee Volunteers routed the Vanderbilt Commodores 84-57 Saturday. Lofton played 26 minutes in his second game back since missing four games with a sprained right ankle. Tennessee hosts Kentucky Tuesday night on ESPN.

Fryman Wins Shot Put at Iowa State Classic

University of Kentucky senior Andy Fryman won the shot put at the Iowa State Classic with a toss of 60-7.75. That mark is an NCAA provisonal-qualifying score. Fryman finished 21st in the weight throw with a toss of 56-03.25. Kentucky has a week off before hosting the Southeastern Conference Championships Feb. 23-25 in the Nutter Field House.

Indoor Track and Field Invitational Winners

Rockcastle County was the girls' champion and Lloyd Memorial was the boys' champion in the second annual Mason County Indoor Track an Field Invitational Saturday. Mason County senior Brent Sparks medaled in both the 55 meter dash (fifth place) and the 400 meter dash (sixth place). The first ever Mason County Middle School Indoor Track and Field Invitational will be held this Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. at the Jockey Facility. The meet is open to the public.

Faris Wins State, Set Record

St. Patrick senior Colin Faris is the state champion in the 50 yard freestyle. He set a new state record in a time of 20.77 seconds in the state swimming finals today in Louisville. Faris broke the previous record of 20.82 seconds set by Josh Hettick of St. Xavier in 1998. Faris was second in the 100 yard freestyle with a personal best time of 46.33 seconds.
Deming sophomore Amanda Miller finished sixth in the 50 yard freestyle (25.31) and ninth in the 100 yard breaststroke (1:10.39).

Mason County 62, Clark County 54

The Mason County Royals outscored the Clark County Cardinals 32-14 in the second half and won 62-54 today at Clark County. The Royals led by as many as seven in the first quarter.
Clark County senior guard Preston Knowles scored 17 points in the second quarter and the Cardinals were up 40-30 at the half. Knowles scored the first basket of the third quarter to make it 42-30. Mason County ended the third quarter on a 19-3 run and lead 49-45. The Royals lead 59-50 with :34 seconds to go. Clark County scored four straight points to cut it to 59-54. Knowles missed a couple of three-point shots and Mason County made three free throws to make the final 62-54. Tony Borwning had two huge baskets for the Royals in the fourth quarter. Darius Miller led Mason County with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds. Russ Middleton scored 12 points and Trevor Setty added 11. Knowles was held to six points in the second half and finished with 23. Clark County senior Tristan Jones scored eight of his 13 points in the first quarter. The Royals are 20-2. It's Mason County's seventh straight 20 win season and the 30th 20-win season in school history.

MC FG 43.1% 3 PT FG 26.3% FT 46% REB 36 TO 7
CC FG 40.7% 3 PT FG 16.7% FT 46.7% REB 39 TO 12

Mason County (20-2) Scott 1, Miller 26, Pawsat 6, Setty 11, Browning 6, Middleton 12
Clark County (19-5) Knowles 23, Hatton 4, Rogers 6, Wood 6, Stenzel 2 Jones 13

MC 19 11 19 13-62
CC 14 26 05 09-54

Faris Fast In State Swimming Preliminaries

St. Patrick senior Colin Faris had the fastest time in the 50 yard freestyle and was third fastest in the 100 yard freestyle today in the preliminaries in the state swimming meet in Louisville.
Faris had a time of a 21.13 in the 50, and a time of 47.54 in the 100. Deming sophomore Amanda Miller had the eighth fastest time in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.45, and was 12th fastest in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.28. The finals are Saturday-the girls' at 9 a.m. and the boys' at 3 p.m.

Mason County Indoor Track and Field Invitational

The second annual Mason County Indoor Track and Field Invitational will be held Saturday at the Jockey Facility on Clarks Run Road in Washington. More than 600 athletes from 22 schools are scheduled to compete. The meet begins at 11 a.m. and is open to the public.

Royals to Open '07 Season in St. Joseph's Bluegrass Bowl

The Mason County Royals will open the 2007 football season against the Paris Greyhounds in the St. Joseph's Bluegrass Bowl at Lexington Catholic at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 25. The Royals were originally scheduled to open the season against Paris at Collier Field in Paris. Mason County was invited to the bowl game this past week. Here is the Royals' 2007 football schedule:

Aug. 25 Paris in St. Joseph's Bluegrass Bowl at Lexington Catholic
Aug. 31 Boone County Home
Sept. 7 Lewis County Away
Sept. 14 East Carter Away
Sept. 21 West Carter Home
Sept. 28 Campbell County Home
Oct. 12 Bourbon County Away
Oct. 19 Russell Home
Oct. 26 Fleming County Home
Nov. 2 Greenup County Away

39th District Pairings

The draw for the girls and boys 39th District basketball tournaments was held this morning at Mason County. One draw was conducted for both tournaments.
St. Patrick and Bracken County wanted separate draws. Mason County and Augusta preferred one draw. With a 2-2 tie, one draw was held since one draw was held last year. The tournaments will be played at the Mason County Fieldhouse. Here's the schedule:

Mon. Feb. 26 6:30 p.m. Augusta vs. St. Patrick girls
Mon. Feb. 26 8 p.m. Augusta vs. St. Patrick boys

Tues. Feb. 27 6:30 p.m. Mason County vs. Bracken County girls
Tues. Feb. 27 8 p.m. Mason County vs. Bracken County boys

Thurs. March 1 6:30 p.m. girls' championship game
Thurs. March 1 8 p.m. boys' championship game

Basketball Stats

St. Patrick junior Chris Owens is ninth in the state in scoring according to this week's statistics from the KHSAA. Owens is averaging 24.3 points per game. Mason County junior Darius Miller is 19th in the state in free throw percentage-79.8%. Mason County junior De'Sarae Chambers is fourth in the state in free throw percentage-83.8%.
The Mason County Royals are:

• ninth in scoring (73.2 ppg)
• second in scoring margin (21.2 ppg)
• 12th in free thrpw percentage (70.2%)
• 24th in three-point percentage (35.1%)
• 10th in rebounding (37.3 rpg)

The Mason County Lady Royals are:

• 10th in scoring (67.2 ppg)
• sixth in free throw percentage (70.8%)

Here's the link to the KHSAA statistics:

Boys

Girls

Mason Co. at Rowan Co. DH Rescheduled

The Mason County at Rowan County boy-girl doubleheader postponed on
Feb. 2 has been rescheduled on Saturday, Feb. 17. The boys' game will be played
first at 6:30 p.m.

Cox on 2007 Elite 11 Quarterbacks to Watch List

Mason County quarterback Richie Cox is on the early 2007 Elite 11 Quarterbacks to Watch List presented by EA Sports. Here's a link to more information about the list:

Student Sports Football

38th District Tournament Pairings

Here are the pairings for the boys' and girls' 38th District basketball tournaments:

Boys'
Pendleton County vs. Harrison County Feb. 26 6:30 p.m.
Deming vs. Nicholas County Feb. 27 6:30 p.m.
Championship game March 2 7:30 p.m.

Girls'
Harrison County vs. Deming Feb. 26 8:15 p.m.
Nicholas County vs. Pendleton County Feb. 27 8:15 p.m.
Championship game March 1 7:30 p.m.

Lofton Returns to Vols' Lineup

Chris Lofton returned to action last night and scored eight points in Tennessee's 70-67 win over LSU. Lofton missed four games with a sprained right ankle. He was five of five from the free throw line and had one three-pointer in 21 minutes of playing time last night. Tennessee hosts Vanderbilt Saturday.

High School Hoops Ratings

Here are the links to this week's high school basketball ratings:

Courier-Journal

Herald-Leader

Faris Sets Region Record in 50 Yard Freestyle

St. Patrick senior Colin Faris won the the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle in the Region 4 Swimming Championships. Faris set a regional record and the pool record in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.93. That was a personal best time for Faris and 00.11 off the state record. It's third fastest time ever by a male swimmer in the 50 yard freestyle in the state. Faris won the 100 yard freestyle with an all-american consideration time of 47.03.
Deming sophomore Amanda Miller won the 100 yard breastroke with a personal best time of 1:09.36. Miller was second in the 50 yard freestyle with a personal best time of 24.93.
Faris and Miller both qualified for the state meet in both of their races. The state meet is this Friday and Saturday at the Ralph Wright Natatorium in Louisville.
St. Patrick's boys' relay team qualified for the region finals in the 200 yard freestyle and came in 10th with a time of 1:46. 79. The relay team was led by Faris, who swam his 50 yard leg in 21.29. Sophomore Anthony Chamblin was next with a time of 27.98. Then came 8th grader Russell Rigg with a time of 28.65 and junior Zachary Rigg with a time of 28.87.

Fryman has Personal Indoor Best In Shot Put in NYC

University of Kentucky senior Andy Fryman had a personal indoor best in the shot put with a toss of 61-0.75 at the seventh-annual New Balance Collegiate Invitational Friday in New York City. Fryman finished fourth in the shot put, and his toss moved him up to sixth all-time on UK’s career best list. The Kentucky track and field team returns to action Feb. 9 and 10. Split squads will go the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, and the Husky Classic in Seattle, Washington.

1981-82 Mason County Team Returns to The Fieldhouse

The 1981-82 Mason County Royals team that went undefeated in the regular season was recognized between games of the Spectrum Grahx River City Classic tonight. I was the emcee for the ceremony. The team was 25-0 in the regular season, won the 10th Region Tournament and ended the season with a record of 31-1 after losing to Virgie in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. Allen Feldhaus was the head coach. Fred Hester and Bill Kuhnes were the assistant coaches. Team members were: Kelly Middleton, Willie Feldhaus, Jeff Breeze, Gary Beiland, Dale Liles, Malcolm Walker, Brian Littleton, John Jackson, Kenny Pitakis, Jeff Frame, Tony Anthony and Jim Rannes. Andrew Wood was the team manager. Kuhnes and Anthony were only two not there tonight.

Mason County 66, Madison Central 58

The Mason County Royals used a big second half to defeat the Madison Central Indians
66-58 tonight in the second game of the Spectrum Graphx River City Classic at The Fieldhouse. Mason County led by eight points early in the game, but trailed by seven in the second quarter. Madison Central was up 30-25 at halftime. The Royals outscored the Indians 18-10 in the third quarter, and opened the fourth quarter on an 18-5 run to lead 61-45. Mason County shot 72.7% from the field in the second half.
Darius Miller had a game-high 22 points. His one-handed dunk on a back door play gave the Royals the lead for good at 39-38 with 2:32 to go in the third quarter.
Brad Pawsat scored a career-high 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Trevor Setty added 13 points. Russell County beat Bracken County 82-46 in the first game.

Mason County FG 51% 3 PT FG 41.7% FT 90% REB 29 TO 12
Madison Central FG 37.7% 3 PT FG 23.1% FT 68.2% REB 35 TO 13

Mason County (19-2) Scott 2, Miller 22, Pawsat 14, Setty 13, Browning 6, Middleton 5,
Stahl 4
Madison Central (17-6) Johnson 3, Morris 14, Fields 11, Simpson 11, Beach 10, Dean 9

Mason County 19 06 18 23-66
Madison Central 12 18 10 18-58

Mason County Wins Boys Freshman District Title

The Mason County Royals won the Boys Freshman 39th District BaksetballTournament today at Bracken County. Mason County beat Bracken County 34-20 in the first game.
The Royals defeated St. Patrick 59-34 in the championship game. St. Patrick drew the bye in the three team district. Mason County, coached by Clay Boone, advances to the 10th Region Tournament next week at Clark County.

Spectrum Grafx River City Classic Tonight

Here's a cure for cabin fever- head to the Mason County Fieldhouse tonight for the
Spectrum Grafx River City Classic. The Bracken County Polar Bears play the Russell County Lakers at 6:30 p.m. The Mason County Royals play the Madison Central Indians in the second game. A ceremony to recognize the 1981-82 Mason County boys basketball team will be held between games. That team had an undefeated regular season and won its first 31 games before losing to Virgie in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
All four teams in tonight's classic are coached by former Mason County players-
Jay Fite at Bracken County, Willie Feldhaus (a member of the 1981-82 Royals' team) at Russell County, Allen Feldhaus Jr. at Russell County, and Chris O'Hearn at Mason County. The Mason County vs. Madison Central game should be a good one.
The Royals are 18-2 and ranked as high as second in the state. Madison Central (17-5), ranked 14th, is the defending champion of the 11th Region. The game will feature two of the top juniors in the state-Darius Miller of Mason County and Aaron Morris of Madison Central. You can count on the Indians playing some tough defense. It should be a fun night. I hope you can be there.

State Tournament Pairings are Set

The first round pairings for the 2007 Houchens Industries/KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament and the 2007 National City Bank/KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament are set. The draws were held today.
Here are the links to the brackets:

Girls

Boys

Games Canceled

The Mason County at Rowan County boy-girl doubleheader and the St. Patrick at
Bracken County girls' game are canceled tonight. The girls freshman 10th Region at Pendleton County tomorrow is postponed until Feb. 17.

Shotwell Wins Two Matches at State Duals

Campbell County wrestler Korey Shotwell, a freshman from Maysville, won both of his matches by pin at the State Dual Tournament at Henry Clay last weekend. Shotwell is ranked fourth in the state by KentuckyWrestlng.com. Shotwell and his Campbell County teammates will compete in the Region Six wrestling tournament Feb. 10 at Holmes.

State Tournament Draws Friday

The draws for the 2007 National City/KHSAA Boys' and Houchens/KHSAA Girls' State Basketball Tournaments will be conducted Friday. The draws will be televised live at 1 p.m. by WKYT-TV channel 27 in Lexington. That's channel 3 on Limestone Cablevision.

Lofton Update

Here's the latest news on Chris Lofton from today's Tennessean.