Random notes

Here are a few random notes for your Friday:

• The Mason County at Nicholas County girls' basketball game scheduled tonight has been canceled. The Lady Royals' next game is on Tuesday night at Fleming County.

• Tonight's Simon Kenton at Mason County boys' basketball game is varsity only with tip-off at 7 p.m.

• The Larry Smith Classic, featuring five boys' basketball games, is Saturday at Bracken County. Here is the schedule: 11 a.m. Dohn Academy vs. Augusta; 12:30 p.m. Bath County vs. Tates Creek; 2 p.m. Mason County vs. Highlands; 3:30 p.m. Wesley Christian vs. Dohn Prep and 5 p.m. Boone County vs. Bracken County.

• Mason County indoor track and field meet #3 is Saturday. Mason County coach Mark Kachler is expecting many more participants than the first two meets. 

• Mason County seniors Ava Thompson and Deshawn Overly set a new school records at last week’s meet. Thompson broke her own record in the pole vault with a vault of 11’-11” while Overly set a new record in the indoor 1500 meter run with a time of  4:47.20.

• Mason County varsity baseball tryouts are scheduled on February 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the STEAM Academy. The tryouts are open to students in grades 9-12. Participants must have an updated physical on file.

Another sweep for the Mason County track and field teams

For the second straight week, the Mason County girls' and boys' indoor track and field teams swept a Mason County meet on Saturday.

The Lady Royals finished with 166 points. The Harrison County Fillies were a distant second with 40 points.

The Royals had a team score of 108.5. Madison Southern finished second with 61 points.

Mason County athletes with first place finishes include:

• Kenzie Gulley, girls' 55 meter dash (7.58)
• Sarah Payne, girls' 400 meter dash (1:03.00)
• Lexi Young, girls' high jump (5-0) and girls' long jump (16-9.25)
• Ava Thompson, girls' pole vault (11-1)
• Dashawn Overly, boys' 1600 meter run (4:45.50) and boys' 3200 meter run (10:29.17)
• Nazir Metts, boys' high jump (6-0)
• Keenan Galloway, boys' pole vault (11-6)
• The girls' 4x400 meter relay team (4:34.00)
• The boys' 4x400 meter relay team (3:55.78)

Mason County will host Indoor Meet No. 3 this Saturday.

Overly and Cece Hiatt sign with Lindsey Wilson College

Mason County seniors Deshawn Overly and Cece Hiatt both signed on Tuesday to continue their education and running careers at Lindsey Wilson College.

Overly was named to the Class 2A All-State Cross Country Team after leading Mason County to a 10th place finish at the 2024 state meet. He was the individual region champion for the second straight year and finished ninth at the state meet. Overly led the Royals to back-to-back cross country region titles in 2023 and 2024. The 2023 region championship was the program’s first since 1973. Mason County was the state runner-up in 2023 with Overly taking 16th place.

Overly holds the outdoor school record in the 3200 meter run and indoor school record in the 3000 meter run. He was a member of the Royals’ outdoor track and field team that was the region runner-up last year and he anchored the 4x800 meter relay team that won the region championship. The 4x800 meter relay team won the indoor state championship last March.

Hiatt was a member of Mason County’s outdoor track and field team that won the 2024 region title and finished fifth at the state meet. She ran on the 4x400 meter relay team that won a region championship and took eighth place at the state meet. The 4x400 meter relay took fourth place at the 2024 indoor state meet helping the Lady Royals to a team runner-up finish.

Hiatt participated in the Kentucky Governor’s Scholar Program last summer.

Random notes

Here are a few local sports notes for your Thursday:

• The Mason County boys' and girls' wrestling teams split their Duals vs. Montgomery County on Wednesday night in Mt. Sterling with the boys coming away with a win. The Lady Royals will be back in action on Friday at Lafayette. The Royals will wrestle at George Rogers Clark on Saturday.

• Mason County senior Layla Crews-Taylor signed last week to continue her academic and cheerleading careers at Georgetown College.

• Mason County senior runners Cece Hiatt and  Deshawn Overly have a dual signing ceremony scheduled on January 7 at 4 p.m. at the indoor track facility. They both will be signing with Lindsey Wilson College.

• The Mason County Lady Royals basketball team, off to a 7-0 start, had some dazzling statistics in two wins last week. They were 23-of-24 from the free throw line in the win over Eastern Brown and had 15 assists on their 19 field goals in the victory over Greenup County. 

• The Lady Royals will play Great Crossing on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County. Great Crossing (3-3) is coming off an 88-22 win over Frankfort.

Overly and Brannon named to the Class 2A XC All-State Team

Mason County seniors Deshawn Overly and Ed Brannon have been named to the Class 2A Cross Country All-State Team by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association for the second straight year.

Overly and Brannon led the Royals to their second straight region championship and a 10th place finish at the state meet.

Overly was the individual region champion and finished ninth at the state meet.

Brannon was the region runner-up and finished 13th at the state meet.

Royals 10th, Lady Royals 15th at state XC meet

Led by seniors Deshawn Overly and Ed Brannon, the Mason County Royals finished in 10th place at the 2024 Kentucky Beef Council Cross Country State Championships on Saturday at Kentucky Horse Park.

Covington Catholic won the Class 2A state championship with 51 points. Mason County ended up with 330 points.

Overly took ninth place (16:39.45) and Brannon finished in 13th place (16:57.92).

It's the Royals' second straight top 10 finish. Mason County was the state runner-up last year.

The Lady Royals finished in 15th place. Kolby Galloway was the Lady Royals' top runner with a 35th place finish (21:45.70).

Here are links to the complete results:

Boys

Girls

Royals cross country team wins second straight region title, Lady Royals take fourth place

Last year the Mason County Royals cross country team won a region championship for the first time since 1973.

On Saturday the Royals won their second straight region title, finishing with 40 points and edging the Russell Red Devils by eight points at Bourbon County Park.

The Mason County Lady Royals finished in fourth place and also qualified for the state meet.

Mason County senior Deshawn Overly won the boys' individual championship with a time of 16:14.58.

Two other Mason County seniors had top five finishes. Ed Brannon was the runner-up (16:41.24) and Elijah Reed took fifth place (17:51.02).

The Royals also got top 20 finishes from sophomore Parker Mead in 15th place (18:54.26), junior Daniel Klump in 17th place (19:03.69) and junior John Yazell (19:12.41).

The Lady Royals were led by sophomore Kolby Galloway in seventh place (22:01.40) and junior Lilly Dean(23:57.63).

Here is a link to the complete results.

The 2024 Kentucky Beef Council State Cross Country Championships presented by UK HealthCare will take place on November 2 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. 

Overly 4th at Saturday Night Lights

Mason County senior Deshawn Overly finished in fourth place in the varsity boys 5000 meter run finals at Saturday Night Lights presented by Runners Plus 2024 in Centerville, OH on Saturday night.

Overly ran the muddy course in 18:18.10. Fellow senior Ed Brannon finished in 12th place with a time of 18:56.70.

The Royals finished 14th out of 23 teams in their division.

Kolby Galloway, in 48th place (24:08.10), led the Lady Royals to a 19th place finish.

Saturday Night Lights, with around 3,800 runners, is one of the largest cross country events in the United States

There were 10 divisions for the 5000 meter races.

Mason County boys fifth, girls 10th at Giovanni's Boyd County Invitational

The Mason County Royals cross country team finished fifth while the Lady Royals took 10th place at the Giovanni's Boyd County Invitational on Saturday.

The Royals had two runners in the top ten: Deshawn Overly in fourth place (16:24.35) and Ed Brannon in seventh place (16:47.88).

Kolby Galloway was the Lady Royals' top runner with a 43rd place finish (23:00.44).

Brannon and Overly finish 1-2 at Mason County XC Invitational

Mason County seniors Ed Brannon and Deshawn Overly finished first and second, respectively, and the Royals took fourth place at the Mason County Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.

Brannon set a new school record with a time of 16:16.00, and Overly followed with a time of 16:17.90 which is faster than the previous school record he had set.

Lexington Catholic swept the boys' and girls' team titles. 

Kolby Galloway in 32nd place (22:20.97) led the Mason County Lady Royals to an 11th place finish.

Royals ninth, Lady Royals 14th at Loveland XC Invitational

The Mason County Royals finished in ninth place while the Lady Royals took 14th place at the Loveland Cross Country Invitational on Saturday in Loveland, Ohio.

Deshawn Overly led the Royals with an 11th place (16:51.9).

Kolby Galloway was the Lady Royals' top runner with a 67th place finish (23:13.4).

There were 141 runners in the boys' race and 130 in the girls' race.

The Mason County Invitational is this coming Saturday.

Seven Mason County track and field athletes named to all-state teams

Seven Mason County track and field athletes received all-state honors from the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association based on state meet performance.

Ava Thompson (pole vault) and the boys' 4x800 meter relay team of Bryant Curtis, Ed Brannon, Peyton Ullery and Deshawn Overly were named First Team All-State.

Madison Howard (long jump) and Sarah Payne (pole vault and 200 meter dash) were named Second Team All-State.

Two new Mason County outdoor track and field records set on Saturday

Two new Mason County outdoor track and field records were set at the Tates Creek Commordore Classic on Saturday.

Deshawn Overly won the 3200 meter run in a school record time of 10:04.50. 

The previous school record of 10:06.20 was set in 1989.

Ed Brannon finished second in the 3200 meter run on Saturday and beat the old mark with a time of 10:05.50.

Ava Thompson broke her own school in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, one inch. The previous record was 10 feet, six inches.

Thompson is ranked No.1 in the state in Class 2A.

Deshawn Overly and Ed Brannon named to Class 2A All-State XC Team

Mason County runners Deshawn Overly and Ed Brannon have been named to the Class 2A All-State Cross Country Team by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Overly finished in 16th place and Brannon took 24th place in helping the Royals to a runner-up finish at the KHSAA Class 2A state meet last month.

Royals XC team is state runner-up

The Mason County Royals cross country team is the state runner-up, the best finish in program history.

The Royals had 151 points at the KHSAA Class 2A meet at Kentucky Horse Park on Saturday. 

The Covington Catholic Colonels won the state championship with 62 points.

Deshawn Overly led Mason County with a 16th place finish with a time of 17:16.94.

Ed Brannon was 24th (17:44.76), Bryant Curtis 35th (17:58.85), Peyton Ullery 41st (18:04.96) and Nicholas Schiltz 51st (18:16.16) to roundout the Mason County team score.

Two other Royals ran in the race: Elijah Reed finished 140th (20:10.18) and Casey Magee came in 229th (22:50.10).

In the girls' race Kolby Galloway was 34th (22:06.61) and Calleigh Passmore finished in 121st place (25:08.95).

Boys XC Class 2A State Runner-Up ! pic.twitter.com/e4aZsHGR9S

— Mason Co. Athletics (@RoyalsAth1etics) October 28, 2023

Royals XC team wins Area 7 Championship

The Mason County Royals cross country team won the Area 7 Championship in dominating fashion at Rowan County Friday.

The Royals finished with 22 points. The Russell Red Devils were the runners-up with 77 points.

Deshawn Overly led Mason County with a second place finish in a time of 16:57.83. Ed Brannon (17:17.98), Peyton Ullery (17:39.33) and Bryant Curtis (17:50.28) finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Augusta junior Grayson Miller took third place in a time of 17:13.19.

Mason County Lady Royal Kolby Galloway finished in sixth place in a time of 22.02.47.

Royals XC team at MCIT

The Mason County Royals cross country team finished third out of 15 teams at the Mason County Invitational Saturday.

Deshawn Overly led the Royals with a runner-up finish in a time of 16.40.40. Peyton Ullery was ninth (17:08.10) and Nicholas Schiltz was 16th (17:35.00).

Gabe Sammons was St. Patrick's top finisher in 32nd place (18:06.20).

Mason County Lady Royal Kolby Galloway finished in 15th place (21:24.30).

There were 145 boys and 133 girls in the varsity races.

The meet also included elementary school, middle school and junior varsity divisions.

Royals XC team wins Ripley Invitational and has top three finishers

The Mason County boys' cross country team won the Ripley Invitational and had the top three individuals Saturday.

Bryant Curtis was the individual champion (17:32), DeShawn Overly was the runner-up (17:45) and Peyton Ullery finished third (17:51).

Kolby Galloway led the Lady Royals with a fifth place finish (22:21).

Decker and Royals are XC region champions, Overly and Royals are runners-up

Mason County senior Paige Decker was the individual champion and she led the Lady Royals to the team title today at the Class AA Region 6 cross country meet at Boyd County. It's the Lady Royals 10th regional team championship in the last 15 years.

In the boys' meet, Mason County sophomore Deshawn Overly was the individual runner-up and he led the Royals to a runner-up finish, their best finish since 2012.

The Lady Royals had 35 points. Boyd County was a distance second with 65 points and Russell was third with 66.

Decker crossed the finish line with a time of 19:02.06.

Layla Henderson was third (20:08.18), Elizabeth Lavinder was seventh (20:46.96), Morgan Carpenter was 12th (21:50.83), Ava Thompson was 13th (21:57.93), Alexis Decker was 22nd (22:47.56) and Hadley Maher was 31st (23:28.78)

Boyd County won the boys' meet with 34 points followed by Mason County with 66 and East Carter with 81.

Overly had a time of 17:24.23.

Peyton Ullery as seventh (17:36.15), Alex Brannon was 16th (18:37.61), Elijah Reed was 19th (19:19.45), Jackson Truesdell was 22nd (19:38.88), Keenan Galloway was 31st (20:32.88) and Casey Magee was 34th (20:46.06).

The Lady Royals and Royals both advance to the state meets next Friday at Bourbon County.

Lady Royals Paige Decker wins Region 6 AA individual XC title leading her team to the title over Boyd Co pic.twitter.com/fTbkbqaBSE

— Mason County XCTF (@MasonCountyXCTF) October 21, 2022

11 Mason County XC runners named to KTCCCA Academic All-State Team

Mason County cross country runners have been named to the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-State Team.
Deshawn Overly, Alyssa Bisotti, Morgan Carpenter, Alexis Decker, Paige Decker, Hayden Faris, Layla Henderson, Elizabeth Lavinder, Hadley Maher, Rachel Payne and Kendra Shoemaker met both the academic athletic requirements for the all-state recognition.