Senior star ‘sets the tone,’ guides Sayre to girls lacrosse region title
Sayre, long seen as a power in the Lexington girls lacrosse scene, graduated significant seniors upon the conclusion of last season.
It’s typical, of course, to have to constantly adapt to a changing roster. What’s less normal, however, is the sustained, high levels of success achieved by a program like that of head coach Anna Cook’s Spartans. The key doesn’t necessarily lie in how often a program practices — “Way too much,” one Great Crossing athlete said of Sayre’s schedule — or how talent-packed its roster might be, though neither of those hurt its championship efforts.
Instead, Sayre (14-4, 7-0 7th Region) relies more heavily on culture, and the attitude that it does, in fact, take everybody to have the chance to reach the top. Perhaps no Spartan exemplifies that more than senior Anna Mullikin, a starter since eighth grade who was named the MVP of the 7th Region Tournament after leading the Spartans to a 9-7 victory against Henry Clay in Monday’s tournament championship.
“We lost a lot of seniors in the past,” Mullikin said. “A lot of defense. We’ve had a lot of injuries this year. And I’m so glad everyone’s stepping up. We have freshmen, eighth graders, sophomores all playing. And I think everyone’s just doing their role and helping lead each other. There’s not one person doing everything.”
Of the four Spartans named to the all-tournament team, Mullikin is the only upperclassman. Avery Luring and Danica Porter are sophomores, and goalie Adrian Smith — who recorded eight saves in the championship victory — is only an eighth grader.
Mullikin, responsible for five of the Spartans’ nine goals in the win, made all but two of her well-placed shot attempts, a testament to her talent and drive. Cook said the All-American and all-time leading scorer in program history has demonstrated since the start of her Sayre career how to do things the right way, and that Mullikin’s example will continue to impact the Spartans for years to come.
“Everything starts with her,” Cook said. “She sets the tone. She’s set the tone since she was starting at eighth grade. She knows what she wants her teammates to do, and not only does she show them what to do, but she encourages them to try those new things and to step outside their comfort zone.”
With about four minutes to play in the first quarter, Henry Clay held a 2-1 advantage. Cook said she felt her team was “pretty quiet,” and that Sayre’s ability to not only break away in the following quarters but maintain its lead against a tough Blue Devils squad was a proud moment for her as a coach.
“The composure, that’s always something that’s hard when you’re in high school to figure out,” Cook said. “And just the ability to not fight back in a negative way, making sure that we are just being our best versions of ourselves, doing our best to be good sports and to just showcase what we want lacrosse to embody in our program.”
Sophomore Gigi Little scored on both of her shot attempts. Luring and senior Celie McKay also contributed a goal apiece.
Henry Clay (13-6, 5-2 7th Region) head coach Tony Hicks said he was proud of his team’s heart and hustle in the hard-fought loss.
“We were coming out here, obviously, with high hopes,” Hicks said. “We knew we were playing a team that we play at least a few times a season, that we always compete well against, and they always compete well against us. So we knew it was going to be this kind of game. Our girls brought all their heart they could, and the scoreboard didn’t show it, but I’m proud of them.”
Sayre will host 8th Region runner-up Lexington Catholic at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the single-elimination state tournament.
“I‘m happy that we get to play at the SAC again,” Mullikin said. “Because we thought the other one was our last. So I’m just excited to have that and home field is always better because it’s grass. And we have the environment there to cheer us on.”
7th Region All-Tournament Team: Avery Luring, Danica Porter, Adrian Smith, Anna Mullikin (MVP), Sayre; Amelia Webster, Audrey Webster, Vonnie Allen-Guy, Henry Clay; Lyric Sidney, Emery Nathaniel, Bryan Station; Amelia Hyde, Amaya Martinez, Frederick Douglass; Madison Wesley, Great Crossing; Sophie Risher, Scott County.
Dunbar holds off late Lexington Catholic rally
Paul Laurence Dunbar (14-4, 7-0 8th Region) pushed its advantage to four goals at the end of the third quarter and withstood a late Lexington Catholic rally in the fourth to defeat the Knights 11-10 in the 8th Region championship game and claim the school’s first region title in either club or KHSAA history at Lafayette High School on Monday.
“It was a really tough game. Everybody came to play,” Dunbar coach Neely Johnston said. “We’ve been talking about composure all season long. We’ve been talking about resilience and we’ve been talking about how to pull those things through and make sure we’ve got our game faces on.”
Dunbar led 5-3 after a quarter, 7-5 at halftime and 9-5 at the end of three before Lexington Catholic (10-8, 5-3 8th Region) rallied.
Tournament MVP Becca Blakemore led the Bulldogs with four goals. Sarah King and McKay Coulter each added two and Audrey Fink, Silvia Zhou, Tess Thompson and Tori Hall scored one each. Goalie Graci Adcock saved 12 shots.
“It was a fight the whole way,” Johnston said. “We were just able to pull it out. They worked really hard.”
Dunbar will host Wednesday’s first-round state tournament game against 7th Region runner-up Henry Clay, who they lost to by a score of 13-7 in the regular season on March 26.
8th Region All-Tournament Team: Silvia Zhou, Reagan Hammond, Gracie Adcock and Becca Blakemore (MVP), Dunbar; Poppy Karthikeyan, Emma Stanley and Olivia Mead, Lexington Catholic; Eera Kulshrestha and Jill Gerding, Lafayette; Madilyn Wilder and Madeleine Eubank, Lexington Christian; Caliah Horn, Tates Creek; Emerson Probus, Woodford County.
Girls Lacrosse State Tournament
WEDNESDAY’S FIRST ROUND
Manual at Bowling Green, 7 p.m.
Eastern at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.
South Warren at Mercy, 7 p.m.
Collegiate at Kentucky Country Day, 7 p.m.
Cooper at Oldham County, 7 p.m.
Henry Clay at Paul Laurence Dunbar, 7 p.m.
Lexington Catholic at Sayre, 7 p.m.
South Oldham at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Herald-Leader sports writer Jared Peck also contributed to this report.
