Multi-sport standouts part of the norm for Lexington Catholic girls’ basketball
In an age of youth sports specialization, the Lexington Catholic girls’ basketball team hearkens back to a simpler age when athletes played just about anything.
Nine of the Lady Knights’ 14 varsity players participate in multiple sports with four each from soccer and softball and one splitting time with lacrosse.
Perhaps most notable among them might be sophomore guard Katherine Truitt, who earned 11th Region Soccer Player of the Year honors as a central defender for the region champ and state runners-up. She’s leading the basketball team in points and rebounds three games into the season.
“KT is just a competitor. She has no back-down in her,” said Coach Donald Tegt about Truitt. “If she makes a mistake, she’s (on to the) next play. ... I think that’s one thing that makes her such a good athlete — she just goes and plays. She impacts the game in so many ways.”
Truitt and Hannah Carlisle, a softball standout, helped Lexington Catholic defeat 43rd District rival Lexington Christian 39-23 on Friday night. Both also play year-round in their primary sport, sometimes going to two different practices or training sessions a day, multiple days a week.
The reason is simple.
“We love basketball,” Truitt said. “I love this team. I love the coaches. And I just have so much fun playing basketball.”
Truitt and Carlisle praised their coaches and their teammates for helping make playing multiple sports an easy choice.
“We all look forward to going to practice everyday and getting better together,” said Carlisle, who had eight points in Friday’s game.
Regular starter Mary-Martin Hampton, who was sidelined with a minor injury Friday, was the soccer team’s leading scorer and rosters in four sports for LexCath with track and softball also on the resume. Olivia Bretz, who got her first basketball start Friday night, was a key player during the Knights’ soccer season and also plays soccer nearly year-round. She led the basketball team with 10 rebounds against LCA. Farah Weldon, another soccer player, also got her first basketball start of the season and had a team-high seven assists.
Joining Carlisle from the softball team are Ariel West, Lydia Kennedy and Lucy Nash. And Morgan Cameron also plays lacrosse.
“It’s school, then straight to basketball practice, then softball after basketball and then go home and do homework,” a laughing Carlisle said about her most hectic days. She doesn’t mind.
Tegt, who’s in his second season as head coach, said balancing a lot of different player schedules is something he’s more than willing to do.
“Lexington Catholic, we’re not a school that has 2(,000) or 3000 kids, so we have to share our athletes,” Tegt said. “We tell girls all the time, you know, I think kids should play more than one sport now. I think kids specialize way too young. And so, the fact that they’re playing and committing to both and putting our heart into both is something we really value here.”
With so many year-round athletes, conditioning doesn’t seem to be an issue for the Knights. And Tegt believes he’s building a winner that can contend in the 43rd District and 11th Region. The Knights’ win over LCA came without second-leading scorer Chloe Treece, who sat out with a minor illness.
“I wouldn’t trade this team for any team in the district or the region,” Tegt said. “I think we have every tool we need to beat anybody in the 11th Region and to play with anyone in the 11th region and go as far as we want to go. …
“I think the fact is the other teams have got to also contend with us. It’s not just that we’re contending with them.”
More COVID-19 stoppages
Among the dozens of boys’ and girls’ basketball games canceled for pandemic reasons this weekend were Friday’s boys’ contest between Frederick Douglass and Scott County and Saturday’s boys’ game between Paul Laurence Dunbar and Bowling Green.
Dunbar and Douglass played each other Tuesday night and there was subsequently a COVID-19 contact reported on Dunbar’s team forcing both teams into a mandatory isolation period. Dunbar’s next scheduled game is Jan. 23 at East Jessamine. Douglass continues to have Henry Clay on its schedule for Jan. 18 at this time.
There have now been six Fayette County teams who’ve experienced COVID-19 stoppages in the first two weeks of play — Bryan Station’s boys and girls, Lafayette’s girls, Henry Clay’s girls, Dunbar’s boys and Douglass’s boys. The Lafayette and Henry Clay girls have resumed play.
Scott County found Meade County as a last-minute replacement Friday. The Green Wave won 62-53, handing the defending 11th Region champion Cardinals their fourth loss of the season.
