Thursday, Friday Highlands Golf Results

Highlands junior Joel Craft shot a one-under 70 in the Beechwood Invitational at Hickory Sticks Golf Club in California, Kentucky earning medalist honors after winning a one-hole playoff.

Highlands finished fifth as a team on the hilly course. Freshman Oliver Golden shot a career-best 84.

"(With) these first 15 tournaments, we're really just playing to get some experience, gain some confidence and get ready for the regional tournament at the end of the year," said Bert Richey, Highlands Head Coach. "(Craft) did a really good job keeping the ball in play and putted well."

Highlands then played in the Conner Invitational on Friday placing sixth with a 332 score. Freshman Nate Surrey shot a personal-best 81 to lead the way. Craft and freshman Hank Shick followed with 83s with senior Jack Schneider and freshman Oliver Golden shooting 85s.

Highlands participates in the Kentucky Invitational Tournament at Big Springs Country Club in Louisville on Saturday.

Wednesday Highlands Golf Results

Toole Wins Tournament

Twitter Photo. Highlands senior KJ Toole won her first tournament shooting a 75 in the Highlands Invitational on Thursday.

Highlands senior golfer KJ Toole won the Highlands Invitational at AJ Jolly Golf Course shooting a 75.

That marked Toole's first tournament win of the season. Freshman golfer Jenna Richey also shot a personal best 97. Cooper won the tournament with a 314 score.

Highlands plays in the Beechwood Invitational on Thursday at Hickory Sticks Golf Course. Game time is 1:30 p.m.

Golf, Boys:

Highlands placed eighth out of 22 teams in the OrthoCincy Highlands Invitational. Freshman Hank Shick shot a personal-best 75 to lead the Bluebirds and freshman Nate Surrey shot an 81. Freshman Oliver Golden shot a career-best 85.

Cooper senior Rylan Wotherspoon won the tournament shooting 67. Lexington Frederick Douglass won it with a 293 and Grant County finished runner-up with 298.

Highlands Tuesday Sports Round-Up

Losing Streak Continues for Bluebirds

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands Head Coach Katelyn Sallee monitors the action in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (10-7) could not snap its skid in a 3-1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-19, 25-17) loss at Dixie Heights (11-7).

Highlands and Dixie Heights have met in the region quarterfinals the last three years. The Bluebirds won two of them.

Highlands Golf Round-up: Another Tournament Win for Bluebirds

Bluebirds Take Beechwood Invitational Title

Highlands senior Justin Gabbard earned medalist honors in the Beechwood Invitational shooting a 67 on Thursday.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys golf team bounced back from a third-place finish Wednesday to take the Beechwood Invitational Tournament at Hickory Sticks Golf Club in California (Kentucky).

That marks the fourth tournament win in a week for the Bluebirds out of six tournaments. Highlands has not finished lower than fourth in any tournaments.

Monday Highlands Results

Two Individuals Headed to State Golf Tournament for Bluebirds

Twitter Photo. Highlands junior Ellie Rowland shot a 79 at the 8th Region Tournament to take third and qualify for state along with sophomore KJ Toole.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls golf team put together a solid outing in the 8th Region Tournament.

Highlands did not qualify for state as a team shooting a 359 to take third place. Grant County won the region tournament at AJ Jolly Golf Course in Alexandria with 344 points and Owen County took runner-up honors at 346. Unlike previous years when the region champion and runner-up made state, only the region champ qualified for state team-wise.

But the Bluebirds did see two individuals make it to the state tournament. Junior Ellie Rowland shot a 79 to finish third and sophomore KJ Toole shot an 82 to take fifth. The top seven individuals not on the region champion team go to state.

"The girls played their hearts out," said Mike Lipscomb, Highlands Head Coach. "As a team, we played the best we ever have."

Tuesday Highlands Roundup

Highlands Volleyball Records Huge Home Win over Ryle

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands sophomore CC Shick (left) gets in position. In the back, from left, are seniors Casey Dunn, Rylee Kirschenbaum and Brooke Biltz.

Russell Bridges Gym at Highlands High School has turned into an atmosphere of excitement in recent years in the fall.

The rise of the Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team has more than been a huge reason for it. The atmosphere has especially helped Highlands record huge wins over 9th Region opponents.

Highlands (14-2 overall) and Ryle (8-7) came into the match-up Tuesday tied for third in the latest Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association 9th Region poll. They are both ranked in the Top 25 as well at 12th for Ryle and 18th for Highlands.

For years, Ryle has been at the top of the region led by veteran Head Coach Tasha Lovins. Lovins has been at that position since 2002. The Lady Raiders have won 11 district championships and have only missed the region tournament once since Lovins became head coach. But like many teams, the Lady Raiders have not been able the region wall of St. Henry and Notre Dame.

Highlands figured some things out in the first set after not starting off strong and won it 27-25. The Bluebirds then took control to win the game, 3-0 winning the next two sets 25-16, 25-17. Highlands owns wins over Dixie Heights and has beaten two top-ranked region teams in Campbell County from the 10th Region and Pulaski Southwestern from the 12th Region.

Wednesday Highlands Results

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team moved to 8-1-4 on the season following a tight 1-0 win over the Bishop Brossart Lady Mustangs on Wednesday at Pendery Park in Melbourne.

Weekend Highlands Results/Football Sidebar

Huddleston Receives Post-Game Recognition

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior linebacker Brycen Huddleston earned the Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic Defensive MVP honors.

Highlands senior linebacker Brycen Huddleston earned the Defensive Most Valuable Player honors after the Cumberland Falls Pigskin Classic loss to Knoxville Catholic, 31-28 on Saturday.

Highlands Weekend Results

Bluebirds Win Battle Against Bruins

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Members of the Highlands Boys Soccer Coaching staff watch at the end of a recent practice. Highlands is 2-0 on the season after beating Louisville Ballard, 1-0 on Saturday.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team (2-0 overall) knocked off the Louisville Ballard Bruins, 1-0 in a tight non-region game Saturday.

Wednesday Cancellations

Lightning and a high heat index in the area forced the cancellation of two Highlands events against Dixie Heights. The Highlands girls soccer team (5-1) was to travel to Dixie Heights and the Highlands girls golf team was to take on the Lady Colonels at Pioneer Park.

The next match scheduled for the girls golf team is Sept. 10 at Highland Country Club against Covington Holy Cross. The Highlands girls soccer team faces Summit Country Day at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Tower Park.

Wednesday Highlands Sports Notes

Bluebirds Girls Soccer Dominates District Game; Girls Golf Wins Dual Match

Twitter Photo. The Highlands girls golf team defeated Scott on Wednesday to move to 3-0 in dual matches.

The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team generally does not have issues taking care of business in games it has been heavily favored in 36th District action.

The same proved to be true again Wednesday. Highlands (3-0 overall and 2-0 in district play) handled the host Newport Ladycats (0-2, 0-1) by a 10-0 count. The game ended with about 30 minutes left in the second half. Highlands has outscored the competition, 18-0 on the season.

"One of the things the coaching staff really emphasized is treating a game like (Wednesday) where it is a district game and in the past, we've done pretty well against that team is coming out and still making sure we do everything like we did the two games prior and the same that we're going to do with the final 17 games," said Alex Dean, Highlands Head Coach. "It's not getting into bad habits, which is a lazy warm-up, laziness on the field and not playing fast. So it's just continuing to make sure we move forward and not have any lapses with our pre-game and our in-game performances."

Tuesday Highlands Round-Up

Highlands Volleyball, Boys Soccer Record 9th Region Wins

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior Ava Hockney prepares to serve in the match at Beechwood on Tuesday.

This volleyball team has shown how tough it can be when it attacks the entire court in its first 2-0 start since 2012.

That happened once again in a 3-0 win (25-11, 25-14, 25-20) over the Beechwood Lady Tigers in 9th Region action Tuesday. This marked the first game for Beechwood.

Highlands Golf Wins Tri-Match

The Highlands Bluebirds boys golf team won the tri-match against 8th Region rivals Grant County and Mason County on Wednesday at AJ Jolly Golf Course in Alexandria.

Highlands shot a 298 and Grant County shot a 303. Mason County had 326. Grant County won the 8th Region Tournament last year and Highlands finished second.

Bluebirds Win Another Golf Title

Bluebirds Place All Five Golfers in Top 15 of Beechwood Invitational

Twitter Photo. The Highlands boys golf team won its fourth tournament of the year Thursday winning the Beechwood Invitational. All five golfers placed in the top 15 of the tournament.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys golf team won yet another tournament Thursday.

Highlands won the Beechwood Invitational at Twin Bridges in California (Kentucky) on Thursday. The Bluebirds shot a 297 in the 6,007-yard, par-72 course winning it by six strokes over Region 8 opponent Grant County. Host Beechwood finished third with 328.

This marked the fourth tournament win in five tournaments for the Bluebirds. The tournament had 14 teams.

Gabbard Ties for 20th in State Golf Tourney

HHSBlueBirdies Twitter Photo. Highlands freshman JD Gabbard prepares for the second day of the state golf tournament Wednesday. Gabbard shot a 76 for a two-day total of 150 good for a tie for 20th in the state tournament.

Highlands freshman JD Gabbard had the best individual performance in recent years for the Bluebirds golf team.

Gabbard shot a 76 good for four over par at the state golf tournament at Bowling Green Country Club on Friday. That made a two-day total of 150 strokes good for a four-way tie for 20th in the tournament.

Saturday Round-Up: Highlands Soccer, Boys Golf Teams in Action

Bluebirds Complete Oldham County Trifecta

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands junior Alex Ford (middle) goes up to head the ball out in Saturday's game against North Oldham.

The Highlands Ladybirds soccer team (10-3-1 overall) enters the season each year knowing it could face the arch-rival Notre Dame Pandas three times in a season with the final meeting having the most importance.

Monday Sports Briefs

Ladybird Soccer Smashes John Hardin

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands freshman Greta Noble (2) prepares to head the ball in a recent game.

The Highlands Ladybirds rebounded from the loss Saturday with a convincing 10-0 win over the John Hardin Lady Bulldogs (2-5 overall). Highlands improved to 4-2 with the victory.

Ladybirds Edge Lady Colonels, 1-0

PHOTO: Allen Ramsey, DWCPhoto.com. Highlands junior Gwen Gorman makes a move in the season-opening win over Dixie Heights on Monday.

The goal did not come until 4:07 remained in the game.

But the Highlands Ladybirds soccer team played nice defense until that point in a 1-0 season opening win over the Dixie Heights Lady Colonels on Monday at Tower Park.

Bluebirds play in CovCath Invitational

The Highlands Bluebirds golf team found out where it stood with some of the better teams in the area Monday at Summit Hills Golf Course.

Bluebird Golfers take Fourth in Mason County Invitational

In their fourth tournament in as many days, the Highlands Bluebirds golf team placed fourth in the Mason County Invitational out of 14 team shooting a 337. The 18-hole tournament took place at the Maysville Country Club.