Athletics

Covington Catholic High School has named former Colonel standout Jake Thelen its new head basketball coach. A native of Edgewood, Kentucky, Thelen starred at Covington Catholic – where he was selected to play in both the Kentucky/Indiana and the Kentucky/Ohio All-Star games – before embarking on an All-American career at Bellarmine University and gaining coaching experience at three top Division I basketball programs.

Thelen, Class of 2011, finished his career at Covington Catholic with a scoring average of 16.6 points per game and is the 8th all-time leading scorer in CCH basketball history with 1,258 points. He also holds the CCH single game record with 18 field goals. 

Thelen most recently served as Director of Player Development/Assistant Coach for the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team. Prior to joining UC, Thelen was the director of basketball operations at the University of Georgia – the youngest director of basketball operations at a Power 5 school when he arrived in Athens at age 25. Thelen’s on-campus coordination helped the Bulldogs land a consensus top-10 class in head coach Tom Crean’s first full recruiting cycle. That group was headlined by Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and one of six top-100 prospects Georgia has signed during Thelen’s tenure in Athens.

Thelen was an All-American forward at Bellarmine University, where he finished ranked No. 16 among Bellarmine’s career scoring leaders with 1,412 points in three seasons. As a senior, he posted the second-highest point (651) and rebound (375) tallies in school history to average a double-double of 18.6 ppg and 10.7 rebounds per game. Thelen was a consensus All-American and was named the GLVC Player of the Year in 2015. Thelen was tabbed first-team All-America by Basketball Times, DII Bulletin, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and BennettRank.com.
 

It was a warm September day this past fall as students gathered, wearing kilts with their bodies painted in blue, as they marched their way into Beechwood’s stadium and cheered their team to a come-from-behind win against the Tigers.  It was a team effort with athletes giving it their all, while crowds filled the stands as only Colonel fans can.  A game symbolic of the year Covington Catholic sports would have in 2023/24.

With four State Team Titles, three individual State Titles, and four second-place finishes, Covington Catholic, and perhaps any Northern Kentucky school, had our most successful year in sports.

The Cross-Country team had strong senior leaders returning, as well as some rising stars, pushing themselves to break through their personal bests week after week.  Several athletes fought through injury, including senior, Luke Meager, and nationally ranked junior, Will Sheets, who rejoined the ranks in time for the postseason.  The Colonels took State with a score of 62-151; an 89-point margin of victory that ranks the 5th largest in state meet history across all classes.  Coach Jeremy Mosher commented, “After seeing so much in person support from faculty, staff and administrators, it was a memorable end to a historic season.”

Meanwhile, on the football field, senior captains Evan Pitzer, Ben Reeves, and Willie Rodriquez, led the Colonels to an undefeated regular season, including away games against Highlands and Beechwood.  Throughout the season, teammates stepped up making big tackles, amazing catches, and hard-nosed runs to earn home field advantage throughout every post-season game. Tough battles were fought in front of packed houses against opposing teams like Ashland, Johnson Central, and Paducah Tilghman, leading the Colonels to the final game at Kroger Field in Lexington.  The Colonels fell short against Boyle County, but their season was full of successes to proudly hang their helmets on.  

Winter sports included Indoor Track and Field for the first time as a KHSAA sanctioned sport.  This gave Colonels the opportunity to hone in on skills, work on the technical aspects, and keep up their speed and strength.  The Colonels made history as the first team in KY to win the Indoor Track and Field State title, but (spoiler alert) they were not finished yet (more to come on that).

With senior Willie Rodiguez injured, other wrestlers needed to step up onto the mat, and they sure did.  Senior Harrison Smith captained the team to State, bringing four other Colonels along with him – the most in program history.  In a pool across town, senior and Florida Atlantic University bound diver, Jake Larkin, was making a (tiny) splash with his second-place finish at the KY State Diving meet.  

As the weather warmed, our anglers took to the water in bass fishing competitions.  Two of our boats qualified for the two-day State Tournament on Kentucky Lake, competing against fishermen who have grown up on those waters.  Brandon Smith and Phoenix Parks finished in 2nd, making them the first team in NKY history to achieve this level.

It wasn’t over yet for the Track and Field athletes who had a record-breaking spring season!  Senior Ethan Long finished the 100M-dash in 10.55 seconds, setting a school record and making him the fastest sprinter in Northern Kentucky history.   But there is a long pipeline of success expected for the Colonels, with the Freshmen team winning Regionals and up and coming athletes like distance runner Luke McClane and pole vaulter Paul Klosinski.  At State, the Colonels had athletes qualify in every event but one, with two relays taking first place, along with several other medaling athletes. The team came together to clinch the victory, becoming the first team in KY history to win all 3 running sports in a single year, nicknamed the “Triple Crown.”

If all of that was not reason enough to celebrate, the Colonels wanted more.  Tennis!  After dominating the region in an all-Colonel Finals including brother vs brother in the singles (Brady vs Blake Hussey), they made their way to the individual State Tournament finals where the Colonels were found in both the doubles and singles matches.  Seniors, Kalei Christensen and Alex Yeager brought home the State Title, and Bradey Hussey took 2nd in singles.  Then, just a few days later, the team was back for the Tennis State Team competition with multiple athletes on the court from each school.  The first school to have three wins moved on to the next round.  Throughout the entire tournament, only Louisville St. X scored on the Colonels (in the semifinals) resulting in the final State Title for the year going to coach Hertz and the tennis team.

Challenges overcome. Team effort.  Supportive crowds. Records broken.  History made. Go Colonels!
 

We are pleased to announce that longtime faculty member, Ryan Lubbers, will be taking over as Head Golf Coach. Mr. Lubbers has taught math at Covington Catholic since 2006 and is an avid golfer after playing at Bishop Brossart High School. In addition to teaching, Ryan has served as the Wyoming retreat coordinator and scorekeeper for home basketball games. “We are very pleased to announce that Ryan Lubbers will be the next golf coach at CCH. Ryan is an excellent teacher and has an amazing passion for Covington Catholic, serving and supporting our students in many capacities through the years. He will do a fantastic job continuing the proud CovCath golf tradition,” said Mr. Tony Bacigalupo, Covington Catholic Athletic Director.

During Coach Ammerman’s tenure he won the 2018 and 2019 regional championships, while also finishing 6th at state in 2018. In addition, ten members of the golf program went on to play collegiately since Alex took over in 2017. “We are extremely grateful of Coach Ammerman’s seven years as Head Golf Coach, and his commitment to our student-athletes. Considering his role as Alumni Director with our upcoming 100th year anniversary, as well as becoming a new father, we completely understand and support Alex’s difficult decision,” Mr. Bacigalupo stated. Alex will continue in an administrative role with the golf program, assisting with scheduling among other aspects. Longtime assistant coaches Chris Pieper, Tim Schrand and Steve Sorrell will also be returning to the staff, providing over 75 years of coaching experience.

We are excited to announce that current faculty member Jordan Mason will be taking over as Head Wrestling Coach. Mr. Mason has taught religion at CovCath since 2020 and has been a member of the Football coaching staff since 2019. Mason was a member of the Campbell County wrestling program when they won the 2012 State Championship. Mason played collegiate athletics at Union College as a member of the Football team for four years. In addition, Mason has served on the school’s Senior and Wyoming Retreat teams. Former CovCath wrestler and current assistant Brett Lampe will join Mr. Mason’s staff as the Associate Head Coach.

 “Jordan has taught or coached nearly every student in our school building and with that, has an excellent rapport which will help continue to grow our participation numbers. As a wrestler for Coach Bankemper at Campbell County and as an assistant under Coach Eviston, Jordan has learned from two of the best head coaches in our state’s history. With many successful returnees, along with Jordan’s enthusiasm and vision, we are very excited for the future of the CovCath Wrestling program,” stated Athletic Director Tony Bacigalupo.

Jordan takes over for Joe Hunt, who stepped down after a very successful final season as head coach. The Colonel Wrestling program had its most successful season in school history, finishing 5th at region and having the most state qualifiers in school history. Coach Hunt currently owns his own construction business, and his son Joe currently wrestles collegiately at Thomas More. “Our wrestling program has grown tremendously under Joe’s leadership, and we are extremely thankful for his dedication as both an assistant and as a head coach. I am happy that he will get more opportunities to watch his son Joey wrestle for Thomas More, while also running a very successful business. The continued growth and success of the CCH wrestling program will be a product of the foundation that Joe built,” said Bacigalupo.