A signing ceremony for a local athlete at Western Kentucky University is rate. Thomas Washington had one recently. The Logan County High School senior will run track for the Toppers.
At last spring's state meet, Washington won the triple jump with a hop, skip and leap of 45'4", finished second in the long jump with a distance of 22'3" and third in the 400 meter with a time of 50.55.
He had also qualified for state in the 4 X 400 relay, but the team was disqualified in the big race.
"Thomas had been undefeated in the Long Jump, Triple Jump, 400M, and 4 X 400M Relay all year up until state meet," says Coach Greg Howard. "Thomas was also the anchor on the 4 X 400M Relay Team that had the fastest time in the state all year. He was impressive at the Great Gator Invitational that was held on WKU’s track while winning all four of his events including the 400M, 200M, Long and Triple Jumps. That was the first time he ever ran the 200M and missed the meet record by .a tenth of a second." Joining him on that relay were Jonathan Barbee, LeRon Collier and Reuben Rawlings-Watson.
Washington also had an excellent football career at LCHS, and was a major factor in the Cougars' getting a rare win in the playoffs last fall. He played varsity basketball in his early years of high school.
Greg Howard is as hard-working as any coach you'll find, especially of a non-revenue sport. Our family watches him manicure the school's cross country track throughout the summer and fall, often using his own equipment. He's expanded the school's track program so much that now LCHS is involved in an indoor track program. It's great to see one of his athletes headed to an NCAA Division I program.
I can only recall two other local athletes to sign grant-in-aid papers with WKU this century-Russellville’s Teco Dickerson in football and Victoria Sansom in golf.

The LoJo

When Erica Meguiar became a college hitter, it was an impressive day. The former Lady Cougar star homered in the University of the Cumberlands' 6-4 win in a sweep of Virginia Intermont on the Lady Patriots' home field March 6. In the opening game of the day, Meguiar had gotten her first college hit, walked and scored two runs in Cumberlands' 6-0 victory.
Erica had the honor of being the starting catcher in the first game her college team played in her freshman season. She went 0 for 3 against Milligan in that one, but that didn't stop Coach Angie Dean from starting her in the first game of their second doubleheader, that one against Indiana University Southeast. Then she played both games of the doubleheader against Virginia Intermont.
Monday she went 3 for 3 in a 10-1 win over St. Catharine in the first game of a doubleheader and then scored a run and got an RBI in a 10-0 shutout in the nightcap.

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Two ladies with Logan County bloodlines played in last week’s girls state basketball tournament at Western’s Diddle Arena.
Katherine Dawson, a 5'10" freshman, had played in 27 of Henderson County's 29 games going into the state tournament. She was averaging 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while hitting 53.6 percent of her field goal attempts. She had blocked seven shots while picking up 13 assists and 16 steals for Coach Jeff Haile's team. She appeared in both of the Lady Colonels’ state tournament games. After winning its opener, Henderson County lost in the quarterfinals to a really well-coached Louisville Mercy team that went on to win the state championship.
Shelby Lawson, a 5'10 senior guard, was a starter for the Bowling Green Purples. She was one of the team leaders in long-range accuracy, having hit 40 of 110 shots from 3-point range going into the tournament. She also had 172 rebounds, 65 assists, 34 steals and 15 blocks. She averaged 5.7 points and 2.9 rebounds. The Lady Purples were eliminated in the opening round by Boone County, which featured Sydney Moss, the daughter of star NFL receiver Randy Moss. A 5-11 sophomore, Sydney scored 28 points in that game and 26 in an overtime loss to Scott County.
Katherine is the daughter of Karl Wayne and Lynn Riley Dawson. Her dad was a four-year starter for the Olmstead and Logan County high school teams. His senior year he not only started but was also a defensive standout for the Cougars' state championship team. One grandfather, Bobby Dawson, was an all-star player for Olmstead High. Her other granddad, Jim Riley, was Russellville's tallest player ever for decades. He played collegiately for Georgia Tech, starting in the NCAA Tournament against one of the great teams all-time, Ohio State, in 1960. Grandmothers Tina Hancock Dawson and Sarah Riley also contributed genes to this project.
Shelby is the daughter of Jon Lawson, now the assistant principal at BGH. He was a standout player for Warren East and a member of the WKU team. Jon's mother, Auburn native Jane Appling Lawson, attends all of Shelby's games and also goes to see the Purples in action.
Some other state tournament(s) ties:
Warren Central boys coach Tim Riley is the son of Auburn native Jean Drake Riley and her husband, Doug Riley, who is retired from having taught at Chandlers and Logan County high schools. Bowling Green High athletic director Monroe Joyner is her nephew. Warren Central athletic director Todd Steward is a graduate of Olmstead High School; his wife, the former Jill White, teaches at Lewisburg.

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Kara Haley , a graduate of Logan County High School, played in 26 of Kentucky Wesleyan College's 28 games this season, missing two with an injury. She started four games and averaged playing over 12 minutes per contest. She hit 44.2 percent of her field goal attempts and 72.1 percent of her free throws. She had 11 steals and four blocks while pulling down 67 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers lost 68-55 to Northern Kentucky in the Great Lakes Conference Tournament to finish 12-16. KWC, which plays in NCAA Division II, lost 9 of its last 11 games, and Ron Williams, the winningest women's coach in Wesleyan history, has resigned.
Haley is a junior athletically because of the major injuries she has suffered leading to medical redshirts. She has the option of returning for another season if she chooses to do so.

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Thomas More College finished 21-7 in Jeff Rogers' first year as head coach of the men's basketball team. Rogers coached LCHS from 2005-07. The Saints were the Presidents' Athletic Conference regular season champions for the second straight year and finished as tournament runner-up, falling to top-seeded Grove City College in the championship game of the PAC Championship Tournament at Grove City College Arena in Grove City, Pa.
So far, none of his players are from west of Louisville, but with Rogers' ties to Fourth, Second and First regions, that could change. Thomas More plays in NCAA Division III, which is not allowed to give athletic scholarships.

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Also wearing the name Saints are John Kenner, a former LCHS baseball standout, and Kevin Saunders, who was the catcher for the Russellville High School team which reached the Final Four of the All A Classic. They both completed their high school careers in 2007 and started out at Brescia College.

Kenner is now in his second season pitching for Shawnee Community College in Southern Illinois. Kevin is in his first year at the same school.

Cobey Adler has transferred to Lindsey Wilson College, where he is a pitcher on the junior varsity baseball team. He joins fellow LCHS alum Zach Knuckles, who is in his third year as a member of the Blue Raiders' JV squad. Last year, Cobey played for Mid-Continent College.

Cobey's brother, Corey Adler, who pitched for Mid-Continent for four years, is assistant baseball coach at Todd Central, working primarily with the pitchers.