By Ed Letsinger

It was girls’ night out recently at the Drawbridge Inn in Fort Mitchell, Ky., as an impressive collection of talented female athletes and coaches gathered for the 13^th annual Sports and Fitness Awards Ceremony hosted by the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Women’s Sports Association.

Among the different groups and individuals honored were 10 female high school athletes who excelled in their respective sport during the 2005-06 school year and the overall winner was Katie Veatch of Roger Bacon.

Veatch, a senior setter in volleyball and Kent State University recruit, helped lead the Spartans to their second straight Ohio Division II state title last fall, capping off an unbeaten season.

“I’m very flattered to have won because obviously because every girl here tonight could have easily won,” said Veatch afterwards.  “It’s very nice to go out on top and this is just icing on the cake for me.”

Veatch was a first-team All-State selection and was also voted to All-City and All-District first teams.  She was named Player of the Year in the Girls Greater Catholic League.  Veatch has also been recognized for her club play, being named a prep volleyball All-American in 2005 and was a finalist for the Andrea Collins Award for the best setter in the country.

Off the court, Veatch serves as an Ambassador to Roger Bacon, and is a member of the National Honor Society.  She coaches the 8^th Grace girls’ volleyball team and tutors in her home parish of St. Vivians.

It was also a big night for Highlands High School.  Nina Kearns was named High School Coach of the Year after leading the Bluebirds to their first state soccer title in school history in 2005.  Kearns joined the Highlands’ soccer program in 1998 as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity coach.  Former Highlands’ basketball standout Tara Boothe won the College Sportswoman of the Year for her standout performance at Xavier University.  Among many accomplishments, Boothe finished her career as Xavier’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding.

The Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Women’s Sports Association (GCNKWSA), a non-profit (501 © 3) educational organization, was formed in 1993 by a group of individuals interested in promoting girls and women in sport.

The Association believes strongly in the benefits that accrue from participation in sport, and wants the girls and women in the community to have optimum opportunity to take part in these valuable experiences.  In an effort to develop stronger grass roots support for girls and women in sport, the Association has a primary purpose to recognize the accomplishments of female athletes of all ages at the local level.

The GCNKWSA for the past 12 years has had an awards and grant program that is designed to provide recognition of accomplishments of, and eventually funding for, female athletes.  This yearly awards program is held to recognize and honor the community’s daughters, mothers, and grandmothers who participate in sports.   

High School Sportswomen of the Year Finalists

Lesslee Mason-Cox, Princeton, basketball

Brooklyne Ridder, Oak Hills, cross country

Jen Funch, Ursuline, diving

Kelsey Lindenschmidt, Ursuline, golf

Caitlin Beck, Highlands, soccer

Kirsten Allen, Ryle, softball

Kasey Carpenter, CHCA, swimming

Jill Ducro, CHCA, tennis

Katie Veatch, Roger Bacon, volleyball

Kortni Dukes, Scott, track & field

AVP’s “EY” Is Guest Speaker

Pro Beach Volleyball star Elaine Youngs was the guest speaker at the 13^th annual GCNKWSA awards banquet.

Youngs, or “EY” as she’s best known on the sand, was named 2002 AVP MVP, Best Offensive Player and Best Blocker, but says her greatest accomplishment was winning the Bronze Medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens alongside her former partner Holly McPeak.  The two made history as the first U.S. women to medal in beach volleyball.

She used the inscription on the back of her Bronze Medal as the theme for her speech – “It’s not about the destination but about the journey.”

Youngs did not even start playing volleyball until her sophomore year of high school and through some tough times and adversity eventually landed at UCLA where she went on to become a four-time All-American and earned a degree in history.

Before her transition to the beach, EY spent three years on the National Indoor Team and competed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  She went on to live in Rome and played in an Italian professional indoor league and then moved to Ankara, Turkey to play indoor professionally for an additional year.

In 2005, Elaine and new her partner Rachel Wacholder were the only team to beat Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, ending the gold medalists’ 50-match win streak at the AVP Cincinnati Open, where she returns this year on Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, to defend her title.

The 2006 season marks EY’s 10th year playing professional beach volleyball. She has won at least one title in eight of the nine seasons she has played and for seven straight years. She currently ranks fourth among U.S. women in international victories.

“I just feel really blessed to do what I do for a living,” she told the crowd. “Sports are so great for women and I’m a true testament to that.”

Previous speakers at the GCNKWSA awards banquet include Bonnie Blair, Janet Evans, Nancy Lieberman-Cline, Mary Lee Tracy, Dot Richardson, Cynthia Cooper, Gail Devers, Amanda Borden, Nell Fortner, Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Carla Overbeck, and Tamika Catchings.