It was a year full of record-breaking performances, national news, and plenty of other highlights in the Owensboro-Daviess County sports scene. Here’s our roundup of the top stories.
- Gavin Wimsatt graduates OHS early to enroll at Rutgers
- After much preseason hype about his senior season, Gavin Wimsatt’s career at Owensboro High School ended four games into the 2021 season. The standout quarterback graduated early to enroll at Rutgers University, where he ultimately got a bit of playing time in a few games.
- 12u Owensboro Eastern All-Stars win Cal Ripken World Series Championship
- The 12u Owensboro Eastern All-Stars won seven straight games in the Cal Ripken World Series, defeating West Palm Beach and Palm Beach Gardens en route to earning the title of Cal Ripken World Series Champions.
- DC softball advances to state championship
- Daviess County softball fell just short of their first state championship, falling to Butler 13-2 after a solid season. With only three seniors, they hope their latest postseason run will help set the tone for the future.
- Brescia hires Sarah Gayler, first woman to be named men’s basketball head coach in NAIA history
- Sarah Gayler continued to add to her impressive resume, as she was the first woman to be named a men’s basketball head coach in NAIA history after she was hired by Brescia University, where she also serves as the Director of Athletics.
- Catholic dominates Walton-Verona to win 4th All ‘A’ Classic Championship
- Four was the magic number for Owensboro Catholic against Walton-Verona in the All “A” Classic Baseball State Championship at Holy Cross. The Aces scored four runs in the top of the first, had four home runs in the game and cruised to a 12-2 win over the Bearcats for the fourth All “A” Classic title in program history.
- Daviess County Cheer wins back-to-back Regional Championships
- Competing in the gameday division on Saturday, Nov. 6, the Lady Panthers cheer team earned its second straight Regional Championship by defeating 11 other teams.
- King Combest sets 60-meter dash national record
- King Combest ran a 7.40 in the 60-meter dash, the fastest in the country for a 7th-grader according to MileSplit. A few weeks removed from his record-breaking performance, he bettered his time to 7.39 to win the state championship at the KTCCCA Middle School Indoor State Championships in Louisville.
- Owensboro’s Georgia Warren wins Region 2 Diving Championship
- Owensboro 8th-grader Georgia Warren went into the Region 2 Dive Meet fresh off of her second-straight City/County Championship, and the Lady Devil continued her winning ways to claim the regional crown.
- Owensboro’s Tim Davis, teammates find success in Youth Pan-American Championships
- Owensboro’s Timothy Davis represented Team USA in Monterey, Mexico, sweeping gold at the 2021 Youth Pan-American Championships in Olympic weightlifting. Davis later competed at the American Open Finals, where he set a new national youth record by snatching 332 pounds.
- Daviess County, Trinity square off in epic and historic volleyball region title game
- Up 2-1 in the match, Trinity volleyball was one set away from claiming its first regional championship in school history across any sport, but Daviess County decided to make some history of their own and battled to claim back-to-back 3rd Region Championships — the second in program history.
Honorable Mention
- High School football
- Humphreys draws statewide notice with stellar play, leads DC to historic season — Quarterback Joe Humphreys, with the spotlight shining brightly and talk of “Mr. Football” consideration, kept his eye on the prize and led Daviess County to a historic season. DCHS scored the most points in school history with 571, and the 36 turnovers generated by the defense ranks first all-time.
- Despite loss of Wimsatt, OHS has another strong season to advance to semis — Even without star quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, and despite some injuries throughout the year, OHS put together yet another strong season and made a deep postseason run before falling in the state semifinals.
- High School Golf
- Apollo’s Macey Brown finishes third at state — Brown didn’t quite have enough to earn a second straight state title, but she finished the day tied for third overall.
- DC’s Daviess County’s Grant Broughton finishes in the Top 10 — Despite not having a strong round two, Broughton tied for ninth place.
- Bombers grab first State Championship since 2008
- The Owensboro Bombers grabbed their first state championship since 2008, taking down Lyon County 12-1 in five innings.
- Apollo’s Harrison Bowman breaks single-season stolen base record
- Apollo’s Harrison Bowman is a four-sport athlete for the Eagles as he competes in baseball, basketball, soccer and football at AHS. But his name is cemented in Eagle lore as he broke the single-season stolen base record this year.
