Thirty-five words written as part of a landmark U.S. law forever changed the sporting world and, more specifically, Cincinnati female athletes.
"No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
In honor of the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon signing Title IX of the Civil Rights Act into law on June 23, 1972, The Cincinnati Enquirer compiled a list of the 50 greatest female athletes and coaches who took full advantage of the opportunities that legislation afforded.
The staff chose individuals based on their accomplishments in high school sports and beyond, trying to keep various sports in mind. Their statistics may be represented by numbers but their contributions to the city's sports landscape cannot be measured.
Rachael Adams, Mount Notre Dame, Texas and U.S. Olympic volleyball
Before Rachael Adams was a bronze medal-winning volleyball player in the 2016 Olympic Games, she was a Mount Notre Dame standout with volleyball and basketball state championship rings to show off.
The Cougars were 2006 volleyball state champs and the next season Adams was one of the nation’s top recruits headed to Texas. For the Longhorns, Adams was an All-American middle blocker that was a member of the 2009 national runner-up squad. Adams landed a spot on Team USA where she won an international title in 2014 before snagging that bronze medal at Rio in 2016.
Kirsten Allen Mitcheltree, Ryle and Oklahoma softball
Kirsten Allen led the Raiders to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state championship in 2006, which is the only title by a Northern Kentucky team. That season, her sophomore year, she had 25 shutouts and an ERA of 0.25.
Her senior season, she was Gatorade Player of the Year in Kentucky and Ms. Kentucky Softball. She set 10 KHSAA state records in her career, including 41 no-hitters, 15 perfect games and 110 shutouts. The shutouts are still a state record as is her career ERA of 0.27 and 210 consecutive innings without allowing an unearned run. She went on to pitch collegiately at national power Oklahoma. She was also a volleyball standout at Ryle.
Malia Berkely, Badin, Florida State and FC Girondins de Bordeaux soccer
Berkely was a two-time Ms. Ohio Soccer (2015, 2016), Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year (2014, 2015) and NSCAA All-American (2014, 2015) while at Badin. The three-time GCL-Coed player of the year and four-time All-Ohio selection led Badin to back-to-back Division III state championships in 2013-2014 and finished her prep career with 66 career goals and 33 assists.
At Florida State, Berkely was a United Soccer Coaches Player of the Year and two-time first-team All-American. Berkely became the first player in ACC history to win back-to-back Player of the Year honors when she was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season in 2020. She helped lead Florida State to a national championship as a redshirt sophomore in 2018.
Berkely turned pro in January 2021 after signing with FC Girondins de Bordeaux Feminines in France. She appeared in 10 games over two seasons. Last December, she signed a two-year deal with the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Tara Boothe Smith, Highlands and Xavier basketball
Tara Boothe graduated in 2002 as Highlands’ second leading scorer all-time in basketball behind Jaime Walz Richey, finishing with 2,286 points. Her senior year, she led Kentucky in scoring (25.2 ppg) and averaged 13.4 rebounds.
Smith was a first-team all-state pick and played in the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game. She played for Xavier where she still has the school records for career points (2.324), single-season average (21.5 ppg) and also has 1,004 career rebounds.
She played professionally for two years and was a former head coach at Dixie Heights. She and Walz are the only two females in Highlands history to have their jerseys retired.
Amanda Borden Cochran, Finneytown and Olympic gymnastics
Amanda Borden of Finneytown High School worked with coach Mary Lee Tracy at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, which led to her being an Olympic gymnast. She just missed the 1992 team but worked her way back to be part of the 1995 team that won gold in the Pan Am Games.
By 1996, she was the team captain on the gold medal-winning team in the Atlanta Olympics. That group became known as the Magnificent Seven. She graduated from Arizona State and went into TV commentating and motivational speaking. Borden married Brad Cochran in 2006 and has three children.
Michelle Cottrell Marston, Boone County and Northern Kentucky University basketball
Cottrell graduated from Boone County High School in 1998 and was coached by Nell Fookes. She had 1,800 points and 1,365 rebounds in her career and was named first-team all-state in 1998 after leading the Rebels to the Sweet 16.
Cottrell was also a two-time all-state player in volleyball and collected 12 varsity letters including track. Cottrell played basketball at Northern Kentucky University, where she is still the all-time leading scorer (2.241 points) and second in rebounds (1,103). She led NKU to its first NCAA Division II national championship in 2000 and was a three-time DII All-American.
Dee Davis, Princeton and Vanderbilt basketball
Davis, a 2003 Princeton graduate, earned McDonald's, Parade, Street and Smith and Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American status as a player with the Vikings and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2013.
She went on to become a four-year starter at Vanderbilt, where she was a two-time All-SEC selection and a WBCA All-American in 2007. She helped lead Vanderbilt to a pair of SEC titles and Sweet 16 appearances and is the program's all-time career assists leader (730) while scoring over 1,000 points. Davis was recognized as an SEC Legend in 2017. Davis was drafted 14th overall by the Houston Comets in the 2007 WNBA Draft and played one season overseas.
After her playing career, Davis spent 10 years at University School in Nashville as a physical education teacher, admissions associate, softball coach and basketball coach. She was then the director of basketball operations at Bradley University, Tennessee State and University of Texas-Arlington before returning to Princeton as the girls head varsity coach in 2021. Last season, Davis led Princeton to a 23-4 record, a share of the GMC title, a district championship and was named GMC and Southwest District Division I coach of the year.
Gaby Downey Kinsinger, Winton Woods and Miami University basketball
Downey was an impressive multi-sport athlete at Winton Woods, participating in volleyball, softball, basketball and track and field. In her basketball career, Downey scored 1,107 points, led Winton Woods to the state championship in 1984 and garnered multiple first-team all-city and all-county selections.
During her college career, Downey totaled 11,192 points and 543 rebounds. She is a member of the Winton Woods Athletics Hall of Fame, the Miami University Hall of Fame and the Buddy LaRosa’s High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Maureen Egan Corl, St. Henry and University of Kentucky track
Egan graduated from St. Henry High School in 1993 after winning 15 state championships in cross country and track. She won the 800-meter title in Class 1A five times, the 1,600-meter title four times and the 3,200-meter title three times.
She was also on two 4-x-800 relay champions and won the state cross country title as a sophomore. She graduated with state records in her three solo events and still holds the 1A state record in the 1,600. She won nine first-team all-state honors. Egan ran for the University of Kentucky.
Alison Fealey, St. Ursula and Stanford swimming
Greater Cincinnati has a history of domination in state swimming competition and St. Ursula’s Alison Fealey is one of the supreme examples of individual and team success. Before winning a national title at Stanford and getting an MBA at Harvard, Fealey was breaking records, including her own, every time she jumped into the pool.
Fealey led St. Ursula to three-straight state titles in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Multiple championships in the 200 Individual Medley and the 500 free plus a 100 breaststroke title led Fealey to two Ohio Swimmer of the Year awards and three city swimmer awards by both the Enquirer and the Cincinnati Post.
Nell Fookes, Boone County basketball
The Boone County High School girls basketball coach had a record of 686-225 in 30 seasons. When she retired after the 2014-15 season, she was in third place all-time in wins in Kentucky and is now fifth to two current head coaches.
Fookes retired with 22 district titles, nine regional championships, and led the Rebels to the state semifinals twice. She is in the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame and the Northern Kentucky Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was named Northern Kentucky Coach of the Decade for the 1990s by the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Coaches Association.
Amber Gray, Lakota West, Tennessee and Xavier basketball
Gray, a 2019 LaRosa's Hall of Fame inductee and 2007 LaRosa's MVP, shined as a four-year starter for the Lakota West Firebirds.
Gray became the program's all-time leading scorer, totaling 1,931 points while grabbing 925 rebounds in her prep career. The three-time GMC player of the year averaged 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, helping lead Lakota West to a pair of GMC titles and a Division I state runner-up finish in 2008. Gray was named to seven All-American teams at Lakota West and was named Ms. Ohio Basketball in 2008. Gray played in the 2008 USA Women's U18 National Team Trials and won a gold medal at the 2007 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival.
Gray went on to play two seasons under legendary coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee before returning home to finish her collegiate career at Xavier. In 2013, Gray averaged 6.1 rebounds and a team-high 11.1 points per game, earned third-team All A-10 honors. A 2022 Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, Gray recently returned home to the prep scene, becoming a varsity assistant at Winton Woods.
Amanda Gruber, Saint Ursula Academy and Xavier University soccer
The St. Ursula graduate scored 26 goals in a 1993 season that resulted in the Bulldogs’ second state championship.
She continued her hometown dominance at Xavier, where she holds the single-season record for goals (24 in 1997) and the all-time record for points (160).
She won Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 1997 and was named to the conference first team three times.
Kendall Hackney, Mount Notre Dame and Northwestern basketball
Kendall Hackney was a true champion in the Cincinnati and Ohio athletic world, earning four state basketball championships during her time at Mount Notre Dame. Hackney scored 51 points across her four state finals games, which helped her land Ms. Ohio Basketball after her senior campaign in 2009.
One of the nation’s top forwards, Hackney headed to Northwestern where she was an All-Big Ten player before herself jumping into the collegiate coaching world. Just like her time at Mount Notre Dame, Hackney was a contributor from the beginning, playing in every game and graduating with the program record in games played. Her 126 games still rank as the third-best.
Janet Haneberg, Seton, Long Beach State and Xavier basketball
Haneberg was the first-ever Ms. Ohio Basketball, winning the inaugural award as a senior in 1988 after averaging 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and four blocks per game as a center for the Saints. A Street and Smith All-American, Haneberg led Seton to a pair of regional titles and state Final Four appearances (1985, 1988). She was also a two-time state champion on a pair of unbeaten (30-0) Seton volleyball teams (1985, 1986).
Haneberg was named to the Big West All-Freshmen team in 1989 while at Long Beach State, before returning to Cincinnati and playing at Xavier from 1991-1994. Haneberg helped lead the Muskateers to a regular-season Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) title in 1992 and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1993. She was inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Kayla Harrison, Middletown, mixed martial arts
While judo and mixed martial arts are not sanctioned by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, Harrison honed her craft as a teen and mastered it as an adult.
Competing in the 78 kg weight class, she won her first gold medal at the 2010 World Judo Championships, then took gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, making her the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport. In 2016, she became the youngest American ever to be awarded a Sixth Degree Black Belt.
Morgan Hentz, Notre Dame Academy and Stanford volleyball
The 2016 Notre Dame Academy graduate won three NCAA national championships as the starting libero for Stanford from 2016-19. She was a three-time first-team All-American and three-time Pac-12 Libero of the Year. She broke Stanford’s record for career digs and is fourth in Pac-12 history.
At Notre Dame, she led the Pandas to four regional championships and one state runner-up finish. She was Miss Kentucky Volleyball in 2015 and Gatorade Player of the Year. She was also a prep All-American. Hentz is a member of the U.S. National Team and hopes to play for Team USA in the 2026 Olympics.
Theresa Hirschauer, Turpin and Brown University soccer
Hirschauer has enjoyed an illustrious athletic career, both as a player and coach. She was a three-time All-Ohio selection and state player of the year at Turpin (1982-1984) and was twice named an All-American. She scored 144 career prep goals and was also an 1,000-point scorer for the Spartans' girls basketball team. She was inducted into the Turpin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
Hirschauer then attended Brown University, where she led the soccer team to four consecutive Ivy League titles and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. She was the 1985 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and the 1988 Ivy League Player of the Year. Hirschauer set Ivy League records for goals scored in a game, season, career and career points.
Hirschauer has spent the last 30-plus years as a coach for Cincinnati Country Day. She holds a career record of 423-135-46 and has led the program to two state titles (2018, 2019) and two state runner-up finishes (2016, 2020). In 2019, she was named the National Girls Soccer Coach of the Year in the Private/Parochial School category by the United Soccer Coaches.
Mary Jo Huismann, Mother of Mercy and Talawanda basketball
Recently honored by the Ohio High School Athletic Association during the state finals at the University of Dayton, Mary Jo Huismann has over 700 coaching wins. She began at Mother of Mercy High School and coached 696 of the wins between 1972-2018.
When the high school was combined with McAuley to make Mercy McAuley, she briefly was out of coaching but has since returned at Talawanda High School. Huismann led Mercy to three runner-up finishes in the Ohio state tournament (1980, 1989, 1990).
More:Ohio girls basketball coaching legend Mary Jo Huismann nets 700th career win
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Adrienne Hundemer, Dayton and Marshall track
The Dayton High School 1994 graduate won 20 state championships in her running career, including four in a row in the 400-meter dash and both hurdles events, the 100- and 300-meter.
She also won eight relay championships, six in the 4-x-400 relay with the Greendevils. She went on to run for Marshall, setting a school record in the heptathlon.
Julie Isphording, Ursuline Academy and Xavier running
Her full name is Mary Julie Isphording but most know her as Julie after she qualified for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics in the marathon, the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon.
She won the Columbus Marathon in 1986 and 1989 and the Los Angeles Marathon in 1990. Her best time was a 2:30:54 in 1989. Isphording is in the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame and trained with the men’s cross country team as it wasn’t available for women at the time. She currently works in leadership training for Procter & Gamble.
Emmy Kaiser, St. Henry, wheelchair tennis
Kaiser has been playing tennis since she was handed a racket at 5 years old and has been a prominent figure in the sport for almost as long.
She has made 10 World Cup teams, including every year from 2009 to 2016, medaled in three Parapan American Games (2011, 2015, 2019) and has advanced to the knockout rounds of the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games.
Kaiser has been ranked as high as the 11th best singles player in the world and the 15th best doubles player in the world. In 2015, she was named the Wheelchair Professional of the Year by the Professional Tennis Registry.
Bryn Kehoe, St. Ursula and Stanford volleyball
Kehoe was the nucleus of the St. Ursula volleyball dynasty, leading the program to a pair of Division I state championships (2001, 2003) and a state runner-up finish in 2002. A two-time All-Ohio selection, GGCL and Southwest District player of the year, Kehoe topped her prep career with national player of the year and Ohio Gatorade player of the year honors in 2003 along with winning the inaugural Andi Collins Award.
Kehoe played collegiately at Stanford, where she had instant success in helping lead the Cardinals to a national title in 2004, earning Pac-10 All-Freshman honors in addition to being named to NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team. Kehoe helped lead Stanford to two national runner-up finishes (2006, 2007), as well. Overall at Stanford, Kehoe was a three-time All-American and finished her career in the Top 25 in NCAA history for assists (5,956), which is still a school record.
Kehoe went on to a professional career in Europe and was an assistant coach at Alabama. She was a 2004 inductee into the LaRosa’s Hall of Fame.
Mary LaMacchia Zimmerman, Cincinnati Country Day and Cornell soccer and basketball
The Cincinnati Country Day Hall of Famer starred in multiple sports including soccer, basketball and tennis (she was a member of the boys’ team). LaMacchia continued her multi-sport career at Cornell, playing soccer and basketball for the Big Red. She captained the basketball team in 1996 and earned first-team All-Ivy League honors.
She holds the single-season record for points (467) and currently ranks 11th in career points (1,189). LaMacchia was inducted into the Cornell Hall of Fame in 2008 after an outstanding basketball career.
Her husband, James, was on the first CCD basketball team to make the Final Four. Daughters Sarah, Megan and Elizabeth played for CCD this past season when the women's team made their first Final Four appearance.
Rosemary (Rose) Lavelle, Mount Notre Dame, U.S. WNT and OL Reign soccer
Lavelle is a 5-foot-4-inch midfielder who was the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Player of the Year as a senior in addition to being NSCAA All-Region and All-Ohio First Team for Mount Notre Dame. From there she played for the Wisconsin Badgers between 2013-2016 winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and being named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
In 2015 she was named a first-team All-American. Lavelle was the first-round overall pick of the Boston Breakers in 2017 and later played with the Washington Spirit, Manchester City and most recently with OL Reign out of Seattle.
With the U.S. Women’s National Team, she has made 71 appearances with 20 goals and 15 assists including her run in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo where the USWNT took bronze.
Samantha Leshnak Murphy, Mount Notre Dame and North Carolina soccer
Playing in the national team circuits since she was just 13, Murphy showed off top-level athleticism even before her time as a goalkeeper for Mount Notre Dame. Murphy was a GGCL Player of the Year for the Cougars before setting her sights on college as a North Carolina Tar Heel.
As a senior at North Carolina in 2018, Murphy set a school record after not allowing a goal in over 1,119 minutes of game time. Murphy then spent time with the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League before joining Icelandic club Keflavík.
Rachel Lewis, Lakota East and Northwestern softball
Lewis just wrapped up a stellar collegiate career at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats to their first College World Series appearance since 2007. She was a two-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American (2018, 2022) and was the 2022 Big 10 Player of the Year.
Lewis is Northwestern's all-time home run leader (65) after belting a single-season record 23 last spring. She's also Top-5 in program history in runs scored, total bases, on-base percentage, RBIs, doubles, walks, stolen bases and slugging percentage.
Prior to joining the Wildcats, Lewis set GMC single-season softball records for hits (59 in 2015) and runs scored (59 in 2017) with Lakota East. She hit .546 as a freshman and sophomore and was the GMC player of the year as a senior in 2017. She was a lifetime .554 prep hitter and is in the OHSAA all-time record books for career homers (24) and runs scored (150) despite missing the final 25 games of her junior campaign in 2016 with an injury.
Carol Madsen, Reading and Xavier basketball
Madsen was the second ever Ohio Ms. Basketball in 1989 after averaging 24.5 points for Reading. She was also the Division III Player of the Year and a member of Parade Magazine’s second team All-America. Madsen began her college career at Purdue before transferring to Xavier.
Despite playing only three years for the Musketeers, Madsen holds the single-game record for points (46), is seventh on the all-time scoring list (1,702) and third in assists (518). She was the two-time Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
Tammy McCallum, Milford and Rice University basketball
Tammy McCallum was a three-sport star for Milford in the late '80s and early '90s, earning letters in volleyball, basketball and track and field.
McCallum went on to score 1,000 points as a basketball star at Rice University, but for Milford was the state shot put champion as a junior in 1991.
The Enquirer named her as the Athlete of the Year in her ’91 junior season for basketball and the next season as a senior for track and field.
Caty McNally, Madeira, a professional U.S. tennis player
McNally was a runner-up in the Wimbledon junior doubles tournament three times (2016-2018) and won a junior Grand Slam title in doubles at the 2018 French Open. McNally is currently the No. 17 doubles player with a career record of 108-43. She has a career singles record of 101-80.
McNally has five career doubles titles. Earlier this year, she and Anna Kalinskaya won the St. Petersburgh Open. She also won the 2021 Charleston Open with Hailey Baptiste. McNally has won three doubles championships with CoCo Gauff, with the "McCoco" tandem winning the 2019 Citi Open, 2019 Luxembourg Open and 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open.
Kelsey Mitchell, Princeton, Ohio State and Indiana Fever basketball
Mitchell is a 5-foot-8-inch guard with a storied history that began at Princeton High School. She averaged 26.1 points per game, 4.4 assists and 3.9 steals her senior year leading the Vikings to the 2014 state championship and is the school’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball at 2,057 points.
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Mitchell was a McDonald’s, Parade and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American and the Gatorade Player of the Year. At Ohio State from 2014-2018 she scored 3,402 points. She was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2015 and Player of the Year in 2015, 2017 and 2018. ESPNW named her first-team All-American in 2016 and second team 2015, 2017 and 2018. Mitchell was a first-round, second-overall pick in the WNBA Draft in 2018 by the Indiana Fever.
Heather Mitts Feeley, St. Ursula Academy, Florida and U.S. WNT soccer
The former Heather Mitts of St. Ursula played for the Bulldogs between 1993-1996 winning an Ohio state title as a freshman and being named All-Ohio First Team her junior and senior seasons. St. Ursula was 70-5-1 during her time in Walnut Hills.
More:Happy Birthday Heather Mitts! Take a look back at her career
She then went on to the Florida Gators between 1996-1999, helping them win an NCAA title in 1998 and earning first-team All-American in 1999. She won Olympic gold three times with the U.S. Women’s Team at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics and was also on the FIFA World Cup in 2011. Mitts married former NFL quarterback A.J. Feeley in 2010.
Sydney Moss, Boone County and Thomas More basketball
Moss, a 2012 Boone County High School graduate, was an All-American during her three seasons at Thomas More, while guiding Thomas More to two national championships on the hardwood.
She scored 1,511 career points as a Saint and had 476 rebounds, 266 assists and 136 steals. She set the NCAA Division III women's single-game scoring mark on Feb. 28, 2014, when she scored 63 points. Moss was named Kentucky Miss Basketball for the 2012 season after leading Boone County to the Sweet 16 and scoring 41 points in Boone's first-round loss. She led the Rebels to the state quarterfinals in 2010.
Michelle Munoz Trenz, Mason, Tennessee and Ohio State basketball
Now married with four children, the daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz of the Bengals had her own stellar career at Mason High School.
She was part of the 2000 state title team that went 27-0 and was a two-time Ohio Ms. Basketball during her time with the Comets. In that period Mason was 94-8. The 6-foot-1-inch forward was recruited to Tennessee by the late Pat Summit and went to the Final Four with the Lady Vols in 2002.
Transferring to Ohio State, she played on the 2005 team that made the NCAA Sweet 16. Munoz Trenz is in the OHSAA Circle of Honor along with her brother, Michael.
Donna Murphy, Newport and Morehead State basketball
The 1976 Newport High School graduate was the first Kentucky Miss Basketball after averaging 35 points, 20 rebounds and six assists her senior season. Her junior year in 1975, she played in the first KHSAA Sweet 16 after the tourney was revived following the passing of Title IX.
She scored 42 points in Newport’s loss to Butler in the state quarterfinals that year. She went on to play at Morehead State, scoring 2,059 points and grabbing 1,442 rebounds and became the first female athlete at the school to have her jersey retired.
Murphy also coached for many years at the high school and Division I college levels. A prestigious award given to a high school senior every year as part of the Miss Basketball awards process is named after her.
Monica Niemann, Ursuline Academy and Miami University basketball
Known mostly for her basketball abilities at Ursuline Academy and beyond, Niemann earned letters from her freshman to senior seasons in soccer, basketball and softball before her 1991 graduation.
Niemann scored over 1,600 points in her preps day, leading to multiple city player of the year honors and national All-American picks. Hooping at Miami University, Niemann’s 1,608 points were the program’s best at the time of graduation (now No. 4) and her 923 rebounds were also tops (now No. 2).
Niemann then headed to Switzerland for a pro basketball career and a post-basketball life.
Jaycie Phelps Marus, Northwest and U.S. Olympics gymnastics
Like Borden, Phelps of Northwest High School was also part of Mary Lee Tracy’s Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. From Indiana, she stayed in Cincinnati with her mother to train.
Phelps made the 1994 World Team in Dortmund, Germany, which won a silver and the 1995 World Team in Japan that took bronze.
Like Borden, she was part of the Magnificent Seven winning gold in 1996 in the Atlanta Olympics. She is married to Dave Marus and runs the Jaycie Phelps Training Center outside of Indianapolis.
Jill Phillips, Princeton basketball
Jill Phillips didn’t just coach Princeton to its second-ever girls basketball title in 2014 with a future WNBA star under her watch, she coached the Princeton Vikings to more wins than any other coach in the girls basketball program’s history.
Across two stints as head coach over 17 seasons, Phillips led the Vikings to 325 wins until stepping away after the end of the 2021 campaign.
Shalon Pillow, Taylor and Tennessee basketball
Both of Pillow’s parents have a background in basketball, and it paid off for Shalon during her time at Taylor High School. She averaged 22.4 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior and was named to Nike’s All-American team.
Pillow subsequently played for legendary coach Pat Summitt at Tennessee along with Michelle Munoz.
After assistant coaching stops at Hofstra, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee and South Florida, Pillow was named the head coach at Florida A&M in 2020.
Holly Porter Little, Wyoming and Boston College basketball
Porter, a 1993 Wyoming graduate, is the school's all-time leading scorer for either boys or girls basketball. She was the Cincinnati Hills League's all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) until Indian Hill's Ella Riggs surpassed her last season.
Porter scored 2,026 career prep points and was a two-time first-team All-Ohio selection and Southwest District Division III player of the year. She holds 10 school records and was inducted into the Wyoming High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 and the LaRosa's Hall of Fame in 2012.
Porter went on to play at Boston College and enjoyed immediate success, becoming the Big East Rookie of the Year in 1994 after setting seven conference freshman records. She would go on to earn All-Big East honors the next three seasons.
She was the first player in Boston College history to record 1,000 points and 600 rebounds before her senior year. She finished her collegiate career with 2,047 points and 902 career rebounds. Porter was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
Kim Rhodenbaugh Lewallen, Oak Hills, Texas and U.S. Olympic swimming
Rhodenbaugh helped lead her Oak Hills squad to a tie with GlenOak for the state championship at the 1982 state meet, one the future Olympian later called the most exciting meet she’d ever been in.
Later swimming for the University of Texas, Rhodenbaugh won individual national championships in the 200 Individual Medley and the 200 Breaststroke and swam the breast leg for the champion medley team all as a freshman.
The Longhorns won three team national titles during her run with all three titles coming after her 1984 Olympic team stint where she finished eighth in the 200 Breaststroke in Los Angeles,
Becky Ruehl Amann, Villa Madonna and University of Cincinnati diving
Ruehl, a 1996 Villa Madonna Academy graduate, became well-known locally after finishing fourth in the platform diving championships at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, one spot away from an Olympic medal.
In high school, she won five one-meter state diving championships and six regional titles. She went on to the University of Cincinnati, where she won the NCAA championship in 10-meter platform and was a five-time NCAA All-American. In addition to the Olympics, she won four national titles in platform diving.
Claudia Saunders, Princeton and Stanford cross country/track and field
Claudia Saunders earned a spot in the record books as one of the most successful runners in Greater Cincinnati history. In her time at Princeton High School, Saunders was a multiple-time state champion in both the cross country fall season and the track and field spring season.
Saunders became the first athlete in OHSAA history to win an individual cross country title and the title in the 100-meter hurdles in track.
At Stanford University, Saunders set multiple school records and was an All-American pick six times, eventually earning two runner-up finishes in track national championship races.
Maureen Shea Kaiser, St. Henry University of Notre Dame volleyball
The 1995 St. Henry graduate was two-time Northern Kentucky player of the year in volleyball and went on to the University of Notre Dame, where she graduated with three single-season school records and eight career records, including 129 solo blocks.
At St. Henry, she also won two state championships in track, one in high jump and another in long jump. Kaiser has been St. Henry’s head volleyball coach since 1991 and last November led the Crusaders to their first KHSAA state championship since 1981.
Melanie (Mel) Thomas, Mount Notre Dame and University of Connecticut basketball
Thomas was a 5-foot-9-inch shooting guard at Mount Notre Dame then later with the University of Connecticut women’s team.
As a senior, she led MND to a 28-0 record and the 2004 Ohio Division I championship. She averaged 20.4 points per game, 5.4 assists and four rebounds for the Cougars earning the title of Ohio Ms. Basketball. She also was a McDonald’s All-American, Nike All-American and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American.
Playing for Geno Auriemma at Connecticut, she was named the Big East Most Improved Player as a sophomore. She scored 1,098 career points between 2004-2008, averaging 9.5 per game. The Huskies made three Elite Eight NCAA tournament appearances and one Final Four during her time. Thomas also won gold with the 2007 Pan American women’s team.
Michelle Thomas, Glen Este and Ohio State cross country
Before competing at Ohio State, the Glen Este standout won multiple state titles on the track and in cross country. Thomas won the 1,600-meter indoor state title and cross country title in 2010, and capped off her high school career in 2011 with a second state title in the 3,200 meters.
While running cross country for the Buckeyes, she clocked a 17:05 personal best in the 5,000 meters, was named to the All-Big Ten First Team in 2013 and competed in the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Jaime Walz Richey, Highlands and Western Kentucky basketball
The Highlands basketball standout and 1996 graduate scored 4,948 points, a state record that lasted for 20 years until 2016. She led the Bluebirds to the state final in 1994. Walz also recorded 1,354 assists, 1,762 rebounds and 1,004 steals. She was Kentucky Miss Basketball 1996 and national player of the year by Parade Magazine.
Walz played for Western Kentucky where she scored 1,044 career points. She took over the head coaching job at her alma mater in 2002 and picked up her 400th career win last season, becoming the sixth Northern Kentucky girls basketball head coach to reach that mark.
Ellen Williamson, Notre Dame Academy and University of Virginia swimming
Among many decorated swimmers from Notre Dame Academy, Williamson’s record may shine brightest. She graduated in 2011 as an eight-time state champion, including three times in the 100 butterfly and twice in the 200 IM. She broke the state record in an event nine times during her career.
She went on to the University of Virginia, where was a 10-time NCAA All-American and eight-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion. Her senior year in 2015, she was NCAA runner-up in the 400 medley relay and fourth in the 200 medley relay, and graduated with the school record in the 100 butterfly.
Mary Wineberg, Walnut Hills, UC and U.S. Olympic track and field
The 1998 Walnut Hills grad was Mary Danner then making the state meet her junior season in the 4-x-200 relay and senior season in the 400 meters.
She continued her career at the University of Cincinnati where she set the school record in the 400 that stood for 13 years. She also met her future husband, Chris Wineberg, there who doubled as her training partner after school.
After their marriage, Mary Wineberg made it to the 2004 Olympic trials in the 400 but didn’t make the team. She returned four years later in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games competing in the 400 again but also winning gold in the 4-x-400 relay.
She is in the University of Cincinnati Athletic Hall of Fame and the Cincinnati Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame. Most recently she was elected to the Cincinnati School District Board of Education. Wineberg has also authored two books.
Brooke Wyckoff, Lakota and Florida State basketball
Wyckoff was dominant on the basketball court in high school and college. The West Chester native accrued over 1,200 points and 920 rebounds on her way to two first-team All-Ohio and All-American Honorable Mention selections.
Her name is all over the Florida State record books, where she currently ranks 16th in points, seventh in rebounds and second in blocks.
She enjoyed a lengthy professional career with the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle, Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky. Wyckoff entered the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011 and was named women's basketball head coach on March 22, 2022
Next generation
Dee Alexander, Purcell Marian basketball
Alexander is on the fast track to become one of the best Greater Cincinnati girls basketball players ever after a phenomenal freshman season where she averaged 24.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.9 steals per game, leading Purcell Marian to a Division III state championship. Alexander, who already holds over two dozen Division I offers, was named the Ohio Division III player of the year and was a MaxPreps Freshman All-American.
K.K. Bransford, Mount Notre Dame girls basketball
Bransford recently wrapped up a prep career that will go down in Greater Cincinnati basketball lore before joining the University of Notre Dame. Last season, Bransford became the sixth player ever (and just the second from Greater Cincinnati) to win consecutive Ms. Ohio Basketball Awards after averaging 21.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
She helped lead Mount Notre Dame to one of the most dominating four-year runs in Ohio history. Mount Notre Dame won Division I state titles in 2019 and 2021 and were undefeated heading into the state Final Four in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. During Bransford’s career, Mount Notre Dame went 109-3 overall and had a 98-game win streak that was snapped in the regional final last winter.
Bransford was also the Ohio Gatorade girls basketball player of the year in 2021 and was a three-time GGCL player of the year. She finished her prep career with 2,174 points, 723 rebounds, 418 assists and 262 steals and ranks ninth in OHSAA history in free throws made (540). Bransford was named a McDonald’s All-American last season.
Grace Courtney, Wyoming diving
Courtney set a state record in capturing the girls Division II 1-meter diving state championship in 2021 as a junior with 485.50 points. The next season, Courtney broke her own state record in her final high school meet, repeating as the Division II diving champion with 519.10 points. She is headed to the University of Notre Dame to continue her diving career.
Chloe Dearwester, Harrison wrestling
Dearwester has been the top girls wrestler in Greater Cincinnati as the sport continues to grow in the area and will be sanctioned by the OHSAA starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Dearwester has won back-to-back state championships and is a two-time Southwest Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association (SWOWCA) girls wrestler of the year. She helped lead Harrison to a state team championship last season. The Wildcats ended the season at the 11th-ranked girls wrestling team in the nation. Dearwester is ranked the No. 9 girls wrestler in the nation in the 106-pound weight class.
Kailyn Dudukovich, Lakota West and Ohio State soccer
Dudukovich, a 2021 Lakota West graduate, had one of the best soccer seasons in OHSAA history as a junior in 2019, posting single-season school and GMC records in goals (50) and points (109) to lead Lakota West to a 22-0-2 record and a Division I state championship. She scored both of Lakota West’s goals in the state title game against Anthony Wayne, including the game-winner with 13 seconds left.
She was named the Ohio Gatorade player of the year and Ms. Ohio Soccer. As a senior in 2020, she broke all existing scoring and point-total record for the Lakota School District with 46 goals and 99 points. She was a two-time All-American, Ohio Division I player of the year, Southwest District player of the year, GMC player of the year and first-team All-Ohio.
Dudukovich wrapped up her freshman season at Ohio State with third-team All-Big 10 honors and was named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team after starting all 20 games for the Buckeyes and posting seven goals and 17 points.
Chance Gray, Lakota West and Winton Woods basketball
Gray just wrapped up her prep career, where she was a four-year starter at Lakota West (2019-2021) and Winton Woods (2022). As a senior at Winton Woods last season, Gray was the Ohio girls Gatorade Player of the Year after joining the OHSAA’s all-time scoring list and leading the Warriors to their first district title since 2008. She averaged 26.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game and was a McDonald’s All-American. Gray, a four-time All-Ohio selection, was named one of the five national finalists for the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year award. At Lakota West, Gray was the two-time GMC player of the year (2020, 2021) and helped lead the Firebirds to a pair of league championships, a 64-13 overall record and two district finals appearances. She will play collegiate basketball at the University of Oregon.
Katie Hallinan, Walnut Hills, Illinois and UC golf
Hallinan was a Division I state runner-up for Walnut Hills in 2015 before winning a Division I state championship in 2017 as a senior, setting a state-record with a 68-69. In addition to the state crown, Hallinan was the 2016 Greater Cincinnati and Southwest District Division I player of the year and had eight Top-10 finishes in AJGA events.
Before starting her collegiate career at Illinois, Hallinan won the 101st Greater Cincinnati Women’s Metropolitan Amateur Championship in 2016 and was a three-time IMG Junior Worlds and two-time Junior PGA Championship qualifier.
At Illinois, Hallinan capped her first year of collegiate golf by helping the Fighting Illini to a runner-up finish in the Big 10 Championships in Maineville. After two seasons at Illinois, Hallinan returned home, transferring to UC. In 2020, she won the GolfWeek Junior Tour’s Amateur Series event in New Albany, Ohio, and was later the runner-up in the EKU Colonel Classic and ECU Easter Classic.
In March, she finished second for the Bearcats in the Babs Steffens Invitational and later had the team’s second-best finish at the AAC Championships in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in April.
K.K. Mathis, Lakota West softball
Mathis was named the No. 3 softball player in Ohio by statewide media prior to the start of last season and finished as the No. 1.
Mathis was named the Ohio Gatorade Softball player of the year after leading Lakota West to a Division I state championship, the area’s first big-school state softball title since 1985. Mathis led the Greater Miami Conference in batting average (.600), extra-base hits (32), home runs (10) and on-base percentage (.673). The James Madison University signee totaled 55 RBI with 48 total hits, including six triples and 16 doubles. In the circle, Mathis was 22-3 with a 2.05 ERA and 189 strikeouts over 147 innings.
Over her career, Mathis led Lakota West to two GMC titles, three district championships, three regional final appearances and two state Final Four berths. She joined the OHSAA records list for single-season home runs (13 in 2021) and RBIs (55 in 2022) and the all-time records list for career homers (26). In the circle, the two-time GMC player of the year compiled a 55-11 career record with a 1.81 ERA and 488 strikeouts over 401 1/3 innings.
Maddie Scherr, Ryle, Oregon and UK basketball
Scherr was ranked by ESPN as the nation’s No. 19 recruit in the Class of 2020 with the Ryle Lady Raiders. Scherr, the two-time Kentucky Gatorade player of the year (2019, 2020), was a McDonald’s All-American and was named Miss Kentucky Basketball in 2020.
Scherr led Ryle to the KHSAA state tournament in three consecutive seasons, a run that included the program’s first-ever KHSAA state championship and the second ever by a Northern Kentucky program.
Scherr was named the state tournament’s MVP. She is Ryle’s all-time leader in career points (2,297), rebounds (1,094), assists (679), steals (535) and blocks (233). As a sophomore at Oregon last season, Scherr started 28 games to help lead the Ducks to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. In May, she announced that she is transferring to the University of Kentucky.
Kyle Oldacre, Mason and Princeton basketball
Oldacre was one of three McDonald’s All-Americans from Greater Cincinnati in 2022, joining K.K. Bransford and Chance Gray. In her four-year career, Oldacre tallied 1,120 points, 851 rebounds and 305 blocks.
She led the GMC in blocks all four years and was the league’s defensive player of the year in 2019 and 2020 while at Princeton. Oldacre spent her final two seasons at Mason, where she helped lead the Comets to a 47-4 overall record, back-to-back GMC and district titles, a regional championship and a Division I state runner-up finish. Oldacre, who will play collegiate hoops at the University of Miami Florida, was named first-team All-Ohio last season after ranking Top-5 in the GMC in scoring (15.3 points per game), rebounding (9.3), blocks (3.2) and field goal percentage (55.9).
Sammie Puisis, Mason and Florida State basketball
Puisis just wrapped up her junior season at Florida State, where she led the Seminoles in three-pointers for the third consecutive season and started 22 of 31 games. In April, Puisis signed a grant-in-aid to transfer to the University of South Florida.
Prior to college, Puisis was a McDonald’s All-American at Mason as a senior in 2019. That season, she led the GMC in scoring, averaging 17.5 points along with 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game, and was named first-team All-Ohio, a first-team All-American and was a finalist for Ms. Ohio Basketball.
As a freshman in 2016, Puisis started 13 of 29 games and averaged 9.8 points per game. She would go on to be named GMC player of the year in each of her final three seasons. Overall in her prep career, Puisis led Mason to a 92-17 overall record, two league titles, three district championships, three regional finals appearances, two state Final Four berths and a state runner-up finish.
Ella Jo Piersma, Seven Hills swimming
Piersma, the daughter of two University of Michigan swimming alumni, will follow the family footsteps to Ann Arbor in 2022 after becoming one of the most decorated high school swimmers in Greater Cincinnati history.
Piersma won two state championships in each of her final three seasons at Seven Hills. She was a three-time Division II state-champion in the 200 free (2020-2022) and two-time state-champion in the 100 free (2020-2021). She ditched the 100 free as a senior last winter to set a state record in the 100 butterfly (53.43), her sixth career state championship.
Piersma was named the USA Today Female Swimmer of the Year in 2021.
Anna Podojil, Indian Hill and Arkansas soccer
Podojil racked up one of the area’s best prep soccer resumes while at Indian Hill as she was twice named Ms. Ohio Soccer and Ohio Gatorade player of the year.
Podojil was a member of the U.S. Soccer U18 Women’s National Team and was a three-time All-Ohio selection after setting Indian Hill records in career goals (117) and assists (51), along with single-season goals (38 in 2017). Twice named the CHL player of the year, Podojil helped lead Indian Hill to a 65-10-8 overall record, three league titles, three regional crowns and back-to-back Division II state titles (2017-18).
Podojil started right away as a freshman at Arkansas in 2019, becoming the school’s first-ever SEC Freshman of the Year. The next season, she was the school’s first-ever United Soccer Coaches first-team All-American and SEC Forward of the Year. As a junior in 2021, she led the SEC in goals (16) and points (38). She currently sits No. 4 all-time in Arkansas history in goals (37) and third in total points (97).
Morgan Southall, West Clermont and UK diving
As a senior in 2019, Southall became the first state-champion ever from West Clermont when she took home a Division I state 1-meter diving championship.
Southall stills holds the Southwest District, Eastern Cincinnati Conference and Southwest Classic Meet record in the event. She was a diving gold medalist at the 2019 USA Diving Zone C Championships and finished ninth in the 2019 USA Diving Junior National Championships.
Southall went on to the University of Kentucky, where as a sophomore in 2021 she helped lead the Wildcats to their first-ever SEC title with Top-30 finishes on the 3-meter springboard, 10-meter platform and 1-meter springboard. Southall is a two-time NCAA qualifier and was All-America in 2020 on the 3-meter springboard.
Jessey Li, CHCA swimming
Li was a Division II state runner-up three times in her first three prep seasons, finishing second in the 50 free in 2020 and 2021 and second in the 100 breaststroke in 2021.
In her final high school meet last winter, she finally broke through to find the top spot on the podium, winning state titles in both events and setting a state record in the 100 breaststroke. She will swim in college for Yale University.
Finley Payne, CHCA softball
The Miami Valley Conference’s Scarlet division ran through CHCA over the past three seasons (2019, 2021, 2022), with Payne being a big reason why. CHCA went 44-14 overall in that span with a 29-2 record against divisional foes and a pair of Scarlet titles.
Payne etched her name throughout the OHSAA record books in her three seasons, each ending with MVC player of the year honors. Payne was Top 10 in OHSAA history for single-season batting average every year, hitting .742 as a junior (10th), .745 as a freshman (9th) and .778 as a senior (4th). Her lifetime batting average of .753 is second all-time in OHSAA history. She’s also on the OHSAA all-time list for single-season RBIs (60 in 2019) and homers (14 in 2022) and the career lists for both categories (31 home runs, 157 RBIs).
She was also one of the city’s best pitchers in that span, compiling a career record of 32-9 with a 1.32 ERA and 470 strikeouts over 244 2/3 innings. She will suit up in college for Harvard University.
Alex Swayne, Kings and Clemson golf
While at Kings High School, Swayne was ranked the No. 1 girls golfer in Ohio by the National Junior Scoreboard, American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and Golfweek, which also ranked her 14th in the nation for the Class of 2018.
As a senior, Swayne led Ohio with a nine-hole stroke average (35.41) and had five Top-5 finishes at AJGA events. She was the Eastern Cincinnati Conference individual champion, helping lead Kings to a conference team title and the program's first-ever district tournament appearance.
Swayne went on to play at Clemson and in 2021 became the school's first active golfer to qualify for both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year. At the U.S. Women's Open, she finished sixth among amateurs and fourth among active college players.
Swayne turned pro last December and joined the Ladies European Tour (LET) representing the Virgin Islands. She finished 14th at the Australian Women's Classic in April, seventh in the Joburg Ladies Open in March and sixth in LET Rookie of the Year voting.
Special mention
Ravin Alexander, Summit Country Day soccer; Lindsey Basalyga, Turpin soccer; Jackie Bearden, Dixie Heights basketball; Aubrey Bledsoe, St. Ursula Academy soccer; Danielle Borgman, McAuley soccer; Annette Gruber, Saint Ursula Academy and Xavier University soccer; Maddie Huster, St. Ursula Academy soccer; Tori Huster, St. Ursula Academy soccer; Jamie Kirch Toon, Mother of Mercy; Kris Laskey, Highlands tennis; Angela Napolitano, St. Ursula Academy soccer; Donna Russell, Williamsburg, swimming; Stephanie Roy, Clermont Northeastern basketball, soccer and softball; Liz Slattery, Indian Hill soccer; Carly Wagers, Williamsburg softball; Montana Wear, Felicity-Franklin softball
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