Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declined to label Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” in an interview with Politico published Sunday, instead critiquing the question as a litmus test among Democrats.
Kentucky
Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky high school bowlers to watch in 2025-2026
The high school bowling season started last week in Ohio and Kentucky. Here are some top returners to watch for the season.
Who are the top returning boys bowlers?
Matthew Alvear, Lebanon – He was first-team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference with a 206.9 average. He shot 629 in the sectional tournament.
Jace Amann, La Salle – The junior was co-bowler of the year in the Greater Catholic League-South. He averaged 208 with a high game of 298. He finished 15th in the state tournament with a 665, including a 269 game. He finished 23rd in the sectional tournament.
Tyler Blume, Simon Kenton – The senior finished as singles runner-up in the Region 5 tournament and finished seventh in the state tournament. He helped the Pioneers finish runner-up in the regional team tourney.
Jayden Brown, Elder – The senior was first-team all-league in the Greater Catholic League-South with a 216.8 average. He had a high game of 269 and a high series of 526 during the season. He finished 18th in the sectional tournament.
Michael Brown, Cincinnati Christian – The senior is the top returner in the Miami Valley Conference with a 195.3 average. He finished 11th in the sectional tournament.
Connor Copeland, Lebanon – The junior last year was the bowler of the year in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. He had a 210 average including a perfect 300 game. He shot 641 in the sectional tournament to finish eighth.
Dylan Davis, Covington Catholic – The senior led the Colonels to the Region 5 team championship. He finished third in the regional singles tournament and placed ninth in the state tournament.
Tony Fox, Simon Kenton – The junior helped the Pioneers finish runner-up in the Region 5 team tournament and finished 15th in the singles tournament.
Peyton Frank, Reading – The senior was first-team all-league in the Cincinnati Hills League with a 211.6 average, leading the team to the league title. He had a high game of 268.
Drew Freeman, Mason – The senior averaged 205 last year and had a 278 game. He finished third in the sectional tournament with 638.
Maddox Kuryla, Boone County – He had the highest average in the regular season, 222. He won the Region 6 championship and finished fifth in the state tournament and led the Rebels to the second-best record behind Simon Kenton in the regular season.
Joe Mil, Deer Park – The senior was Cincinnati Hills League Player of the Year with a 216 average. He finished fifth in the sectional tournament and shot a 641 in the district tournament.
Ryan Monahan, Mason – The senior is second in the Greater Miami Conference among returning averages with 206.6. He had a 265 game last year.
Easton Pierani, Sycamore – The senior has the top returning average in the Greater Miami Conference with a 210. He shot 644 in the sectional tournament to finish seventh, 730 in the district tournament and 635 at state.
Jordan Rottinghouse, Elder – The junior was first-team all-league in the Greater Catholic League-South with a 213.5 average. He had a high game of 299 and high series of 558.
Tyler Sanders, McNicholas – The senior was the Greater Catholic League-Coed player of the year after averaging 200.3 with a high game of 258. He finished 18th in the sectional tournament.
Bryce Sargent, Campbell County – The junior finished fifth in the Region 5 singles tournament.
Gabe Schmidt, Reading – The senior was first-team all-league in the Cincinnati Hills League with a 207.7 average, helping the team win the league title. He had a high game of 299 and high series of 533. He finished fourth in the sectional tournament.
Carson Singleton, Northwest – The senior was the Southwest Ohio Conference player of the year with 215 average. He had a high game of 259 and high series of 514. He finished 27th in the sectional tourney.
Who are the top returning players in girls bowling?
Alyssa Bechtol, Notre Dame – The sophomore has transferred from Dixie Heights, where last year she was the Region 6 singles champion and helped the Colonels to the team title. She finished 14th in the state tournament. She started this year by breaking Notre Dame’s team records for high game (257) and series (466).
Ella Bohnert, Lakota East – The sophomore won a sectional title last year with a near-perfect 290 and 680 series. She averaged 179 in her first match this season.
Kree Brewer, Pendleton County – The sophomore won the Region 5 singles championship and led the Wildcats to the team title. She finished 19th in the state tournament.
Sophia Carazo, Summit Country Day – The senior is the top returning average in the Miami Valley Conference and finished fifth in the sectional tournament. She averaged 176 in the team’s first match this season.
Kendall Cook, Mercy McAuley – The junior was first-team All-Girls Greater Catholic League after averaging 185 with a high game of 251
Carolyn Edmisten, Georgetown – The senior had the highest average among Southwest Ohio DII bowlers with 202.5, helping her team win the SBAAC-National Division and sectional championships. She won the Cherry Grove sectional championship with a 638 and finished 15th in the district tournament with a 540.
Makayla Geer, Colerain – The junior is the reigning Greater Miami Conference player of the year after averaging 179 last season. She finished 14th in the sectional tourney and 32nd at the district tourney.
Taylor Hooks, West Clermont – The senior is the top returning bowler in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference after averaging 181 last year. She finished 20th in the sectional tournament.
Caitlyn Kober, Lebanon – The senior averaged 178 last year and is the second-best returning average in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. She finished 14th in the district tourney and 18th in the sectional.
Jacelyn Lawson, Clinton-Massie – The senior is one of the top returners in the SBAAC with a 177 average. She finished second in the sectional tournament and 17th in the district.
Alex McDonald, Taylor – The junior was Cincinnati Hills League player of the year after leading the team to the league championship. She averaged 160 last year and finished 16th in the sectional tournament.
Hayley Pelstring, Notre Dame – She finished ninth in the Region 6 singles tournament.
Izzy Rhoads, Wilmington – The junior is one of three top returners with Kiley Comberger and Mackenzie Pyle for the Hurricane, who won the SBAAC-American championship. She averaged 185 and qualified for the state tourney after finishing eighth in the district tourney.
Abby Sargent, Campbell County – The sophomore finished third in the Region 5 singles tournament and 17th in the state tournament.
Meadow Williams, Indian Hill – The sophomore was first-team All-Cincinnati Hills League with a 155 average. She finished 22nd in the sectional tournament and 36th in the district.
Abree Young, Dixie Heights – The senior finished third in the Region 6 singles tournament and 16th in the state tournament. She helped the Colonels to the regional title.
Kentucky
Final gargoyle returned to its perch atop rehabbed Kentucky cathedral modeled after Notre Dame
COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The last stone gargoyle has been returned to its perch as part of a two-year restoration of a Kentucky cathedral with a facade modeled after Notre Dame in Paris.
The rehab project at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption was sorely needed to repair deteriorated stone, metal and glass that adorns the limestone exterior. The project included 32 recreated gargoyles along with repairs of deteriorated finials, arches and balustrades.
The 125-year-old church, in Covington just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, offers the experience of a European gothic cathedral in the Midwest, said the Very Rev. Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s rector. The cathedral has an “intimate connection to what is really the most popular and most well-known cathedral outside of Rome itself,” he said.
“I think it’s very special and very unique,” said Maher, who watched from the sidewalk as the last gargoyle was raised to top of the facade on Monday.
The renovation price tag was nearly $8 million, and most came from donations, Maher said.
Brian Walter, CEO of Trisco Systems, the contractor, said the final gargoyle going in was “a symbol of the accomplishment of all our facade work.”
“That’s a big, monumental occasion for not only people here, but for us. That kind of symbolized the last stone we’re putting in,” Walter said.
Restoration plans grew out of Maher’s discovery in 2018 of a large piece of stone that fell from the exterior.
“We realized at that time that we needed to investigate not only the source of that one piece of stone that had fallen, but to take a look at the overall facade of the cathedral,” Maher said.
Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.
“This is kind of a once or twice in a lifetime project,” Walter said.
“That’s becoming one of those new litmus tests that we said we would never do as a party again,” Beshear told Politico’s Dasha Burns after being asked if he agreed with the label. “It’s trying to throw out a word and, ‘Are you going to raise your hand or are you not going to?’”
Beshear is the Democratic governor of a solidly red state and a potential 2028 presidential contender. His remarks come as Democratic candidates increasingly grapple with their stances on Israel amid record-low support for Israel among their base.
While several lawmakers, including Vermont’s Jewish Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, have called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide,” the label has not gained mainstream support in the Democratic Party. Last October, former Vice President Kamala Harris declined to use the “genocide” label, which Israel had long rejected, but said, “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it.”
Some Democrats have embraced the question, with a New York congressional candidate telling the leftist streamer Hasan Piker this week that she is “100%” comfortable with the issue serving as a litmus test in her party.
Others have acted as though the litmus test is already in place. In January, for example, California congressional candidate Scott Wiener announced that he believes Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide after drawing scrutiny for declining to answer the question during a debate.
Beshear critiques Trump, Netanyahu
While Beshear told Burns that Israel “has the right to exist as a democratic country, as a Jewish country,” he added that his feelings about President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct during the war in Gaza and ongoing war in Iran were “a different thing.”
“I believe the United States needs a strong Israel, but not one with decisions being made in the way that Netanyahu is making them,” Beshear said.
Beshear also critiqued President Donald Trump’s response to the crisis in Gaza.
“I believe that it could have been done without a lot of the suffering, but I put a lot of that blame also on Donald Trump,” he said. “If he’d said we are coming in and we are bringing food and aid and you are going to make sure that we’re safe, it would’ve happened.”
Last week, a spokesperson for Beshear told Politico that “AIPAC has never contributed to Governor Beshear and they’re never going to – ever,” a response that dovetailed with a host of other potential Democratic presidential candidates, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who are increasingly distancing themselves from the pro-Israel lobby.
“I think that’s up to each and every Democrat,” Beshear answered when asked whether he thought his fellow Democrats should take money from AIPAC.
“In the end, I think people need to be clear about their stance on these issues,” Beshear said. “And for me, it’s one where I believe that we need a future with an ally in Israel. But we need decision makers there that are not acting the way that Netanyahu is, and we need a president that will push when we are seeing humanitarian crises to actually do something about it.”
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