[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      COVINGTON CATHOLIC COLONELS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I believe my Senate colleagues are well 
aware of how seriously we take our college basketball in my home State 
of Kentucky. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association, KHSAA, 
State Basketball Championship has been played every year since 1918 and 
is truly a special event.
  Kentucky is one of three States that does not divide its schools into 
classes based on size--that means one State, one tournament, and only 
one champion. Teams that advance out of their district tournaments play 
in one of sixteen regional tournaments--the winners of which advance to 
play in the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen in Lexington's legendary Rupp Arena.
  This year, over 14,000 fans packed the stands for the championship 
game and watched Covington Catholic High School defeat Scott County in 
an overtime thriller. I rise today to pay tribute to the players, 
coaches and fans of the 2014 champions--the Covington Catholic 
Colonels.
  For the Colonels, led by head coach Scott Ruthsatz, the road to the 
school's first-ever title was not easy--it seldom is in this grueling, 
statewide tournament. Covington Catholic found themselves down in the 
second half in three out of their four Sweet Sixteen games--including 
the championship. The players never gave up hope, though. On his team's 
27 to 18 halftime deficit in the championship game, tournament MVP Nick 
Ruthsatz--Scott's son--said coolly, ``We've been in this position 
before and we knew we could pull through.''
  As it turned out, Nick's confidence was not misplaced. The Colonels 
stormed back, tying the game at 47 with only 50 seconds to go, and 
sending the game into overtime. In the extra period, it was the 
Colonels staunch defense and clutch free throws that propelled them to 
a 59 to 51 victory.
  The 97th KHSAA Basketball Championship, like so many before it, was 
an excellent display of athletic ability as well as sportsmanship. This 
tournament would not be what it is without the efforts of the players, 
coaches, fans, and teachers of all the participating schools. They are 
all worthy of our praise.
  However, in Kentucky, there can only be one champion. Thus, I ask 
that my Senate colleagues join me in congratulating the Covington 
Catholic Colonels on winning the 2014 KHSAA State Basketball 
Championship.
  An article was recently published in the Cincinnati Enquirer 
chronicling Covington Catholic High School's championship win. I ask 
unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objections, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    [From the Cincinnati Enquirer, 
                             Mar. 24, 2014]

        Covington Catholic Rejoices in Historic Basketball Title

                            (By James Weber)

       Lexington.--Ben Heppler stood at center court on the Rupp 
     Arena floor and kept looking around at the all the chaos and 
     celebration around him.

       Chaos, celebration and cheer, same first letters as 
     Covington Catholic Colonels, who were celebrating their first 
     state basketball championship March 23.
       ``I'm trying to soak it all in,'' Heppler said. ``I'll 
     remember this for the rest of my life.''
       Cov Cath outlasted Scott County in overtime, 59-51 Sunday 
     afternoon, March 23, at the University of Kentucky's historic 
     basketball arena. It was the third title in Northern Kentucky 
     history, and the second in the past six tournaments by a 
     Ninth Region team (Holmes, 2009). It was also the first in 
     Cov Cath history in its ninth trip to the Sweet 16.
       ``It's incredible,'' said senior forward Mark Schult. ``You 
     dream of it, as a little kid, going out and winning your last 
     game, and it's hard to believe we actually did it.''
       The Colonels finished with a 33-2 record. After losing to 
     Holmes in the 35th District final, the Colonels won seven 
     straight games. They trailed in the second half in three of 
     the four state tourney games.
       With a veteran team and most of the student body in 
     attendance as the Colonel Crazies, it was a great day for 
     Covington Catholic.
       ``It's so special,'' said head coach Scott Ruthsatz. ``You 
     have to look at the administration on down, what they're 
     doing at Covington Catholic. You have to give so much credit 
     to the Crazies. Our Colonel Nation really supported us, and 
     not just this game, all season long. Being the first winner 
     of it, it feels fantastic.''
       Said Heppler: ``It's really special to be the first ones 
     and hang that first banner up there. We've always had that 
     empty spot and since Coach Ruthsatz's first day we said we 
     would be the ones to put it up there. The 6 a.m. workouts in 
     the summer, playing in the gym all those times, it paid 
     off.''
       Cov Cath's fitness and toughness in adversity paid off 
     against the experienced Cardinals, who were seeking their 
     third state title (35-4). After an early 9-3 lead, Cov Cath 
     was on the wrong end of a 22-4 run and trailed 27-18 at 
     halftime. Scott had three 3-pointers in a 70-second span by 
     junior Hines Jones, who averaged four points a game for the 
     year. Forward Tony Martini had Scott's first five points and 
     posted 17 points and 16 rebounds for the game. Cov Cath shot 
     just 6-of-22 in the first half, several of those misses 
     coming from around the rim.
       ``We've been in this situation before and we knew we could 
     pull through,'' Nick Ruthsatz said. ``We knew eventually we 
     would start hitting some, and the fourth quarter we just 
     buckled down. All the conditioning through the summer pulled 
     us through.''
       Cov Cath trailed by four points, 47-43, with 1:33 to go. 
     Ruthsatz tied the game with a pair of foul shots with 51 
     seconds to play.
       Ruthsatz gave Cov Cath its first lead since 9-8 early in 
     OT, then tied the game at 51 with 2:16 to play. A tip-in by 
     junior Bo Schuh gave the Colonels the lead for good with 1:46 
     to play.
       After three missed shots by the Cardinals on their next 
     possession, Ruthsatz grabbed the rebound and made two foul 
     shots with 57 seconds to play to make it 55-51. Following 
     another missed shot, CCH senior Parker Keller made two free 
     throws, then Heppler scored the final points of the season on 
     a fast-break layup.
       ``We just played better defense, tried to lock them down,'' 
     Heppler said. ``That's the experience of this team with three 
     senior starters and Parker hitting those huge free throws at 
     the end. It's a team game. Everybody can score. Most teams 
     around the state don't have five guys who can guard 
     everybody, so that works to our advantage.''
       Ruthsatz had 25 points and five assists. Schult had 12 
     points and six rebounds. Heppler scored eight with a pair of 
     treys. Freshman guard Cole VonHandorf had nine points, and 
     Schuh posted 12 rebounds.
       One of VonHandorf's chief tasks was guarding Scott County 
     star guard Trent Gilbert, who came in averaging 26 points per 
     game. The Mr. Basketball finalist, who is getting interest 
     from several Division I schools, only scored 10 points on 4-
     of-25 shooting. Cov Cath rotated several defenders on him and 
     often double-teamed him in the backcourt.
       ``We just tried to pressure him as much as possible, 
     because we knew he's a great shooter,'' Scott Ruthsatz said. 
     ``You can never leave him open. We had a hint of the way he 
     likes to go and shoot, and we tried to keep fresh guys on 
     him.''
       The fatigue may have hand in two crucial foul-shot misses 
     by Gilbert. A 91-percent shooter for the year, Gilbert made 
     28 in a row in the Sweet 16. However, he missed the front 
     ends of two one-and-one situations late in regulation.
       ``I love stepping up and being able to shut him down,'' 
     VonHandorf said. ``They told me if I shut him down, we win. I 
     tried my best. He's a great player; I'll give him so many 
     props. I can't wait to see where he goes next year. 
     (Assistant coach) Joe Fredrick told me all of his moves, I 
     had them all down, I felt I could play him fairly well.''

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