The 2023 Mason County Royals golf team.
Daniel Miller
The 2023 Mason County Lady Royals golf team.
Daniel Miller
Mason County senior Kaedyn Gill was one of the Royals’ top scorers in 2022. He is currently tied for first with 3 in 2023.
Daniel Miller
Mason County Junior Madison Howard has played in four of the Lady Royals’ six games this season, and is a vital part of the team.
Daniel Miller
Dawshawn Overly returns to the Mason County Royals cross country team in 2023.
Evan Dennison (Ledger Independent)
The 2023 Mason County Lady Royals volleyball team.
Daniel Miller
Volleyball
The Mason County Lady Royals are looking for improvement in 2023, coming off of a lackluster couple of seasons, with just 8 wins in the last two years, Mason County is hoping to come out on the winning side more often than not this season.
Under the direction of their new head coach, Nellie Book, a veteran of the Lewis County Lady Lions volleyball program, the Lady Royals have a significant pool of talent to choose from, and with the right amount of effort, the Lady Royals could start down the path of success. In her last season with the Lady Lions, coach Book led Lewis County through a 24-11 season, with the Lady Lions ranking third in the sixteenth region behind Russell and Raceland.
Coach Book is excited to take the reigns as head coach of the Lady Royals, and is confident that she can help them get to where they want to be, now matter how long it takes.
Although the Lady Royals have struggled in the past, this year’s young team is sitting on a wealth of potential, and has the ability to build up an incredibly strong program in the coming years. A notable younger member of the team, Makaylynn Crabtree unfortunately saw no varsity games as a freshman, but in her first game as a sophomore, the Lady Royals first game of the regular season against the Pendleton County Lady Cats, Crabtree led the digs, with 16. Coming in just behind Crabtree, Senior Camden Walton recorded 15 digs in the Lady Royals game against Pendleton County.
Sophomore Lexi Young also returns to the team, although with slightly more Varsity experience than Crabtree. In 2022, young saw 18 varsity games of play, participating in 44 sets over the course of the season.
With 59 kills and 21 total blocks in 2022, and 3 blocks and 3 kills after the Lady Royals first game of the season in 2023, Young is a valuable member of the Mason County defense, and team as a whole and will only continue to improve as the season progresses.
The team currently has a record of 6-3, already two wins above their season in 2022, and well on track to continue that trend throughout the rest of 2023.
Soccer
Boys
The Royals soccer team is in for an exciting season under their new head coach, Shane Taylor.
After winning their first match against the Holmes Bulldogs, the Royals have already gotten their season off on the right foot. It was nearly September before the Royals won their first game last year, defeating the Powell County Pirates 6-1 on August 27 last year.
Many of the Royals challenges last season stemmed from an incredibly young roster, with a large number of freshmen and sophomores taking to the field for Mason County. This year, the Royals have a similar issue. With just two seniors on the roster, as opposed to last years seven, Mason County will have a lot of room to grow as the season progresses.
Luckilly for the Royals, two of their top three scorers from last year have returned to the lineup. Noah Gardner and Kaedyn Gill were the second and third top scoring members of the Royals last year, averaging 2.5 points per game combined.
Also returning to the roster, Mason County’s brick wall goalkeeper, Cade Pugh.
Pugh made seven saves in the Royals first game against Holmes, and allowed just one goal.
The Royals, although young, are looking good coming into this season. The Royals are currently 3-3-2, and are fighting hard to head into the latter half of the season on the winning side.
Girls
The Lady Royals are looking to build upon last years winning season, where the team went 9-8-0 defeating strong opponents and competing strongly in the games that they lost.
A district title is the goal for Mason County, and every other team in the 38th disrict. Harrison County has one the district all but one year, something the Lady Royals want to put an end to. Mason County scored on the team for the first time in nearly five years in 2021, and beat the strong Fillies team in the regular season 1-0 in 2022.
Unfortunately for Mason County, the Lady Royals and the Fillies will not meet each other in the regular season, meaning if the two compete against each other in districts, both teams will be going in blind.
The Lady Royals are currently 2-3 on the season, beating out Calvary Christian and Rowan County, and falling to Bourbon County, Scott and Estill County. Mason County is hoping to get back on the winning side of things their first few games back after the Kentucky 2A section six tournament, and are looking to continue to bring home wins until district tournament time.
Golf
Boys
The Mason County Royals golf team has seen it’s share of ups and downs so far this season, but mostly ups.
Head coach of the Royals, Bryson Bennett believes the team is poised for success, whether that success comes this year or not.
With three sophomores on the teams top five, Bennett is sure that his team will eventually advance through the ranks of the state tournament and bring the state title home to Mason County, given enough preparation.
Their tough schedule on complicated courses has them ready for anything the 12th region tournament can throw at them. The tournament this year will be held at Irish Hills golf course, a course the Royals will have been able to make themselves familiar with later on in the season. This, combined with their unquestionable skill on the field should allow them a fair shot at yet another regional title.
Girls
The Mason County Lady Royals golf team has been getting used to their new roster throughout this years tough season.
Despite the Lady Royals struggles in the early part of this season, the team is showing promise moving forward. The team is continuing to grow, learn and improve as time moves on, and with a second-place finish at their home tournament, things are looking up for the Lady Royals.
With three freshmen and a sophomore manning the remaining spots on the team, it’s no surprise the Lady Royals would have a little trouble in their first few outings. The inexperience of the younger members is something that will improve over time, and with the help of coach Butler and his coaching staff, and the advice of their older teammates, it won’t be long before the Lady Royals are back at the top of the leaderboards.
The team has since placed high in each of their nine hole matches, most of which held at Laurel Oaks. The Lady Royals have been first or second place in each of these matches, and are proving to their coaches that they can handle their new roles on the team, and are ready to compete as the regional tournament draws near.
Cross Country
BOYS
The Royals cross country team for years have been outperformed by the Lady Royals.
A stellar lineup of seniors on last years Lady Royals cross country team led them to success year after year, while the Royals were busy building up a lineup of rock solid athletes.
This year, they may have completed that goal.
The boys roster is laden with experience, from long time members of the team, powerful transfer students joining the ranks and a slew of young blood already proving that they can and will put in the work to make the team the best it can possibly be. A coach can’t ask for a better lineup for his inaugural season, and the boys cross country team is hungry to surpass themselves from only a year ago.
The Boys placed thirteenth at state last year, and with some KHSAA reclassifying, and some roster changes on some of last year’s top ten 2A teams, the Royals are feeling confident about placing much higher than they did last year, and possess the potential to possibly reach the podium.
GIRLS
As it stands, the Lady Royals track team is in a state of rebuilding. After losing nine seniors last season, the team has a short roster to go on this season. The Mason County girls track team has dominated the program in recent years and have consistently placed high in meets and competitions. With such a light roster, and some younger athletes joining the fray, the Lady Royals may have their work cut out for them in the beginning of the season.
Last season, the Lady Royals ended with a top four finish at state, for the fifth year in a row. A goal Mason County’s girls cross country team no doubt wants to continue to meet.
The team needs to compete together not only to improve their own personal bests, but to place higher and higher in competitions each meet they attend.
Returning senior Jennifer Buttery will be out for much of the season for medical reasons, her experience will help drive the team towards their goals even while she’s sidelined.
Before the Lady Royals can make it to the state tournament, held this year at the Kentucky Horse Park, Mason County will have to succeed throughout the season, and hopes to compete well in this year’s regional meet, with a site to be determined.
