Both Ryle High School golf teams open the fall 2026 KHSAA season as defending Region 7 champions, and the boys' squad returns nearly everyone who got them there.
The Raiders boys posted a 293 at last fall's regional tournament, beating runner-up Covington Catholic by 10 strokes, then placed sixth at the state tournament. They graduated only one key player: Paxton McKelvey, son of head coach Mark McKelvey, who is heading to Northern Kentucky University.
"But pretty much everyone else is back, so we're really excited," Mark McKelvey told LINK nky's Marc Hardin on July 17, after wrapping up two-day tryouts at Lassing Pointe. "And everybody is in good form."
The returnees are stacked. Junior Thomas Leone finished as Region 7 individual runner-up last fall and placed inside the top 42 at state. Sophomore Hayden Li tied for 32nd at state last year and recently tied for 22nd at the Kentucky Boys Junior Amateur at Bardstown Country Club, shooting 219. Seniors Chandler James, Jake Roscoe, and Jack Maegly all return with state-tournament experience, and freshmen Luke Roscoe and Brennan Salyers add varsity depth.
The girls face a tougher rebuild. Ryle won last year's Region 7 title by 34 shots over Notre Dame Academy but lost three key graduates, including individual regional champion Anika Okuda. Seniors Elizabeth Dickson, who finished fourth at regionals, and Lacey Wilson, who placed ninth, anchor the returning roster.
Ryle opened its season Monday, July 21, at a Conner-hosted tournament at Kenton County Pioneer. Region 7 play continues through the fall, with the regional tournament determining which teams advance to the KHSAA state championship.
Area golfers post strong summer results
Beyond the high school season, several Northern Kentucky golfers turned in notable performances on the summer circuit.
Lance Lucas, a 1980 Boone County High School graduate and three-time Northern Kentucky Amateur champion, tied for fourth at the 78th Metropolitan Senior Men's Championship at Clovernook Country Club. Lucas shot rounds of 70-73, including five birdies in his final round, finishing at 1-over-par 143.
Jim Volpenhein, a 1976 Covington Catholic graduate representing Maketewah Country Club, matched Lucas at 143 with rounds of 72-71. Volpenhein won the Senior Met in 2021 and has captured 19 GCGA individual championship tournaments.
St. Henry eighth-grader Reese Anthony finished third overall and won the girls 13-15 age division at the 64th Metropolitan Junior Girls Championship at Glenview Golf Course in Cincinnati, shooting 12-over-par 156. Her sister Nora Anthony, an incoming sixth-grader, placed fourth overall at 160.
