Simmons Superlatives - under-the-radar athletes

First, if you missed yesterday’s Simmons Superlatives, I named my top 5 newcomers in both girls and boys high school sports. Click the links and you can get to them for free thanks to our tremendous sponsor Security Federal Savings Bank.

Now, let’s get into today’s list – the top under-the-radar high school athletes in Warren County. The began as “most underrated,” but then I changed it to under-the-radar high school athletes because I was getting paid by the word at some point apparently.

In reality, this is a tough category because in some aspects, if anybody on this list is worthy of major recognition, it should’ve been incumbent on me to give it to them. After all, the Main Street Journal is where you have to go for local journalism, so this is almost an apology list to kids who I may have overlooked throughout the season.

That’s not always the case though. Sometimes, as you’ll see on this list, it’s not that these kids didn’t get their flowers, it’s just that they have some super-talented teammates who often get the spotlight. They earned it, of course, but it doesn’t mean these kids should be swept under the rug either.

So, with the long-winded explanation out of the way, let’s get on with honoring local athletes.

Katie Bechtel, Boyd basketball and volleyball

Full disclosure: I’ve coached Katie her entire high school career, so if you want to call me bias, so be it. I still think she’s very deserving of this honor.

Bechtel is the perfect case of being a talented player who can be overlooked when other teams focus on No. 1 options. After the TSIAA regular season, Lady Bronco center Brooke Kesey and shooting guard Macie Bush were voted on by the league coaches as the two all-district honorees from Boyd (We should’ve had three – at least -but I don’t want to get too angry right now).

Kesey’s dominance in the conference has been well known for two years (she’s already surpassed 1,000 points before entering her junior season), while Bush had some explosive shooting nights in key conference games (scoring a season-best 35 points in one win - most by a Lady Bronco in 2024-25 – and averaging 22 ppg in wins over rival FRCS).

Bechtel didn’t go home with the regular-season hardware, but she has positioned herself to be one of the school’s next 1,000-point scorers and played so well in the postseason she got not one, but two all-tournament nods (TSIAA and NACA).

She’s a lethal shooter (I’ve routinely watched her shot 90-plus percent on hundreds of FTs in practice) and somebody who is only getting better. She won’t be under the radar much longer.

Lola Wells, WCHS softball and volleyball

I struggled with placing Wells on this list the most. She’s almost too well known – having been named all-district in both softball and volleyball – to be considered under the radar. It’s almost more likely she’s considered one of the top female athletes at WCHS.

Alas, she wasn’t a newcomer (yesterday’s list), not a senior (tomorrow’s list) and I think she fell just short of the top overall athletes in Warren County too. But, I think she was too good this year to be left off everything completely.

Therefore, I’m pushing her in the under-the-radar category and issuing a challenge: Be the best senior or best athlete next year. Wells definitely has the potential to accomplish either.

Ali Young, WCHS volleyball and softball

It’s crazy to think a kid who plays a premier position on the diamond (shortstop) and was an all-district selection in volleyball can be under-the-radar, but Young still fits the bill. It probably doesn’t help that her older sister – also a standout on the diamond and court who went to college and is now going to be a flag football player at Cumberland University – can cast a large shadow (well, figuratively - Neither Young girl is a towering presence).

Ali has just found ways to contribute to every team she has played on for a long time. She may never be listed as the star, but she really is the example of something coach Danny Fish said on my Simmons Says radio show recently: “Be a star in your role.”

Young is the type of kid who doesn’t get the flashy kill in volleyball, but her ability to move her feet on the back row kept the ball in play for somebody else to hammer home the point. On the diamond, she may not get the game-winning hit, but she’ll get the bunt down that moves the runner into scoring position.

Those kids help win games. You can win with a lot of Ali Youngs making up the roster.

Addison Steakley, WCHS soccer and basketball

We’re so far removed from the fall that it feels like it almost wasn’t a part of most recent high school season. But, it was – and it was when Steakley really showed she can be a top-end talent for the Lady Pioneers.

Steakley may not have been the top goal scorer (Chloe Wanamaker – who will show up later this week – topped the team) in soccer or a starter or leading scorer in basketball, but she is a super steady kid who seems to come back every single year a lot better at her craft.

Considering she was all-district in soccer last year, I’m sure new coach Todd Willmore is more than elated about having a building block like Steakley to get the 2025 soccer season going on the right foot in a few months.

Ari Rippy, WCHS flag football

Here is another example of a kid who really isn’t unknown – she was an all-district selection in flag after all – but Rippy had to share the spotlight (and the backfield) with an elite QB and the gridiron with two seniors who went on to earn scholarships this spring.

Rippy, when she’s healthy, may be the most dangerous weapon the Lady Pioneers have in flag football. Armed with elite speed, a knack for making people miss and the ability to climb the ladder to make tough catches, Rippy is the kind of player coaches force the ball to 15-20 times a game.

It’s a great strategy; It’s almost assuredly going to mean you score 2-3 times because Rippy is just going to make some magic happen with the ball in her hands.