Beech Tree News Network

University of Kentucky Senior Tyler Reed qualified for the 2012 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Saturday afternoon in Athens, Georgia at the Bulldog Last Chance meet.  Reed swam a 43.08 in the men’s 100-freestyle, placing him in the B-cut time slot for NCAA qualifications. Reed also participated in UK's relay team of the 200-medley relay in which Reed swam the final leg of the event en route to a final time of 1:27.43 which is a B-cut time by NCAA standards.

A large, vocal crowd packed the gymnasium at Grayson County High School on Friday night for the championship game of the 12th District Boys Basketball Tournament. The host Grayson County Cougars and the Butler County Bears would meet one last time in 2011-12 to decide who would cut down the nets and hang the banners as 12th District champs.

Two athletic teams from Belmont Christian Academy (BCA) are returning home from Lexington tonight with a couple of championship trophies from the Kentucky Christian School Athletic Association State Tournament.  

Although basketball season for the Butler County Lady Bears ended with a 58-52 defeat at the hands of the Lady Wildcats of Edmonson County in the first round of the 12th District Tournament, several members of the team made the trip to Leitchfield to receive post-season awards. After the 12th District championship game saw Grayson County defeat Edmonson County 73-45, student-athletes from all four teams in the district were honored. For the Lady Bears, Madeline Drake, Katie Graham, and Shawna West received awards for their efforts on and off the court.

Former BCHS softball standout and current Murray State pitcher CheyAnne Gaskey is set to return to south central Kentucky this weekend. Her Murray State Racers will be making the trip to Bowling Green to play in the Hilltopper Spring Classic at Western Kentucky Univeristy. During their stay in Bowling Green, they will play four games over three days. On Friday, they will take on WKU at 3 p.m. On Saturday, they will play Indiana State at 9 a.m. and Morehead State at 11 a.m. On Sunday, they will play Bowling Green State at 11 a.m.

The Butler County Bears had a chance Tuesday night to beat one of their staunchest rivals for a fourth time. Their opponent were the Wildcats of Edmonson County High School and the venue for the fourth meeting between the two teams was the first round of the Boys 12th District Tournament at Grayson County High School. BCHS and ECHS had already played three times in the regular season, with the Bears capturing the win in all three meetings.

The 12th District Tournament opened on Monday night. The Lady Bears put on their road uniforms and played the Lady Wildcats of Edmonson County in the first round of the tourney, held this year at Grayson County High School.  In a hard-fought contest, the Lady Bears came up short, losing a 58-52 decision.   

The Lady Bears and Lady Wildcats played three times in the regular season with the Lady Wildcats taking two-out-of-three from the Lady Bears. Edmonson County won the most recent meeting in Morgantown 49-36 on February 3rd.

The Bears and Lady Bears of Butler County High School closed out their basketball seasons with a rough final week of the season.

On Tuesday night the Cougars of McClean County visited BCHS on Senior Night for the Bears and cheerleaders. Dylan Goodall and Lucas Bratcher were the senior basketball players and Jailyn Oaks and Raven Brooks were honored as senior cheerleaders. The foursome were escorted by their parents and honored before tip-off of the boys varsity game.

The past six weeks the Butler County Cross-Country team participated in the “100 Mile Challenge” in order to stay in shape during the off season. The challenge consisted of team members who volunteered to run daily to the final goal of 100 miles in six weeks. Fifteen runners were able to achieve this goal and received “100 mile club” tshirts as their reward.

Photo: Sarah Terry, age 14 at the time, looks in awe as her step father, Scott Salchli, hoists her 54-inch long, 47-pound Kentucky state record muskellunge on Nov. 2, 2008 from Cave Run Lake. The Cave Run Lake tailwater along with the Green River Lake and Buckhorn Lake tailwaters make some of the top late winter and early spring muskellunge fishing destinations in Kentucky.