Tomcat Tales

Mark Maynard, the host of Tomcat Tales, takes his turn on the hot seat as Sarah Lynch Nausbaum does the interviewing for this one. Let's hope he can handle the heat.

The is the third and final segment with Jeff Hall, one of the greatest players to ever come out of the 16th Region and a two-time 16th Region championship coach at Ashland and Rose Hill. He was also the Associated Press Coach of the Year after taking the Royals to a 27-4 record in his first season when phenom O.J. Mayo was only a seventh-grader. There were some interesting times at Rose Hill, which went 51-13 in his two seasons.

David Patton played baseball and basketball for the Tomcats during the 1950s when athletes were plentiful. He went on to become a college basketball coach at East Carolina for three seasons where he was the Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1974-75 when the Pirates went 19-9 and defeated Baylor during the regular season.

Jeff Hall talks about the 1990-92 Tomcat basketball seasons.

Jeff Hall talks about his two years of coaching the Ashland Tomcats basketball team from 1990-92.

First of two podcasts with Jeff Hall, the former Fairview High and University of Louisville basketball star. He played on the 1986 U of L national championship team - the only area player to own a Division I championship ring. He brought great pride to Westwood and the entire 16th Region as a key player who scored 1,294 points in his four-year career. He started every game, averaging 10.3 ppg. for the 1986 champion Cardinals. His point total would have been 2,000 had the 3-point shot been in play when Hall played.

A sitdown interview with Rob Lynch, who did his part in a family legacy of athletic excellence for the Ashland Tomcats. Rob led the Tomcats to the 1992 16th Regional title, ending a drought of a dozen years, and was also a key player on the Ashland American Little League state champions in 1986.

Charlie Stephenson grew up during the Golden Era of Ashland Tomcat sports in the 1960s. But for a number of reasons, he could never quite crack the varsity rosters. However, what many might consider failure he used as fuel to keep playing the games he loved and eventually land a 30-year high school basketball coaching gig in Florida that includes multiple championships.

Frank Sloan's coaching career with the Ashland Tomcats including guiding girls track and field, junior high football and basketball, high school basketball, baseball and soccer. It spanned 32 years and a whole lot of victories, including lead Ashland to regional championships in three different sports. He is ninth on Kentucky high school's win list in soccer with 267 victories and led the Tomcats to the Final Four in that sport in 2004. 

Jason Strader is one of the most memorable point guards in recent Tomcat history, directing a 26-7 season that ended in the Sweet 16 in 1992. That snapped a 12-year drought of no regional titles for Ashland. Strader  has remained true to his Tomcat heritage and is currently coaching the 8th grade team, which includes his oldest son, at Ashland Middle School.