Nine individuals and two special teams have been selected for enshrinement into the 2023 Class of the Madison County Sports Hall of Fame during the induction dinner that will be held at 5 p.m. on May 20th in the EKU Perkins Building.
Karl Park, chair-elect of the MCSHoF Executive Board, announced the names of the inductees and teams following the board of directors’ January board meeting. With the induction of the 2023 Class, the Madison County Sports Hall of Fame will include 19 individuals and six teams.
This second class includes (listed in alphabetical order): Beverly (Acker) Lense (high school and college swimming & diving athlete), Robert Brooks (high school and college basketball player), Shirley Kearns (high school coach and administrator) Monty Joe Lovell (high school football coach), Edwin Luxon (high school, college and amateur golfer), Sandy Martin (college tennis, track and field, golf coach), Russell “Buddy” Roberts (high school basketball coach and administrator), Talbott Todd (high school and college football player), Roland Wierwille (college basketball coach and athletic director).
The two teams that will be inducted are the 1969-70 Madison High School basketball team that won the powerful 11th Region championship and lost to Louisville Male 70-69 in the Kentucky High School State Tournament championship game, and the 1982 Madison Central baseball team that finished undefeated with a 40-0 record, won the Kentucky High School State Championship, and was selected the mythical national champions by USA Today.
The starting date for ticket sales will be announced this spring through the media and via the Hall of Fame website (MadisonCountySportsHoF.com). The price of tickets will be $25. Tickets can also be secured as a benefit by becoming an official sponsor of the Madison County Sports Hall of Fame. Individuals and businesses are invited to join at one of three levels– Fan Level ($100-249), comes with two tickets; the All-Star Level ($250-499), with four tickets; or the MVP Level ($500 and above) receives a full table with eight tickets.
To become a sponsor, visit the official website to complete and return the sponsorship form that can be found on the website.
Beverly (Acker) Lense (Model Laboratory School, University of Florida Swimming)
Dr. Beverly (Acker) Lense earned five Kentucky High School Athletic Association state title championships in swimming and diving while competing for Model High School from 1980-1984. Beverly captured the 1981, 1982 and 1983 state titles in the 100-yard breaststroke and was a member of the 1980 and 1981 state championship 400-yard freestyle relay team. She earned a spot on the 1981 USA National Junior Team and set records in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke events. She made the 1982 USA Team, swam in the World Championships in Ecuador, and then won the 200-meter breaststroke in the National Championship in Indianapolis with the second fastest USA time and the ninth fastest in the world. Her international ranking earned her World Class Swimmer designation. Following graduation from Model in 1984, Beverly enrolled at the University of Florida and swam at the 1984 USA Olympic Trials. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Beverly was accepted into the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine and is now serving as a pediatrician with more than 21 years of experience in London, Kentucky. In January, 2022 she was inducted into the Model High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Robert Brooks (Madison High School, Basketball)
Robert Brooks enjoyed an outstanding high school basketball career at Madison High and earned a scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University after leading the Royal Purples to back-to-back Kentucky State Tournament appearances in 1969 and 1970, including a runner-up finish in 1970 as they fell 70-69 to Louisville Male at Freedom Hall. He was selected for Kentucky’s coveted Mr. Basketball award in 1970, and wore uniform No. 1 in the annual Kentucky-Indiana All-Star series in Louisville and Indianapolis. Robert scored more than 2,200 points during his high school career. He averaged 16 points per game as a sophomore, 23 points as a junior, and 27 points as a senior while grabbing 13 rebounds per game. Brooks was selected Kentucky All-State in 1969 and 1970, and he still ranks among the all-time leaders in KHSAA tournament records with 128 points scored and 52 field goals made in the 1970 state tournament. During his EKU career, Brooks
played in 74 games while averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. As a sophomore, Brooks played the role of sixth man and helped lead the Colonels to the 1972 Ohio Valley Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tennessee where Eastern lost by two points to eventual NCAA runner- up Florida State.
Shirley Kearns (Model Laboratory School, Coach and Administrator)
Shirley Kearns, who first came to Richmond back in 1949 to play basketball at Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College for legendary coach Paul McBrayer, returned in 1962 to begin the boys’ basketball program at Model Laboratory School and remained at the school for 27 years until his retirement in 1989. He also served as baseball coach and athletics director during his tenure. The teams Kearns coached at Model were known for playing with heart and passion and after hundreds of victories, he stepped away in 1989, but not before being paid a compliment following his final game by Madison Central head coach Don Richardson, who said, “Give Model credit. They wanted to win a whole lot worse than we did” after Model fell in the opening round of the 44th District Tournament, 68-63, to Central. He was honored in 2013 when the Model gymnasium was named Shirley Kearns Gym in his honor. He was honored once more in February of 2021 when he was
inducted into the newly formed Model Athletics Hall of Fame. As a college player, Kearns who was known for his tenacious defense, was a driving force in helping to lead Eastern to its first OVC championship in the 1952-53 season. After graduating from Eastern he remained one year as the freshmen basketball coach before taking over as head coach at Carrollton High School before coming to Model High School as the Rebels/Patriots head coach in 1962.
Monty Joe Lovell (Madison High School, Football Coach, Player)
Monty Joe Lovell was a four-year member and two-year starter for the Madison-Model/Richmond Madison football team (1960-63). However, it was as head football coach at Madison where Lovell is best remembered for building a Class A football power during an 11-year tenure. Lovell compiled a record of 77-48, including 7 seasons in which his teams won 7 or more games. Perhaps his best season came in 1972 when the Purples had an undefeated regular season before finishing 12-1. The lone loss was an upset at the hands of eventual champion Trigging County in the semi-finals of the Class A state playoffs at Hopkinsville. His 1975 team compiled an 11-1 record while his state runner-up 1979 team went 10-3 (coming with one victory of a state title). His 1978 team fell to eventual state champion Ft. Campbell in the state-semi-finals 20-13 and finished 9-4. Over his tenure, Madison captured four KHSAA Class A District II championships in 1921, ’72, ’78, and ’79 and three Region titles in 1972, ’78 and ’79, Following the ’72 season, Lovell was voted Central Kentucky Conference Coach of the Year, and the Louisville Courier-Journal Class A Coach of the Year in both 1972 and 1979.
Edwin Luxon (Model Laboratory School, golfer, basketball player)
Edwin Luxon was an all-around athlete who was a starting guard and leading scorer on Model Laboratory School’s first two basketball teams in 1963 and 1964 and made a name for himself in amateur golf. He played golf for the Model Rebels before playing collegiately at Eastern where he lettered for three years under golf coach Glenn Presnell. Luxon was also one of the top amateur golfer in Kentucky as he capture multiple tournaments throughout Central Kentucky. He was eight-time Madison Country Club Champion as he won five straight titles between 1962 and 1966 and three more from 1970 through 1972. He also captured the 1972 Arlington Club Championship and six Labor Day Invitational titles at the Madison Country Club. Other notable victories included the Arlington Invitational in Richmond (1975), Estill County Invitational in Irvine (1965, 1966 and 1967), Stoner Creek Invitational in Paris (1966 and 1968), the Gate City Invitational in Mt. Sterling (1967), Daniel Boone Invitational in Frankfort (1970), and the Elizabethtown Invitational (1972). He set the Madison Country Club record for lowest 18-hole score with a 62 and for the lowest 18-hole tournament score of 65 at the Spring Valley Invitational in Lexington. In his honor, the top flight of the Madison Country Club Labor Day Invitational has been name the Edwin Luxon Championship Flight. He has remained in Richmond his entire life while owning numerous family businesses and serving as leader in the community. For the past 31 years, Luxon has served as chairman of the advisory board for the Gibson Bay Golf Course.
Sandy Martin (EKU, four-sport coach)
Sandy Martin served as head coach of four different sports at EKU during a 23-year span. She coached women’s cross country, women’s track and field, women’s tennis and was the first Eastern women’s golf coach. She was named OVC Coach of the Year in three sports—track and field in 1979 and 1980, tennis in 1992, and golf in 1995 and 1996. Her first head coaching stint was with women’s cross country and track and field from 1975 through 1981. She led the Colonels to a sixth place finish in the AIAW national championships, and four AIAW regional championships or runner-up finishes while winning four Kentucky Women’s Intercollegiate Conference titles. Martin also led Eastern to OVC team championships in 1979 and 1980. As the track and field coach, she mentored Eastern athletes who finished among the nation’s top five at the NCAA meet in the pentathlon; the 3,000 meter run; the 5,000-meter run; and the 400-meter hurdles. After coaching teach and field, she took over women’s tennis where she was head coach for 10 years. Between 1983 and 1993, her EKU teams placed second twice and finished trig four times at the OVC championships. The Colonels put together an 18-2 record in 1988-89. When EKU began its women’s golf program in 1993, she was called upon to be the head coach, serving in this position until 1998. During her five years at the helm, EKU won the OVC championship in 1996 and finished runner-up the other four years. Martin served as an officer in the Women’s Kentucky State Golf Association for 30 years and was the Kentucky Representative on the Women’s Regional Affairs Committee of the United States Golf Association.
Russell “Buddy” Roberts (Madison Central, basketball coach; Madison Co. Schools Superintendent)
Buddy Roberts began the Basketball program at the newly consolidated Madison Central High School in 1955 after spending the first few years of his career coaching Powell County. He compiled a 234-94 high school record before entering into administration with the Madison County Schools Central Office in 1965. Roberts was a standout basketball player for Paris High School under the famed coach Blanton Collier before going on to play for Coach Paul McBrayer at Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College from 1946 to 1950. During his three years on the varsity (1948-50), Eastern won 50 games while losing only 17 times. During his senior season of 1949-50, Buddy helped lead the Maroons to a 16-6, record, an Ohio Valley Conference championship and a No. 11 national ranking. He became Madison County Schools Superintendent in 1972 and served in that role for 16 years. In 1996 he was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletics Hall of Fame.
Talbott Todd (Madison-Model, football player; Kentucky, football player)
Talbott Todd played quarterback for Coach Roy Kidd at Madison-Model High School from 1959-62 where he earned All-American honors before deciding to play in college for the University of Kentucky. He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletics Association Hall of Fame in 2001 and was honored by UK Athletics in 2016 by having the walking entrance between Kroger Field and the Nutter Practice Facility named Talbott Todd Way. Todd had a sterling high school career after earning the starting quarterback position at Madison-Model as a sophomore in 1960. As the starting quarterback, he led the Purples to a three-year record of 31-4, including a school-record 27 consecutive victories during the 1961 and 1962 seasons, losing only the last game of his career to Ft. Thomas Highlands in the Class AA State Championship game. During his high school career, Todd threw 32 touchdown passes, ran for 22 TDs, and kicked or ran for 35 extra points, He capped his senior year by being selected First Team Class AA All-State by the Louisville Courier-Journal, Recreation Bowl Most Valuable Player, and Wigwam Wiseman All-American. After signing with UK, he played quarterback and defensive back as a four-year letterman. Todd led UK in pass interceptions with four in 1964 and made a game-saving fumble recovery to snap then No. 1 ranked Ole Miss Rebels’ 22-game winning streak.
Roland Wierwille (Berea College, basketball and golf coach, athletic director)
Roland Wierwille served as the men’s basketball coach at Berea College during an illustrious 27-year career, and was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1999. He also served as director of athletics and golf coach at Berea. Prior to his arrival at Berea, Wierwille was an assistant coach for seven years at Transylvania University under C.M. Newton and Lee Rose. While at Berea, he won 464 games and led his team to the 1999 NAIA Division II Final Four. After arriving at Berea, Wierwille served on the coaching staffs at the international level, assisting the U.S. Team (Division I) in the World University Games in Japan and the Jones Cup Competition in Taiwan. He conducted his own basketball camp for 27 years on the Berea College campus. In 1995 he was also inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni at Eastern Kentucky University where he played basketball under Paul McBrayer from 1959-1961. In 2005 he was named to the
Mountaineer Men’s Basketball Honor of Distinction.
