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Lexington Sports Examiner's 2009 Sportsman of the Year

With a pretty good year in sports coming to an end in the Bluegrass, now is a good time to reflect on some of Lexington's best sports figures.

Here are my nominees for the Lexington Sports Examiner's 2009 'Sportsman of the Year:'

Rich Brooks- UK football
Thanks to Brooks & Co., Kentucky was chosen as the "biggest surprise" of the Southeastern Conference for the 2009 football season by ESPN.com. UK was on the brink of its first 8-win season since 1984, but was narrowly defeated by Tennessee. Nevertheless, Brooks has led a bunch that was plagued by a season-long injury bug to its fourth consecutive bowl game. Don't forget that the Cats also lost star defensive end Jeremy Jarmon before the season due to an NCAA suspension; Jarmon now suits up for the Washington Redskins. Chris Low of ESPN.com also named Brooks his second choice for SEC Coach of the Year.

Randall Cobb- UK football
Cobb finished up another stellar season for the Cats on the gridiron in 2009. Phil Steele's College Football magazine named Cobb a second-team All-SEC performer- twice. Cobb is on the list as a wide receiver and punt returner. The native Tennessean was a 2009 AP All-SEC honoree, leads UK in receiving (37 catches, 427 yards, four TDs), has rushed for 537 yards and 10 TDs, and is averaging 13.5 yards on punt returns and 26.5 yards on kickoff returns. Cobb is second in the SEC in TDs and third in scoring, punt returns, and all-purpose yards.

Sean Coughlin- UK baseball alumni
A former first-team All-American catcher at UK, Coughlin was recently selected as the Arizona Diamondbacks Minor League Position Player of the Year. The native Coloradan was a 13th round selection, and advanced to the Double-A Mobile BayBears of the Southern League in 2009. Coughlin started the year with the Visalia Rawhide of the California League, where he hit .260 (27-for-104) with 18 runs scored, seven doubles and 20 RBI (27 games). He then caught fire in Mobile, hitting .304 with 24 runs scored, eight doubles, seven homers and 20 RBI (50 games). Coughlin finished 2009 with a .287 average, 15 doubles, 11 homeruns and 40 RBI in just 77 games. (Coughlin's season was cut short after breaking a bone in his hand during the Southern League All-Star game.)


Tyson Gay posted two career bests in '09 (AP)

Tyson Gay- Lafayette
The 27 year-old Lafayette alum has been nominated for the 2009 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAFF) Athlete of the Year. Gay won the honor in 2007. This year, he posted personal bests in the 200 meters (19.58 in New York) and the 400 meters (45.57, Austin, Texas). Gay also placed second in the World Championships (Berlin) in the 100 meters, and won the IAFF World Athletics Final (Greece) in the same event.

Domonique Hayden- LCA football
Class A's player of the year had a stellar season, culminating in a state championship for Lexington Christian. Perhaps a nominee due to his total body-of-work for the Eagles, Hayden scored 138 touchdowns (120 on the ground) in his career, good for 837 total points. All three figures are good for state career records.

Jayson Langfels- EKU baseball
The Eastern Kentucky University sophomore has re-written the Colonel record books in just two short years. The Lexington native and Lafayette grad was named a second team All-American by CollegeBaseballInsider.com, and was an honorable mention All-Ping! performer by Ping!Baseball.com. Langfels' 2009 season also earned him first team All-OVC honors. He tallied 72 RBI this past spring, good for third all-time on EKU's single-season list. Langfels led the country with 1.67 RBI per game. A Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2008, he batted .441 in '09 and won the OVC's batting title.

Eric Quigley- UK tennis
Quigley recently won the deciding mixed doubles point to give the United States a 4-3 win over France in the finals of the Master'U BNP Paribas. The sophomore from Pewee Valley, Ky. also played for the U.S. each of the previous two rounds. He is one of only six tennis players in the country to play in the tournament. In his 2009 fall season, Quigley won the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship and qualified for the National Indoors Championships. Quigley is currently the 70th ranked player in the ITA Preseason Division I singles rankings.

Barry Rice- UK soccer
The senior defender from Parma, Ohio recently wrapped up a historic career for UK on the pitch. 2009 marked Rice's third consecutive season in which he was named an All-American (College Soccer News). He was also named an All-American by Goal.com and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In the 19-year history of the program, Rice became the first player ever to earn All-America honors in two seasons. Last year, Rice was named All-America by Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News. He was also a 2009 first-team All-Conference USA performer. Rice paced UK's 2009 defense that led Conference USA with a 0.78 goals-against average, is sixth all-time in game-winning goals, and was the first player in C-USA history to be named its Defensive Player of the Year twice. Rice started all 78 games in his career with UK.

Sarah Rumely- UK volleyball
A key member on one of UK's best teams this year, Rumely earned All-SEC first team honors for the second consecutive season in 2009. She shattered the all-time UK record for career assists, leading the SEC with 11.82 per set. Rumely also earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors after winning the MVP at the Kansas State tournament this season. The New Palestine, Indiana native is a three-time All-SEC honoree, a starter from the day she arrived at UK, and is among UK all-time leaders in sets played, hitting percentage, assists, aces, block assists and digs.


Cal's Cats made a huge splash in '09 (AP)

Let's not forget UK basketball namesakes John Calipari and John Wall. If you haven't heard of these guys and are looking for some insight, perhaps it's time you wake up and smell the Bluegrass.

I've also left room for a couple 'write-in' ballots, so if you think I've missed someone, leave a post to let me know. You can also post your vote for the 'Lexington Sports Examiner 2009 Sportsman of the Year' here as well.