Best senior girls 2025-26
This is part of the Simmons Superlatives - a recap of the top high school athletes in Warren County chosen by Jeffery Simmons.
One thing I've always loved about doing the Simmons Superlatives is that they force me to think about what I'll actually remember.
Years from now, I'm probably not going to remember every statistic. I won't remember every box score either. What I will remember is moments, personalities and the athletes who made me stop what I was doing and pay attention.
That's especially true when it comes to seniors.
This group leaves behind state appearances, district championships, college scholarships and school records. But more importantly, they leave behind stories. The kind of stories that make high school sports worth covering in the first place.
As always, there are no repeat winners in the Simmons Superlatives. Some of the athletes on this list could've easily fit elsewhere, but this is where they landed.
Let's get to the picks.
Lola Wells - great athlete and even better teammate and kid, says Jeff Simmons.
Lola Wells, WCHS volleyball/softball
If coach Gooby Martin is being honest, there was a time he wasn't sure Lola Wells would make the middle school softball team.
Seriously.
The same Lola Wells who would eventually become the first Division I softball signee under Martin at Warren County High School almost didn't make the cut as a kid.
That's one of my favorite stories about Wells because it perfectly captures what made her successful.
Nothing was handed to her. Everything was earned.
Every time I interviewed Wells and Martin together this year, I kept coming away with the same impression: Martin trusted her completely. Not because she was the loudest player. Not because she demanded attention. But because she worked.
By the end of her career, Wells had become exactly the type of athlete coaches dream about building around. She was a leader in volleyball, a cornerstone in softball and the type of player younger athletes naturally gravitated toward because of how she carried herself.
Few would've predicted that when she showed up for middle school tryouts.
By the time she graduated, it was impossible to imagine Lady Pioneer athletics without her.
CJ Perry, Boyd basketball/flag/volleyball/soccer
I've coached Cydney Jane Perry, so maybe I'm too close to this one.
Then again, maybe that's exactly why I understand how special she is.
To me, Perry is the epitome of what you'd want from a student-athlete and the shining example of Lady Bronco athletics. It's not a stretch to say many of the huge steps Boyd has taken in girls athletics over the last several years are largely because of Perry's presence in the building. Argue with a wall if you don't think those accomplishments matter.
The résumé is ridiculous. Six sports. A flag football scholarship to Freed-Hardeman. A NACA national championship in basketball. All-conference honors in volleyball. A three-year starter in soccer. The No. 1 tennis player. More than 150 basketball wins.
But none of that is why she's here.
What stands out is her willingness to put the team first, regardless of the sport. She just wanted to be a part of teams - and those squads wouldn’t have been able to exist without her in my opinion.
Simply put, I don't think the Lady Broncos are as established across the board without her athleticism, her willingness to put the team first and her pure joy for just wanting to be a good teammate.
She's the most unselfish star I've ever seen.
Mostly because I don't think she ever knew she was one.
Trinity Reynolds and Kealey Simpson have been together for years and went out as successful Lady Pioneers in 2026.
Trinity Reynolds, WCHS basketball
Trinity Reynolds just wanted to be a Lady Pioneer.
And even though that meant playing through three coaching staffs in four years, she did it.
She could've left. Heck, some people thought she was going to. More than a few people were probably encouraging her to. The portal era has changed how people think about sports and athletes are constantly looking for the next opportunity.
But Reynolds stayed.
That's why her Senior Night moment against Lincoln County felt different.
When she buried a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute to help Warren County pull off one of its biggest wins of the season, it felt fitting. Not because it was necessarily the biggest shot of her career, but because she got to have her moment in her gym, wearing her uniform and playing for the school she always wanted to represent.
Along the way, Reynolds became an all-district player, a college signee and one of the most dependable scorers in the area. But what I'll remember most is that she stayed.
In an era where leaving would've been easier, Reynolds kept betting on Warren County basketball.
Kealey Simpson, WCHS track and field
If this list was based purely on improvement, Kealey Simpson might be sitting at No. 1.
A few years ago, I'm not sure many people would've predicted she'd leave Warren County as a college signee and owner of two school records. Now she's both.
Simpson rewrote the record book in the discus and shot put this spring, becoming one of the driving forces behind one of the most successful track seasons the Lady Pioneers have ever had. She capped it off by signing with Tusculum University, turning years of steady growth into a college opportunity.
The thing that stands out about Simpson is how much she improved. Every year she got a little better, a little stronger and a little more confident until suddenly she wasn't chasing records anymore. She was setting them.
Those stories are easy to appreciate because they're built entirely on work. And for me - knowing where she started to what she become - I couldn’t be more proud of the work she did.
Simpson didn't arrive as a finished product. She became one.
Abby Graves and Ceilee Gudat, WCHS tennis/softball
Yes, I'm cheating - It's my list and I've already established I make the rules.
The more I worked through this category, the harder it became to separate Abby Graves and Ceilee Gudat because they represent two completely different paths to success.
Graves was the definition of consistency. She helped lead one of the best girls tennis seasons Warren County has enjoyed in years, earning all-district honors, winning a district doubles championship and helping guide the Lady Pioneers to the team district title match.
What stands out about Graves is that she never seemed interested in drawing attention to herself. She just kept winning - match after match, tournament after tournament until she made excellence look routine.
Gudat was different.
What I'll remember most about her senior season isn't the .393 batting average or getting better (a .444 average) in district games or the all-district recognition or the 75 strikeouts in 96.1 innings.
I'll remember the swagger. Specifically, I’ll remember the strut.
When Gudat launched a home run against Coffee County during Warren County's victory that snapped a nearly six-year losing streak in the border battle, she rounded the bases with a confidence that felt contagious.
When she strutted home, you knew she was either going to be the biggest villain in the WC-CC rivalry in some time or spark a legendary comeback. Thankfully, it was the latter.
Graves and Gudat couldn't have gone about it much differently, but both leave behind the same thing: programs that are better because they were part of them.
