— Sixty-eight straight victories. Four consecutive state championships. Both unprecedented in West Virginia Class AA girls basketball.
Hats off to Summers County High School, which won its eighth state title overall Saturday in Charleston with a 58-50 victory over Scott High School of Madison.
Winning one state championship is the sign of a strong team. Winning multiple titles is the sign of a strong program.
And that’s what coach Wayne Ryan and his staff, with support from the school and the community, have built — a program that demands a certain commitment from the players, who know that if they show up for work every day and focus on the task at hand they stand a good chance of achieving their goals.
Summers County has been a dominant force in girls high school basketball in West Virginia. Few can match that dominance. The records that have been broken over the years are too numerous to mention.
Don’t look for that string of success to end anytime soon. That’s the way strong programs work. Success extends down to the feeder programs. Playgrounds and gyms are filled in the summer months. Skills and work ethic are developed at an early age in these communities. Fifth- and sixth-graders want to be the next Jolysa Brown or Hallie Gunnoe.
So congratulations to coach Ryan and his 2009-10 team on another job well done.
And we also wish to compliment three other area teams that made the state tournament this year — Westside in Class AA and Meadow Bridge and Pocahontas County in Class A.
This coming week, the boys will take center stage in Charleston.
Two Fayette County teams, Midland Trail and Fayetteville, will represent the area in Class A.
In Class AA, Wyoming East and Oak Hill are back. Wyoming East is seeking its third state title in four years and its fourth overall, while Oak Hill is looking for its third overall and its first since 1989 when it won the state Class AAA championship.
These two schools have developed quite a rivalry. And if the seeding holds form, which is certainly no guarantee, get ready for Round 5 this year between No. 1 Wyoming East and No. 2 Oak Hill in next Saturday’s championship game.
That would be quite a way to end one season and complement another.
