Wrestling season has begun and area mat rooms have been busy with high school, middle school and youth wrestlers hoping to experience a fun and competitive season.
Several local high school teams will kick off the season by participating in the Beckley Newspapers Invitational (BNI) on Saturday, at Shady Spring High School. This tournament is usually very well organized and provides some interesting early season matchups.
The fifth annual Wayne Bennett Dual tournament for middle schools will also take place on Saturday and will be held at Park Middle School.
Collins, Summersville, Eastern Greenbrier, Western Greenbrier, Park and Christiansburg will participate in this highly competitive tournament. Wrestling will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue throughout the day.
— College wrestling teams have already started their competition and one local wrestler is making quite a splash at West Liberty State University.
Mike Carpenter, a former wrestler for coach Randy Daniel at Liberty High School, is a starter for the Hilltoppers in the 285-lbs. class. He recently won the Mt. Union Invitational and helped West Liberty beat 11th-ranked Pitt-Johnstown University in a dual match. His 3-2 decision in the heavyweight match secured a team win by the narrow margin of 18-16.
If you will remember, Mike was state high school runner-up in 2007 and state champion in 2008 while wrestling for the Raiders. Here’s to his continued success.
— Another local guy doing well is Shaun Sarrett, a former football player and wrestler at Woodrow Wilson High School. Shaun was also a three-year letterman in football at Kent State University. After graduation, he was a graduate assistant for Marshall University’s football team. Duke University then hired him as offensive quality control coach.
This season he is serving in the same capacity for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Shaun is teaming up with another Beckley native, Doug Legursky, in trying to get the Steelers back to the Super Bowl. Good luck, fellows!
— A new class was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame by the West Virginia Chapter. Dave Wadsworth, who wrestled competitively for many years and has had a very successful professional career, received the Distinguished West Virginian Award.
Mike Ellis of Hurricane and Bane McCracken of Milton were two longtime high school coaches who received the “Lifetime Service to Wrestling” Award. Jim Le Master of Milton received the same award for his many years of service and great success at the middle school level. Thomas Lewis of Fairmont and Don Bauer of Wheeling were also recipients of the “Lifetime” award for their tireless work at various wrestling venues in the past 40 years.
A posthumous award went to legendary sportswriter and Parkersburg native Jim Snyder, for his contribution to wrestling in the 1950s and 1960s.
This was an excellent class and the awards banquet was great.
— It is time to take the old water bottle off the shelf, dust it off and fill it to the max. This week a squeeze of the water bottle goes to Reginald Henry, a big wrestling fan and avid reader of this column.
High School Sports
Wrestling season gets under way
- High School Sports
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’Hounds roll in Class A
Watching the celebration unfold, Joe Craffey let it happen, even participated a little.
It, however, is not the celebration for which he yearns. -
Pats return to states in AA
Brian Sexton wasn’t the least bit happy with the way he hit the ball. He’ll gladly take the result.
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Woodrow Wilson headed to states
Hunter Greco will walk into the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School this morning for the final time. He’ll walk past his locker and the classroom of his favorite teacher.
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Rain halts AA final in 5th
It took nearly a week for PikeView and Independence to finally claim their sectional championships, largely because of persistent rain.
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Mavericks fall in AA title game
The James Monroe High School softball team scratched its way up to the championship game of Class AA softball this week.
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Months of waiting ends: Weeks signs with Marshall
Adam Weeks probably could have helped usher in a historic first season for the Mountain East Conference at any member school he wanted. Instead, he waited — and waited — for the offer he really wanted.
- State softball, regional baseball schedules
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A dream start, nightmare end
Lightning on the horizon brought Wednesday's final game of the state softball tournament to an end.
The James Monroe Lady Mavericks had felt a shock long before that. -
One step away from Charleston
A trip to Charleston — with a lot more on the agenda than a tour of the capitol building and a shopping spree at Charleston Town Center — will be up for grabs tonight for three area teams that are one win away from punching their ticket to the WVSSAC State Baseball Tournament at Appalachian Power Park.
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Tanner is Summers County coach
After weeks of controversy, it appears Summers County High School officially has a new football coach.
- More High School Sports Headlines
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