There’s no doubt it was a wacky year.
Nearly every time I left my house to cover a game I had to double check with coaches and athletic directors to make sure there was something to cover. So goes the world in the age of a pandemic.
But whether it was on the gridiron, court, golf course or diamond, the southern part of state experienced success it hasn’t seen in at least half a decade.
In football Bluefield continued its dominant run in Class AA, notching what turned out to be its fourth consecutive trip to the title game. The Beavers didn’t know it at the time, but what was originally supposed to be a semifinal against Fairmont Senior turned out to be a championship after the other two teams remaining in the field were ruled out due to a spike in their county’s COVID-19 cases. The Beavers fell, but the senior class became the first to reach four straight title games since the senior class of 2006 did so.
In volleyball Shady Spring rebounded from a heartbreaking title loss in 2019. Led by all-staters Chloe Thompson, Kelsie Dangerfield and Meg Williams, the Tigers captured the 2020 Class AA title, beating Philip Barbour 3-0. The win was especially sweet for a team that was up 2-0 in the championship the year before before falling 3-2. It’s worth noting the three aforementioned players will be back next season.
On the golf course Todd Duncan capped his remarkable high school career by leading the Tigers to the Class AA title and winning the individual championship for the second straight year. More on him in a moment.
On the basketball court several demons were exercised.
Starting on the girls side Wyoming East’s Skylar Davidson wrote a fairy tale ending to her high school career, one becoming of a player of her caliber. After suffering an ACL tear as a freshman and losing twice in the title game, she put on a spectacular performance in the state tournament, guiding her team to the Class AA title. It was a perfect ending for a program that’s met adversity head on since last winning a title in 2016.
Tug Valley’s girls team made history, winning the Class A state title while breaking some records along the way. Amongst them was the 3-point record which junior Kaylea Baisden broke when she hit nine in the Class A quarterfinal. The Panthers benefitted greatly from the four-class system, breaking away from a region that pitted them against Parkersburg Catholic and St. Joes in years past.
On the boys side Shady Spring head coach Ronnie Olson was finally vindicated.
He guided the Tigers to their second state tournament in program history but wasn’t content just being there. Once the Tigers arrived in Charleston they pummeled their first two opponents and pulled away from Wheeling Central late in the title game, winning the Class AAA championship. For Olson it helped him put a bitter title game loss in 2000, when he was a player at Independence, to rest. For the area it was the first time a team not named Bluefield won a state tournament game on the boys side in five years in any class. The last win came in 2016 when Beckley beat Martinsburg in the quarterfinals.
To top it all off sophomore guards Braden and Cole Chapman were named first-team all-staters while Duncan was named captain of the second-teamers. This year could be the start of something special for the Tigers with four of their five starters returning next season as juniors.
The Tigers weren’t alone in making history on the hardwood though. Behind a bevy of talented shooters, Man won its first state championship in program history after spending the last four years in Class AA. The Hillbillies lose several starters including Ryan Cozart, Austin Ball and Peyton Adams, but will return players such as Jackson Tackett and Caleb Blevins.
Last but not least, it was a successful season on the diamond for several area teams after spring sports were canceled last year due to the pandemic.
Shady Spring, Independence and Bluefield were near the top of the Class AA MetroNews baseball polls all year long. But it was ultimately Logan that battled through the state tournament, mercy-ruling North Marion in the title game. For Indy and Logan in particular the future is incredibly bright. The Wildcats started six sophomores, including all-state captain Dawson Maynard, while Indy returns seven starters including first-teamers Atticus Goodson, Michael McKinney and Clay Basham.
Even on the individual front there was a lot of success throughout the southern part of the state.
Greenbrier East’s Chylyn Pate was named the state volleyball player of the year, while fellow Spartan Colby Piner was named the Fulton Walker Award winner, given to the state’s best special teams player in football. Princeton’s Ethan Parsons won the Moss Award, given to the state’s best wide receiver. Skylar Davidson was named the Class AA captain in girls basketball while Tug Valley’s Kaylea Baisden was named the Class A captain. To cap it all, Independence’s Kaylen Parks finished her career as the Class AA captain in softball.
It was a banner year for the southern part of the state from an individual and team perspective. In a year filled with delays, cancelations, postponements and heartbreak, area athletes rose above those challenges in what was the most successful school year for the southern part of the state in years.