Final Four voting for the 2022-23 Moment of the Year is live!

This past school year was arguably the most successful in decades for the area and its collective talent of high school stars.

A total of five different area athletes – Adam Seams (Greenbrier East), Judah Price (Independence), Meg Williams (Shady Spring), Eli Allen (James Monroe) and Ethan Osborne (Beckley) – won either the Gatorade Player of the Year or the Player of the Year awards bestowed by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

In addition four different teams – Independence football, Greenbrier East soccer, Wyoming East girls basketball and James Monroe boys basketball – won state championships, the most for the area since 2012 when three area teams captured titles.

As a result of the area’s success, we’re letting the fans pick the top moment of the year. Throughout the month of July, Lootpress will be hosting an elimination style tournament to select the 2022-23 moment of the year. There will be four separate brackets featuring eight moments each with 32 total. These 32 moments were selected with care by our sports writers and each are seeded from 1-8 with the higher seeds being given to moments or achievements that carry higher significance.

Seeds as well as briefs for each moment are attached below.

The Sweet 16 (the second round) is live now and will run July 9-15, the Elite Eight will take place July 16-22, the Final Four from July 23-27 and the championship will run from July 28-31. The first round of the competition saw a myriad of upsets with all four No. 1 seeds falling in the opening round while the No. 2 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16 round a pair of No. 8 seeds continued their runs, advancing to the Elite Eight. In the Elite Eight round the remaining No. 2 seeds fell while the remaining No. 8 seeds continued their Cinderella runs and will face off with a spot in the championship round on the line.

Region 1

1. Independence wins Class AA football title 

After finishing as the Class AA runner-up in 2021, Independence dominated once again, steamrolling foes en route to a 42-7 win in the Class AA title game against Herbert Hoover.

2. Judah Price captures 2022 Kennedy Award

It would be hard to select just one Judah Price moment to prioritize over another. He broke numerous Super Six records, broke the single season scoring record and broke the single game scoring record – all on separate occasions. Acknowledging his Kennedy Award campaign encapsulates his entire run.

3. Keeney captures Class AA high jump title, breaks school record

Westside’s Owen Keeney had never high-jumped before this year. In three months he went from a newcomer to state champion, capturing the Class AA title and breaking the school record set by 2021 state champion Daniel Reed.

4. Braydie Carr races to 400-meter state title

Despite the lack of facilities in Lindside, Braydie Carr made sure the Mavericks boasted another state champion as Carr won the 400-meter Class A title.

5. Summers County girls basketball sweeps sectional and regional championships

There was no tougher route to the state tournament than the one Summers County trekked. The Lady Bobcats defeated the No. 1 team in the state on the road in Wyoming East to claim the sectional championship and hosted No. 3 Mingo Central in a defensive battle, claiming the regional title and top seed in the state tournament.

6. Collins hauls in two touchdowns, intercepts two passes

Dominick Collins erupted last season, breaking nearly every school receiving record as a junior. He maintained that pace against Beckley with four catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns while intercepting two passes on defense, housing one for another score.

7. Russell’s six 3s lead Wyoming East to regional road victory

After falling to Summers County in the sectional championship, Wyoming East’s state tournament hopes hinged on beating Chapmanville. Trailing heading into the fourth quarter, Abby Russell, playing on one knee, sparked East with four of her six 3-pointers coming in the third quarter. Russell’s 20 points helped East claim the regional championship as the Lady Warriors went on to win their second state championship in three years.

8. Patterson hammers three homers

Reece Patterson had a game to remember against Cross Lanes Christian this past season, hammering three home runs and driving in seven RBIs.

 

Region 2

1. Greenbrier East wins Class AAA soccer title

Prior to last season, Greenbrier East had never been to the soccer state tournament. The Spartans cleared the way by beating GW in a regional shootout and followed with a pair of victories in the state tournament to earn the area’s first team championship of the year.

2. Holstein wins 800-Meter championship

Jaedan Holstein had found success in several other sports such as basketball where he won a state championship and earned all-state honors as well as cross country. But he capped his high school career with a state title in his top sport, winning the 800-meter run.

3. Meg Williams sweeps Player of the Year Awards

Meg Williams cemented her legacy as one of the top athletes to ever come through Shady Spring. She played in the Class AA title game all four years of her high school career, twice earning all-state captain honors. She finished this season as the WVSWA and Gatorade Player of Year in volleyball.

4. Seams scores game-winning goal in state semifinal

With there minutes left in regulation of the Class AAA state semifinals, Greenbrier East’s Adam Seams nailed a shot with his left foot to break a 1-1 tie and eventually send the Spartans to the title match. 

5. Ian Cline (343 scrimmage yards, 3 TDs) runs wild against RCB

With his team struggling early in the season, Greenbrier East running back Ian Cline led the Spartans to a win with 343 yards from scrimmage, scoring three touchdowns in a win against Robert C. Byrd. 

6. Braden Chapman locks down Dobbs

Braden Chapman did almost everything one man can do in a title game. Chapman scored 23 of his team’s 42 points on 66 percent shooting from the floor but more importantly he held fellow all-stater Zycheus Dobbs to just one shot attempt in 24 minutes.

7. Miller’s strip sack secures win against Bluefield

Independence wasn’t challenged often at all during its title run but the team that was able to threaten it did so early. After losing in blowout fashion to Indy during the regular season, Bluefield found a way to slow Indy in the rain during the first round of the playoffs. The Beavers had a chance to tie with under two minutes to go but a strip sack by Indy senior Colton Miller ended the threat, sending the Patriots to the state quarterfinals.

8. Smallwood strikes out 20 

It was a regular season matchup, but Beckley’s Aubrey Smallwood couldn’t have pitched much better. The gem of her all-state campaign was a 20-strikeout performance against fellow first-team Brilee Redden. The most impressive part of Smallwood’s performance? Only two of her pitches were put in a play – a single and a flyout. 

 

Region 3

1. James Monroe repeats as Class A state champions

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. That weight never bothered James Monroe. The Mavericks beefed up their schedule and still dominated, finishing 25-2 and defending their Class A title. They won their state tournament games by an average of 34 points per game and became the first Class A team to produce three first-team all-staters in a season since 1959.

2. Osborne captures wrestling state championship and Dutton Award

A year after Ethan Osborne finished as the state runner-up in the Class AAA, he claimed the state championship, earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors in Huntington and earned the Dutton Award, bestowed upon the top wrestler in the state by the WVSWA.

3. Staples wins discus state championship

Bella Staples was the favorite to win the Class AAA shot put title this year, but ultimately fell short. Instead of lingering on the loss the Beckley senior refocused, walked over to the discus competition and took home the gold there, finishing her career as a state champion.

4. Tanner Vest finishes as runner-up in Class AA golf championship

Tanner Vest kept Shady Spring’s run at the golf state tournament alive. He shot 158 at the state tournament across two days, finishing as the Class AA state runner-up in Wheeling. For his efforts he earned all-state honors.

5. Greenbrier East stuns George Washington in Region 3 championship 

Greenbrier East’s trek to top of the Class AAA soccer world was full of challenges, though the toughest may have come in the regional round. East took a 3-1 lead in the Class AAA Region 3 championship before George Washington rallied with a pair of goals in the final minutes. From there East squeaked by in a shootout. The win allowed East to secure the No. 1 seed on its way to a title run. 

6. Princeton defense clamps GW in regionals 

After a blowout loss to Beckley in the sectional championship, Princeton refocused and won a rock fight. The Tigers out-rebounded GW 59-24 and overcame a woeful 22 percent shooting performance to stun George Washington in a 36-34 Region 3 co-final victory. The win sent Princeton to the state tournament for the first time in 10 years. 

7.  Mitchell ties program scoring record

Garrett Mitchell etched his name into Wyoming East’s rich lore this past season. He scored a career high 39 points, also tying the program’s single-game scoring record in the process in a win against Liberty.

8.  Bluefield wins first sectional championship

Bluefield has experienced success in nearly every sport, except softball. That changed this year as the Beavers claimed the first sectional title in program history as the No. 2 seed in their section. They did so with a Wyoming County sweep, beating Westside once and Wyoming East twice.

 

Region 4

1. Wyoming East girls wins Class AA basketball title

The road to Charleston wasn’t easy. Wyoming East lost the sectional championship at home to Summers County and was forced to win on the road at Chapmanville. Once the Lady Warriors got to Charleston they breezed through, winning every game by double digits. The state championship was the program’s third and made the upperclassmen the first to win multiple titles in their careers.

2. Eli Allen sweeps Gatorade and Evans Awards

After earning all-state captain honors in football on defense, Eli Allen immediately stepped on the court and dominated for the defending champion Mavericks. He earned the Evans and Gatorade Player of the Year Awards amongst others, becoming the first Class A player from a public school to win the Evans Award since the ’80s. He did all of that while leading his team to another state championship, earning all-state captain honors in basketball for the second straight year.

3. Independence wrestling claims five individual state championships

Dillon Perdue, Judah Price, Jesse Adams, Colten Caron and Josh Hart all won individual state titles for Independence, helping the Patriots make a competitive push for the team championship where they finished second.

4. Greenbrier West earns Class A wrestling title

With the faintest of hopes, Greenbrier West prevailed in its quest for a team title. Cole Vandall’s win in the 215-pound division delivered the Cavs a 77-76 edge over Cameron as they claimed their third Class A title in five years.

5. Independence softball pulls off miracle comeback against Bluefield

Trailing 7-3 after giving up five runs in the top of the seventh, Independence pulled off a miraculous rally in the bottom of the seventh, answering with five runs to secure a walkoff victory and earn a spot in the Class AA state tournament.

6. James Monroe hammers Wheeling Central in semis 

Wheeling Central has long been the Goliath of Class A. James Monroe had little trouble dispatching the Maroon Knights. Layton Dowdy threw three touchdown passes as the Mavs took a 21-0 lead and were never truly threatened with a defense that hammered Wheeling Central all evening.

7.  Reed and Meadows pitch Shady to sectional title 

Following a loss in the sectional tournament, Shady Spring needed timely performances from Tyler Reed and Jacob Meadows, two kids who weren’t pitchers by trade. It didn’t matter as the duo produced a pair of 70-pitch outings in elimination games against Nicholas County as the Tigers claimed their second consecutive sectional title.

8. Maxwell pours in 35 on senior night

It was senior night but Ammar Maxwell stole the show. The junior’s 35 points helped Shady slide past Huntington in a 77-74 victory.