Mullens – The dwindling population of Mullens hasn’t changed the fact it still produces some legendary athletes.
Saturday during the annual Dogwood Festival, the City of Mullens took the time to honor the latest trailblazers from the east side of Wyoming County.
Skylar Davidson and Sarah Saunders, members of the 2022 NCAA Division II Women’s National Championship team at Glenville State were recognized by their community in front of crowd of friends, family, coaches and teammates at the American Legion Hall in Mullens.
Success isn’t something new for the two who were also honored at last year’s Dogwood Festival.
This year’s ceremony to honor them came one day short of the one year anniversary of Wyoming East’s 2021 Class AA state championship win over Parkersburg Catholic – a victory the pair helped lead the program to in their final high school game.
“It’s a blessing to be from a place like this where basketball is huge,” Davidson said. “When I came back for spring break I went to the (Rebel) Smokehouse downtown and one of the first things they told me was they had the game on every tv there and that they actually had to stay open a little later because the game and I thought that was awesome. They said it was packed out and they said some of the other restaurants had it too. Just knowing these people care that much – it’s amazing. They were super supportive in high school and when I saw that – it’s insane being a part of something like that and being from Mullens. We’ve got champions like no other and I’m kind of in the category now and it’s crazy.”
For Saunders, Saturday took her back a year to one of her fondest memories.
As a middle schooler she got to watch her sister Emily cross the Wyoming County line after winning a state championship in 2016. Last year she got to experience that for herself, getting a full sense of community.
“I knew this county was special for basketball from wining states and crossing that county line,” Saunders said. “It was insane and it’s kind of fitting since (Sunday) makes one year since we won states and today we had all of this. It’s crazy that it came full circle and Sky and I are blessed to have such a supportive county.”
Saunders and Davidson helped the Lady Pioneers secure the first NCAA basketball title in state history as the team went 35-1 this past season, winning its NCAA Tournament games by an average of 27.1 points per contest. They defeated Western Washington 85-72 on March 25 in Birmingham, Alabama in the title game.
In a town littered with recognizable sports figures such as Mike D’Antoni (2006 NBA Coach of the Year), Herbie Brooks (three-time state champion and state tournament single game scoring record) Jerome Anderson (NBA champion with the Boston Celtics) and Christy Martin (49-7-3 record as a professional boxer, 2020 Boxing HOF inductee), Davidson and Saunders are believed to be the first pair of basketball players from the town to have won an NCAA championship as players.
“It’s starting to set in but it’s still just crazy,” Davidson said. “These are things – this is a dream of mine. I’ve seen signs of other people and it’s just like I want to be something for this town. I’ve already started making my name for it and it’s just a blessing really. It’s amazing being form here.”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
