With 10 championships in the last 10 years, Oak Glen has owned the West Virginia Class AA-A high school wrestling scene.
Parkersburg South, meanwhile, has been the leader among Class AAA schools with five championships. Wood County rival Parkersburg is a close second with four.
The story here, however, lies with Oak Glen coach Larry Shaw.
Shaw, who has guided the Hancock County program for 31 years, the last 13 resulting in a state championship, has decided to retire at the conclusion of this season.
He has coached 50 state champions and won the 2008 Wrestling USA Magazine national Coach of the Year award.
In his final season, the Golden Bears are expected to gain their 14th straight title Feb. 25-27 at Huntington’s Big Sandy Superstore Arena.
Depth has been the key for Oak Glen. It had two state champions last year – both who have graduated – and three runners-up – two of whom have graduated. The Golden Bears have 12 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes, according to WVmat.com.
Oak Glen senior Joel Paolo, who was the only returning runner-up from the 2009 championship team, is the state’s top-ranked 140-pounder, and Justin Greathouse, a senior for the Golden Bears, is the top-ranked 189-pounder.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Defending Class AA champion Ravenswood found the going tough this year – not in game results but in respect among voters in the state basketball poll.
Despite winning last year’s title with an upset of then-defending champion Wyoming East, the Red Devils entered the week fourth among Class AA schools. Coach Mick Price’s team improved its stock, coming back from an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat previously unbeaten and third-ranked Magnolia 65-58 in New Martinsville.
Guard Luke Murray led the way for Ravenswood with 35 points, four assists and four steals. He had 21 of his points in the second half and was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, during which the Red Devils outscored Magnolia by six. He was 13-of-16 from the line in the game.
In another crucial battle between state-ranked opponents, Class AAA No. 5 Wheeling Park received two free throws from junior Bubby Goodwin with 4.3 seconds left to lift the Patriots. Wheeling Park’s only loss of the season was on the road against Class AAA No. 1 Logan.
Fairmont Senior’s only other loss came at home against Morgantown.
This week’s big games include No. 4 South Charleston at No. 2 George Washington. The Black Eagles, who lost their third consecutive Class AAA state title game last year, will visit their rival Patriots on Tuesday.
George Washington will be heavily favored because of homecourt advantage. The Patriots (12-0), who are off to their best start in school history, have won their seven home games by an average of 27.3 points. South Charleston opened the season with seven consecutive victories before falling to Capital. The Black Eagles then won six straight games before losing to St. Albans.
Also, Class AAA No. 1 Logan visits Class AA No. 7 Chapmanville in a battle of heated Logan County rivals on Monday. In their first meeting at Logan Fieldhouse, the Wildcats earned a 96-91 victory over the Tigers in a game that featured a bench-clearing incident, resulting in the suspension of several players. Logan won two games that week – against Winfield and Wheeling Park – with six players and a bench made up of junior varsity players.
The Big Atlantic Classic, formerly the Mountain State Coal Classic, gets underway today at the Beckley Raleigh County Convention Center with 22 teams. The event tips off at 5:45 p.m. with a meeting between highly ranked Class AAA teams George Washington and Parkersburg South.
The Patriots, whose only in-state loss is to Class AAA power Huntington, are ranked No. 3 behind No. 1 North Marion and undefeated South Charleston.
Parkersburg South is fifth and its only loss came at George Washington.
In the event’s national game on Tuesday, Mountain State Academy faces nationally known Oak Hill Academy.
On Wednesday, the Class AAA No. 4 Huntington girls face defending champion North Marion in a rematch of the 2009 state title game. The Huskies won that game 66-64 to hand the Highlanders their third consecutive Class AAA championship game defeat.
The Big Atlantic Classic was kicked off Sunday night with the annual tip-off banquet at the Convention Center. Former Heisman Trophy winner of Tim Tebow of the University of Florida was the speaker.
Rich Stevens, a sportswriter for the Charleston Daily Mail, covers West Virginia
for MaxPreps.
