Basketball Preview 2016

Eagles Begin Life Without Boswell

By TRACY WATSON NEW MARTINSVILLE — Veteran Magnolia boys’ basketball Coach Dave Tallman is asking one question heading into the 2016-17 season. “Are we going to rebuild, or reload?” That is a legitimate question for a team that is just two years removed from a West Virginia Class A state championship, advanced to the state tournament last season and has been a dominating factor in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference. The rebuilding or reloading question comes in to play when you figure in what the Blue Eagles lost from last year’s squad. Magnolia averaged 72 ...

Koehler Takes Over Bruins

By MIKE MATHISON WELLSBURG — The Brooke Bruins look to get a fresh start in more ways than one. After losing many multi-year lettermen to graduation, the Bruins will turn to youth and energy to carry them into the season. With the overhaul on the gymnasium and new coaching staff helping set the foundation, time will tell who will rise to the occasion and work to take the team to the next level. That’s what coach Cam Koehler has in his first year with the Bruins. Not only did Brooke graduate five in Thomas Cole, Nathan Green, Justin Loughrie, Brandon ...

Brooke Girls Will Be Young

By MIKE MATHISON WELLSBURG — The Brooke girls’ basketball team has 18 in uniform with 16 underclassmen. Seniors Madison Reynolds and Gabby Velegol will lead the way for head coach Ryan Scherich. Juniors Marissa Elliott, Grace Dodson, Aleigha Edgar and Kylie Byers will also add experience to the lineup. Velegol is a three-year letter winner and Elliott a two-year letter winner. Both will start. Reynolds and Dodson (both two-year letter winners) and Edgar and Byers (one year each) are vying for the other three starting positions. Five sophomores dot the ...

Young Monarchs Ready To Prove Themselves

By KYLE LUTZ MOUNDSVILLE — Coach Brock Melko and the John Marshall girls’ team had a successful 2015-16 season. The Monarchs went 17-7 and were one game away from heading to the state tournament. They fell to Parkersburg South in the regional final. “I thought we had a pretty good showing,” Melko said about the game. “They played pretty well and knocked us off. Overall, we beat Steubenville when we played them at home. They were 17-2, that was kind of a highlight of our season. We had a pretty tough schedule. We played Steubenville twice, Wheeling Park twice, ...

Linsly Is Senior-Laden

By JOSH STROPE WHEELING — Six returning senior letterwinners, Linsly coach James Wallace is looking forward to what lies ahead for his team. Starters Greysen Archbold and Jacob Murray are the returning starters, while Dylan Harrison and Malachi Onwuka started half the year en route to a 10-13 record. Wallace, entering his seventh year on the Linsly bench, expects more victories this season as one of the Cadets’ biggest bugaboos last season was an inability to hold onto leads in the fourth quarter. “We have a strong group of seniors coming back that we are going ...

Optimism Surrounds Hundred

By BUBBA KAPRAL HUNDRED — Year 2 looks much more promising for Hundred High girls’ coach Steve Dakan than his maiden voyage. Dakan’s Hornets won just two games last winter. He is optimistic about the new season despite losing a quartet of starters to graduation — Josie Phillips, Meliah Umstead, Emily Rine and Ashley Miller. Joining them on graduation day was sixth man Maddie Wheeler. Dakan’s optimism begins in the post. The Hornets have the luxury of a 6-foot-3 center, one with talent and much experience. Valerie Soles can be a difference-maker in the paint ...