Sports

West Virginia University's football team is getting a lot of respect from the national media.

With several preseason polls already released WVU is ranked as high as second for the 2007 college football season.

Two days after Berkeley Springs defeated Keyser 7-0 in the regional semifinal, their dream of reaching the state tournament for the first time since 1985 ended with a 12-5 loss to Grafton in the Class AA, Region II final, held in Nutter Fort, on Friday, May 25. Despite the disappointing loss, the Indians have much to be proud of. They have come a long way since Trey Barcus took over as head coach last year. With back-to-back winning seasons and two consecutive sectional titles under their belt, Berkeley Springs is letting everyone know that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

"I am extremely proud of this team," Barcus said. "There are so many positives to take from this year. Back-to-back sectional titles, playing for a regional championship in year two and showing steady improvement are just a few of those things. To just flip a switch and turn it around is just unheard of in this state. There is a lot of talent here and I think we are coming."

After finishing third the past two years, the Berkeley Springs High School girls track team moved up a spot this year and brought home their first-ever state track and field trophy.

Berkeley Springs' fledgling tennis program made strides during the first week of May, when Eric Lyda and Denny Golden became the first two Indian tennis players to earn spots in the state tournament field. Lyda, the number one, and Golden, the number two singles players, respectively, for Berkeley Springs each placed second in singles at the regional tournament. They then joined forces in the number one doubles to also place second, qualifying individually and in doubles for the state meet.

The Class AA-A Regional Tournament was held at Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg on May 4 and 5. Lyda, after receiving a bye in the opening round, defeated Andrew O'Brien of Clarksburg Notre Dame and Shawn McFeason of Philip-Barbour, before losing to Matt Elliot of Keyser in the finals. Golden's road was the same, as he received a first-round bye, before beating Dustin Lister of Lincoln and Moe Foley of Petersburg to reach the finals of the number two boys bracket. Golden was defeated in the final by Andrew Henderson of Grafton.

Huggins hires Hahn

Remember those Christmas mornings of your youth. The anticipation of seeing what was under the Christmas tree would build to a point where positive anxiety would be the rule. West Virginia University's future in basketball recruiting could take the place of those Christmas mornings of yesteryear for WVU basketball fans.

Cross Country – Most valuable runner, Loren Holliday; and Most improved runner, Chris Kendall.

Volleyball – Most offensive points, Lindsey Kidwell; Most defensive points, Amanda Carder; Captain's pin, Amanda Carder; Best spiker pin, Brittany Kerns; Best setter pin, Erica Zaragoza and Best digger pin, Megan Hendrickson.

Berkeley Springs High School junior Nick Campanelli came through in the clutch. Campanelli, who has been used primarily in relief this year, got the starting nod in the third and deciding game of the sectional championship at Frankfort High School on Wednesday, May 9. Campanelli did the rest, pitching a two hit shutout as the Indians beat Frankfort 3-0, for their second consecutive Region II, Section II title.

Campanelli went the distance allowing no runs on two hits, striking out four, walking one and hitting one batter.

Berkeley Springs High School girls and boys track teams defended their Class AA, Region II, track and field titles on Thursday, May 10 at Lewis County High School. The girls easily defeated runner-up Frankfort 140 to 99 for their third consecutive championship while the boys made it two in a row with 123 points to 104 points for runner-up Philip Barbour.

"We knew we had a good chance to bring home team titles," said Berkeley Springs coach David Mundey of the regional meet. "We are certainly pleased with the performance of our athletes. It takes a total team effort to win this championship and we got that. It is nice to see the kids pulling for each other and give everything so that the team can succeed."

Tone Belt helped lead the University of Louisville to the team title in the Big East Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning the high jump with a new conference record of 7 feet 3 inches and finishing second in the long jump, after fouling on four of his six attempts.

Ricky Kump and Shane Bosley helped West Virginia Wesleyan to a second place finish in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Conference Track and Field Championship. Kump picked up a silver medal in the 4 x 400 meter relay that ran an outstanding time of 3:16.22, was third in the 400 with a time of 48.30 and finished fifth in both the 100 and 200.

A serpent saves the day

How many of you golfers have shared a golf cart with a snake?