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IOGA Classic should be a big hit

File photo Gilmer County’s Riley Fitzwater, right, goes up for a basket during the Class A state championship game last season.

GLENVILLE — The inaugural Independent Oil & Gas Association Classic gets underway Monday and will continue through late Saturday night at Glenville State College’s Waco Center.

All three classifications in the Mountain State will be represented and each team which was invited will have both their boys and girls squads play two games apiece – a semifinal and then either a consolation or championship tilt.

“About this time last year we just started talking to people and to see who was interested,” said former Parkersburg High School athletics director Jim Hamric, who spearheaded the event with plenty of help from the likes of Tom Ratliff, the director of the physical plant at GSC who was the project manager of the Waco Center, and others.

“The IOGA guys gave us some working capital. We have 24 total teams for both boys and girls. The amazing thing was that every school I talked to sent both their boys and their girls teams. We are going to make some mistakes this year, but we hope to build on it.”

Defending Class A girls state champion Gilmer County, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, will get the tournament started at 5 p.m. Monday against No. 6 Tucker County. The other single-A girls semifinal pits No. 5 St. Marys versus No. 8 Wheeling Central.

“Hamric had the idea and got hold of me last year and was wanting to see what we could do,” said St. Marys girls head coach Howard Meeks. “Tom Ratliff was in contact and we wanted to get some kind of showcase down at the Waco Center.

“With Gilmer being there and the talent level they have, they were already interested. After talking to the other (Class A girls) coaches, it all came together in probably an hour.”

Following the Titans and Mountain Lions, the boys teams will take to the floor at 6:40 p.m. as the Tucker County guys carry a preseason ranking of No. 8.

Third-ranked Wheeling Central will take on St. Marys Tuesday in the other Class A semifinal.

Other ranked teams in the tournament come in the Class AAA girls division with Ripley facing No. 9 Buckhannon-Upshur at 9 p.m. Wednesday while No. 5 Parkersburg South faces No. 6 St. Albans at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The Patriots of first-year head coach Ed Davis knocked off No. 2 Huntington, 82-80, last week inside the Rod Oldham Athletic Center. Devin Hefner led the way for South with 29 points while teammate Lexi Moore scored 24.

“I’m nervous and excited. We’re all excited,” Meeks said of the opportunity at hand against tough competition. “No one wants to be the team that goes 0-2, but there’s clearly going to be six teams in the state that’s going to be 0-2 coming out of the tournament.

“The exciting thing about it is we get a test against quality teams and maybe a little bit of a showcase of what it will look like in March.”

For the players in the game, there will be six available $1,500 scholarships for anyone wanting to attend GSC with the intent to pursue a degree in relation to the support and development of the oil and gas industry.

Also of note, prior to the tournament starting on Friday, the Pioneer men will square off at 2 p.m. against the University of Illinois Springfield.

Admission prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students with a valid school ID.


Independent Oil & Gas Association Classic

at Glenville State College’s Waco Center

Schedule

Monday

5 p.m — Girls: Gilmer County vs. Tucker County (A)

6:40 p.m. — Boys: Gilmer County vs. Tucker County (A)

8:20 p.m. — Boys: Roane County vs. Braxton County (AA)

Tuesday

5 p.m. — Girls: Wheeling Central vs. St. Marys (A)

6:40 p.m. — Boys: Wheeling Central vs. St. Marys (A)

8:20 p.m. — Girls: Roane County vs. Braxton County (AA)

Wednesday

4 p.m. — Boys: Nicholas County vs. Point Pleasant (AA)

5:40 p.m. — Girls: Nicholas County vs. Point Pleasant (AA)

7:20 p.m. — Boys: Ripley vs. Buckhannon-Upshur (AAA)

9 p.m. — Girls: Ripley vs. Buckhannon-Upshur (AAA)

Thursday

4 p.m. — Girls (A) Consolation

5:40 p.m. — Boys (A) Consolation

7:20 p.m. — Boys: Parkersburg South vs. St. Albans (AAA)

9 p.m. — Girls: St. Albans vs. Parkersburg South (AAA)

Friday

4 p.m. — Boys (AA) Consolation

5:40 p.m. — Girls (AA) Consolation

7:20 p.m. — Boys (AAA) Consolation

9 p.m. — Girls (AAA) Consolation

Saturday

Noon — Girls (A) Championship

1:40 p.m. — Boys (A) Championship

3:20 p.m. — Girls (AA) Championship

5 p.m. — Boys (AA) Championship

6:40 p.m. — Girls (AAA) Championship

8:20 p.m. — Boys (AAA) Championship

NOTE: Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students

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