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Parkersburg High’s Matt Runyon to play soccer at Thomas More

Big Red following in brother’s footsteps

Photo by Joe Albright Parkersburg High’s Matt Runyon throws the ball in during a high school soccer match last season at Stadium Field.

PARKERSBURG — Another Runyon from Parkersburg High School is going to college to play soccer.

On Wednesday, Big Red senior Matt Runyon made it official that the Class AAA all-state first-teamer will be headed to Thomas More College in northern Kentucky across the Ohio River from Cincinnati to continue his soccer career at the next level.

Runyon followed in the footsteps of his older brother Brian, six years his elder, who ended up at Thomas More too.

Brian was a first-team all-state selection in soccer three of his four years at PHS. “So when I got here, that was something I had to grow apart from and become my own player,” said Matt. “I had to live in his shoes most of my life, but he taught me everything I know about soccer, playing around in the basement just having fun with the sport all those years.

“I’ve just been so happy and so blessed to have someone like him to mentor me through all the years going up to high school.”

Three of the four years Brian was at Thomas More, the Saints won the PAC (Presidents Athletic Conference) championship of a league made up of mostly Pennsylvania teams.

For Matt, deciding on Thomas More was primarily because “I really liked the coach they had there,” he noted. However though, “that coach ended up getting fired,” added Matt. “But I’ve met with the new coach and he’s great. He turned a high school team that wasn’t very successful into a very successful one within just three years. So I’m excited to see what he can do for us going from Division III now to NAIA next year and the year after that, we’re looking to go D-II.”

At PHS, Matt mostly played center midfielder, either defensive or attacking — “wherever they needed me to be,” he said, “and that’ll probably be the same in college.”

According to veteran PHS head coach Don Fosselman, there’s no more Runyons ahead to play soccer for the Big Reds. “But I’ve seen Matt mature, not only as a soccer player, but also as a young man, and he’s been a great leader for our team,” said Fosselman. “He really was a force to be reckoned with on the field and a pleasure to coach. The younger kids on our team looked up to him; he was a role model and what he said, the kids listened to. He was just an extension of me on the field.”

About Matt too, Fosselman said he’s got one of the best throw-ins. “I bet that there’s not 10 people in the United States that can throw a ball further than he can over his head,” said Fosselman. “His throw-in goes 40 yards in the air and is better than a corner kick. It’s just unbelievable.”

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