This week in MOV athletics

February 5, 2018

Pardon my rant at the beginning of the column... Let me just say, if the PHS boys aren’t ranked in the Top 10 this week I really have no idea what is going on with the voters. Jeff Mennillo’s team now owns wins over the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 ranked teams in the state in a two-week time period, which is impressive and deserves recognition. Okay ... Rant over. The Big Reds have a chance to pick up another big victory Tuesday night when the eighth-ranked team in Ohio’s Division I makes a stop at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to the fieldhouse. Logan comes in off a tough loss to W.Va. ...

Picking Patriots, Eagles again

February 4, 2018

In this era of binge-watching shows online and networks seeming afraid to air reruns, we’re getting a repeat Super Bowl. It’s been 13 years since the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles faced off in Super Bowl XXIX, and though a lot has changed, three factors remain the same: Tom Brady is the Patriots’ quarterback, Bill Belichick is their coach and the Eagles are underdogs. But unless you’re an Eagle or Patriot fan — or harbor an immense dislike for one of the teams — you might not have any emotional investment in the game itself. That doesn’t mean you won’t ...

Roane County’s Lucille Westfall is hidden gemstone

February 1, 2018

For the love of the game. Not many people know this, but the great Michael Jordan loved the game of basketball so much he had a clause put into his contract stating he could play basketball whenever he wanted. Outside of the season, pick-up games over the summer, special celebrity contests ...

Miller does a lot for the Big Reds

January 28, 2018

A captain in two sports, soccer and basketball, and a pretty good player in both too. That’s Parkersburg High School senior Parker Miller, who is planning on majoring in college in such things as exercise physiology or medical microbiology among others. “But I don’t know for sure yet,” he said. So he’s smart too, with his GPA so far this year being 4.0. Miller said he “loved soccer from playing it as a little kid on travel teams that were pretty good, so that’s when I started getting good at it.” Growing up, Miller also played football “all the way up until high ...

Amy Deem’s life full of passion

January 25, 2018

Passion has defined Amy Deem’s feelings for track and field at every stop she has made along her route through her life. Deem’s love for the sport started at an early age, her dad ran and she was always racing people as a kid. “It (track and field) was really just something for me to try,” Deem said. “It wasn’t until I got to Hamilton that Coach Mollendick taught me how to jump hurdles and helped me develop my passion for the sport.” Her affection for her craft continued to grow during her time at Parkersburg High School. The hurdles continued to call to her under ...

Nick Swisher humbled by honor

January 24, 2018

Nick Swisher’s journey to the Parkersburg High School Sports Hall of Fame differed from fellow inductees Susan Gardner and Amy Deem. Whereas both Deem and Gardner grew up in the city and spent time at Big Red sporting events learning the culture and history of the school, Swisher didn’t have such an extensive background. “You have to remember I had just moved down to Parkersburg my freshman year at Hamilton and was still really learning what Parkersburg was all about,” said Swisher. “But once I got on campus as a sophomore for my first football practice and two-a-days I ...