The Lady Knight volleyball team earned second place in the state.

While no high school teams in the local area brought home a state championship in 2013, one came very close, history was made a few times, and several individual athletes received some prestigious recognition, making sports stories appearing on these pages in 2013, ones to remember.

January

Paden City boys varsity basketball team started the year off right with only one loss to their name as the new year began.

Tyler Consolidated hosted the Boggs Family Pizza and Grill Roundball Classic Basketball Tournament on Jan. 10-12. Besides the Silver Knights, also participating in the tournament were Clay-Battelle, Magnolia and Bellaire St. Johns. In the girls tournament, teams competing included the Lady Knights, Frontier, Wirt County, and Magnolia. The Cee-Bee’s of Clay-Battelle took the win in the boys division, defeating Magnolia, while the Lady Knights fell to the Lady Cougars of Frontier in the championship.

The Lady Wildcats began participation in the Hometown Invitational Tournament, defeating Union Grant, 48-16 in the inaugural game.

The Paden City and Tyler Consolidated High School football teams got off to rough starts in 2013, but finished up their seasons in fine style with each gaining a 5-5 win/loss record by November.

The Steubenville Big Red wrestlers came away with the overall team win at the 60th annual Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Tournament at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. Participating in the event, the Tyler Consolidated grapplers performed well, but were unable to place a wrestler on the podium but placed 33rd overall of the 39 teams with 24 team points and had five wrestlers winning matches.

Participating in the River Invitationals at the end of January, the Silver Knight team had one wrestler come home with a first place medal in freshman heavyweight, Austin Spencer.

February

The 9th annual Hannah Croasmun Basketball Tournament was held in Paden City for boys and girls 4-6 grades.

The Tyler Consolidated and Paden City High School cheerleading squads both competed at the 22nd annual OVAC Cheering Competition on Feb. 2 at the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.

The Paden City and Tyler Consolidated High School football teams got off to rough starts in 2013, but finished up their seasons in fine style with each gaining a 5-5 win/loss record by November.

The Silver Knight cheerleaders took their their second straight OVAC title in the class AAA division.

The Wildcat cheerleaders performed very well placing third overall.

The Tyler Consolidated Middle School Knights 7th grade basketball team won the LKC championship in February. The team defeated Gilmer County 40-20 in the championship.

1995 Tyler Consolidated High School graduate and now, Hedgesville High School band director and The Marching Ravens Assistant Music Director, Corey Hamrick participated in the victory celebration of the Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens on their return to Baltimore after the Super Bowl.

The Tyler Consolidated Silver Knight wrestlers finished up their regular season and received a fourth place finish in the OVAC dual meet championships in the class AAA division. The 2012-13 Knights are the first Tyler Consolidated wrestling team in school history to have placed in the OVAC Dual Meet Championships. Wrestlers Chase Cooper and Joe Henthorn went undefeated at the meet.

Tyler Consolidated and Paden City High School’s girls basketball teams traveled to Doddridge County to compete against each other in the Region I, Section II tournament with the Lady Knights securing the win, 68-40. The Lady Wildcats finished the year with nine wins. The Lady Knights season ended on Feb. 19 when they fell to St. Marys, 78-36 in the Section II semi-finals.

The Silver Knight varsity wrestlers competed at the Region I Class A/AA Wrestling tournament in Fairmont on Feb. 15-16 and came with one wrestler placing high enough to qualify for a state berth. Senior Joe Henthorn, wrestling at 132 lbs., qualified fourth in order to go to Huntington.

The Tyler Consolidated Middle School cheerleaders showed off their talent on Paden City on Feb. 16 and were rewarded with a first place finish. The squad placed first of five teams in the mounting division of Paden City High School’s spirit competition. This was the second championship the team has achieved this season.

The newly formed Hometown Racing Association announced an agreement reached to lease and promote the Tyler County Speedway for the 2013 season. The Tyler County Fair Association agreed to turn over operation of the mile Bullring to the Hometown Racing Association headed up by lifelong resident and former racer John Watson. Watson and the new promotional group plans to continue the long tradition of weekly Saturday-night racing.

Both the Knights of Tyler Consolidated and Paden City Wildcats basketball teams gained wins in the month despite bad weather causing cancellations and postponements.

It was Wildcats contesting Wildcats on Feb. 8 as Paden City’s boys team traveled to Summersville to face off with Meadow Bridge in the championship of the Hometown Invitational Tournament. The ‘Cats fell to their opponents, 52-41, and brought home second place in the tournament.

The Knights and ‘Cats faced off in the first round of the Region I, Section II tournament at Doddridge with the Silver taking the win 48-43 and advancing in the tournament. The Knights however, saw the end of their season when they were defeated by St. Marys, 58-52.

March

The Middle Island Longbeard chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation held their 15th Annual Hunting Heritage/Superfund banquet on March 9. Members and guests enjoyed a meal catered by The Fort, in Sistersville as well as a live and silent auction. Bob Farkasovsky acted as Master of Ceremonies for the event.

J.A.K.E.S. (Juniors. Acquiring. Knowledge. Ethics. and Sportsmanship.), members were recognized during the banquet and the annual scholarship award was presented to Hunter LeMasters.

The West Virginia High School boys and girls soccer seasons finally finished up in December and post season awards were announced with several Tyler Consolidated athletes among those being honored.

The West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association announced their all-state and major award winner selections with Lady Knight, Sophie Kinnard named as the class A/AA goal keeper of the year. Kinnard, a junior, was also named to the first team as a goalie. Victoria Shepherd was named to the first team as a midfielder and Katelynn Smith was a first team selection on defense. Kaylee Hartsfield and Haleigh Smith received honorable mention awards. Kinnard was also recognized by the Wheeling Intelligencer in being selected to the first team All-Valley team as well as first team All-OVAC. Victoria Shepherd and Katelyn Smith were selected to the second team All-Valley.

The Silver Knight boys soccer team finished the 2012 season with a very respectable 12-6 record, setting a school record in team goals with 71 scored during the season. Individual members of the team earning accolades include Dylan Romine and Mert Coskun setting a new team record of goals scored in a season, each with 26; and Romine setting a new record for assists by a Silver Knight in a season, with 13; Knight goal keeper, Nathan Heintzman tied the old record of shut-outs in a season with eight.

Senior co-captain, Brandon Frey, received honorable mention All-State, participated in the WV North/South game, was named to the second team All-Valley, honorable mention OVAC, and honorable mention coaches All-LKC; senior co-captain Scott Sole received honorable mention All-Valley, honorable mention OVAC and honorable mention coaches All-LKC; Dustin Tawney, also a senior co-captain, received honorable mention coaches All-LKC; junior Dylan Romine was selected as first team All-State, first team All-Valley, first team OVAC, first team coaches All-LKC, WV sportswriters honorable mention All-State; junior Mert Coskun was selected as first team All-Valley, first team OVAC, honorable mention All-State, honorable mention coaches All-LKC, WV sportswriters honorable mention All-State; Dylan Reynolds, junior, received honorable mention All-State, honorable mention All-Valley, first team coaches All-LKC; and junior Nathan Heintzman was selected to first team coaches All-LKC.

Rob Jones, a 2003 Tyler Consolidated graduate, took over the reins of the Silver Knight varsity baseball team, boasting 22 players to begin the new season with. Paden City HIgh School also began their baseball season with veteran head coach, Brent Croasmun at the helm, leading his 10 players into the 2013 season. At the beginning of the season, the Wildcats took a win in a game with Hundred, setting a milestone in the coaches career with 300 wins.

The Lady Knight varsity softball team (15 members strong), also saw a new mentor at the head of the program in Consolidated graduate, Samantha Livingston. The Lady ‘Cats of Paden City under the tutelage of head coach Jeanne Fox began the season with 16 athletes.

The Triple Threat Wrestling Club ended their season at the Youth Novice State Wrestling Tournament held at St. Albans High School in March. Twelve club wrestlers entered the tournament and five of them came home with awards. Trenton Huffman earned the 7-8 age group, 65 pound championship trophy; Danny McCune earned the 7-8 year old, 45 pound runner-up trophy; Kaden Huffman placed third; Ty Waton, placed third; and Ethan McCune brought home a fourth place finish. Other TTT members who also participated in this years state tournament were: Ashton Jackson, Jayden Helmick, Mason Nichols, Silas McKeever, Kendall Huffman, Jeremiah Thomas and Mariah DeLong.

Jordan Ebert, daughter of Michael and Michele Ebert of Friendly, competed at the Elks Mid-Atlantic Regional Soccer Shoot held March 8-10 in Hagerstown, Maryland, placing sixth in the girl’s U-8 division. She represented the West Virginia Elks Association and Sistersville Elks Lodge #333.

April

Tyler Consolidated Alumni returned to their home court on March 30 for the second annual Tyler Consolidated High School Alumni Extravaganza sponsored by the track programs at the school. Several activities were planned for families during the event including men’s and women’s basketball games; and performances by the alumni cheerleaders as well as the band.

West Virginia High School Track season began with cold wet weather dampening the enthusiasm for all teams at the beginning of the season. The first Wetzel Tyler Track League meet of the year was held at Tyler Consolidated with five boys and girls teams participating.

Tyler Consolidated seniors, twins, and outstanding track athletes, Hunter and Haylea LeMasters, signed letters of intent to attend West Virginia Wesleyan and participate on the Bobcat track team.

A cool and crisp evening awaited the Tyler County Speedways faithful for the 39th Annual Season Opener. A pit full of racers and a nice crowd of brave souls weathered the frigidly cool temps as the green flag would officially wave on the 2013 season.

The 2013 softball season for local teams ended at the Sectional Tournament with neither the Lady Knights of Tyler Consolidated nor the Lady Wildcats of Paden City going on to play at the Regional level.

The Lady Knights defeated Valley in the first game of Sectionals, 7-5, but met defeat at the hands of the Lady Devils of St. Marys to put them out.

The Lady Wildcats faced off with Magnolia in a heated contest that had no score until the ninth inning in the Section II tourney. Magnolia scored a run in the ninth to take the win, 1-0. The Wildcats fell to Cameron in the second game of the Section II tournament, 8-7 to end their hopes of post season play.

May

In order to garner more community spirit and involvement for the Silver Knight athletic teams at Tyler Consolidated, a Touchdown Club was formed by parents and fans and will focus on the Silver Knight varsity and junior varsity football team at first and then it is hoped with the success of this group, support of all other athletics will follow suit.

The Tyler County Firefighters Association was forced to make the difficult decision to cancel the Bullring Bonanza prize drawing this season as insufficient ticket sales of less than 1,500 gave the TCFA little choice.

Knowing that many camping and travel plans had already been put into place by loyal ticket buyers the TCFA reached out to the Hometown Racing Association and came to an agreement to keep portions of the weekend alive. Hometown Racing stepped up to move forward and continue the already scheduled Colt Ford/Justin Moore Concert and all racing events and formats at the Tyler County Speedway including the World of Outlaw Late Model “Jackpot 100” and Renegade of Dirt “Let it Ride 55”.

*The Sistersville Elementary School “Fuel Up to Play 60” team held activities at the school all year, getting kids and families involved in physical activities. The team held their last event of the school year on May 2, dubbing it the “Raindrop Romp”.

*It was a great day for fishing at Conaway Lake on May 4 as the Tyler Rod and Gun Club hosted their annual “Hooked on Fishing – Not on Drugs” youth fishing program. Whether they were fishing alone, with their families or with a buddy; catching a stringer full or just waiting for a bite, the youngsters fishing had a good time fishing in Tyler County.

*Alex Doak, senior at Tyler Consolidated, took high point honors in the boys division at the LKC Track Championships held at Ritchie County finishing first in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 races at the competition, and was part of the Silver Knight 4×100 meter relay that placed third at the event.

Tyler Consolidated’s girls and boys varsity track teams made school history on May 9 with their overall team wins of the Region I Track and Field Championships. The Lady Knights earned 140 points in their effort to bring home the win and the boys defeated the field in their division with 125 points.

The Tyler Consolidated Silver Knight baseball finished up the 2013 season at the Sectional Tournament held at Knight field. The team defeated Valley, 11-6, but fell to St. Marys 14-1 to end their season with seven wins.

Paden City also saw the end come to their season at the Sectional Tournament in Cameron. The Green and White took an exciting win over the Dragons to get to the championship game against Magnolia. However, due to conflicts with a few members of the team also participating on Paden City’s track team, and the track Regionals scheduled to be held the same day, the game would have to be either cancelled or postponed until Friday.

WVSSAC baseball rules stated that Sectional games are to be played on consecutive days, therefore it was determined that the title game would be forfeited by Paden City if they did not play on day determined. Since Paden City would not have enough players to play on Thursday (track meet), the game was forfeited, giving Magnolia the automatic Sectional win. The ‘Cats their season with an 8-14 win/loss record.

*At the West Virginia High School State Track and Field Championships, several Tyler Consolidated athletes performed well and brought home medals. Senior, Hunter LeMasters, won his second Pole Vaulting State Championship in as many years vaulting 13-10 to take first place and pocket his second medal; Alex Doak, defeated all comers in the 100 and 200 meter dashes finishing the 100 meter race with a time of 11.27 and the 200 meter easily ahead of the field in 22.81.

Knights also placing at the meet include: the 4×100 team of Doak, Josh Ruble, Jacob Highley and Christian Ice took third in the state with a combined time of 45.82; and Josh Ruble earned a sixth place ribbon in the pole vault event, going out at 11-00. The boys team as a whole placed 4th overall at the meet.

Paden City qualified one individual and three relay teams for the state meet. Though the ‘Cats did not place in the top six, they competed very well in the competition.

Several Lady Knights brought home medals from the meet including: senior Haylea LeMasters who took second in the pole vault with a vault of 8-06, third in the long jump with a jump of 15-10, and fifth in the 100 meter hurdles; the 4×100 relay team of Kerstyn Cline, Allison Wable, Katelyn Gogan and Hillary Casteel placed 4th overall in 53.59; it was a fourth place finish also for the 4×200 relay team of Kerstyn Cline, Brooke Keys, Katelyn Gogan and Hillary Casteel in 1:53.86; the 4×800 Lady Knight relay team placed fourth in 10:35.30 with team members Megan Carpenter, Allison Wable, Haleigh Smith and Carly Fletcher earning their stripes; the shuttle hurdle relay team of Makayla Clegg, Kaylee Hartsfield, Allsion Wable and Hannah Casteel placed fourth in the state in the Class A girls division in 1:11.58.

Paden City’s Lady Wildcats were well represented by their shuttle hurdle relay team of Lynnsie Parsons, Josie Fox, Logan Cosper and Kayla Hizer who placed sixth in the state at the meet with a time of 1:11.72.

Paden City High School seniors Drew Bidwell and Lynnsie Parsons were presented with the top male and female athletes for 2013 at the annual Paden City Sports awards program on May 20.

June

*The third annual Paden City Foundation 5K Run/Walk was held on June 1. Crossing the finish line at Centennial Park first was Nathan Harshberger of New Martinsville with a time of 18:10.73. The first female finisher was Amanda Dawson, Sistersville, with a time of 25:19.60. The first walker to complete the course was Paden City’s Alex Thoburn (33:28.68) and Linda Eagle from Sistersville was the top female walker (40:07.59).

Staff members from Sistersville General Hospital were on hand at Tyler Consolidated High/Middle School on June 6 to provide sports physicals for athletes intending to play sports in the coming year.

* Paden City’s Kelsey Loy and Tyler Consolidated’s Martina Parrish represented the Lady Wildcats and Lady Knights at the North/South softball game

More than 100 campers and 20 instructors participated in the the 27th annual B&K Basketball Camp at Paden City High School. Every day the campers practiced foul shots, three point shots and hot-spot skill fundamentals, such as a standing broad jump, vertical leap, rope jump, quickness drill and bag jumping. In addition, campers participated in an academic portion where the youngsters took a math test.

Twenty-nine young golfers were in attendance for the 2013 Tyler Consolidated High School Knights Junior Golf Camp, which was held the evenings of June 17-19 at the Sistersville Country Club. This is the third year for the golf camp, which is sponsored by the Silver Knight golf team and the Sistersville Country Club.

The sixth annual Tyler Consolidated High School Youth Basketball Camp was held at the high school gym on June 17-19 and had a record attendance with 53 campers.

The Tyler Consolidated Silver Knight varsity football team sponsored a Catfish tournament on June 29th to raise support and funds for the team. The winner of the tournament was Kenny Templeton, who turned in a catch of 27.9 pounds and 40.75 inches long.

July

Race fans were treated to a jam packed night of racing action at the ‘Bullring’ for “Retro Race Night” featuring helmet dashes and heat race pay in all classes along with the running of traditional Tyler County Speedway Eaton/Childers King of the Ring for Super Late Models and the STARS Modlites visiting for the Pat Herrick Memorial.

*The swimming was free for three days in Sistersville last week as the Sistersville Elks Lodge No. 333 provided free swimming to all children and adults at the Sistersville Pool on July 23, 24 and 25. No admission was charged for any person during these three days who went to pool during these hot days of July. This event was made possible through a grant to the local Elks Lodge from the Elks National Foundation and their Community Investments Program.

This program was aimed at providing an opportunity to all local youth to enable them to enjoy activities at the local park and pool.

August

The First Annual Bud Weigle Memorial was held at the Tyler County Speedway and won by Jacob Hawkins.

Tyler Consolidated High School hosted the 10th Annual Mitch Jacobs Volleyball Camp at the school, conducted by Marshall University’s head volleyball coach, Mitch Jacobs. A total of 39 campers participated in the four-day event, held July 29- Aug. 1.

West Virginia High School golf season opened with Tyler Consolidated and Paden City each manning teams for the 2013 season.

Three members of the Tyler Consolidated High School Marching Band were selected to participate in the OVAC All-Star Band at the Rudy Mumley All-Star Football game on July 28 at Wheeling Island Stadium. Silver Knight band members, Josh Pelikan, Caroline Bantug and Dan Grimm, took part in the OVAC weekend and represented Tyler Consolidated very well.

The boys and girls varsity soccer teams at Tyler Consolidated began their season, the Silver Knights boasting nine seniors while the Lady Knights began the season with five. The Knight boys won their first contest of the year over Oak Glen, 3-0, while the Silver and Black Ladies fell to the Lady Bears, 4-1.

Cross Country season also got underway with Paden City fielding a boys/girl team of 15 and Tyler Consolidated a team of 15 as well. The West Virginia High and Middle School Cross Country seasons began in earnest on Aug. 24 in Belmont, WV at the huge Autumn Classic Cross Country meet hosted by St. Marys High School.

More than 18 high schools and a host of middle schools had teams participating in this athlete favorite meet. Locally, both Tyler Consolidated and Paden City had entrants in all divisions of the race.

Lady Knight sophomore Amber Watson broke into the top 10 placers overall with an eighth place finish in 24:10. Junior Kayla Hizer finished first for the Lady Wildcats of Paden City, placing 43rd overall with a time of 27:22.

It was Season Championship Night at the Tyler County Speedway and picking up impressive wins were Mike Benedum, Kyle Thomas, Bird Wilson, Chad Smith, Tom Keplinger and Brady Reed.

The 2013 volleyball season kicked off right on time as usual for the Lady Knights at Tyler Consolidated as 18 players ran onto the court for the traditional “midnight madness” volleyball practice in August.

With the first practice, the Ladies in Silver and Black began a season that brings with it very high expectations from the players, coaching staff and fans well versed in the sport of volleyball, all anticipating a season that will at least meet, if not surpass last years’ 45-5 season that led the 2012 team to finish second in the state when all was said and done.

Looking to make some noise in their Section and Region this year, the Lady Wildcat volleyball team of Paden City High School is gearing up for a season of hard work and no surprises.

Last years Lady ‘Cats came to within a heartbeat of making the Regional finals, finishing the year with a very respectable record of 29-13. This year, the Green and White have plans to do more.

September

The West Virginia High School football season opened up with the Knights traveling to Williamstown, only to be turned away with the 27-14 loss to the perennial Class A powerhouse. Paden City played host to the Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees and suffered the 41-6 loss.

The annual Paden City Labor Day 5K Fun Run was held in Paden City on Labor Day, hosting 67 participants along the flat course through the streets of the city.

Josh Weekley, of Doddridge County was the overall winner, finishing in 18:44. The top female finisher was Paden City’s own Kayla Hizer with a time of 24:22.

On Sept. 3, Tyler Consolidated hosted their own cross country meet, dubbed “Stormin’ the Castle” complete with hills, trails, paved areas, woods and water hazards. Though it is still considered a “new” course, this meet is quickly becoming both a fan and athlete favorite due to the terrain and the challenge it offers to both novice and experienced runners.

The Silver Knight boys soccer team played host to Weir on Sept. 3 at Burgbacher Field in Middlebourne, facing off with a program that a soccer team at Consolidated has never defeated since soccer was instated at the school 11 years ago. Once again, though the two teams played equally fierce on the field, the Knights were not able to come away with the win, but they did tie, also a first.

The Paden City Wildcats went up against a stronger Van Bulldog team than expected at Van with the hosts putting together a 27 point second quarter to take the lead, and eventually the 41-14 win over the ‘Cats in their second game of the season.

Doddridge County took advantage of a small window of opportunity in the third quarter at Knight Stadium over Tyler Consolidated to score 20 points in about three minutes and went on to win their second game of the season, 26-12.

The Tyler Consolidated Silver Knight Touchdown Club paid homage to a very special fan during the Silver Knight – Doddridge varsity football game. The late Charles W. “Charlie” Hendricks was recognized posthumously as the first ever “Fan of the Week” was presented at the school.

It was a long night for the fans on one side of the bleachers on Friday at Tyler Consolidated as the Silver Knights played host to the Magnolia Blue Eagles for the third game of the season, and met defeat for the third time, 40-7.

An experienced, senior led Beallsville team traveled to Paden City on Sept. 13 to take on the Wildcats at Berger Field, taking the win 36-14.

It was a good week for Lady Knight soccer as the team got their first win of the season in a big way, over Magnolia, 5-1. Scoring the Silver Ladies were Haleigh Smith with three goals, Sophie Kinnard, one goal and Skyler Cathers, one goal.

The Paden City High School Wildcat football team achieved their first win of the year on Sept. 13 at home at Berger Field against the Gilmer County Titans, 18-15.

Tyler Consolidated’s football team traveled to Pleasants County on Sept. 19 to take on the Blue Devils in a change-of-pace Thursday game, only to return home to Tyler County with the loss, 35-6.

The Tyler Consolidated Knights held the first annual alumni tailgate at the school on Sept. 27. Each graduating class of every year was invited to set up their own tailgate area. A family friendly environment the tail gate section was located around the edge of the lower side parking lot in the softball field area. The alumni and the class tailgates competed in several areas such as: most alumni/ students present from a single class and most spirited alumni/class tailgate.

The Homecoming game at Tyler Consolidated High School on Sept. 27 turned out to be perfect for the Silver Knight football team as well as their fans as the team tasted victory for the time in 2013. The Silver Knights put together an excellent first half to hand the loss to the Calhoun Red Devils, 43-6.

Paden City celebrated Homecoming weekend in a big way last week with a varsity football win over the Hundred Hornets, 67-6.

October

With the slogan’s “Kick out Cancer” and “Two teams – one Cause” the Lady Knight soccer program represented everything that is good about a sports program on Oct. 3 at Burgbacher Field in Middlebourne.

The Tyler Consolidated Lady Knights played host to the Magnolia Blue Eagles in a home game in Middlebourne, and instead of the typical Silver/Black-Blue/Gold rivalry, Burbacher Field and the majority of the fans attending the game, sported and supported the color pink, in support of Breast Cancer Awareness.

*The “Pink Out” craze spilled over to Knight Stadium soon after with the Silver Knights collecting their second win of the season getting the win over Buffalo, 43-13. The Stadium was busier than usual on the cool Autumn evening with several Relay for Life team activities taking place as well in recognition of October as National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Taking their game to the par 36/36 – 72 Williams Country Club in Weirton for the Class A Region I tournament on Sept. 30, Tyler Consolidated and Paden City High School golf teams had their work cut out for them. With a field of fine competitors, the goal of the day was to place high both as a team and individually.

Unfortunately, no local golfers qualified to go on to the state meet at Oglebay’s Jones course on Oct. 8-9.

November

After a rocky start to their seasons in August, both the Tyler Consolidated and Paden City High School football teams finished up their seasons at 5-5.

The Region I Class A Cheerleading Champion-ships were held at Parkersburg High School with 10 squads competing for the Class A title including Tyler Consolidated and Paden City. Though neither squad placed first or second, both performed well in front of large hometown fans.

The Lady Knight volleyball team battled long and hard this season, determining early on to do well during the season and in post season play. Come Sectional and Regional time, their hard work paid off with the Ladies in Silver earning first place positions in both and earning a trip to Charleston to play in the West Virginia State High School Volleyball Championships at the Civic Center.

The Consolidated ladies secured the Region I, Section II championship by defeating Paden City and moved onto the Regional competition defeating both Madonna and Magnolia there to get to state.

In Charleston, the Silver and Black made short work of their first two opponents, Charleston Catholic and East Hardy in order to get to the championship match with the Lady Tigers of Wirt County. Taking the match-up to five grueling sets, Wirt County finally came out with the edge in the fifth game of the day, taking the title, leaving the Silver Knights to tote home second place for the second year in a row.

At the end of November, Tyler Consolidated Lady Knight basketball and soccer player, Sophia Kinnard, signed a letter of intent to play for the Lady Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

The Tyler Consolidated Middle School football team earned an 8-1 record for the 2013 season and earned the LKC Middle School Championship.

December

The 2013/14 high school boys and girls basketball and wrestling seasons began, with teams looking to perform well throughout the season in order to make good showings in the Sectional and Regional tournaments in two months time.

Tyler Consolidated Lady Knight senior hit a milestone in her high school career in the first week of the season by scoring her 1,000th point.

All in all, 2013 was an uplifting year for local athletes and teams, each gaining experience and providing local fans with the best home town entertainment a price of a ticket can provide.