Beckley – The 2024-25 school year has officially wrapped up!
As with every school year, there were many memorable moments that profound sate and local impacts. At Play Sheet Sports we’ve gathered what we deem to be the 32 most significant moments and grouped them into our “Moments of the Year” category.
These will be significant milestones, awards, performances, games or plays that occurred throughout the year. They’ve all been seeded into four different regions, NCAA tournament style where fans can vote on their favorite moment.
Over the next several weeks the moments will be trimmed down based on voting results until the 2024-25 Moment of the Year is crowned by the readers.
The third round of voting concludes Thursday, July 10 at 11:59. The top vote getters in each matchup will advance to the next round until we’ve crowned the moment of the year.
Region 1
- Beckley wins the soccer state title – Behind a golden goal from A.J. Bishop in the state semis and a last-second goal from Haegan Hall in the state title game, the Flying Eagles captured their first state championship since 2010.
- Coby Dillon wins POTY – Spearheading Beckley’s title run, Dillon was named the state player of the year by the WVSWA.
- Bluefield upsets James Monroe – Sporting a 2-20 record heading into postseason play, the Beavers pulled off a massive 79-67 upset of a 19-2 James Monroe team in postseason play.
- James Monroe ends Wyoming East’s three-peat bid – With three state championships in four years, the Wyoming East Dynasty was aiming for a three-peat but saw its hopes end in a 50-44 state quarterfinal loss to regional foe James Monroe.
- Wyoming East outlasts Logan in state quarterfinals – In a back-and-forth state tournament game, Wyoming East scored the decisive bucket with 38 second to go and watched as Logan missed a free throw in the final second to secure a 44-42 victory.
- Redden throws perfect game and homers in sectionals – Greenbrier West didn’t allow a single run in sectionals or regionals and Brilee Redden kicked that stretch off with a perfect game, fanning 12 batters and homering in a 21-0 victory.
- Paisley Shannon lifts Westside over Bluefield in sectionals – Trying to avoid falling into the loser’s bracket to open sectional play, Paisley Shannon fanned 14 batters in nine innings and laid a walk-off bunt to give Westside a 2-1 win.
- Bluefield forces goal line fumble against South Harrison – Jeff King forced a South Harrison fumble on the Bluefield 1 and Ty Patton recovered it as Bluefield held the Hawks off for a 20-18 victory in the opening round of the Class AA playoffs.
Region 2
- Shady Spring wins the golf state championship – Shady Spring took a 13-shot lead on the first day of the state tournament, capping its title run with a 17-shot victory over Wheeling Central. Tyler Beard and Cooper Ward finished second and third, respectively, as individuals while senior Jack Williams finished fifth.
- Princeton wins on Hail Mary – Trailing by 19 points in the fourth quarter, Princeton completed a comeback against Parkersburg South, connecting on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jake Belcher as time expired to secure a 48-47 win and the first 10-0 regular season in program history.
- Independence’s Nelson explodes in playoff opener against James Monroe – Trailing 17-14 in the opening round of the playoffs, Independence running back Sylas Nelson exploded against James Monroe, rushing for 223 yards and four touchdowns in the second half (338 for the game) as the Patriots won 41-23.
- Liberty clinches softball state tournament berth – Liberty swept through regionals and sectionals clinching its first state tournament berth since 2011.
- Blackburn breaks Wyoming East scoring record – In a school with a storied basketball history, all-state guard Cadee Blackburn etched her name in the record book with a 43-point showing against Oak Hill, breaking the school’s single-game record of 39.
- Kaiden Sims explodes for 400 yards and six touchdowns – In the heat of a playoff race, Kaiden Sims ran over Gilmer County, rushing for 409 yards on 30 carries, scoring six time in a 39-26 win that moved the Wildcats to 4-1.
- Jarred Phillips’ walk-off double against Charleston Catholic – Trailing 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Wyoming East confirmed its status as a state tournament contender as Jarred Phillips crushed a three-run walk-off double against reigning state champion and perennial contender Charleston Catholic.
- Westside rallies against Mingo Central – Trailing 14-0 at halftime, Westside rallied to take a 21-14 lead, holding Mingo Central out of the end zone on a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to secure a 21-20 victory.
Region 3
- Greenbrier West wins volleyball state title – After an injunction delayed the Class A volleyball state tournament, West roared through Class A dropping just one set the entire way to down East Hardy 3-1 in the state championship. It was the first state championship for a girls team in school history.
- Baker claims first track title in Wyoming East history – Wyoming East has won titles in nearly every sport but track was an exception. Abi Baker changed that, winning the Class A high jump state championship.
- Greenbrier East makes run to state semis – Rolling through the postseason, the Greenbrier East girls basketball team made its first state semifinal appearance since 2019, picking up a pair of first team all-state selections along the way.
- Greenbrier West hangs on for win over Tucker – Leading by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, West saw Tucker County rally back and take a 65-64 lead with 1:32 to play but a well-timed 3 from Lacey Critchley and a putback from Brilee Redden sent the Cavs to the Class A semifinals.
- Bradbury’s walk-off homer extends Indy’s season – Trailing 5-4 in an elimination game, Independence’s Kassidy Bradbury hit a two-run walk-off home run in the final home at bat of her career.
- Hines throws 19 strikeout no-hitter – Hines had one the best pitching performances of the season, striking out 19 batters in seven innings against Westside. The only blemish was an error committed by his defense in the 3-0 victory.
- Landon Riddle’s interception clinches Independence win over Scott – Leading 30-6 at halftime, Independence saw Scott cut the deficit to six and march the ball to the Indy 16 with under two minutes to play but a Landon Riddle interception off a deflection preserved the win.
- Wyoming East clinches first volleyball state tournament berth – Falling behind 11-5 and 18-11 in the first two sets, Wyoming East rallied both times, sweeping Liberty 3-0 to clinch the program’s first state tournament berth.
Region 4
- Greenbrier West breaks state track meet records – Already the reigning Class A shuttle hurdle and 110 meter hurdle state champions, Greenbrier West raised the bar. Isaac Agee set a new Class A meet record with in the 110 meter hurdles while the relay squad of Agee, Brandon Poticher, Colton Dunbar and Randy Keener set a new state meet relay record.
- Jesse Adams, Tyler Roark and J.J. Bailes win third state wrestling titles – Beckley’s Tyler Roark and J.J. Bailes as well as Independence’s Jesse Adams secured the third state championships of their respective careers.
- Beckley snaps Shady Spring’s home winning streak – Riding a 54-game home winning streak across five years, Shady Spring saw that streak fall as county foe Beckley squeaked out 58-55 win behind 24 points from Jaylon Walton.
- Bluefield completes 19-point fourth quarter comeback – Trailing by 19 points with under 10 minutes to play, freshman quarterback Max Simpson capped a 380-yard passing performance by tossing the game-winning 23-yard touchdown with four seconds left in a 42-40 victory.
- Independence rallies in sectional elimination game against PikeView – Trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Cole Cunningham hit a solo home, run for Independence to tie an elimination game. In the following inning Degan Williams hit the walk-off double for the Patriots in a 5-4 victory.
- Princeton rallies in state quarterfinals against North Marion – Trailing 20-7 with 15 minutes to play, Princeton’s offense pulled out of first gear in the Class AAA quarterfinals with Daniel Jennings scoring four consecutive touchdowns for a 34-20 victory.
- Oak Hill defense holds Beckley down – In the race to host a playoff game, Oak Hill’s defense held Beckley to two touchdowns and made sure four possessions that started near the 50 came up empty in a 19-14 victory that helped allow Oak Hill to host a playoff game for the forts time since 2000.
- Jesse Skaggs delivers walk-off against Greenbrier West – After Greenbrier West stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh inning, Midland Trail battled back, earning a walk-off win when Jesse Skaggs singled to give the Patriots a 3-2 victory in one of the area’s best rivalries.
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