Horace Blankenship

University of Louisville sophomore Tone Belt, won his fourth consecutive long jump competition of the indoor season last week at the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas on Friday, February 9. His winning leap of 25 feet 10.75 inches not only broke the University of Louisville record he set earlier in the year, it was also the best in nation in 2007.

"With 14 of the nation's top 20 teams and many of the nation's very best collegiate athletes competing at this meet, this type of performance says a lot about Tone's competitiveness," said U of L head coach Ron Mann.

Warm Springs girls basketball team defeated Romney Middle School 38-30 on Friday, February 9, to finish the regular season with a 14-3 record, lifting them to first place in the Mountain State Athletic Conference.

The win gave the Wolves home court advantage throughout the league playoffs which began on Monday, February 12. If Warm Springs defeated Shepherdstown on Monday, they will play either Musselman or Romney for the league title tonight, February 14, at Warm Springs Middle School. In case of inclement weather, the game will be played on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, depending on the weather.

After suffering a disappointing 2-point home loss, 50-48, to Frankfort on Tuesday, February 6, Berkeley Springs bounced back with a relatively easy 63-42 road victory over East Hardy on Friday, February 9.

Foster Sirbaugh poured in a game-high 24 points, 18 in the second half, to carry the Indians to the 21-point victory.

Berkeley Springs lost two tough game last week. First, after fighting their way back, they lost to Martrinsburg 59-57 on Monday, February 5 and then led East Hardy for most of the night on Thursday, February 8 in Baker, before falling 47-42 in overtime.

"Sure it is disappointing," Berkeley Springs coach Dale McCumbee said of the two loses. Those were both games we could have won. It is always tough to lose games like that. We were right there, had our chances but couldn't quite close the door."

The Berkeley Springs girls basketball team headed to Baker, WV, on Saturday, February 10, to face sectional rival Frankfort in the Potomac Valley Conference Night of Champions. It was an opportunity to make a statement against their sectional nemesis, with the sectional championship right around the corner. Unfortunately, a statement was made, but it was Frankfort which made the statement, burying the cold shooting Indians 60-28.

"This was our worst game of the year," said Berkeley Springs coach Dale McCumbee. I am disappointed and nearly speechless. You're not going to beat too many teams when you only shoot 12% from the floor."

Berkeley Springs High School may have finished the day 1-3 in dual meet action, but they managed four individual titles at the Potomac Valley Conference Wrestling Championships, held on Saturday, February 3 in Berkeley Springs.

"We had to forfeit too many weight classes to compete for the team title," said Berkeley Springs coach Darrell Bennett. "And, then A.J. (Blankenship) was injured and couldn't wrestle the final two matches of the day. It is just tough for us to be competitive in dual meets, but I am proud of the overall effort these kids gave."

Berkeley Springs High School girls basketball coach Dale McCumbee has preached the importance of free throw shooting all year long. He has tried impressing on his team that close games are usually lost or won at the charity stripe. His words will resonate more clearly in the locker room now, because of the way Berkeley Springs secured their thrilling 50-46 win over Musselman, in Bunker Hill on Thursday, February 1.

The Indians scored 20 more points than Musselman from the line, and made 15 of 21 free throw attempts with the game on the line in the final quarter.

Berkeley Springs defeated Paw Paw 67-30 on Friday, February 2, in Berkeley Springs to sweep the season series between the two longtime rivals.

The rematch was similar, with Berkeley Springs racing out to a big first-quarter lead, before coasting to another lopsided win. Paw Paw used to give Berkeley Springs fits on the hardwoods, but recently the size differential between the two schools has been apparent.

The Warm Springs girls basketball team won two games last week, improving to 13-2 on the year.

"I am really proud of this team," said Warm Springs coach Jeff Derby. "Even when they aren't playing their best they find a way to win. I guess that is because they work really hard and have good attitudes."

Berkeley Springs won the seven-team Viking Smash Wrestling Tournament, held in Petersburg on January 26 and 27. The Indians were 6-1 in the round robin tournament, the same as Grafton, but Berkeley Springs claimed the team title because they defeated the Bearcats in their dual meet 46-36.

The only loss suffered by Berkeley Springs was to Petersburg, 42-34, but the Vikings lost two matches to finish third.