Ohio Valley Athletic Conference

New season, new official scoring app. OVAC baseball & softball is powered by AGL in 2026. ⚾🔥 Check them out: athletesgolive.com/schools

We have basketball officials making a difference at the state level in both Ohio and West Virginia! Last week at the WVSSAC Girls Basketball State Tournament, we had three officals from the OVAC officiate state contests. Pictured here are Michael Newton, Maclaine Murad-Newhart, and Doug Patterson We thank Michael, Maclaine, and Doug for representing the OVAC well on the big stage!

In just her sixth season, OVAC basketball official Mia Williams officiated her first state championship game. Williams was on the crew for yesterday’s OHSAA Division VI Championship Game between Strasburg and Russia. Congratulations Mia! We thank Mia and all officials for their continued support and dedication to the OVAC!

A crew of three OVAC basketball officials worked an OHSAA Girls Basketball State Semifinal yesterday at Wright State University near Dayton. Maclaine Murad Newhart, Megan Scholl, and Bailey Frederick officiated the Ottawa-Glandorf - Proctorville Fairland matchup with Ottawa-Glandorf taking the victory 54-48. Congratulations to Maclaine, Megan, and Bailey on this accomplishment!

Congratulations to our 2026 OVAC Swimming Class 4A Swimmers and Coaches of the Year! Cole Long and Brenna Cunningham of Beaver Local are your Swimmers of the Year, Ernie Banks of St. Clairsville is the Girls Coach of the Year, and Sarah House of Indian Creek is the Boys Coach of the Year.

Our 2026 OVAC Class 1A-3A Swimmers and Coaches of the Year have been selected! Congratulations to Leighton Birmingham and Antoni Schuerle for being named the Class 1A-3A Swimmers of the Year and Jordan Graham and Darlene Sperry for earning Coach of the Year!

OVAC Executive Director Dirk DeCoy was recently featured in an article by LEDE News on if an OVAC Football playoff system would be feasible. DeCoy lays out what would have to take place and gives his own thoughts on what could happen. Visit the link below to view the full article: ledenews.com/can-ovac-footb…

The 2026 WVSSAC Girls Basketball Tournament gets underway today in Charleston and four OVAC squads will compete for a state championship. We wish the best of luck to Wheeling Central, John Marshall, Morgantown, and University in their quests for a state title!

The OVAC is hosting a tribute dinner for Doug Huff on Sunday, April 19th at 2:00 PM in the Capitol Theatre Ballroom in downtown Wheeling. Doug was recently named on the of the Top-10 Most Influential People in the History of High School Football. Tickets for the dinner are $30 per person. Business casual attire is recommended for the event. The meal will be catered by Hall of Fame Cafe in Wheeling. To purchase tickets, reach out to Linda Myers at 304-281-1555 or Bob Koch at 304-281-4221. Join us to honor Doug Huff and his accomplishments on Sunday, April 19th!

Last week, Ohio Valley native and national wrestling legend Bobby Douglas passed away at the age of 83. Douglas was a four-time OVAC wrestling champion, a 1959 Ohio state champion and an NAIA National Champion at West Liberty University. Douglas then was a two-time Big-8 Champion at Oklahoma State and was part of the Cowboys' 1964 NCAA National Championship. At the international level, Douglas was a member of the 1964 and 1968 United States Olympic Wrestling teams and was a captain of the 1968 squad. He also won a silver medal at the 1966 World Championships and captured bronze at the 1970 World Championships. As a coach, Douglas had a 31 year career leading both Arizona State and Iowa State. Arizona State won the 1988 NCAA National Championship under Douglas' tutelage. He also was a coach for the US Olympic team in the 2004 Games in Greece. Douglas was part of the inaugural OVAC Hall of Fame class in 2004 and was also named to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1987. We at the OVAC send our sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Bobby Douglas.

On February 15th at the Ohio Valley Board of Approved Basketball Officials meeting, longtime OVAC Basketball official Chuck Galloway was recognized as an Honorary Life Member. Galloway was a member of the Board of Approved Officals from 1983 to 2018, completing 36 years of service to Ohio Valley Basketball. During his time as an official, he was selected for 15 regional tournament assignments. Galloway also dedicated 36 years to Ormet, where he retired from. Chuck’s favorite memory of officiating was making lifelong friendships along the way. The OVAC congratulates and thanks Chuck Galloway for his dedication and service to the conference and to basketball in the region!

We at the OVAC pass along our sincere condolences to the friends and family of Bill Mazeroski. “Maz” was a local legend of the Ohio Valley and a well-respected individual in the region. Bill was a graduate of the former Warren Consolidated High School (now Buckeye Local) and had a hall-of-fame baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maz famously hit a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees, clinching the world championship for the Pirates. He remains the only player to hit a Game 7 walk-off home run in the 121-year history of the World Series.

Girls 5A 3-Point Champion: Rilee Storm- John Marshall Boys 5A 3-Point Champion: Preston Watkins- John Marshall

Last Saturday during our 2026 OVAC WVU Medicine Boys Basketball Championships, we held our first ever Girls Basketball 3-Point Championship Shootout. The top two players in 3PFG Made Per Game in each class competed for the right to be the 2026 3-Point Champion for their class. The champions were: Class 1A: Sophie Brady- Madonna (won in double OT) Class 2A: Hanna Brewer- Bridgeport Class 3A: Ella Dowler- Fort Frye Class 4A: Camryn Moore- Cambridge Class 5A: Rilee Storm- John Marshall Also during our 2026 OVAC WVU Medicine Girls Basketball Championships on February 7, we crowned the first ever Boys Class 5A 3-Point Champion in John Marshall’s Preston Watkins. The other four classes will crown their 3-Point Champions at the OVAC All-Star Basketball Game on April 12. Congratulations to both our champions and runner-ups for being the first ever 3-Point competitors!

Cambridge is seeing TWO 👀 Cambridge is your back-to-back OVAC Class 4A Boys Basketball Champion! The Bobcats took down Beaver Local 67-56 to take the title. Cambridge was lead by Garrett Carpenter’s 26 points.

BACK-TO-BACK! Wheeling Central claims its second consecutive Class 3A Boys Basketball Championship! The Maroon Knights defeated Monroe Central 83-55 to win the title. Wheeling Central was led by Eli Sancomb's 28 points.

RED KNIGHTS 🔛🔝 Toronto claims the 2026 OVAC WVU Medicine Boys Basketball Class 2A Championship! The Red Knights defeated Caldwell 54-48 in the Class 2A Final. Toronto was lead by Austin Buchanan’s 21 points.

BACK-TO-BACK! Heartland Christian is your Class 1A Boys Basketball Champion for the second consecutive season! The Lions defeated Frontier 66-55 in the Class 1A Final. Heartland Christian was lead by Collin Kalaher's 23 points.

ITS A SWEEP! Steubenville Big Red is your 2026 OVAC WVU Medicine Class 5A Boys Basketball Champions! Big Red took down Wheeling Park 68-58 in the morning session at The ECO Center. Steubenville's Girls Basketball program also claimed the Class 5A title last week at The ECO Center. Steubenville was led by Santino Haney's 21 points.

In addition to five boys basketball championship games being played tomorrow at The ECO Center, 10 girls will also compete for a championship of their own. At tomorrow's 2026 OVAC WVU Medicine Boys Basketball Championships, we will have the first ever Girls Basketball 3-Point Shootout Championships! The top two three-point shooters in each class will compete against each other in an "around the world" format with the most made shots winning the championship. The shootouts will take place during halftime of each boys basketball championship game with the full schedule featured in this post. To witness both boys and girls basketball history, be sure to join us tomorrow at The ECO Center in St. Clairsville!