While things aren’t quite back to normal for the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame, thanks to COVID-19, they’re getting closer.
On Saturday, June 11, at the Grand Pointe Convention and Reception Center in Vienna, two chapters will be devoted to getting things back on track.
A group of 12 classes will make up both the 2021 and 2022 classes.
This will be the first Mid-Ohio Valley event in its usual mid-June venue since the 2019 banquet.
After two consecutive semesters of no-submission/honor ceremonies, the Class of 2020 was finally recognized last November.
Of the 12 new members appointed, four are from Jackson County.
Former Ravenswood High athletes Kim Creel and Bernie Reese will be honored, along with one-time Ripley stars Alanna Sheets and Mitch Smith.
The Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame was formed in 1998. The idea came from the late Bob Zedd, a legend in the sporting goods trade.
The Hall of Fame honors the athletes, coaches, officials, administrators, and media since then who have distinguished and contributed significantly to sports in Mid-Ohio Valley.
MOVSHOF consists of five counties in West Virginia (Jackson, Wood, Wirt, Pleasants and Ritchie) and two counties in Ohio (Washington and Noble).
The 2021 class will consist of Carl Lawai (Washington/Bilbury High School), Erica Day Cross (Wirt/Wirt County High School), Ben Howlett (Washington/Marietta High School), Phil Parsons (Wood/Parkersburg), Reese and John Shale. (Washington/Marietta).
The 2022 class will feature Creel, Donald Lowe (Washington/Fort Free High School), Joe Safety (Pleasants/St Marys High School), Sheets, Smith and Jesse Wells (Noble/Shenandoah High School).
Here is a quick look at the jobs of Creel, Rees, Sheets, and Smith:
Creel graduated from Ravenswood in 1986, where she starred in basketball.
She was a fixture on Coach Butch Varney’s Class AA State Championship team.
During her career, Creel has received Class I AA All-State Honors.
She is tenth all-time scoring at Ravenswood High with 1,091 points.
After Ravenswood, Creel took her athletic talents to Glenville State College (now the university).
She started every four years in basketball as a leading lady. She earned honors at the Second Team All-West Virginia Conference in 1988 and 1989. Creel was a member of the first-ever Glenville team to reach the NAIA National Championship.
Besides basketball, Creel was a volleyball pick for the All-WVC second team in 1988.
In addition, she competed in track and field and won the discus title and was the third javelin thrower at the West Virginia Conference Championship meet in the spring of 1986.
She received the Clarissa Williams Award in 1990 as the best student/athlete in the school.
Creel is a member of the Curtis Elam Athletics Hall of Fame in Glenville.
Reese was a Class AA First Team All-Stater in 1987 for the Red Devils Ravenswood Runnin from Mick Price. Reese is also the recipient of the First Team All-Little Kanawha Conference Honors as Junior (1986) and Senior (1987).
He ranks second of all time in assists, fifth in steals, tenth in field goals, and fifteenth in scoring.
While at Ravenswood, Reese starred in track and field.
He was the long jump champion in the AA class twice in 1986 and 1987. Reese also finished second in the high jump and third in the 100 meters as the oldest.
He moved to Glenville after high school and pursued his storied sports career.
Reese was the captain of the pioneers both young and old. For his career, he scored 964 points.
He is the school’s all-time leader in a 3-point shooting ratio. Reese holds the record for most three-pointers in a match, scoring 10 goals to 10. He holds the mark of most 3s made in a season and is the third ever in his career.
While at Glenville, he also continued to shine in track and field.
Reese was the high point winner of the West Virginia Conference in 1988 and 1989. He was a four-time winner of the high jump and met the conference and held the long jump for three years.
He qualified for the Olympic Trials in 1988 with a jump of 23 feet, nine inches.
The Sheets were AAA First Team All-State girls’ adult basketball in 2010 for the Ripley Program.
She helped lead the Lady Vikings to the semi-finals of the state championship that year.
From there, Sheets transferred to Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, to continue playing basketball.
She is considered one of the best women’s basketball players in the history of the school.
Among the accolades she received was being named to the First Team NAIA All-America.
She became the first player in 15 years to lead the Conference (mid-south) in goal-scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game as a lead in the 2013-2014 campaign.
She was voted the League’s Most Valuable Player in the league and twice earned a First Team All-Conference.
Google Sheets is ranked first or second in nine occupational categories, and currently ranks third in scoring with a score of 1,977.
Smith produced a massive 195-3 record on the mat as a wrestler at Ripley High School.
He competed in the state championship every four years and came away with three titles.
In addition to his state championships at the high school level, Smith has also won two local free-swimming crowns.
Ripley played football as a prominent defender. Smith was voted the Best Male Athlete at Ripley High School in 2005.
Smith moved to Hofstra to further his wrestling career and competed in New York School two years before transferring to West Liberty State University.
As a Hilltopper, Smith was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American. He finished with a record 58-9 at West Liberty.
During his West Liberty career, he ranked first nationally in his weight class.
After competing on the rug, Smith turned to coaching.
He launched the sport at Alderson-Broaddus and within three years built the Battlers into a solid program. While at AB, Smith had four All-American academics.
Next was four years as head coach at West Liberty.
He had teams in the top 25 and led several national playoffs.