FAIRLEA- The winter sports season has come and gone and spring sports such as baseball, softball, and track & field are now gearing up in full force to get their respective seasons underway.
The winter season had its ups and downs in Fairlea.
The Spartan wrestling team had a great season and sent a total of 15 wrestlers to the state tournament in Huntington as Maya Frank finished third in the girl’s division, and Kaden Stone placed third in the 138-pound division on the men’s side. Calvin Roberts was named ‘Outstanding Wrestler’ in the regionals and was a regional champ on top of that.
The WVDN also featured the “Wrestler of the Week” each week to bring more awareness to the sport and to get a more in depth look at some of the outstanding wrestlers East is putting on the mat every day.
Coach Davis Solak has his student-athletes on the upswing as the Spartan wrestling program has improved every year and has begun to be recognizable in the entire state of West Virginia.
Head boys’ basketball coach Jared Patton will admit their season did not go as well as anyone had hoped, but the hustle and passion the basketball team played with all season did not go unnoticed by the fans or the school.
East put a young team on the court from the first tipoff of the season until the final buzzer against Princeton in the opening round of the sectionals and they never once made excuses. Point guard Peyton DeHaven and fellow senior Gabe Patton (1st team All-Coalfield Conf.) were the only two 12th graders on the entire roster. Both players had their bright moments as Patton led the team in scoring at over 14 points per game and DeHaven ran the show from his position and is one of the scrappiest players the school has had in recent memory. DeHaven and Patton’s sport playing days are not over, however, as both are starters on the Spartan baseball team which opens their season this weekend.
The Spartans have some nice young talent to build around and that should happen as early as next year. Brody Hamric (honorable mention All-Coalfield Conf.) was second on the team in scoring and players like Nathan Dixon (29 points against AA no. 1 Bluefield), Layne Lambert (good game against #2 Morgantown), Reed McCraw, Jakob Tomlinson, and Donavin Penn all showed promise and flashes throughout 2024 and will be another year older with extra experience on their resume’ to boot. So, even though the Spartans finished just 5-18, next season could be the breakout everyone is waiting for.
The Lady Spartans basketball team on the other hand, had an incredible season under head coach and governor Jim Justice.
After winning their first three games of the season in blowout fashion, the Spartans then lost three in a row and those three wins looked like an anomaly at that point.
But that could not have been further from the truth.
East, who like the boys’ team, was and is extremely young, rattled off 10 wins in a row before losing to Logan at the Battle for the Springhouse tournament at the Greenbrier. That loss did not deter them in any way, shape, or form though as they then won eight more in a row including securing a sectional and regional championship along the way. Their season ended with a 47-31 loss to Morgantown at the state tournament in Charleston. Morgantown went on to play in the championship game and finished second.
Kennedy Stewart led the Lady Spartans in scoring with 16.5 points per game in the regular season. She hit 69 threes on the year and shot 90 percent from the free throw line. Freshman Ava Workman hit the court running and scored 13.4 ppg and led the team by a wide margin in steals with 82.
Newcomer Jada Waller finished her first Spartan season with an 8.6 scoring average. She was also third on the team with 50 steals and second with 21 made 3s. Mackenna McClure (8.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg) was a do-it-all type who will only improve over the next couple of years and the same can be said about center Hannah Fuller (7.9 ppg, 6.3).
Stewart, Workman and Waller were named to All-Coalfield Conference team. McClure was selected as honorable mention.
