As Basketball in Tucker County gets underway this week let us focus on the past at Tucker County High School. Basketball in Tucker County is taken very seriously and the people of the county have made it a tradition to spend 2 weeks of their March in Charleston. That is because the top 8 teams in each classification in Girls’ and Boys’ High School basketball come together at the Civic Center in Charleston every year to play for the State Championship.
The Girls’ Basketball Program has taken the court in Charleston for the State Tourney a total of 21 times. The first trip to the State Tournament for Girls’ Basketball came in the fall of 1990. The Lady Mt. Lions fell in the first round quarterfinal game to West Preston 59-47.
The next season Tucker County took home the first State Championship for the school as the Lady Mt. Lions defeated Guyan Valley, Lincoln and Baileysville in the fall of 1991.
Coach Dave Kyle would add to the trophy case with State Runner-Up finishes in the fall of 1993 and 1994 and then a three peat of State Championships in the spring of 1996, 1997 and 1998. Those Championships came against Buffalo-Wayne in 1996, Tolsia in 1997 and Poca in 1998. Through those seasons the Girls’ Basketball team compiled a school and state record of 53 straight wins that stretched through 3 different seasons. The Girls’ team would make the State Tournament again in the spring of 1999, 2000 and 2001 under Kyle.
The Girls’ Basketball Program would return to the State Tournament in March of 2005 and 2006 under Coach Steve Douglas.
Tom Carr then took over as Head Coach the next season and continued the tradition as Coach Carr advanced to the Tournament in each of the seasons he coached; March of 2007 through 2012. Coach Jim Ambrose took over the team during the 2012-2013 season and he has advanced his team to the Semi-Finals the last 2 years; March 2013 and 2014.
The Boys’ Basketball Program has made the State Tournament a total of 20 times in the history of the school under recently retired Coach Tom Gutshall. The first appearance for the Boys’ team came in the 1987-1988 season as they fell in the first round quarterfinal game against St. Marys 74-71. Coach Gutshall would return his team to the Civic Center floor in March of 1993. In the spring of 1994 the Boys’ TCHS team got their first win ever at the State Tournament in the first round game against Richwood 80-79. The Mt. Lions would fall to Bridgeport in the Semi-Final game.
TCHS made the State Tourney again in March of 1995, but fell in the first round quarterfinal game. The 1996-1997 team took the Civic Center floor with a 22-2 record and advanced to the Semi-Finals with a win over Grafton in the first round 83-71. TCHS fell to Poca in the next round to end their season at 23-3.
The next season 1997-1998 Tucker County would get over the Semi-Final hump as they advanced to the Championship game with wins over Clay County in the first round and Man in the Semi-Finals. The Mt. Lions could not pull out the victory in the Championship game as they fell to Tolsia in a heart break game 61-46 to end their season at 23-2. Tucker County made the State Tournament in March of 1999, 2002 and 2003.
In the spring of 2004 Tucker County would advance to the Championship game only to fall to Wheeling Central in the Championship game in Overtime 73-67. Coach Tom Gutshall would guide his teams to State Tournament Appearances in March of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. That is a total of 13 straight years for the Tucker County Boys’ Basketball team and the community of Tucker County to enjoy warmer weather in the capital city.
There have been a total of 11 Girls’ Basketball players and 11 Boys’ Basketball players who have surpassed 1,000 points in their varsity career. Here is a list of those players who have surpassed 1,000 points in the history of the school: Joe Mason 1978-82, Kelly Corcoran 1980-84, Jill Burns 1980-84, Terry Gehr 1981-85, Cindy Newman 1985-89, Eric Poling 1985-89, Stephanie Shine 1988-92, Daniel Helmick 1992-96, Chandra Nelson 1993-97, Chrissy Forman, 1993-97, Sarah Hamrick 1994-98, Jim Aliff 1995-99, Nikki Nelson 1995-99, Derek Simmons 1995-99, Wes Lambert 1995-99, Jeremy Maxwell 2001-05, LJ Gravelle 2004-08, Eric Wamsley 2004-08, Lyndsey Nestor 2005-09, Logan Snyder 2007-11, Amber Evans 2009-13 and Ian Nichols 2010-2014.
If you have walked into the gym at TCHS there is one thing that catches your eye as you walk through the doors, the pictures and trophies of success from the teams of the past.
This success is there for everyone to see, from the athletes starting their careers at TCHS to the visiting teams coming in to play our team. These teams on the wall and trophy cases that have laid down a tradition that is in the heart of every Tucker County player and fan. At the end of the day the players are who this community is. Hard Working and Totally Committed to this County, TUCKER COUNTY.