Fall sports ended their seasons with two state finishers and 19 All-State honors overall.
Cross Country
Boys and girls cross country competed in the West Virginia State Cross Country Meet Nov. 1 at Cabell Midland High School. The boys team placed fifth, scoring 139 points, with senior Connor George placing eighth. The girls team finished seventh, scoring 184 points, with junior Morgan Metz placing third. George and Metz both received first team AAAA All-State honors and Ricardo Salazar received second team All-State honors.
“Lining up with my team on State meet day and knowing that all of them having my back is what really kept me going and helped me stay focused,” Metz said. “It just made me so proud to see how far we had come on this journey of a season even when times were hard.”
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team competed in regionals at Huntington High School Oct. 25. The team lost to Huntington 3-0, ending their season with a record of 10-9-1. Senior Landen Deuley ended the season with a career high 30 goals overall. There were seven players named to the Mountain State Athletic Conference All-Conference Team. Deuley and senior Aiden Matthews were named to first team, seniors Oliver Cartwright, Bo Moellendick and Ben Chichester were named to second team, and seniors Jack McLean and Jeremiah Weaver received honorable mention. Additionally, Deuley received first team All-State honors; Matthews, Moellendick and Cartwright received special honorable mention for their positions; and Weaver received honorable mention.
“We ended with a winning record. We improved so much from last year and I was just thankful to spend my last soccer season with some of my close friends,” Deuley said. “My biggest takeaway this season was to enjoy every moment.”
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team advanced to regional finals Oct. 25 after beating Woodrow Wilson 4-0 in the semis. They went on to play at George Washington High School Oct. 30 where they lost 4-1 and ended their season with a record of 14-5-3. Seven players were named to the MSAC All-Conference teams. Seniors Gracie Lively, Anniya Powell and junior Camille Tatterson were named to first team. Senior Anna Floyd and freshman Avery Matthews received special honorable mention, and junior Hailey Warman and sophomore Malaya Bowling received honorable mention. Lively and Powell also received first team All-State honors, Tatterson received second, Bowling received special honorable mention and Floyd received honorable mention.
“It felt very sad knowing our season ended but the memories and bond we created was amazing,” sophomore Faithlyn Butcher said.
Volleyball
The volleyball team competed in the state tournament Nov. 11 in Charleston and ended the season with four players receiving conference honors. Senior Kennedy Porter was named first team All-Conference and was also named MSAC Player of the Year. Seniors Ava Sayre and Brenan Harvey were named to second team and junior Chloe Gribble received honorable mention. Porter also received first team All-State honors while Sayre and Harvey received honorable mention. During the regular season, Harvey surpassed 1,000 career digs and Sayre surpassed 1,000 assists. Their season ended with a 3-0 loss against Hedgesville in the first round of the state tournament leaving them with a 21-19-4 record.
“I thought this season was one of the best seasons I’ve had here at PHS,” Sayre said. “We did have some ups and downs but in the end, we managed to get to states which was amazing.”
Football
The football team competed in the first round of playoffs Nov. 14 against University, losing 62-14. They ended with a record of 5-6. The team had 14 MSAC All-Conference honors with senior Ethan Jones, juniors Drey Grinter, Devin Widman and Cole Sisk and sophomores Brady Thorn and Javel Chandler being named to the first team. Seniors Adam Elder, Sylas Cheuvront and Tytan Parsons, junior Zachariah Medina and sophomore Alex Greer were named to the second team, and senior Jordan Hess and junior Austin Craven received special honorable mention. Widman and Grinter also received second team All-State honors, which were announced Dec. 14, and Cheuvront received honorable mention.
“I feel like we could’ve made something happen but not everything has a perfect ending which will fuel us for next season,” Thorn said. “Playing with this group for the last time was sad. So many great players are leaving.”
Cheer
The cheer team traveled to Hurricane Oct. 25 to compete in the 2025 Mountain State Athletic Conference Championship. They placed sixth out of 12 teams with a score of 77.87. They also competed in the AAA Regional Competition Nov. 8 at Cabell Midland High School. Three girls were named to MSAC All-Conference teams. Senior Baylee Bostaph was named to first team, junior Paityn Davis was named to second team and junior Olivia Eakle received honorable mention.
“We came in and we were very young,” freshman Anna Flanagan said. “The teams we compete against are so good, so we went in knowing we weren’t going to place first but we did good and even better at regionals. We hit our entire routine at regionals.”
