Quality is Monongah Middle’s middle name

Monongah Middle School came within one point Saturday of sweeping both girls and boys first place in the Pepsi/Fairmont Veterinary Invitational for middle schools hosted by Barrackville Middle School at Old Clearview Golf Course.

The girls scored 42 points and won the tiebreaker against Fairmont West, which also had 42 points.

The boys were 27-28 to Barrackville. Low score wins in cross country.

Monongah’s Tristan Glasscock was the first boy to cross the finish line with a time of 14:43.

The Monongah Middle School building has housed champions for 65 years.

When Monongah High occupied the place, the Lions won five state football and one state baseball title.

Steve Malnick has been Monongah Middle School principal for 10 years.

On Malnick’s faculty is Ashley Reed, who coached Monongah Middle to 3 boys Mason-Dixon track championships in 4 years and one Marion County and 3 girls Mason-Dixon championships. Plus an earlier cross-country championship in girls this year and boys last year.

Also on Malnick’s faculty is Jon Pat Feltz, who father, the late Jim Feltz, coached the 1952 and 1955 Monongah High teams to state football titles. Jon, a superb 5th grad teacher, lives with his mother, Betty Lynn Wilson Feltz, Jim’s widow. Betty was a majorette who married Jim after her graduation from Monongah High.

Jon’s brother, Jay Feltz, quarterbacked the 1973 team to Monongah High’s 5^th state football title. Earl Keener coached the 1968 and 1969 state champs, including quarterback Nick “Brother” Saban, the current Alabama football coach (#1 coach in America with five national titles), on the 1968 team.

Another faculty sparkler at Monongah Middle is Rebecca Daniel Parrish, math teacher for 21 years, who is justifiably proud that Monongah Middle has raised more money for the United Way charity than any other Marion County school 5 out of 6 years.

Monongah Middle’s basketball team has academic-athlete award based on it collective grade point average.

Beckie is from Mannington originally and is married to Fairview’s Mike Parrish.

Others on the remarkable Monongah Middle staff: Olivia Bartic, Erin Bashaw, Chad Davidson, Josh Chiado, Jennifer Green, Anne Lienhardt, Kate McConnell, Janie Moore, Joe Price, James Stevens, John Straigjt, Stacey Strawderman, Andrew Weekley, Danette Woody and James Zaveski.

Monongah Middle excels in more than sports.

It is a West Virginia State Exemplary School, a West Virginia Reward School and, in 2013, was a National Blue Ribbon School.

Students have also won Health Science and Technology Academy recognition and Young Writers Awards (too bad they didn’t have that when I was a Monongah High student because, with my bent for journalism that led to a WVU School of Journalism degree and a 43-year newspaper career, I might have added to that marvelous Monongah achievements list).