Central’s Nestor Named All-State
Knights’ Prager, Oak Glen’s Clark and Weir duo are second team
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By Bradley Heltzel
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT -- The accolades keep rolling in for Wheeling Central junior Austin Nestor.
After being named the OVAC 1A/3A Player of the Year, Nestor was named first team all-state as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Nestor led the Maroon Knights to a third straight sectional title and along the way, he collected 24 goals and 14 assists.
Nestor's teammate Ryan Prager earned second team honors.
Other local players to garner second team honors include Weir's Brenden Carpenter and Antonio Pittman, and Oak Glen's Jacob Clark.
From the moment then-sophomore forward Bubby Towns cracked a golden goal that gave Fairmont Senior a 2-1 victory over Robert C. Byrd in the 2019 Class AA-A state title game, the Polar Bears started gearing up for a potential back-to-back run in 2020.
They were flush with returning talent, had a trio of returning blue-chip stars in Towns and the Branch brothers, Isaac and Jonas, and perhaps, most vitally, had an undeterrable collective vision to mount a repeat quest.
"They understood what it took to get there from last year, and there was never a doubt," said Fairmont Senior coach Darrin Paul.
"I don't mean that to be cocky, it was just those guys had it in their minds they were going to repeat no matter what happened."
When the Polar Bears finally did get on the field for the start of the 2020 season this fall, they made good on their mission, pulling off a 19-3 overall record and repeating as Class AA-A state champions with a 3-2 comeback victory over Charleston Catholic in the title game. The victory gave the Fairmont Senior program its third state title since 2015 and marked the first repeat Class AA-A state champion since Charleston Catholic won four straight from 2009-12.
"Honestly I think it was the drive and the leadership our players had," Paul said. "Those three specifically in Jonas, Isaac and Bubby, they really upped their game as the season went on. They knew what they wanted to do and they weren't going to let anybody stop them."
That trio of Towns, Jonas Branch, and Isaac Branch, headlined the Polar Bears' title pursuit all season long, and now they headline the 2020 Class AA-A boys' all-state first team. Jonas Branch, who has been nominated for the Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year, was named the Class AA-A all-state first team captain after tallying 30 goals and 32 assists this season from his midfield spot. Towns, meanwhile, led the Polar Bears with 44 goals, and Isaac Branch recorded 10 goals and eight assists from his center back position.
"We've had teams that were talented and we've had teams that have had individually great talent, but at all three levels – forward, midfield and defense – I felt like we had the best players at those three positions, and I don't think I've ever seen a team that had that. Any one of those three could take over a game, and any one of those three could pick up the slack if another one wasn't having a great game. And if all three were on, heaven help the other team.
"They're all three tremendous players, but the other thing that really impressed our coaching staff was that they're unselfish. They put the team before themselves, and I hope that's the one thing that is really remembered going into next year with the group we have coming back."
The all-state selections of Towns and the Branch brothers for Fairmont Senior tied the Polar Bears with Charleston Catholic for the most first team selections in the state, with the Class AA-A state runners-up Irish placing midfielders Wil Swan and Aidan Paul as well as goalkeeper John Patnoe on the first team.
Scott, the lone team in the Class AA-A ranks to defeat Fairmont Senior this past season, and Point Pleasant each had two players earn all-state first team honors. The Skyhawks were represented by forward Carson Asbury (20 goals, 13 assists) and defender Evan Constant, while Point had forward Adam Veroski (22 goals, 5 assists) and utility player Braxton Watkins-Lovejoy (19 goals, 3 assists) earn spots.
Liberty's Hayden Dodd (23 goals, 9 assists) joined Towns, Asbury and Veroski as the final first-team forward, while Philip Barbour's Ethan Gregory (12 goals, 6 assists) joined Nestor, Swan and Jonas Branch to complete the group of midfielders. Will Mercer of Herbert Hoover and Aidan Gamble of Robert C. Byrd rounded out the first-team defense alongside Constant and Isaac Branch, with Patnoe at goalkeeper.
Finally, East Fairmont senior forward Lance Cerullo (22 goals, 4 assists) joined Paul and Watkins-Lovejoy as a first-team utility selection.
Scott midfielder Ian Gillispe was named all-state second team captain, and he is joined in the midfield by Garret Hill of Williamstown, Caleb Hawks of Winfield, and Owen Spangler of Lewis County. The second team forwards consist of Fairmont Senior's Nate Flower, Winfield's Braxton Vanscoy, Hoover's Dustin Stuart and Sissonville's Jaxson Haynes.
The second team backline is made up of St. Joseph's Blake Spangler, Poca's Justin Williams, and Charleston Catholic's William Ball. Notre Dame's Wade Britton joins Clark as the second team keepers.
First Team
F Bubby Towns, Fairmont Senior
F Carson Asbury, Scott
F Adam Veroski, Point Pleasant
F Hayden Dodd, Liberty
M Jonas Branch, Fairmont Senior (captain)
M Austin Nestor, Wheeling Central
M Wil Swan, Charleston Catholic
M Ethan Gregory, Philip Barbour
D Evan Constant, Scott
D Isaac Branch, Fairmont Senior
D Will Mercer, Herbert Hoover
D Aidan Gamble, Robert C. Byrd
GK John Patnoe, Charleston Catholic
Utl Aidan Paul, Charleston Catholic
Utl Braxton Watkins-Lovejoy, Point Pleasant
Utl Lance Cerullo, East Fairmont
Second Team
F Dustin Stuart, Herbert Hoover
F Jaxson Haynes, Sissonville
F Nate Flower, Fairmont Senior
F Braxton Vanscoy, Winfield
M Ian Gillispie, Scott (captain)
M Garret Hill, Williamstown
M Caleb Hawks, Winfield
M Owen Spangler, Lewis County
D Brendon Carpenter, Weir
D Blake Spangler, St. Joseph
D Justin Williams, Poca
D William Ball, Charleston Catholic
GK Wade Britton, Notre Dame
GK Jacob Clark, Oak Glen
Utl Antonio Pittman, Weir
Utl Ryan Prager, Wheeling Central
Honorable Mention
Aiden Adams, Frankfort; Jonathan Atchison, Lewis County; Cale Beatty, Fairmont Senior; Bryson Beaver, Herbert Hoover; Sean Beverage, Pocahontas County; Blake Bibbee, Ravenswood; Calvin Blunt, Trinity; Gavin Bosgraf, Williamstown; Alex Bovino, Robert C. Byrd; Sam Carpenter, Lewis County; Alex Cavendish, Nitro; Grant Dadisman, Philip Barbour; Seth Eads, Winfield; Seth Earnest, Keyser; Ian Gadd, Nicholas County; Johnny Garlow, Poca; Jacob Garrett, Sissonville; Guilio Gentile, Wheeling Central; Andrew Giambroni, Oak Glen; Conor Goldizen, Grafton; David Gongola, Elkins; Luke Hawranick, East Fairmont; Max Jackson, Elkins; Iam Johnston, Pocahontas County; Jordan Jones, Liberty; Carmelo Kniska, Trinity; Andrew Komorowski, Wheeling Central; Seth Marra, Ravenswood; Liam McGinley, Charleston Catholic; Blake Meighen, Robert C. Byrd, Jacob Morgan, Weir; Eli Morris, East Fairmont; Ben Nestor, Frankfort; Max O'Ganian, Pocahontas County; Ben O'Leary, Nitro; Luke Pinkerton, Point Pleasant; Stephon Polly, Oak Glen; Brandon Price, Pocahontas County; Jaden Reed, Point Pleasant; Wyatt Rock, Liberty; Isaac Setser, Scott; Wade Setser, Scott; Michael Simpson, Sissonville; Wylie Skidmore, Braxton County; Isaac Snider, Magnolia; TD Sparks, Pocahontas County; Alec Stanislawczyk, Keyser; Zion Suddeth, Charleston Catholic; Kelan Swan, Charleston Catholic; Johan Villasenor, Nicholas County; Trenton Whited, Philip Barbour; Gavin Wolverton, Grafton