Photo by Josh Hughes From left: Warren High School principal Ryan Lemley, Marietta High School athletic director Cody Venderlic and Fort Frye athletic director Matt Tullius are seated at Wednesday’s press conference announcing the formation of the new Twin State League, which should begin play in the winter of the 2022-23 school year.

PARKERSBURG –Local schools without a place to call home will soon have their very own conference, as Fort Frye, Warren, Marietta and Point Pleasant will join to launch the Twin State League. The new conference begins play in the winter of the 2022-23 school year with basketball (pending board approval), as representatives from the four schools gave their thoughts on the matter.

While the newly-minted TSL does not yet have a commissioner and only an unofficial logo, those in charge insist the league will take a greater shape in the coming months. During a press conference from the Western Sizzlin Steakhouse in Parkersburg, Warren principal Ryan Lemley, Marietta athletic director Cody Venderlic, Fort Frye athletic director Matt Tullius and Point Pleasant athletic director Kent Price took questions regarding the goals of the upstart league.

“We play each of these schools in our junior high for all of our sports programs,” Venderlic said. “We’ve got the Washington County tournament and the league that we run. It’s really beneficial. We get a ton of fan support. It’s great for parents and grandparents because it’s a short travel. With the addition of Point Pleasant, it’s not a long trip down the road. Sitting back and resting on our laurels wasn’t going to get us anywhere. We wanted to take action and find a fit that works.”

The four programs came from conferences that have disbanded or are on their way to disbanding. The four schools joined to give their student-athletes the chance to be recognized by a conference and to have a conference where the competition is balanced, but still top tier.

“We were all looking for a league. We all applied to other conferences and were told no for various reasons,” Lemley said. “Instead of sitting around and complaining about a league, we started having some meetings that went really well. I feel like you could have a different league champion from year in and year out from sport to sport. We all have our strengths whether it be football, basketball or track. I think it’ll be about even, which is awesome.”

Stemming from emails that started between “several schools” in October, the TSL quickly formed into what it is right now. However, the work of those involved won’t be fully realized until more schools join. Certain schools that already belong to a conference can join the TSL as an associate member. Meaning they can keep their membership in their current conference while participating in the TSL in a single sport. That typically happens when a school’s current conference doesn’t offer certain sports.

One example of this at a bigger level is how the West Virginia University men’s soccer team plays conference games in the MAC, because the Big 12 doesn’t have men’s soccer. Following the press conference, the four school representatives floated ideas of other local schools becoming either associate or full-time members in the future. The Twin State League plans to offer sports that these four charter members have, which gives every student athlete the chance to compete for a conference title.

“I feel like every meeting we’ve had so far has gone really well,” Tullius said. “There’s been a lot of progress made in every one of them. There’s been great communication between the four schools.”

Price says Point Pleasant is happy to be joining after years of playing independently, as the TSL ushers in a new era of local athletics.

“We’re excited for the opportunity,” Price said. “We’ve been an independent for the last 12 years, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to recognize our kids. We want to compete at a high level for conference recognition. In the original meeting with Warren, Fort Frye and Marietta, they are schools we feel have great athletic programs. It’s going to be a great conference with everything starting out.”

Contact Josh Hughes at jhughes@newsandsentinel.com