Story by Mia Henkins

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — 78 of the nation’s top junior golfers will join together to compete at the American Junior Golf Association Inaugural WVU Medicine United Hospital Center Junior Championships. The winner will accumulate points for the American Junior Golf Association tour.

The WVU Medicine United Hospital Center is teaming up with the Bridgeport Country Club for the next three years to host the event. Golfers such as Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler have been involved with the AJGA, so impressive golfers can be expected to compete in the tournament.

WVU Medicine United Hospital Center President and CEO Dr. David Hess joined WAJR’s “Talk of the Town” to discuss details of the tournament.

“We knew that we had an opportunity to bring the AJGA bnack to the state, it hasn’t been here for many years,” Hess said. “It aligned with our mission at the hospital to really help and bulster youth sports.”

Hess says he expects a good tournament for the first year back.

“We expect over 150 people to be coming into the area,” Hess said. “They’re going to be spending a lot of money here locally, they’re going to be staying in our local hotels and really they’re going to be getting a atset of what we’re proud of in North Central West Virginia.”

While this is a national, and sometimes international, event, there are guaranteed to be junior golfers from Bridgeport and Glendale. Hess encourages any families from outside the state to visit local parks and The Bridge Sports Complex in the area.

“This is the first year of what we’ve committed to for a three year partnership,” Hess said. “And again, I think it’s important for us to bring in these young, talented people. It’s a great opportunity for our region to come and get a taste of the next generatin of golfers.”

Fundraising will begin on July 13 and the money raised will be put toward scholarships for players who are interested in playing at the collegiate level. Money will also be donated to the ‘Greatest Need’ fund to pay for transportation and wigs for cancer patients. Local businesses will be volunteering, but anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact AJGA directly.

The tournament will start on July 14 and wraps up on July 17. Tickets can be purchased on www.ajga.org.

It can be hard to smile while running around and sweating in the high humidity, but it was harder to find someone without a smile on their face Sunday morning at Caledonia Park in Dix Hills.

About 50 young athletes had a blast while sharpening their skills at the L.I.MITLESS Foundation’s third annual youth football clinic. Among the coaches were two of the organization’s founders, Newfield High products Elijah Riley and Denzel Williams.

“For how small in surface area Long Island is, it’s huge in population,” Riley said. “The goal is to get New York and Long Island on the same stage as Texas, Florida and Georgia. We’ve got the talent, we just don’t have the collective effort. So, the goal is to just keep connecting with everybody and building community.”

Riley has spent five years as a defensive back in the NFL, including last season with the Giants. The young athletes had the benefit of learning from several NFL players during the three-hour clinic, including Allen Robinson II, who has played for five teams in the last 11 years.

At the end of the clinic, the athletes were split into teams and played three pickup games. 12-year-old George Diaz had a pick-6 with Riley running down the sideline alongside him.

“It went in slow-mo. I was like, “No way I just did that,’” said Diaz, a Centereach native. “It’s really cool. It’s an honor and a lot of fun.”

The clinic was free of charge and was followed by a community barbecue and food drive benefiting Island Harvest.

“Not everybody can afford youth sports,” Riley said. “What we’re looking to do is create avenues for kids to get the necessary skills training to be quality athletes. But more importantly, we want the right people around so that they’re becoming better people.”

The youth clinic was the third and final event of the foundation’s first Legacy Week. Riley and Co. hosted a high school 7-on-7 tournament at Huntington High School on Friday. Newfield defeated Division in the championship game.

“It’s not rigged, I promise,” Riley said with a laugh.

More high schoolers returned to Huntington on Saturday for the foundation’s second annual skills combine and position specific clinic.

“We didn’t have those things growing up,” Williams said. “We always knew we wanted to do it, but it’s baby steps. We wanted to get the youth camp going first and stack up on top of that from there.”

Going forward, Riley and Williams plan to keep expanding the foundation’s reach and hope to start a flag football league for boys and girls.

“Deepen those community bonds and keep growing those roots. That’s what it’s all about,” Riley said. “These memories last a lifetime.”

Eightteen-year old Josiah Hakala of New Ipswich captured the 122nd NH State Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday. (Courtesy photo by Kate Billings/NH Golf)

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“I’m just trying to give back to the community,” Wells said. “I’ve done a lot. I’ve been in summer league, I’ve been overseas and all these different places. I want to show the community that they can do it as long as I did.”

Wells played at Tyler Community College, UT Arlington, TCU and McNeese State after graduating from Tascosa. He then took his show across the Atlantic to Kosovo and last year played for Karditsa of the Greek Basketball League.

That didn’t mean Wells had permanently put Amarillo in his rearview mirror, even basketball-wise. For the past couple of years, the possibility of holding a summer clinic at his high school alma mater had been brewing, and he sought the help of his former Tascosa coach Steve Jackson to make it happen.

“It’s kind of been a couple of years in the making and (Wells) has always wanted to do it,” Jackson said. “This was the first opportunity we had to put it together. We’re thankful for the AISD for letting us do something like this and use their facilities. It’s great for an alum like Shahada to come back and do something like this for us.”

Wells finished his Tascosa career by averaging 21.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game, and was also a track standout, finishing seventh in the state in the long jump. At Tyler JC, he was an NJCAA Division I first-team All-America selection, averaging 21.6 points and 6.0 assists as a sophomore.

At Arlington, Wells averaged 16.8 points a game in his lone season there, and he finished his career at McNeese by averaging 17.8 points a game. 

In 2025, Wells is coming full circle. While he still plans on going back to play in Europe next year, he’s remembering his Amarillo roots with the lessons he learned which started here.

“I was supposed to go to (Palo Duro) but I came to Tascosa,” Wells said. “I always went to PD’s camps and Amarillo High’s camps, and they were kind of run the same way. My cousin Jayqualyn (Gilbreath), Amari White were all helping and I appreciate those guys for leading the way for me.”

It’s natural that Wells would approach Jackson about conducting a clinic at the same gym where Wells played for Jackson. Like Wells, Jackson is a Tascosa alum and knows the value of local tradition.

“For Hada to be where he is right now shows that if you really apply yourself and put your mind to it you can accomplish anything,” Jackson said. “He’s done great things for himself, his family and his school. It’s another thing for him to be able to show up and help these kids out who are maybe on the fence about basketball or are unsure about what’s going on in their lives.”

About 35-40 youngsters were in attendance over the two days, with a few girls thrown in as well. There were some individual drills as well as some scrimmages broken down into age groups.

Wells has enough name recognition among local basketball afficionados to draw the youths to his camp.

“It’s big,” Wells said. “My name is buzzing around the city right now. A lot of kids look up to me and they know me. They see me out and I shake their hand and hug them and take pictures with them. They can come to the came and meet me instead of seeing me online.”

Wells is in Amarillo for the summer and isn’t sure yet where he’ll play basketball next, although he intends to resume his competitive hoops career. He said that returning to Greece is a possibility along with teams in Poland, Spain and Dubai.

There’s a structural difference to the game which Wells learned starting in Amarillo and the one he’s played the last two years in Europe.

“I feel there’s a bit more freedom over here,” Wells said. “They’re more structured (in Europe) but I feel like our athletic ability is better. There’s a lot of talented people over there and some of them could be going to the NBA this year.”

This past week, though, Wells was focused on his hometown and what was going on in the gym he used to call home. It was just a start for something he’s hoping becomes bigger.

For now, though, he’s satisfied with it.

“The numbers were excellent,” Wells said. “I just want as many kids to show up as possible. I don’t want to force kids to show up because I need money or anything like that, I just want to do it for the community. If it was just two kids it still would have been a great day for me.”

Wells wants to make the clinic an annual event and make it bigger each year. He said that while Tascosa is home to the clinic, young athletes from all over the area are welcome to attend.

Jackson is anticipating using his gym to accommodate all comers to a clinic.

“Hopefully we can do it again next year and invite all ages and genders to just have a good time,” Jackson said. “I’m looking forward to it. These kids are having fun and Shahada really loves them.”

Delta State University’s second annual “A Night of Champions” has been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 8, with tickets now available.

After bringing former NFL star Archie Manning and former DSU sports information director Langston Rogers together for the fireside chat event in 2024, the university in Cleveland is maintaining the star power with 2025 headliner Mike Matheny.

Matheny, a former MLB player and manager, won four gold gloves and was considered one of the show’s stoutest catchers from 1994 to 2006 with stops in Milwaukee, Toronto, St. Louis, and San Francisco. He played in the 2004 World Series with the Cardinals and later led the team to the 2013 World Series as skipper.

Matheny then served as manager of the Kansas City Royals from 2020 to 2022. After compiling a 756-693 record from the dugout across his time in St. Louis and Kansas City, he released his second book called “The Dad Coach” earlier this year. His first, “The Matheny Manifesto,” was a New York Times bestseller.

When Matheny takes the stage during “A Night of Champions,” he’s expected to discuss his career both on and off the field and efforts to instill character development and sportsmanship in players all the way from little league up to the professional ranks. He and his wife, Kristin, formed The Catch 22 Foundation in 2003 with the goal of providing disadvantaged youth opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

“The MLB veteran appeals to a myriad of interests in which all Delta State sports fans will appreciate, including professional baseball player and manager, philanthropist, believer, author, and youth sports advocate,” a portion of the event’s announcement reads.

In addition to the conversation with Matheny, “A Night of Champions” will feature dinner and a silent auction. The event will be held inside Sillers Coliseum at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here with all proceeds going to Delta State athletics.

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