NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. – Basketball isn’t just a game; it is a way of life for coach Mark Winters.
Winters was graduated from Magnolia High School in 2013 with a successful career scoring 2,054 points as a four-year starter. Winters would then commit to Wheeling Jesuit University and would continue playing the game of basketball while pursuing a degree in business. As he continued to be committed to the game Mark would later make a decision to lead him right back where it started 10 years ago, on Coach Dave Tallman’s bench.
High School Career
After his senior season Winters held the crown for the most points scored by an individual at Magnolia, but the record would later be broken by standout athlete Preston Boswell who led the Blue Eagles to a state title in 2015.
As a young freshman Mark assisted his teammates as they made their way to to the OVAC title-game loss to Weir High. The postseason would begin in Class AA in late February where Magnolia would punch their ticket to the capital city. Magnolia was set to take on Tug Valley in the opening round of the state tournament. Tug Valley, however, would prevail.
In high school his biggest motivation was his grandfather Jim Winters. “He inspired me to become committed to the game,” Winters said.
In his sophomore season Mark stepped up as a younger leader on the squad, and he was selected First-Team OVAC and First-Team All-State. This was quite an accomplishment as a young high school athlete. The Blue Eagles would also defeat St. Clairsville in the OVAC Class AAA title game, 60-53. The Blue Eagles would once again punch their ticket to Charleston where Coach Tallman and his squad would receive a #4 seed and take on #5 Keyser in the Class AA quarterfinals. The Golden Tornadoes would later upset the Eagles by the final score of 59-54.
Meanwhile, as he move onward towards his junior season Winters would be selected as a member of the 2012 All-Tournament team. The Blue Eagles also would take on Fort Frye in the OVAC title game but the Cadets were too much for the Magnolia squad. MHS also would make another trip to Charleston where they would take on Tolsia in a Class AA thriller. Magnolia and Tolsia battled their way towards a triple-overtime thriller, and in the end it was the Rebels, 67-59.
Closing out his career at MHS Mark Winters and the squad would drop to Class A in the WVSSAC reclassification. The team also made changes to their schedule for the season. Magnolia took home an OVAC title after defeating Buckeye Trail by the score of 75-63. Winters also was selected as First Team All-State Captain, and he was also a candidate of the West Virginia High School basketball player of the year. #2 Magnolia would play #7 Wheeling Central in the opening round of the Class A state tournament, and the Maroon Knights pulled away late and upset Magnolia.
College Career
Freshman Year- Winters committed to Wheeling Jesuit University.
Sophomore Year- Wheeling Jesuit fell just short of the NCAA tournament.
Junior Year- Jesuit hosted the Regional in the NCAA tournament, and the team was ranked #1 at one point in time. Jesuit was later upset by Mercyhurst on a last-second shot.
Senior Year- Wheeling Jesuit would qualify for the NCAA tournament and would later lose to Fairmont State in the Sweet 16.
The Cardinals made it to the conference tournament every year when Winters was a member of the squad. Winters also went on to talk about how Coach Danny Sancomb inspired him. “I learned a ton of what I know from Coach Sancomb. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity and experience he gave me.”
Coaching Career
After college Winters returned back to New Martinsville and discovered that the girls basketball team was in need of an assistant coach. He placed a bid on the job and was notified that he was selected. Winters would be the assistant girls basketball coach for two seasons with a combined record of 33-19. His biggest support in year one was senior athlete Logan Riggs.
Winters described Riggs as, “one of the toughest basketball players he has ever coached.”
In preparation of year one, Winters stated that the workouts could last hours to get ready for upcoming match-ups. The key to being successful in year one was, “the team took pride in themselves and as the year went on the players really stepped up in key moments.”
#6 Magnolia would take on #3 Tucker County in the opening round of the state tournament, and the Mountain Lions returned to Charleston for their 14th consecutive season while MHS would be back for the first time since 2008. Tucker County showed their dominance as they clawed their way to victory by the final of 66-35. Magnolia (16-10) finished their season with a spark towards a new beginning.
The next season Magnolia would lose a key standout in Riggs. Winters also added that at the beginning of the 18-19 season MHS was looking good as the team and even defeated the defending state champions Wheeling Central at home. The Lady Eagles would later then go on to win the Boggs Roundball Tournament after a win over the Trinity Christian Warriors.
Winters said the MHS athletes were starting to understand their roles on the court which made another spark towards this season. Later in the season MHS would qualify to the OVAC Semi-finals to a “well coached” Fort Frye team, and Magnolia would finish fourth in the OVAC. The biggest marquee match-up would come late in the regular season as Magnolia would take on the Blue Dons of Weirton Madonna. The Dons would get a 30-point win over the Lady Eagles, and at that time none of the regular season games mattered anymore because it was then time for postseason play.
Magnolia goes on to win another consecutive sectional title, and the rematch between the Blue Dons and Blue Eagles would take place in New Martinsville where MHS would come out on top.
“We knew they were good, but not 30 points better then us. We planned out our game plans for about a week. The players really bought in well and made big time plays when we needed them.”
Just like that, #3 Magnolia would once again head to the state tournament where they would meet familiar faces in #6 Trinity.
Mady Winters had 45 total points in the quarterfinal game over Trinity. The Warriors would hurt MHS early with pressure which caused many turnovers. MHS struggled to get anything else going as Trinity would cap Magnolia’s season by the final of 65-57. Mady Winters would make the All-Tournament Team and Mark Winters would coach his sister for the last time as the Lady Eagles finished out (17-9).
Transitioning towards the present we go, Winters goal was achieved to transfer over to boys basketball. “I have the greatest relationship
with Coach Tallman. He’s like a father to me and he’s like my best friend. He worked so hard that summer to get me on his staff. I’m extremely lucky to have him as my coaching mentor. I’m also very grateful for the freedom he gave me, having won three state titles and a handful of OVAC titles, he surely didn’t have to give me a lot of confidence.”
Preseason workout programs set in force by Coach Tallman. This was critical towards MHS’s success for the season was the workout plans. Magnolia played 50-plus games in the preseason which allowed athletes to get an early feel for the game and gave them the head start rolling into the season. The preseason gave the crew the opportunity to work on grinding out long defensive possessions and stops, which was a big key towards winning a game in the state tournament.
Magnolia started 4-0 after coming off of a 5-15 season with primarily the same athletes. “The confidence they felt of turning this thing around for the school and for the community was huge.”
MHS would once again qualify for OVAC’s, and the team won sectional and regional titles in a thrilling fashion and qualify for the state tournament.
The biggest game of the year was Magnolia and St Mary’s in the sectional final. A week prior to the game St Mary’s blew Magnolia out of the water in the end of the regular season. MHS would still get the #1 seed in the section and the rematch would take place in New Martinsville. The “Rematch” described as one of the most exciting games to be ever played in New Martinsville, with the final seconds rolling off the clock Magnolia and St Mary’s were deadlocked at 59 and the Blue Eagles had possession of the ball. Trevor Williamson would take a three-point shot to soar the Blue Eagles to a 62-59 victory.
Later Magnolia would win the regional title over Cameron and punch their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2016.
“It was a revival towards the athletes and the program,” he said. “Winning those big games are vital towards the program and the future.
“With all the adversity we faced on and off the court, I would consider this a storybook season and probably one of my favorites for as long as I coach. I’m really excited to see this town happy about basketball again. That is the best thing I saw come out of this season.”
Winters would also say that his biggest goal is to win a state title with Coach Tallman.
“Nobody that wants him to go out on top more than what I do,” he added. “He’s had so much to do in molding me into the coach I am today.”
