Getting the attention of West Virginia University athletic director Ed Pastilong is not an easy task.

For Paden City High School to book him as the guest speaker, it gave those earning their awards, letters, and pins at the Wildcats’ athletic banquet an extra treat.

After a catered lunch, Pastilong took to the podium and spoke about how special the people are in Paden City. It didn’t just regulate to the student athletes, but the parents and boosters who help out with the programs as well, relating funding similarities between WVU and Paden City High School.

Similar to last year’s guest speaker Reed Williams who played against the Wildcats in 2002, Pastilong mentioned that he once played against Paden City as Berger Field was where he played his first football game, noting a walk around the complex brought back fond memories.

Pastilong easily kept the crowd attentive after he said once wrote a paper about the adverse effects of consolidation, which brought favorable applause from everyone.

Afterwards, speakers were emotional when talking about the seniors that headlined this year’s teams.

In the team aspect, the volleyball squad took home the most hardware with championships in the regulars season and tournament while the girls’ track team took home numerous medals in competition this year and earned a best-ever sixth place finish at the state track meet.

The boys’ basketball team had another successful year that was a force in the Class A ranks of the OVAC but had their year end on a narrow four-point victory by eventual semi-finalist St. Marys and the baseball team.

Special awards were given to the student-athletes that earned the most letters in their high school career. This year there was a tie for the boys and girls’ awards. Wes Cosper and Ryan Thoburn shared the honor for the boys while Kim Davis and Shauna Durant were named winners for the girls.

The boosters reported a large sum of money made since the beginning of the year and bought new uniforms for the volleyball team. Because of their efforts, they were also able to provide the lunch at no cost of the attendees.