NORMANTOWN WON STATE BASKETBALL TITLE OVER 70 YEARS AGO

(02/09/2026)

UPDATE: Fred McIntosh, of the historic McIntosh oil and gas company in this region, says he was driving on US 33/119 through Normantown when the tiny school won the state basketball championship in 1945. "They had won and the road was blocked by hundreds of citizens and students," he said, celebrating the victory in front of the small school. "It was sorta shocking to see all those people in the highway in such a small place," McIntosh said. The school has long been closed. Cheerleader recalls Normantown's 1945 run to title By MetroNews Staff MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - As basketball state tournament action heats up in Charleston, 87-year-old Betty Cross recalls her tiny school's improbable run to the state title 70 years ago. In 1945, Normantown High, a small school of only 100 students in Gilmer County, enjoyed a Cinderella season en route to the all-class state championship. Cross, whose maiden name was Betty Jean Whitesel, was one of only two cheerleaders at the school. She fondly recalls how one of the players, who happened to be her neighbor, made a wild prediction before the season. "He said to me, 'Betty Jean, we're going to win this tournament,'" she recalled this week.... Read MetroNews Story Cheerleader recalls Normantown's 1945 run to title

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