West Virginia
High Schoolers Prepare for 2024 WV Academic Showdown
Charleston, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC) are pleased to announce details for the third annual Academic Showdown (Showdown). This year, 90 teams from 50 high schools representing 31 counties are registered to participate. The Showdown is an academic head-to-head competition testing students’ knowledge in subject areas including math, history, sports, fine arts and more.
Regional partners will host local double elimination competitions during the next three months. The Showdown is among the largest high school academic match-ups in the country using questions from the National Academic Quiz Tournament. The top two teams from each region will advance to the finale at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston on Tues., April 23, 2024.
The field of competitors continues to increase exponentially with 21 teams in the first year, 71 teams in year two and 90 teams this year. Students in grades 9 -12 may participate, and schools may enter up to two teams to compete. Specific regional information will be released prior to each event.
Marshall University Regional, Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | Huntington HS Team 1 | vs. | Point Pleasant HS Team 1 |
| 2 | Spring Valley HS Team 1 | vs. | Winfield HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Spring Valley HS Team 2 | vs. | Wahama HS Team 1 |
| 4 | Hurricane HS Team 2 | vs. | Wayne HS Team 2 |
| 5 | Wayne HS Team 1 | vs. | Point Pleasant HS Team 2 |
| 6 | Winfield HS Team 1 | vs. | Huntington HS Team 2 |
Shepherd University Regional
Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | Frankfort HS Team 1 | vs. | Musselman HS |
| 2 | Frankfort HS Team 2 | vs. | Berkeley Springs HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Petersburg HS | vs. | Hampshire HS Team 2 |
| 4 | Spring Mills HS Team 2 | vs. | Berkeley Springs HS Team 1 |
West Virginia University Regional
Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Team Name | vs. | Team Name | Column 4 Value | |
| 1 | John Marshall HS | vs. | Brooke HS Team 2 | Column 4 Value 2 |
| 2 | Cameron HS Team 2 | vs. | University HS Team 2 | Column 4 Value 3 |
| 3 | Morgantown HS Team 1 | vs. | University HS Team 1 | Column 4 Value 4 |
| 4 | Cameron HS Team 1 | vs. | Brooke HS Team 1 | Column 4 Value 5 |
West Virginia State University Regional
Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | Poca HS Team 1 | vs. | George Washington HS Team 1 |
| 2 | Ripley HS Team 2 | vs. | Charleston Catholic HS Team 1 |
| 3 | Charleston Catholic HS Team 2 | vs. | Ripley HS Team 1 |
| 4 | George Washington HS Team 2 | vs. | Saint Albans HS |
| 5 | Buffalo HS | vs. | Sissonville HS Team 2 |
Fairmont State University Regional
Friday, March 8, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | Weir HS Team 1 | vs. | Williamstown HS Team 2 |
| 2 | Weir HS Team 2 | vs. | Bridgeport HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Williamstown HS Team 1 | vs. | Paden City HS Team 1 |
| 4 | Liberty HS Team 2 | vs. | Lewis County HS Team 2 |
| 5 | Liberty HS Team 1 | vs. | Paden City HS Team 2 |
| 6 | Grafton HS Team 1 | vs. | Lewis County HS Team 1 |
| 7 | Doddridge County HS | vs. | Grafton HS Team 2 |
Concord University Regional
Saturday, March 16, 2024, 9 a.m.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | PikeView HS Team 1 | vs. | James Monroe HS Team 2 |
| 2 | James Monroe HS Team 1 | vs. | Greenbrier West HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Greenbrier West HS Team 1 | vs. | Greenbrier East HS Team 2 |
| 4 | PikeView HS Team 2 | vs. | Bluefield HS |
| 5 | Mingo Central HS Team 1 | vs. | Summers Co. HS |
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College/Logan Regional
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | Scott HS Team 2 | vs. | Sherman HS Team 1 |
| 2 | Westside HS Team 1 | vs. | Shady Spring HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Wyoming East HS Team 2 | vs. | Tug Valley HS Team 2 |
| 4 | Westside HS Team 2 | vs. | Wheeling Park HS Team 1 |
| 5 | Wheeling Park HS Team 2 | vs. | Logan HS Team 1 |
| 6 | Wyoming East HS Team 1 | vs. | Logan HS Team2 |
| 7 | Scott HS Team 1 | vs. | Shady Spring HS Team 1 |
Finale – West Virginia Culture Center, Charleston
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 9 a.m.
Media
Media may conduct interviews and capture footage before the event from
8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Once the competition begins, video and audio recordings are prohibited to prevent public circulation of questions ahead of other regional competitions. Media may return after each regional competition to interview winning teams.
About Academic Showdown
The Academic Showdown is a partnership between the WVDE, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), West Virginia Public Broadcasting and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.
Learn more about the Academic Showdown by visiting the Academic Showdown page.
Media Contacts:
Christy Day, WVDE Office of Communications, 304-558-2699 or Christy.Day@k12.wv.us
Jessica Tice, WVHEPC Office of Communications, 304-545-9412 or Jessica.Tice@wvhepc.edu.
| Round 1 | Team Name | vs. | Team Name |
| 1 | John Marshall HS | vs. | Brooke HS Team 2 |
| 2 | Cameron HS Team 2 | vs. | University HS Team 2 |
| 3 | Morgantown HS Team 1 | vs. | University HS Team 1 |
| 4 | Cameron HS Team 1 | vs. | Brooke HS Team 1 |
| BYE | Morgantown HS Team 2 | ||
West Virginia has added another commitment from Wyoming defensive end transfer Braden Siders.
Siders, 6-foot-3, 252-pounds, spent four years with the Cowboys although he redshirted in his first with the football program. Over the past three seasons Siders appeared in 33 games and started a total of 26 of those.
The Colorado native is coming off a season where he recorded 21 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks but appeared in only a total of eight games. In 2022, Siders had 44 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 7 sacks.
Over the course of his three years on the field, Siders has 91 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.
Siders entered the transfer portal Dec. 6 and reported offers from UAB, Louisiana-Monroe, Tulsa, James Madison and Bowling Green.
Siders becomes the first defensive lineman to commit to West Virginia from the transfer portal and has one year of eligibility remaining in his career.
WVSports.com will have more with Siders in the near future.
West Virginia Mountaineers: Commitment 101: Daveon Walker
West Virginia continues to add pieces to the roster and the latest was from the junior college ranks with a commitment from Butler C.C. Daveon Walker.
Walker, 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, grabbed an offer from the Mountaineers Jan. 4 and then took an official visit to Morgantown where he saw enough to commit to the program a few days later.
The talented wide receiver held offers from North Carolina, Samford and a number of others.
This past season at Butler he recorded a total of 19 catches for 331 yards.
Prior to that Walker was at Vanderbilt where he spent two seasons and played in just one game before transferring to Butler. The Georgia native played at Warer Robins High school where he caught 60 passes for 1,154 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Walker is the latest addition to the wide receiver room this off season joining four transfers in Jacksonville State transfer Cam Vaughn, Eastern Michgan transfer Oran Singleton, Youngstown State wide receiver Cyrus Traugh and Jacksonville State wide receiver Jarod Bowie.
WVSports.com breaks down the commitment of Walker and what it means to the West Virginia Mountaineers football program both now and in the future.
Skill set:
Walker is a wide receiver with good size that understands body positioning as well as how to go up and get the football when it’s in the air. He has the right combination of size to win in contested catch situations and the ability to win down the field.
Displays good body control to adjust to the football and is used primarily as an outside wide receiver during his lone season at Butler and there is likely where he ends up in Morgantown. Given his size, Walker also is a tough tackle once he catches the football and shows the ability to make people miss.
The Mountaineers have added a nice mixture of different skill sets for the wide receiver room so far this off-season and Walker has the versatility to fit several roles.
Fitting the program:
West Virginia offered Walker and was able to close the deal in a rather quick fashion. The Mountaineers will have 12 other scholarship wide receivers on the roster outside of Walker and he will have the chance to carve out a role given his experience throughout his career.
The Mountaineers needed to increase the talent level there and Walker certainly does that.
Walker has been to campus and should be able to adjust given his comfort level with the school as well as how the coaching staff prioritized him in his recruitment. He should have at least two years remaining as well which gives him time to make an impact.
Recruiting the position:
West Virginia is still in pursuit of wide receivers to add to the roster with Anderson (S.C.) Westside 2025 athlete Armoni Weaver and Fort Myers (Fla.) 2025 athlete Madrid Tucker being two high school prospecrs that the new coaching staff has extended offers to. Both plan to visit.
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Granada Theater – Opened in 1927, the Theater is located at 537 Commerce Street, Bluefield. It is contributing to the Bluefield Downtown Commercial District and while originally used as a vaudeville and movie theater, is currently used for cinema and live performances.
Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center – Opened in 1913, the Robinson Grand is located at 444 W. Pike Street, Clarksburg. It is contributing to the Clarksburg Downtown Historic District, and was designed and is still used for cinema, live performances and as an events venue.
Elk Theater – The Elk Theater was opened in 1940 and is located at 192 Main Street, Sutton. It is contributing to the Sutton Downtown Historic District. It was designed and is still used for Cinema and Live Performances.
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