Tickets for the 77th annual Victory Awards Dinner are now on sale.

 

 The nation's oldest statewide sports fete is sponsored by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association and recognizes the state's top sports achievers and personalities.

 

 It will be held on May 5 at River City in Wheeling. Start time is 4 p.m.

 

Headlining the event will be the induction of 2024 W.Va. Sports Hall of Fame inductees Kenny Griffith and Bruce Meredith. Griffith, a Wellsburg High School graduate, became a national college basketball record-setter and Small College All-American at Alderson-Broaddus College.

 

Meredith, a graduate of Linsly Military Institute in Wheeling, became West Virginia University's first rifle national champion and two-time All-American, who later competed in four Olympic Games.

 

 Other major award winners include:

 Kennedy Award (Prep Football Player of Year)--Dom Collins, Princeton.

 Sam Huff Award (Top Defensive Player)--Rashad Reid, Martinsburg.

 Stydahar Award (Top Lineman)--Rashad Reid, Martinsburg.

 House Award (Top Quarterback)--Maxwell Molessa, Williamstown.

 Warner Award (Top Running Back)--Zach Rohrig, Bridgeport.

 Moss Award (Top Receiver)--Dom Collins, Princeton.

 Howley Award (Top Linebacker)--Casey Minor, North Marion.

 Lee Award (Top Defensive Back)--Zah Jackson, Huntington.

 Walker Award (Top Special Teams Player)--Jonny Aya-ay, Huntington.

 Evans Award (Boys Basketball Player of Year)--Sharron Young, Morgantown.

 Ostrowski Award (Girls Basketball Player of Year)--Alexis Bordas, Wheeling Park; and Ashlynn Van Tassel, Cameron.

 Dutton Award (Wrestler of Year)--Gage Wright, Parkersburg South.

 Lowery Award (Baseball Player of Year)--Noah Braham, University.

 McCoy Male Track Athlete of Year--Brayden Marshall, Winfield.

 McCoy Female Track Athlete of Year--Irene Riggs, Morgantown.

 Softball Player of Year--Mikie Lieving, Wahama.

 Boys Soccer Player of Year--Joey Pinkerton, Pt. Pleasant.

 Girls Soccer Player of Year--Gracie Brown, Morgantown.

 Volleyball Player of Year--MacKenna Halfin, Philip Barbour.

 Morehouse Award (Journalism)--Bob Hertzel, Morgantown.

 Kennedy Foundation Scholarships--Murphy Clement, Martinsville; Matt Frye, Scott.

Doug Huff Award – Kyndall Perry, Nitro

 

 Three more awards to be recognized will be announced prior to the Dinner--the Van Meter Award (High School Coach of Year); Furfari Award (College Coach of Year) and the Hardman Award (Amateur Athlete of Year).

 

 The Dinner is open to the public with advance ticket sales through April 29. Tickets are $35 with checks made out to the WVSWA. No tickets will be sold at the door.

 

 Information on tickets, and sales, may be obtained from Doug Huff, the banquet chairman and WVSWA secretary-treasurer, at P.O. Box 6076, Wheeling, WV 26003 or huffsports@yahoo.com; Justin Jackson at the Morgantown Dominion-Post; Michael Minnich at the Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram; Tim Stephens at the Huntington Herald-Dispatch; Jay Bennett at the Parkersburg News-Sentinel; Taylor Kennedy at the Charleston Gazette-Mail; Gary Fauber or Dave Morrison at the Beckley Register-Herald; Rick Kozlowski at the Martinsburg Journal; Tyler Jackson at Lootpress in Beckley; Chris Johnson at Connect-Bridgeport; and Jim Workman at Wally's & Wimpy's Sports Digest in St. Albans.

 

 The list of annual awards dating back to 1934 may be found at wvswa.org.