| At the time of their induction into the Curtis Elam Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004, our 1976 Bowling Team was the only team in the history of GSC athletics to have won a National Championship. The team was made up of seniors, Sam Ferrell and Tom Newberry, along with freshmen, Mark Smith and Dave Twyman, all from the Parkersburg area and freshman, Mick Hickman from Dunbar. Team members and their coach, Bob Dollgener, still vividly remember their selection as the NAIA at large team, representing area 8, and their trip to Kansas City, Missouri. This would be the nine-year-old bowling team's third trip to the national finals but this time they won the National Championship. In the final round, Glenville's "Cinderella team" defeated Oregon's College of Education to win the Championship with ten wins and five losses. The team had done the impossible...never before had a team won the National Championship after losing five games. Oregon finished second; West Liberty, third; and Clarion State, fourth. At the end of the fifteen games of tournament play, Glenville's Sam Ferrell had accumulated a pin-fall of 3030 with games of 259, 246, and 235, for a high average of 202. He was named Outstanding Bowler of the Tournament and was named to the NAIA All-Tournament team. Additionally, Ferrell was named co-recipient of GSC's Montrose Award during Homecoming activities in the fall of 1976. Ferrell, the team's captain, and his teammate, Tom Newberry, placed second in the nation in doubles competition with 215 and 193 averages, respectively. Newberry finished with a 187 average in the tournament to place eighth out of forty bowlers. He was named to the NAIA's All Tournament team as well. Dave Twyman averaged 183 for the tournament, with Mark Smith and Mike Hickman averaging 179 and 166, respectively. Coach Bob Dollgener, affectionately called "Doc", was also Athletic Director and Professor of Health and Physical Education at the time. "Doc" and his wife, Linda, have retired to Lindale, Texas where he has turned his hobbies of refinishing antique furniture and furniture upholstery into a business. Ferrell '76 and his wife, Helen, live in Texas where he teaches school and coaches football, basketball, and track after having retired from the Houston Police Department's Narcotics Division. The Ferralls are parents of three children, Ryan, Samuel, and Rebecca. Newberry '77 has retired to Florida with his wife, Maggie, after selling Ren-Dor Lanes Bowling Center in Parkersburg. Dave Twyman '79 and his wife, Candice Burdette Twyman '79, live in Pickerington, OH with their children, Nicholas and Allison. He works as a safety consultant. Mark Smith is employed with Dupont and lives in Vienna with his wife, Christine, and their two sons, Matthew and Anthony. Mike Hickman is an inventory specialist for Washington Inventory and travels extensively. He calls Dunbar his home, when he isn't on the road. |
