Brooke BOE honors state champion coach, student achievements

WELLSBURG -- A coach who earned state recognition and students who excelled in athletics and the arts were recognized during Monday’s meeting of the Brooke County Board of Education.

Michelle Scherich, the Brooke High School cheerleading coach, was honored for being named the 2025-26 West Virginia Schools Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

Superintendent Jeffrey Crook highlighted Scherich's accomplishments, noting she is a back-to-back state championship coach. This season’s state championship was the 15th in the school’s history.

“When you are voted on by your peers and the coaches association, that’s a big deal,” Crook said. “That takes in all of the coaches in the state, and they selected you as the top coach in the state of West Virginia.”

Baseball players recognized by the board and coach Doug Costain included:

• Andrew Murdock, who earned first-team OVAC All-Conference and W.Va. Class AAA All-State honors; was named the OVAC 5A Player of the Year and co-captain of the All-Valley team; and was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game; and

• Zac O’Mery, who was named to the Buckeye 8 All-League team, earned second-team All-OVAC honors and was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game.

Brooke High School art students also were recognized for their accomplishments:

• Anneliese Schupbach, who completed two AP classes -- drawing and 3-D -- and earned a score of 5 on both portfolios. According to Sara Roark, the school’s art teacher, 3-D is statistically the hardest portfolio to earn a 5 on, and Schupbach was the only student in West Virginia this year to achieve the score. Schupbach previously earned a 5 on her 2-D portfolio during her junior year, making her one of the few students to earn a 5 on all three available AP Studio Art portfolios.

“That’s an insane, almost unheard of, accomplishment,” Roark said in a press release.

• Deedra Groves received a 5 on the 2-D art portfolio this year after earning a 4 on the drawing portfolio last year. Her score made her one of eight students in the state to achieve a 5 on that portfolio.

“They are truly two of the hardest working, most talented students a teacher could hope for,” Roark added. “This makes the third year in a row that Brooke High School has had students achieve 5s on the AP portfolios. I’m excited and hope to continue the streak.”

The board also approved a memorandum of understanding between Marshall University, the board and participating schools, as well as a school-based health center agreement between CHANGE Inc. and the district.

The board’s next regular meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Brooke County Board of Education office, 1201 Pleasant Ave.