As the Petersburg Vikings prepare to open their season, head coach Stacey Berg says the most significant advantage this year is experience — something the program hasn’t always started with. “We’re excited. We’re looking forward to it,” he said. “We have a returning group that has varsity experience. I have one kid who’s played four years on varsity and another who’s played three. Any time you have that, it’s a good feeling.” In past seasons, the roster has included large groups of fi rst-time varsity players. “I’ve been there where you go in and start a lot of kids with no experience, and it can be painful,” he said. “But I feel like we’re defi nitely going in the right direction.”

By: David Rogers

The Petersburg High School girls’ basketball team opened the 2025– 2026 season with a pair of victories, defeating East Hardy on Thursday night in Petersburg and earning their first road win of the year Saturday in West Union over Doddridge County. Petersburg jumped out early on the Lady Cougars Thursday night on George B. Halterman Memorial Court. The Lady Vikings never let up, rolling to an impressive 92–14 victory. Petersburg outscored East Hardy 23–2 in the fi rst period. The Vikings’ pressure defense kept the Lady Cougars scoreless in the second quarter, extending the lead to 48–2 at halftime. Junior guard Miley Tingler scored eight of Petersburg’s 26 third-quarter points as the Lady Vikings’ advantage grew to 74–10 after three quarters.

By: Clay Fritz

The weather is turning cold, the snow is flying, and gyms all across the state are being fi lled with wrestling mats wall-to-wall. Wrestling season is back and your Petersburg Vikings began the season this past weekend with a 2-day trip to Hedgesville. The tournament was a great early test and featured teams from West Virginia and Virginia.

Competing for the Vikings this weekend was Kaitlin Booth (120 lb.), Carter Thompson (120 lb.), Josh Lahman (126 lb.), Jaxon Kile (132 lb.), Alina Carlon (132 lb.), Colson Bobo (138 lb.), Gage Pennington (144 lb.), Ethan Stump (157 lb.), Aiden Coakley (157 lb.), Garrett Dolly (165 lb.), Alex Halterman (175 lb.), Landon Wratchford (190 lb.), and Logan Bachman (215 lb.).