CHARLESTON -- No matter what sport is being played, Huntington and Cabell Midland are almost assured of competing with each other.
Yet at the West Virginia State Tennis Championships over the weekend in Charleston, green and gold mixed with scarlet and silver was the perfect blend for a colorful atmosphere.
Anytime a player was on the court from either team, members of both squads were huddled indoors on a balcony or lining the fence by the court cheering each other on to victory.
What?
Huntington High and Cabell Midland cheering FOR each other? Say it ain't so!
"We just all get along really well," Cabell Midland's Stephanie Fox said while talking with Huntington friends Sarah Cummings and Allie Steel in between matches. "I like to see them do well and it's nice to see them cheering for me, too."
Rivalries are instilled from an early age -- even as far down as elementary school -- and the thought of cheering on a would-be opponent sounds asinine to anyone except those in the sport affectionately dubbed as the "gentlemen's game."
As illogical as the situation sounds, Huntington High girls coach Jim Cummings had an explanation that really shored up any further questions.
"These girls train together, often have the same coaches or take lessons from the same people and even travel together to tournaments," Cummings said. "They are together for nine months out of the year. For three months during school, they don't play together."
Huntington and Cabell Midland were not the only schools to bring new meaning to the phrase friendly rivalry over the weekend. In the No. 1 doubles semifinals, several fans donning Parkersburg jackets ventured over to take in the match between Parkersburg South's tandem and Huntington's Ross Evans and Darius Hadi.
Evans and Hadi won the match and also claimed the No. 1 doubles championship.
And as they did, there was a sea of scarlet and silver joining in the Highlanders' celebration.
THE BARBER DID IT: Hurricane's Brett Barber proved to be a thorn in the side of the Cabell Midland baseball team as the Redskins moved on to the regional final against Spring Valley on May 20 at CMHS.
Barber blasted a grand slam in a come-from-behind win in the first game between the teams before connecting on a second in Hurricane's clinching win.
THE CHAPPELLE SHOW: Huntington softball player Kiara Chappelle put on a show for those on hand for the Class AAA, Region IV semifinal between the Highlanders and Cabell Midland on Saturday.
Chappelle just missed a grand slam when she hit the fence with a three-run double in the third inning. She then won the game for the Highlanders in the top of the seventh with a two-run single that put Huntington ahead for good.
Chappelle finished 3-for-4 with five RBI on the day.
TRACK ATHLETE: Jordan Starcher from Hurricane High School is headed to Winthrop University for track and field. Starcher placed sixth in the state meet as a junior in the girls 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.78.
Starcher was also the starting sweeper on the Hurricane girls soccer team.
Winthrop, located in Rock Hill, S.C., is an NCAA Division I member of the Big South Conference.
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