It was a school year in which every high school coach deserves an award.

Battling through COVID-19, the protocols, restrictions, schedule changes and pauses that came with it led to an athletic year that won’t soon be forgotten.

While every coach in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference and nation — for that matter — deserves a major pat on the back for his or her efforts, only one can be named the OVAC Coach of the Year.

Before the winner is announced during Wednesday’s virtual OVAC Banquet of Champions, the selection committee was tasked with narrowing a lengthy list of candidates down to five finalists.

They are Ernie Banks (St. Clairsville swimming), Carrie Hanna (Wheeling Park girls soccer), Brett McLean (St. Clairsville football), Eric Mercer (Shadyside volleyball) and Holly Pettit (Cameron girls basketball).

In alphabetical order, here’s a look at each finalist:

ERNIE BANKS, St. Clairsville Swimming — This veteran Red Devil swim mentor guided his girls team to a season of several firsts in 2021.

The Red Devils posted a program-best eighth-place finish in the team standings of the highly competitive Ohio Division II State Swimming Championship by scoring 83 points.

To accomplish such a total, the Red Devils took part in 10 of the 12 events at the state meet and did so with just five girls — Maggie Marody, Casadie DiBetta, Brenna Planey, Olivia Moyer and Kylie McKeegan — taking part.

St. Clairsville brought back an All-Ohioan in seven of the aforementioned 10 events.

Prior to getting to the state meet, the Red Devils accomplished another first. Still, with only five girls scoring, St. C. finished second in the district meet, accumulating 226 points.

In a bizarre season due to COVID-19, the OVAC Championship meet was held virtually, but still the Red Devils claimed that team award and also won yet another Buckeye 8 championship.

CARRIE HANNA, Wheeling Park Girls Soccer — In one of the most challenging seasons in prep sports history, the Wheeling Park Patriots stood above all the rest in West Virginia Class AAA girls soccer.

Hanna guided her squad to an impressive 20-2 record that was capped with an impressive, 1-0 victory, against then undefeated Parkersburg South last November in Beckley.

The Patriots’ lone goal in the title game came off a free kick by Hanna’s daughter, Gracelyn, in the 14th minute.

The state tournament almost didn’t happen at all because of COVID-19. A judge tried to shut down the championships, but an injunction permitted the tournament to go on, giving the Patriots the opportunity in which they made the most of.

The West Virginia color-coded map didn’t permit Wheeling Park from playing in the OVAC Tournament.

BRETT MCLEAN, St. Clairsville Football — The OVAC Coach of the Year in 2013 and a finalist in 2008, the veteran Red Devils’ football coach returns to the final five after directing his team to an impressive 2020 campaign.

In a season that was cut down to six games and allowed everyone to make the playoffs, the Red Devils made the most of their opportunities. They finished a perfect 6-0 in the regular season and captured the OVAC Class 4A title.

They were voted the top seed in Division IV, Region 15, allowing them the right to play at Red Devil Stadium throughout the regional tournament. St. Clairsville, which received a bye in the opening round, advanced to the regional championship game before bowing out to Bloom-Carroll.

ERIC MERCER, Shadyside Volleyball — This second-year Tiger volleyball coach took his team to new heights during the 2020 season.

Shadyside, which re-started its volleyball program in 2012 after a long absence, advanced to the school’s first regional tournament last season where it fell to South Webster. The Tigers did so impressively, too. They rallied from two sets down to defeat Tuscarawas Central Catholic to claim the district championship.

The Tigers, who finished the season with a strong 22-3 record, captured the OVAC Class 2A title by downing defending champion Shenandoah in the title game. Shadyside had fallen to the Zeps in the 2019 conference title game.

The Tigers also won the inaugural Mid-Ohio Valley League volleyball crown as well.

HOLLY PETTIT, Cameron Girls Basketball — The Dragons girls basketball program went on a ride that no one in Marshall County or the Ohio Valley will soon forget.

After seeing the girls basketball season significantly delayed due to COVID-19, the Dragons didn’t let the opportunity to play pass them by when they finally got it.

Cameron won its first Class A sectional title since 2008 and then captured its first regional title to advance to the West Virginia State Tournament in Charleston. There, the Dragons took down Madonna and Calhoun County to reach the state championship game.

In the title game, unfortunately, the Dragons fell, 63-45, to Tug Valley. That loss snapped a 17-game winning streak.

Cameron also won the OVAC Class 1A title.