ST. CLAIRSVILLE’S Ernie Banks (right) was announced as the OVAC Bill Van Horne Coach of the Year during Wednesday’s OVAC Banquet of Champions, which was held virtually. He was presented the award by OVAC Executive Director Dirk Decoy.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Ernie Banks couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

The St. Clairsville swimming coach actually had to do a double take.

But, the news was true and accurate.

Banks, who led his Red Devils girls team to a season of many firsts in program history, was named the 2021 OVAC Bill Van Horne Coach of the Year, becoming the 57th recipient of the conference’s highest coaching accolade.

“This is a complete surprise,” Banks said. “When I got the call, it just caught be totally off guard and I didn’t believe it. It’s just so hard to fathom that I still can’t believe it.”

Banks — who was also a finalist for the award in 2019 — becomes the first swimming coach in conference history to receive the award. He’s also the fourth St. Clairsville winner, joining football coaches George Strager (1979, 1987) and Brett McLean (2013).

“I think part of what makes this is hard to believe is that swimming isn’t one of the ‘big’ sports that gets a lot of the top recognition normally,” Banks admitted. “The OVAC definitely treats swimming well, and we’re grateful for that.”

Banks guided the Red Devil girls to a myriad of accomplishments that had never been achieved by a Belmont County school.

However, he quickly passed the credit to his athletes, their families and his wife, Katie, who is also his chief assistant coach.

“This award means a lot to me, but it also means that a lot of people around me have done so much (more) to allow me to receive this type of honor,” Banks said, fighting back emotion. “The girls are simply amazing, their parents are great and supportive and my wife, Katie, is so important to all of this. I couldn’t do it without her.”

The Red Devils overcame all sorts of odds, most of which stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic which reared its ugly head numerous times during the course of the winter sports season.

Whether it was having to find a new venue in which to practice because Wheeling University, St. Clairsville’s normal practice site, wasn’t available or basically having to re-build a schedule because many meets were being canceled due to the pandemic, the Red Devils simply put their heads down.

“Obviously, many of the issues we faced were common among most teams, but our girls’ ability to adapt to the things that needed done was unbelievable,” Banks stressed.

The Red Devils had fewer than 10 actual meets prior to the postseason. They were able to post enough quality marks to win their fourth consecutive OVAC Class 1A-4A title in a meet that was held via compiling marks throughout both the Ohio and West Virginia seasons and then scored.

In the postseason, it was simply back to work. St. Clairsville won eight of the 11 events at the sectional and finished second in the team standings.

The Devils took five swimmers — Maggie Marody, Casadie DiBetta, Kylie McKeegan, Brenna Planey and Olivia Moyer — to the district meet. Those five accumulated 226 points and finished second in the team standings for the first time in school history. Actually, it was the first time a Belmont County team had brought back a team trophy from the district swim meet in either gender.

But, maybe, most importantly, the Red Devils laid the groundwork for a record-setting state meet. In Canton, the Devils took part in eight of the 11 events, also the best ever for a school from Belmont County.

“Those five girls (who competed at the district and state meets) are next-level-kids,” Banks said. “Whether it’s personally, in the pool or in the classroom, those are five great kids. I would put them up against anyone.”

The Red Devils’ success wasn’t done. At the state meet, all five swimmers earned All-Ohio acclaim, which allowed the team to accumulate a program-best 83 points and finish eighth in the team standings.

“I still can’t fathom all of the things we accomplished,” Banks said. “To finish eighth in the state with five kids is unbelievable. Several schools basically take full teams to the state meet and then there was us with five kids. Our kids relished the opportunity to compete, no matter who it was against. I just don’t think these kids fully understand how great they are. They’re amazing.”

Banks has been the Red Devils’ head coach since 2014 and his involvement with the youth program started well before that. Basically, he’s watched the program grow from the ground up.

“I never dreamed we’d be at the level we are,” Banks said. “When I first started helping (with the high school), we’d have a handful of kids who would make the district meet. Then we got a kid to the state and more kids to the district and another state qualifier and then Maggie (Marody) came along and then this group that will be seniors. I thought we had the potential to be good, but not to the level these girls have taken it.”