The Martins Ferry Athletic Hall of Fame Committee has selected two more deserving teams from the past as “Teams of Distinction” to be honored.

The “Teams of Distinction” category was established to bring to light Purple Rider teams who may not have been state champions like the three teams inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 (1930 baseball; 1941 basketball; 1941 football) but they have set standards in their sport by reaching the regional finals and/or state level, and others deemed to have gone “above and beyond” in some particular manner.

This year, the teams selected are the 1993 boys’ cross country team and the 1997-98 boys’ basketball team.

These teams will be recognized at the home varsity football game on Friday, September 12 when the Purple Riders face Edison. A photo of the teams will join those previously selected on the wall inside the MFHS cafeteria.

The committee asks that if you were a member of any of these teams and plan to attend, please contact Athletic Director Greg Harkness (greg.harkness1@omeresa.net). If you know someone on these teams, please forward this information to them.

Here’s a look at the accomplishments of the two “Teams of Distinction” for 2025:

1993 Boys Cross Country — Completing a terrific three-year run of success, the 1993 Purple Rider boys’ squad kept things rolling by repeating as overall OVAC Champions while finishing third in the District, fourth in the Regional (in three inches of snow) and eighth in the OHSAA Division II State Meet.

MFHS also won the Belmont County Meet and invitationals at St. Clairsville and at home; finished second at the Tiffin Invitational (behind 1992 state champion Bay Village Bay) and second at the Malone Invitational (behind 1992 state runner-up Ashtabula Edgewood).

Coached by Hall of Famer Joe Ellis, the team included Pete Beck, Nate Benline John Beck, Bob Harasuik, Jeff Baggot, Steve Kish, Dan Charleton and Joe Oberle.

1997-98 Boys Basketball — This Purple Rider team compiled an impressive 21-4 overall record, capturing OHSAA Division III Sectional and District championships and reaching the Regional semifinals.

Coached by Hall of Famer Jeff Sabatino, Ferry also won the OVAC Class 3A championship for only the sixth time in school history (previous titles were in 1944, 1961, 1980, 2002 and 2017).

The team included Chad Brinker, Chad Coyne, Nick Yourkovich, Donnie Cash, Fred Ray, Ralph Pugh, Derek Travis, Jeff Volan, Justin Tyler, James Watts, Tony Collette, Jeremy Shrodes, Jay Agnew, Phillip Trouten, Ron Hill, Zach Bruney and Chad Verba. Sabatino’s assistant coaches were Mike Lucas and Chris Coyne.