CUMBERLAND — After a 19-2 season that saw an 18-game win streak, a 13-0 record against area opponents and sixth straight region and Western Maryland Athletic Conference titles, Allegany was unanimously voted area champion by a panel of local sportswriters.
The Campers have now won seven of the past nine area championships and a record 11 overall, six more than second-place Fort Hill.
“It’s one of our goals every year,” Allegany head coach Dave Winner said. “You want to win the WestMAC, you want to win the area, and obviously the region’s your next big thing, then states. But it’s always nice to be recognized as the best team in the area because there are a lot of good teams in this area.”
The area championship is determined by the final area sportswriter poll, which is chosen by a panel of six voters: Jeff Landes, Jordan Kendall, Kyle Bennett and Alex Rychwalski (Cumberland Times-News), Chapin Jewell (Mineral News Tribune), and Trevor King (Garrett County Republican).
Allegany received all six first-place votes to top the poll with 30 points, West Virginia Class AA state champion Petersburg (28-5) had 23 points, Class AAA tournament team Keyser (25-8) had 19 points, and Northern (13-8) and Frankfort (20-12) tied for fourth with eight points.
Fort Hill (10-9) and Southern (10-12) also received votes.
Frankfort ended a string of four straight Allegany area titles last year after finishing as West Virginia Class AAA runner-up.
Winner has been a part of four area championships, winning Class 1A state championships in two of those seasons (2022, ‘24).
“When I took this job over, I had no clue,” Winner said of the Campers’ consistent pipeline of talent. “I knew Abi (Britton) because her dad worked with me, but I had no clue about your Riley Gallaghers, your Sky Porters, your Mackenzie Monahans.
“I’m blessed to have coached all the talented girls that we’ve had.”
Winner again had his share of talent at his disposal in 2026, beginning with a pitching arsenal led by Jordyn Sneathen that had a 0.98 ERA.
Sneathen, bound for St. Francis, was the team’s ace with a 13-2 win-loss record, 1.25 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 101 innings.
Savannah Walton pitched just 35 innings but was every bit as good, boasting a 0.20 ERA and 69 strikeouts to just two walks.
At the plate, eight Campers boasted a .300 batting average or better: Tyiss Jessie (.387), Eden Robison (.382), Sadee Baker (.368), Mykah Baker (.359), Alyssa Rader (.356), Maylee Blank (.352), Savannah Walton (.351) and Sneathen (.311).
Rader led the team in home runs (three) and Robison did so in extra-base hits (11). Sneathen tallied an Allegany-best 22 runs batted in, and Desi Hilton scored a team-high 24 runs.
Allegany has still never lost a WestMAC game, winning 45 consecutive conference games since the league was formed in 2020.
That streak was seriously threatened twice this year.
Northern took a 1-0 lead into the seventh on April 9 before a dropped fly ball spurred a rally in a 4-1 come-from-behind Allegany victory.
Four days later, the Campers saw themselves in a 6-1 hole to Fort Hill entering the fifth inning. They scored nine runs in the sixth to win 16-6 by run rule.
While Allegany didn’t play Fort Hill again, it showed its improvement throughout the season by routing Northern, 15-1, in the Class 1A West Region I championship on May 13.
“These kids find a way to win,” Winner said. “It’s a testament to our kids for real. These kids don’t panic.”