Braxton County’s Coach Sterling Beane, Sr. is set to be inducted into the Glenville State University Curtis Elam Athletic Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony on Saturday, September 30.
Beane came to Glenville State in 1965 to play football and major in education. While at GSC, he was a four-year starter and letterman for the Pioneer football team. He also lettered in wrestling and participated in track. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in physical education, social studies, and driver’s education.
Shortly after graduating, he was drafted by Selective Services. Beane chose to join the West Virginia National Guard, Company B 109 2nd Combat Engineers, so he could begin his career in teaching while still serving his country. During his tenure at Braxton County High School, he taught American History and Driver Education (37 years full time and 13 years substituting).
Coach Beane started the wrestling program at Braxton County High School during the 1972-73 season. He built a wrestling legacy in his 50 years as the only head wrestling coach in the school’s history. Beane also coached football for 37 years, where he served as an assistant for 28 years and the head coach nine years. As the head coach, his teams made the state playoffs twice and earned the first playoff win in the school’s history. He also coached baseball for 18 years and high school and middle school track for six years.
Some of Coach Beane’s accolades include 14 Regional Championships and seven Runner-up finishes. His teams have finished in the top 10 in the state tournament 17 times, with a runner-up finish in 2020. He has won 15 conference championships and had 101 state placers with six state champions and 20 runners-up. His overall dual meet record is 778 wins, 260 losses, and nine ties, with many tournament championships. He has coached several individual conference and regional champions and runners-up, as well as sent wrestlers to compete at the collegiate level.
Coach Beane has been Conference Coach of the Year, Regional Coach of the Year, and the WV Athletic Director’s Coach of the Year many times throughout his career. He was the Little Kanawha Conference Coach of the Year in 2003-2004 and 2017-2018. He received the Kenny Wright Boys Coach of the Year award in 2016-17 and was the 2003-04 NFHS Coach of the Year.
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honored Coach Beane with their “Lifetime Service to Wrestling” award as part of the 2022 induction class.
Glenville State will induct Beane and the other four members of the 2023 Athletic Hall of Fame class – Sue Edwards, Bernie Rees, Orville Harper, and Kim Short Lewis – at a ceremony scheduled for Saturday, September 30 at 6:00 p.m. For tickets to attend the dinner and induction, visit https://go.glenville.edu/AthleticHOF or call (304) 462-6116.
