It was a big year in 2009 for Logan County athletes and teams.

Five teams reached state championship games and two of those – the girls’ softball teams at Man and Chapmanville – brought home titles.

It was a big year for Man High School athletics in general.

In addition to the Lady Billies’ state crown, the Man football team made an extraordinary run to the Super Six and the Man baseball team made it all the way to the Class A state finals.

Another Man team – the basketball Billies – were only one win away from making it to the state tourney as Man lost 57-50 at Charleston Catholic in the Class A regional title game.

Before we usher in 2010 and a new decade, here’s one last look back to 2009 – the last year in the decade of the Oh’s:

1. State championships. Four Logan County teams captured state championships during the 2009 calendar year, headed by the Man and Chapmanville high school softball teams.

The Man Lady Billies completed an unbeaten 23-0 season and won their second straight Class A state championship with a rain-delayed 17-9 victory over Cameron in the title game at Vienna. Man, led by junior all-state pitcher Marlena Frye, also scored wins over Fayetteville (10-0) and Cameron (1-0) in the state tourney. The state title was the third in school history by the Man softball program with the other coming in 1983.

The Chapmanville Regional High School Lady Tigers were also in Vienna last May and captured the 2009 Class AA state championship with a 2-0 victory over Independence.

Chapmanville and Man weren’t the only teams from Logan County to play in the state tourney.

A third Logan County softball team – the Logan High School Lady Cats – also played in the state tournament in the Triple-A division. However, Logan was ousted in the semifinals by Hedgesville, 7-5, and finished the season with a 30-7 record and 1-2 mark in the state tourney.

In a remarkable feat, Man, Logan and Chapmanville all won titles in its respective divisions earlier in the softball season at Buffalo’s Best of the Best Tournament.

Chapmanville, led by senior all-state pitcher Andi Williamson, finished the season with a 31-3 record. The Lady Tigers also won over Independence (5-0) and Point Pleasant (1-0) at the state tourney to advance to the finals. For Chapmanville, it was the school’s fourth state title. Head coach Ronnie Ooten also led the Lady Tigers to 2A state crowns in 1999, 2004 and 2007.

Two other Logan County teams won state championships during the year – the Logan High School cheerleading squad and the Logan Junior League All-Star baseball team.

The Logan cheerleaders, coached by Michelle Akers, won the 3A state title on Dec. 12 at the Charleston Civic Center.

The Logan Junior League All-Stars, comprised of players 13 and 14 years old, beat Grant County in the state championship game at Logan’s Roger Gertz Field. The team advanced to play in the regional tournament at Cartersville, Ga., but were eliminated there.

2. Man football reaches Super Six. The Man High School football team had a memorable 2009 season and playoff run as the Hillbillies eventually made it to Wheeling Island Stadium and lost to Weirton Madonna in the Class A state championship game, 27-7.

It was the first time Man had reached a football state title game since 1984.

Coach Harvey Arms’ team had homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and beat Parkersburg Catholic (25-20), Fayetteville (37-26) and Richwood (27-20) in post-season games at George A. Queen Memorial Field.

“We’re proud of our kids,” Arms said after the loss to Madonna. “They had a great season but we came up just a little bit short tonight. We’re proud of our effort. We didn’t do what we intended to do but at halftime we raised the intensity for the second half and at least we had a tie for the second half. The kids did step forward and do what we asked them to do just like they did all year long. We’re real proud of them.”

3. Man baseball reaches Class A state title game. The Man High School baseball team also made some noise in the 2009 calendar year as the Billies advanced to the Class A state championship game.

The Billies, however, came up short – 9-3 to Moorefield – in the finals at Charleston’s Appalachian Power Park.

Man was 19-14 during the campaign, also scoring a 5-3, 10-inning victory over Madonna in the state semifinals.

Another season highlight for the Billies was a 6-4 victory at home over Class AAA county rival Logan, which later advanced to the Triple-A state tourney and lost 8-1 to Martinsburg in the semifinal round.

4. Harry Kirk hired as Chapmanville’s basketball coach. Former Harts High School boys’ basketball coach Harry Kirk was hired over the summer to lead the Chapmanville Regional High School roundball program.

Kirk, a Hall of Fame coach, led Harts to two state championships and more than 450 wins in his coaching tenure there.

Kirk is hoping to turn around Chapmanville, which sagged to a 4-18 record last season under former coach Dave Elkins.

Kirk has already brought added excitement, energy and enthusiasm to the Tigers’ program.

5. (tie) Andi Williamson signs with Tennessee/Noah Cottrill arrives, signs with WVU. In the two biggest individual accomplishments in 2009 for Logan County athletes, Chapmanville softball’s Andi Williamson signed with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols and Logan basketball’s Noah Cottrill, a transfer from Mountain State Academy, signed with Coach Bob Huggins’ WVU Mountaineers.

Williamson also led the Lady Tigers to the Class AA state championship and was named as the AP and Gatorade State Softball Player of the Year.

Williamson was simply outstanding this year for the Lady Tigers.

The 5-foot-8 pitcher posted a 22-1 record with a miniscule 0.09 ERA. Williamson struck out 367 batters while surrendering just 23 hits and 17 walks in 161 innings.

The three-time all-state first-team selection fired 19 shutouts and four perfect games while also batting .366 with four home runs and 33 RBI.

Signing with Tennessee was a dream come true for Williamson, who started out pitching at Harts High School and led the Lady Lions to the Class A state championship game her freshman season back in 2006.

The last three years, after the closure of Harts High School, the all-state hurler has played at Chapmanville Regional, helping lead the Lady Tigers to the Class AA state championship in 2007 as a sophomore.