Men's Golf | 2/10/2019 11:34:00 AM

    WHEELING, W.Va. – West Liberty University head men's golf coach Mike Ricci has been inducted into the Wheeling Park High School Hall of Fame.
    The veteran Hilltopper head man and WLU alumnus was one of three individuals added to the WPHS Athletic Hall during ceremonies at the Patriots' home basketball game against Ripley (W.Va.) on Saturday night.
    A four-year letterman on the West Liberty golf team during his playing days, Ricci was a member of the 1971 Hilltopper team that won the WVIAC championship and qualified to compete in the NAIA national tournament at Rockford, Ill.
    The 1975 West Liberty graduate earned a master's degree at West Virginia University. He taught special education and coached football, basketball and track at Woodsdale Junior High School in Wheeling for many years before taking his teaching and coaching skills to Wheeling Park in 1992.
    During his time at the Patriots' helm, Ricci led the Red, White and Blue to six Ohio Valley Athletic Conference golf championships and five West Virginia Class AAA regional crowns.
    The highlight of his high school coaching run came in 2002 when he led Wheeling Park to the West Virginia Class AAA state championship. In recognition of that accomplishment, Ricci was honored as the National Federation of High School Coaches (NFHS) 2003 West Virginia Coach of the Year.
    Ricci's success has continued at the collegiate level since returning to his alma mater.
    Currently in his 11th season at the Hilltopper helm, he is a three-time conference Coach of the Year honoree and has established West Liberty as one of the premier NCAA Division II programs in the Atlantic Region.
    A perennial contender for top honors in the Mountain East Conference, Ricci's Hilltoppers earned their fifth straight NCAA Division II tournament bid a year ago. It was the Hilltoppers' eighth NCAA Tournament bid in the past 10 years.