GLENVILLE, WV – Glenville State College (GSC) and the GSC Foundation have announced the first recipient of the Jesse Skiles Scholarship.

Christian Ramsey, a 2020 Riverside High School (RHS) graduate, received the award for the 2020-2021 academic year at Glenville State. The award is $1,000 per year, and is given to an RHS graduate that meets the criteria and goes through the application and interview process. The award was started by Jesse Skiles Sr. and Jesse Skiles Jr. The elder Skiles is a graduate of GSC and also DuPont High School; he is currently serving as Athletic Director at Glenville State.

“I was honored to be picked for the scholarship, it has made paying for college much easier. I hope I can help them continue to grow the scholarship so we can help more kids from back home get an education,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey graduated from RHS with honors and placed third in the State Wrestling Tournament last March for Coach Mark Scites. He is a freshman recruit on the GSC wrestling team of Coach Dylan Cottrell, a Spencer native who was West Virginia University’s first Big 12 Champion on the mat. Ramsey placed third in the 195-pound class. He was one of six Warrior wrestlers to make the podium as Scites’ squad finished fourth in Class AAA at the tourney.

“We are very excited to get this scholarship going and to help a young student from back in the Eastern end of the Valley,” Skiles Sr. said. “During the interview process, we noted what a genuine young man Christian is and the work ethic he exhibits. From the work he did for the Warrior wrestling program, to the work hours he put in at Kroger, and how he handles himself in a professional way to be so young…he was clearly someone we felt would be the ideal recipient in the first awarding of the scholarship.”

Ramsey is majoring in Business Administration, with a double-major concentration in Integrated Marketing. He will be attending to his large academic responsibilities while working with Cottrell’s young GSC squad. The GSC Wrestling program is being resurrected after a 45-year hiatus.

“Christian is the type of guy you dream of bringing in for a new program. He is an amazing athlete, a hard worker, and an even more determined student. We as a staff are excited about Christian’s future not only on the mat, but in the classroom as a Pioneer,” said Cottrell.

At Glenville, Ramsey will be joining fellow RHS Warriors Hunter Kozak and Cameron Powell, sophomores on the GSC football team. Kozak started at guard as a true freshman last year as the Pioneers finished 7-4. Powell was the back-up kicker to All-American senior Justin Watts.

“We made a great choice with Christian,” Skiles Jr. said. “He is a driven young man who is going to be very successful in life.”