Three West Liberty University communications students were praised for their knowledge and professionalism when they recently worked on the national broadcast of a high school basketball tournament in Wheeling.

Samantha Gretchen, Britni Lindgren and Todd Ullom, led by WLU instructor and WLSN producer Chuck Scatterday, worked alongside ESPN professionals on the sports network’s broadcast of Cancer Research Classic games.

Dave Andrews, ESPN camera operator, said, “The girls were great as utes (utility workers). They knew what they were doing all night and had my back. It’s a great feeling to have when you’re busy staring down a viewfinder for three hours.”

The students’ enthusiasm impressed Dadja Roerig, a video operator. “They were quick to help and pitched in early and often,” she said.

Mike Krivens, operations producer, echoed that sentiment. “Todd was spot on both days. He had a good attitude and was fast to help when directed. He had no complaints and did the job, and they knew how to over/under cables. That’s ‘TV101’ and they had it covered.  Good job!”

“Over/under” refers to a method of preparing television cables for storage. It is considered by the television industry the only proper way to coil cables, as it protects them and ensures that they will lay flat for their next use.

Jeff Habak, a freelance camera operator who photographed the basketball games for ESPN, told Scatterday, “Your students understood what it took to get the job done.”

Scatterday, who worked at ESPN for many years before joining WLU and its television operations, said he was pleased with the trio’s work. Working with the ESPN crew was an invaluable “real world” learning experience for the students, he noted.

The annual tournament features some of the top high school teams in the nation. Proceeds of the CRC tournament support Wheeling Hospital’s men’s health programs, undergraduate cancer research and medical physics programs.