Coach Bob Stover graduated from Clay County High School in 1955. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Morris Harvey College in 1964. Coach Stover later earned a master's degree from West Virginia University. He also studied at Marshall University and was a participant on the school's wrestling and baseball teams. In 1967, Bob Stover initiated the wrestling program at Clay County High School. The team's first mats were 4' by 6' gym mats tied together. Their uniforms were gray sweat suits. At that time, there were no divisions and Clay County wrestlers competed against the bigger schools as well as the smaller ones. During Coach Stover's tenure, he produced 8 individual state champions, 11 state runner-ups, six regional team titles, six New River Valley Conference titles, and amassed 299 dual meet wins. For his efforts, Bob Stover was voted the AA State Wrestling Coach of the Year in 1980. He was also selected as the West Virginia High School Wrestling Coach of the Year by the West Virginia Coaches Association that same year. Coach Stover was later dubbed the Regional Coach of the Year by the West Virginia School's Athletic Coaches Association in 1988. Coach Stover retired from coaching in 1989 after 25 years of devotion to the mat sport. Because of his dedicated efforts to wrestling, the "Bob Stover Classic Wrestling Tournament" is now a part of Clay County High School's schedule. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame honors Bob Stover with a "Lifetime Service to Wrestling" award, class of 2004.