Marist, Westminster and Wesleyan, the three most successful athletic programs in the history of the GHSA’s all-sports competition, kept up their winning ways during the 2022-23 school year despite being moved up in the most recent reclassification.
Marist and Westminster won their classifications for the 22nd second time in the Regions Director’s Cup 23-year history, and Wesleyan won for the 12th time. No other school in the state has captured the trophy more than nine times.
Other winners this year included Lambert, Cambridge, Mount Paran Christian, Mount Pisgah Christian and Lake Oconee Academy.
The Director’s Cup competition awards points to each school based on its performances in the playoffs and state meets for all GHSA championship sports. Each school’s eight highest-scoring sports for boys and for girls are counted in the standings. A school’s athletic director or other representative must be a current member of the Georgia Athletic Director’s Association for the school and its scores to be listed.
The Director’s Cup program began in 1999 and has awarded trophies each year since, with the exception of the 2019-20 school year, when the pandemic led to the cancellation of the spring sports championships.
Marist won the Class 6A Director’s Cup after moving up from Class 4A, where it had won the trophy the past two years. The War Eagles won only two state championships (girls cross country, girls tennis) but had seven other teams finish in the top four in the state and finished with 1,286 points, putting them comfortably ahead of second-place Pope.
Westminster won state championships in boys cross country, boys lacrosse, boys tennis, girls soccer, girls swimming and girls track and field and had seven other top-four finishers to win the Class 4A Director’s Cup a year after moving up from 3A. It was the 13th consecutive Director’s Cup for Westminster, which held off second-place North Oconee for the title.
Wesleyan, which jumped from Class A Private to 3A, posted the best numbers of any school, winning a state-best seven state championships (fast-pitch softball, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls swimming, boys golf and girls cross country) to post a GHSA-leading 1,429 points. It was the sixth consecutive Director’s Cup for the Wolves, who won their previous 11 trophies in Class 2A or A.
Lambert of Class 7A won four state championships and held off defending champion Walton by 42 points to win its sixth Director’s Cup in eight years. Lambert and Walton have combined to win the past 10 trophies in the highest classification.
Class 5A Cambridge won a state championship in boys golf and had eight other top-four finishers to win its second Director’s Cup and first since 2019. The Bears surged in the spring sports, earning 929 of their 1,254 points over the last two months of the school year.
The trophies in the three lowest classifications all went to first-time winners – Mount Paran Christian in Class 2A, Mount Pisgah Christian in A Division I and Lake Oconee Academy in A Division II. The closest races in the state were in Class A, with Mount Pisgah edging out Mount Vernon by 21 points and Lake Oconee Academy defeating Georgia Military by 20.
REGIONS DIRECTOR’S CUP
Final Standings
(Top 10 in each classification)
Class 7A
1. Lambert – 1,347
2. Walton – 1,305
3. Buford – 1,206
4. North Gwinnett – 1,201
5. Carrollton – 1,115
6. South Forsyth – 1,099
7. Brookwood – 1,098
8. Mill Creek – 1,044
9. Richmond Hill – 993
10. Milton – 983
Top boys program: Lambert (692)
Top girls program: Buford (680)
Class 6A
1. Marist – 1,286
2. Pope – 1,129
3. Blessed Trinity – 1,121
4. St. Pius – 1,095
5. Etowah – 1,011
6. Glynn Academy – 994
7. Roswell – 936
8. Lassiter – 933
9. Woodward Academy – 916
10. North Forsyth – 906
Top boys program: Marist (612)
Top girls program: Marist (674)
Class 5A
1, Cambridge – 1,254
2. McIntosh – 1,129
3. Greenbrier – 1,058
4. Jefferson – 974
5. Chattahoochee 971
6. Decatur – 919
7. Harris County – 841
8. Northgate – 839
9. Cartersville – 826
10. Calhoun – 821
Top boys program: Cambridge (596)
Top girls program: Cambridge (658)
Class 4A
1. Westminster – 1,394
2. North Oconee 1,272
3. Starr’s Mill – 1,222
4. Lovett – 1,165
5. Pace Academy – 1,164
6. Whitewater – 986
7. Holy Innocents’ – 970
8. West Laurens – 868
9. Central-Carroll – 794
10. Wayne County – 752
Top boys program: Westminster (690)
Top girls program: Westminster (704)
Class 3A
1. Wesleyan – 1,429
2. Oconee County – 1,318
3. Savannah Christian – 1,035
4. Hebron Christian – 986
5. Mary Persons – 830
6. Morgan County – 816
7. Pike County – 743
8. White County – 696
9. Adairsville – 683
10. Dawson County – 651
Top boys program: Wesleyan (675)
Top girls program: Wesleyan (754)
Class 2A
1. Mount Paran Christian – 1,248
2. Athens Academy – 1,070
3. Model – 1,045
4. Fellowship Christian – 923
5. Jeff Davis – 850
6. Walker – 783
7. Vidalia – 759
8. Union County – 708
9. ACE Charter – 700
10. Fannin County – 654
Top boys program: Model (566)
Top girls program: Mount Paran Christian (694)
Class A Division I
1. Mount Pisgah Christian – 1,086
2. Mount Vernon – 1,065
3. Prince Avenue Christian – 929
4. Tallulah Falls – 834
5. Lamar County – 784
6. Whitefield Academy – 760
7. Commerce – 697
8. Social Circle – 674
9. Armuchee – 650
10. Bacon County – 594
Top boys program: Whitefield Academy (527)
Top girls program: Mount Pisgah Christian (593)
Class A Division II
1. Lake Oconee Academy – 969
2. Georgia Military – 949
3. Schley County – 812
4. Christian Heritage – 713
5. Charlton County – 693
6. Aquinas – 673
7. Emanuel County Institute – 616
8. Portal – 589
9. Hawkinsville – 565
10. Towns County – 365
Top boys program: Georgia Military (496)
Top girls program: Lake Oconee Academy (571)
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