Metro Atlanta private schools Marist, St. Pius, Westminster and Wesleyan continued their dominance of the state’s high school athletics for the 2010-11 school year, successfully defending their titles in the Regions Directors Cup competition, and Brookwood extended the hold of Gwinnett and Cobb counties on Class AAAAA.
Brookwood finished with 1,220.5 points to win the Class AAAAA trophy for the first time since 2003-04. The Gwinnett County school won state championships in football, boys cross country and boys tennis and earned runner-up finishes in girls cross country and girls swimming.
No school from a county other than Gwinnett or Cobb has won the Directors Cup trophy in Class AAAAA. Defending champion Collins Hill finished in sixth place this year.
The Directors Cup competition, which has been held every school year since 1999-2000, awards points to each school based on its performances in the playoffs and state meets for the GHSA’s 24 sports. Each school’s eight highest-scoring sports for each gender are counted in the standings.
The closest race came in Class AAA, where St. Pius outscored region-rival Woodward Academy by 58 points to win the trophy for the third consecutive year. The Golden Lions won state championships in boys cross country and boys and girls soccer and put 21 of their 22 teams in the state playoffs.
“The thing I love about this award is that to win it, or really to even be in contention to win it, is that it takes the combined effort of everyone in your community,” St. Pius athletics director Mark Kelly said. “When you’ve won this award, it says that your coaches, your students, your parents, your alumni ... everybody’s working together. Everybody has the same goal and is working with the same purpose.”
St. Pius essentially wrapped up the AAA trophy May 14, when the girls track team finished second at the state meet and the boys and girls soccer teams beat Woodward Academy in a championship doubleheader.
“We have a great rivalry with Woodward,” Kelly said. “It’s a fun rivalry. It’s not one of those bitter rivalries like sometimes get to be established, but it’s a good rivalry. Our kids know that, regardless of what sport, when you play them you better have your ‘A’ game or you’re going down.”
Westminster scored more points than any school in the state, accumulating 1,299.5 to win its second consecutive Class AA trophy. The Wildcats won state championships in girls cross country and boys cross country, tennis, golf and soccer. Westminster has won 11 Directors Cup titles, including eight in a row in Class AAA from 2000-01 to 2007-08.
Class A Wesleyan matched Westminster for the biggest margin of victory. The Wolves finished with 1,213.5 points, 241.5 more than second-place Darlington. It is the third consecutive Directors Cup trophy for Wesleyan and the school’s fourth overall. Wesleyan won state championships in boys cross country, swimming and tennis and girls basketball.
Then there is Marist, the undisputed king of the Regions Directors Cup. The War Eagles have won the trophy in every year of its existence, including 11 consecutive in Class AAAA. Marist got state championships from the boys in baseball and cross country and from the girls in cross country, swimming and tennis.
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Final Regions Directors Cup standings
Class AAAAA
1. Brookwood 1,220.5
2. Walton 1,058.5
3. Mill Creek 1,039
4. Harrison 1,010.5
5. Lassiter 996.5
6. Collins Hill 992.5
7. Milton 935
8. Parkview 932.5
9. Tift County 929.5
10. Peachtree Ridge 912.5
Class AAAA
1. Marist 1,148.5
2. Pope 1,066.5
3. Chattahoochee 928
4. McIntosh 850.5
5. Starr’s Mill 785
6. Lambert 779.5
7. Greenbrier 715.5
8. Dunwoody 674.5
9. Kell 648
10. Johns Creek 622
Class AAA
1. St. Pius 1,243
2. Woodward Academy 1,185
3. Columbus 909
4. Carrollton 901.5
5. Allatoona 854.5
6. Eastside 802
7. Dalton 683
8. North Hall 649.5
9. Westover 612.5
10. Eagle’s Landing 602
Class AA
1. Westminster 1,299.5
2. Lovett 1,058
3. Greater Atlanta Christian 1,053
4. Blessed Trinity 964
5. North Oconee 832
6. Calhoun 812
7. Morgan County 769.5
8. Buford 694.4
9. Thomasville 645
10. Bleckley County 618.9
Class A
1. Wesleyan 1,213.5
2. Darlington 972
3. Brookstone 760
4. Savannah Christian 719.5
5. First Presbyterian 708.5
6. Athens Academy 675.5
7. Whitefield Academy 629.8
8. Pace Academy 619.5
9. Holy Innocents’ 609.8
10. Calvary Day 594.5
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