Nine schools have swept boys, girls state titles

Only nine times in GHSA history has one school won boys and girls basketball state championships in the same season. This year, 14 schools finished with both teams ranked in the Top 10, so a 10th program could be joining the exclusive list when the champions are decided on March 12-13.

Two in the Top 10

Here are the 14 schools whose boys and girls teams were listed in the Top 10 in the final rankings of the regular season:

• Class AAAAA: Westlake (boys No. 1, girls No. 5); Norcross (boys No. 5, girls No. 3); McEachern (boys No. 7, girls No. 8).

• Class AAAA: Fayette County (boys No. 4, girls No. 5); Bainbridge (boys and girls No. 6).

• Class AAA: Columbia (boys No. 1, girls No. 2); Washington County (boys No. 8, girls No. 5).

• Class AA: Greater Atlanta Christian (boys No. 1, girls No. 2); Northeast-Macon (boys No. 2, girls No. 4); Laney (boys No. 3, girls No. 5); Thomasville (boys No. 6, girls No. 8).

• Class A: Wesleyan (boys No. 3, girls No. 1); Gordon Lee (boys No. 8, girls No. 6); Paideia (boys No. 9, girls No. 5).

The dual champions

These are the nine programs that swept the boys and girls state championships in the same season:

• Wesleyan (2008, Class AA): Tanner Smith scored 27 points to lead the boys team to a 61-43 victory against East Laurens in the championship game. Trey Thompkins had 10 points before leaving late in the first half with a bruised back. The girls completed a 30-3 season with a 79-40 victory against Paideia. Erin Hall led the way with 22 points.

• Southwest Atlanta Christian (2006, Class A): Javaris Crittenton scored 29 points as the boys team rallied to beat Whitefield Academy 76-71 in the final. The girls team, which beat Atkinson County 53-45 for the title, was unranked entering the tournament and finished the season 20-14.

• Clinch County (1987, Class A): The boys team beat Greater Atlanta Christian 67-65 for the championship. All four of the Panthers' tournament games were decided by five points or less. The girls team beat Taylor County 77-71 in the final.

• Greater Atlanta Christian (1972, Class C): The boys team beat Woodbury 78-58 for the championship in what was the final year of the C classification. The girls team, which beat East Coweta 47-36 in the final, finished second in Class B the following year, then won state championships in 1974 and 1975.

• Hart County (1963, Class AA): The girls program is best known for its six consecutive Class AAA titles from 1989 to 1994, but its first championship came in 1963, when it beat Newton County 50-39 in the final. The boys beat Winder-Barrow 57-51 for their championship.

• Murphy (1958, Class AAA): Murphy, which essentially became Crim in 1988, remains the only metro Atlanta public school to sweep the championships. Both teams defeated an Atlanta rival in the final. The boys beat Brown 50-48 in three overtimes, while the girls rolled over Northside 61-46.

• Jeff Davis (1958, Class AA): Jeff Davis joined Murphy to make 1958 the only year in GHSA history in which two teams swept the titles. The boys beat Americus 56-52 in the final and the girls beat Miller County 64-43.