The Georgia High School Association’s decisions to create a sixth classification and hold separate Class A playoffs for public and private schools in most sports beginning in the 2012-13 school year provided a big boost to the public schools in the state’s all-sports competition.
Walton, McIntosh and Gordon Lee captured Regions Directors Cup trophies this year, marking the first time in the history of the competition that three public schools have won their classifications.
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.
Walton won its sixth Directors Cup by overtaking Brookwood in one of the closest finishes in the competition’s history. The Raiders, who won Class AAAAAA championships in volleyball and girls tennis and had teams finish in the top eight in 12 sports, finished with 1,110.5 points, just 2.5 points more than Brookwood, which had won the Directors Cup in the highest classification each of the past two seasons.
“If you had asked me about a month ago, I didn’t think we had a chance to win it because we were sitting in about ninth place,” Walton athletic director Christian Suttle said. “We were looking at five or six scenarios, but I didn’t think it was possible. … Kudos to the students and their commitment, as well as the coaches. The kids worked hard. It’s all about their desire to be champions.”
Gordon Lee became the first public school to win the Directors Cup in Class A. The Trojans, who were the only public school to finish in the top 11 of the Class A standings, won state championships in wrestling, boys golf, girls basketball and softball and had three runner-up finishes. Only the wrestling title came while competing against private schools.
McIntosh edged out Starr’s Mill by 39 points in Class AAAAA to win its first Directors Cup. The Chiefs won state championships in boys cross country, boys track and boys soccer.
Private schools Marist (AAAA), St. Pius (AAA) and Westminster (AA) continued their domination in the other three classifications. Westminster scored more points than any team in the state (1,513) and won a Directors Cup for the 13th time in 14 years. The Wildcats won 11 state championships and had four runner-up finishes.
Marist won its 14th consecutive Directors Cup, capturing seven state championships, and St. Pius won its fourth trophy in five seasons with the help of six state titles.
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