Richmond Hill finishing ninth in Class 6A in the state Director’s Cup standings comes as no surprise. The Wildcats are annually a Top 10 fixture in the competition to determine the top athletic program among the state’s high schools.
However, what Bryan County accomplished this past school year speaks volumes about what is taking place with Redskins athletics. To say the bar has been raised for this upcoming school year is putting it mildly.
Bryan County teams wound up finishing fourth in the overall standings in Class A-DII as it finished with 679 points behind Lake Oconee Academy (1036), Metter (865) and Georgia Military College Prep (762). This is by far the school’s highest finish ever.
The Director’s Cup competition is sponsored by the Georgia Athletic Director’s Association and points are awarded to each school based on its performance in the playoffs and state meets for all GHSA championship sports. It was founded in the 1999-2000 school year.
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 GADA for the school and its scores to be included in the standings.
Richmond Hill, bolstered by the 100 points awarded to its state championship slow pitch softball team, had 1,049 points, 599 for the girls and 450 for the boys. Bryan County had 679 points, 360 points for the girls and 317 for the boys.
While Lake Oconee was winning for the third consecutive year the top Class 6A program was Walton with 1,296 points followed by West Forsyth (1,229), Buford (1,226), North Gwinnett (1,217), Carrollton (1,211), Lambert (1,190), Mill Creek (1,113), Harrison (1,065) and Richmond Hill.
Richmond Hill easily had the most dominant program in Region 1-6A as Lowndes County was back in the pack in 19th-place. The Wildcats have one of the most diverse athletic programs in the state as the school sponsors 27 sports.
Coach Jason Napier’s basketball team led the way for Bryan County’s boys teams as it reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 1996 and this was good for 70 points. The school also got a major shot in the arm from its golf team which qualified for the state tournament for the first time ever and finished ninth for 63 points.
The boys’ cross country team also had a banner year as it finished 10th in the state to earn 60 points. Soccer and tennis both reached the Sweet 16 for 53 points each, track got 36 points for its 19th-place finish and baseball earned 25 points for making the first round of the playoffs.
The Redskins girls’ track and field team got a surprising school best seventh- place finish for 69 points, golf was another big surprise as it finished eighth for 66 points while the basketball, soccer and tennis teams all made the Sweet 16 for 53 points and volleyball got 25 for making the playoffs.
As always, Coach Levi Seibert’s cross country and track and field teams were major contributors in both the boys and girls standings for the Wildcats.
The boys’ track team was third for 85 points and cross country was 12th for 54. The girls’ cross country team was seventh for 69 points. Girls’ track was 11th for 57 but, unfortunately, those points were not counted due to the eight-sport limitation.
Rounding out the top eight scoring teams for the Wildcats boys were golf (80) which finished fourth in the state, swimming and diving (5th, 66), lacrosse and soccer (9th, 53), wrestling traditional (20th, 34) with baseball and tennis getting 25 (only one counting) for making the playoffs.
The slow pitch championship was a big shot in the arm for the girls who got counts from golf (3rd, 85), duals wrestling (4th, 80), lacrosse (5th, 70), competitive cheer (8th, 66), game day cheer (8th, 66), and swimming and diving (9th, 63).
