Walton proved once again it had the most successful athletic program in the state.
The Raiders won the Class AAAAAAA Directors Cup with a total of 1,281 points, beating second-place Lambert by 138.
“This is the ninth time we’ve won, and it is something we definitely keep our eye on throughout the year and athletic competitions,” Walton athletic director Chris Williams said.
The Directors Cup is awarded in each Georgia High School Association classification, with points awarded for all 26 GHSA-sanctioned sports across both genders. Each school’s eight highest-scoring sports for each gender are counted towards the final total.
In sports with playoff brackets, such as basketball, baseball and football, a state championship is awarded 100 points, a runner-up finish receives 90 points and semifinalists are given 83 points on a scale that goes down to 25 points for a 32nd-place finish.
In non-bracketed sports such as cross country, golf and track and field, a state champion is awarded 100 points, runner-up 90 points, third place 85 and fourth 80 points on a scale going down to 10 points for a 32nd-place finish.
The Walton girls teams accounted for 682 points, led by state championships in tennis, swimming and volleyball. The boys teams brought in 599 points, which included a state tennis championship.
“It’s a big deal to us because it represents excellence in a lot of things, not in just a couple of things,” Williams said. “Our athletics department, school and community take great pride in it. It’s not just about football or basketball, but all teams in order to win this thing.”
Walton won the Directors Cup for the seventh time dating back to 2000. It last won in 2019, following previous Cups in 2000, ’02, ’07, ’08 and ’09.
Harrison finished seventh with 958 points, with a state title in boys soccer. Hillgrove placed ninth with 909 points, winning a state title in girls flag football.
In Class AAAAAA, Lassiter (1,082) finished third, edging out Pope by nine points. Lassiter’s girls teams provided the majority of the points with softball, swimming and soccer state championships.
Pope was led by its baseball team’s state championship.
Allatoona (878) finished ninth with its runner-up finish in baseball and top-five finishes in gymnastics, track and swimming.
Buford (1,296) won the Directors Cup for Class AAAAAA, with Cambridge (1,187) finishing second.
In Class A Private, Mount Paran Christian (941) was third with state championships in girls volleyball, cheerleading and basketball. Whitefield Academy (777) placed eighth with a state championship in boys cross country, runner-up finish in boys track and a top-five finish in girls swimming.
Wesleyan (1,264) and Holy Innocents’ (1,103) topped the Class A Private standings.
Other Directors Cup winners were Blessed Trinity (AAAAA), Marist (AAAA), Westminster (AAA), Lovett (AA) and Commerce (A Public).
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