Greenbrier shoots to top of Columbia County rankings

This weekend's Georgia High School Association state football championships marked the end of the fall sports season. It also allowed fans, coaches and media a chance to get their first full look at how the Dodge Director's Cup standings pan out with one-third of the sports year gone.

The annual quest for the Dodge Director's Cup, an award given to the top Georgia schools in each class based on postseason sports performances, ranks Greenbrier High School as the best in Columbia County with a No. 4 ranking in Class AAAA.

Greenbrier currently sits behind Starr's Mills High School from Fayetteville, Ga. and two Atlanta private schools (Marist and St. Pius X).

Lakeside High, the top Columbia County athletic program from the 2005-06 sports year, currently sits in a tie for 21st place, while Evans is tied for 28th.

Harlem, in the Class AAA standings, is tied for 46th place.

For first-year Greenbrier athletic director Scott Chadwick the standings serve as an indication that things are going well.

"It's still early in the school year, but I was very pleased with our fall athletic season," he said. "I think it's a testament to the great job that our coaches do."

Greenbrier's fall success was due largely in part to the girls sports teams. The Lady Wolfpack earned fourth place finishes in state competition from the softball team and cheerleading squads. Girls cross country and volleyball also reached state competition and earned director's cup points. The boys cross country team's sixth-place finish at the state meet also contributed to Greenbrier's overall tally.

Chadwick said even with a strong fall season, a run to the top of the overall standings might still be out of reach considering the private school competition. However, the best is yet to come from the Wolfpack athletic program.

"Obviously, we're probably never going to compete with Marist because we can't recruit the way they do, but for a public school we're real pleased where we are in the director's cup right now," Chadwick said. "We've still got a couple of our big guns left with girls basketball and boys and girls soccer and baseball. So we've still got some of our better sports to come."

Lakeside, the reigning Columbia County champion, also has its best sports teams yet to play. Boys golf and boys tennis were the two top contributors to the Panthers' director's cup points total last year.