Wolfpack dominated sports during 2006-07

For a school that recently rounded the corner on its first decade of existence, Greenbrier High School's athletic department boasts a series of trophy cases worthy of a school twice as old.

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The 2006-07 sports year was a perfect example of that Greenbrier dominance.

The Wolfpack and Lady Wolfpack teams combined to win nine region championships throughout the sports year.

In the fall, it was the Lady Wolfpack softball team that led the way. Greenbrier's Garrett Black coached the squad to an 11th-straight region championship and a fourth-place finish at the state finals tournament.

Greenbrier senior Tiffany Blackburn took control and wrapped up a four-year high school softball career with 16 school records.

The volleyball team also found success in the fall with a second-place finish in the area tournament and a first-round state tournament win. The football team, led by first-year athletics director and head coach Scott Chadwick, went 4-6 on the year. A come-from-behind, last-second win against Evans and a 24-point blowout over Lakeside still allowed for a year's worth of bragging rights. Greenbrier's cheerleaders took a fourth-place state finish, and the boys cross country team took sixth place overall.

The winter season brought the annual rise of the Lady Wolfpack basketball team and a surprise surge by the boys squad. Greenbrier's boys shocked the county on Nov. 20 with a season-opening win over Evans. The Wolfpack went on to claim a Thanksgiving Tournament Championship but lost two heartbreakers later in the year to the Knights and finished the season with a 19-7 record.

The girls basketball team again dominated the area thanks to a pesky full-court press led by seniors Michelle Swiec and Brooke Jackson and junior Sara Oland. Swiec's record-breaking basketball career ended with a McDonalds All-American nomination and the school's first girls basketball region championship.

The wrestling team took 30th in the state and two wrestlers reached the podium at the state traditional championships. Senior Rick Stahman (215 pounds) bounced back from a first-round loss to claim a fifth-place finish, while sophomore Louie Shearer (125 pounds) took sixth place.

But nothing could match the spring at Greenbrier when the baseball team made another state title run. Led by first-year coach Rodney Holder, Greenbrier claimed a second straight Class AAAA state championship with a 2-0 sweep over Heritage in the state finals on June 1. The Wolfpack began the year with a 2-4 record but seniors Brandon Cumpton, Jeff Rowland, Damien Lucree, Russ Winter, Kyle Waddell and Adam King led a team that ended the season with a 29-game winning streak to claim the crown.

Greenbrier's girls and boys soccer team each won a region title in the spring. The Lady Wolfpack, ranked No. 5 in the state, drew Starr's Mills in the first round of the state tournament and lost. Starr's Mills went on to finish ranked No. 2 in the state and lost in the state finals.

The boys soccer team finished the year with a 20-2 overall record. Both losses came to eventual state champion McIntosh, but the Wolfpack still managed a No. 3 state ranking and a No. 6 ranking in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Also in the spring, the boys golf team finished third at the region tournament after losing a tie with Lakeside and the girls track and field team took seventh place overall because, in part, of Chelsea Maxwell's second place finish in the 3200-meter event.

All the success led the Greenbrier athletic department to an easy first-place finish in the county Director's Cup and a sixth place finish in all of Class AAAA.

With no major coaching changes and first-year athletics director Scott Chadwick now holding a year's worth of experience at Greenbrier, the 11-year old Wolfpack program appears poised to add more accolades to their growing trophy cases.