Lowndes wins Region 1-7A All Sports Award
May 29—VALDOSTA — Thanks to Lowndes High School, Titletown USA just added more hardware.
Lowndes High School was presented the Region 1-7A All Sports Trophy in a ceremony at the Lowndes County Board of Education Thursday.
"It just shows the overall support we have here in the Lowndes County school system, from the top down — from the superintendent down to the board and the high school administration," Lowndes Athletic Director Danny Redshaw said. "Our fans have been unbelievable. They're something else. The support we had at the state championship in baseball, the folks that showed up for golf and track — it's hard to fathom and it's something we're certainly proud of."
As part of the ceremony, all of the head coaches of Lowndes athletics gathered for a photo with the trophy — including Ryan Page, who led the Vikings to their first state championship since 2000 back on May 17.
Lowndes has long set a standard of having one of the largest help staffs in the state for its sports teams.
Redshaw, who was the longtime baseball coach at Lowndes before becoming the Athletic Director, spoke of the importance of not only having gifted athletes, but quality coaches as well.
"You've got to have athletes but you've got to have good coaches, too — coaches who care about the kids, want to see them succeed and want to teach them the games and the sports and do things the right way and we emphasize that as well," Redshaw said. "Mission accomplished."
In addition to the baseball team, the Vikings also saw much success across the board in other sports.
LHS track & field team won its ninth consecutive region championship. The Lowndes golf team placed fourth in the state championship tournament while girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, wrestling, softball and volleyball each posted winning records and made the state playoffs this season.
Most importantly, many of the teams also sent student-athletes to college on scholarships.
While the program has seen student-athletes sign with Division I schools to continue their athletic careers, Redshaw stresses the importance of student-athletes learning life lessons through sports, even if many of their athletic endeavors end once they graduate.
"Even the kids who aren't Division I, kids who are just good high school players and they're never going to play another down or another play in their life, they've learned some life lessons out here in sports at Lowndes High School," Redshaw said. "We're all about the boys and girls, the young men and young women."
Shane Thomas is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.
