VALDOSTA —
After Title IX was passed in 1972, it didn’t take long for Lowndes High School’s girls sports teams to start winning.
Lowndes has embraced girls sports, and the results have spoken for themselves. The school’s girls athletic teams have won a plethora of region championships, have had a large number of state-ranked teams in the last 40 years and have sent a lot of female athletes to the next level.
“Our girls have been consistently strong since we implemented (these sports),” said former Lowndes coach and assistant athletic director Terry Wilkes, a Lowndes graduate who coached at the school from 1977-2007. “They’ve been great. Girls basketball is still a big winner, girls softball is a big winner, girls track and field was a big winner all those years, girls tennis this year (got to) the semifinals. (They’ve been) pretty stout.”
Soon after Title IX passed, Lowndes became a high school girls basketball powerhouse.
The Lowndes girls basketball team won its first game of the 1976-77 season. Then it won the next one. And the next. And the next. And the Vikettes kept winning for a long time.
The Vikettes reeled off 124 consecutive victories from 1976-80. They won four consecutive state championships. They won four consecutive national championships. For four years, they were the preeminent high school girls basketball team in the country.
That girls basketball program was led by a brilliant head coach, Charles Cooper, a man who would win over 1,000 games in a coaching career that spanned close to 50 years. Cooper went 274-37 as the Vikettes’ head coach, an .881 winning percentage, before moving on to the college level, where he had more success.
“Coach Cooper had some great teams when he coached here,” Wilkes said. “(The winning streak and the state and national championships) was quite a feat. That was a pretty good run.”
The tradition of success that Cooper started in the 1970s has continued today. Lowndes’ basketball teams are perennially strong. The school’s new gymnasium is filled with banners recognizing the Vikettes’ region, state and national titles. Under current head coach Shan Garner, the Vikettes have won at least 21 games each of the last seven years.
Cooper’s teams were the first female teams at Lowndes to have success after Title IX was passed. But they weren’t the last.
For over 20 years, Lowndes has had a tremendous girls track program. Head coach Hiram Johnson built the Vikettes into a region powerhouse, one that won 19 Region 1 championships in a span of 21 years. Lowndes finished second in the state in 2001.
In 1998, Lowndes began playing fast-pitch softball, and almost immediately developed into one of the top programs in the state. Every year, the top eight teams in the state are invited to the Elite Eight in Columbus. Lowndes has made it to Columbus nine times since 1999 (1999-2002, 2005-08 and 2010). In 2002, the Vikettes finished second in the state, and handed eventual state champion Fayette County one of its only two losses. Lowndes has also won nine Region 1 championships since 1998. The Vikettes will enter the 2012 season as two-time defending region champions.
Lowndes began playing soccer in the mid-1990s, and has also had plenty of success in that sport. The Vikettes have won several region championships since the turn of the millennium, including four straight from 2001-04. In 2012, they had arguably their best season ever, going 15-1-2 and making it to the second round of the state playoffs.
Lowndes also just had its most successful season in girls tennis. The Vikettes won the region title. Then they made it all the way to the state semifinals, with a team that had just one senior. They will try to repeat that feat in 2013.
Lowndes’ competition cheerleading squad also won back-to-back Region 1-AAAAA championships in 2010 and 2011.
The Vikettes also compete in swimming, golf, cross country and gymnastics, giving girls at Lowndes High School ten different sports to compete in.
——
The girls athletic programs at the other local high schools have also had some success since Title IX was passed.
Like Lowndes, Valdosta High offers softball, soccer, track, cross country, swimming, golf, tennis and competitive cheerleading for girls to compete in.
In 2011, Valdosta’s girls tennis team won the Region 1 title, made it to the state semifinals and finished the season ranked third in the state. The Lady Wildcats won their first 22 matches that season. They also made it to the quarterfinals in 2009.
Valdosta’s track team won the region title in 2012.
At the private school level, Valwood girls compete in softball, basketball, soccer, cross country, track and tennis.
One of Valwood’s most successful sports programs has been its girls tennis team, which won three consecutive state championships between 2001-03. The Lady Valiants have also had some success over the years in basketball and track.
“We’ve had success in tennis, and in track this year,” Valwood athletic director Brett Martin said. “In basketball, we’ve had some success, won some region championships in the past.”
Georgia Christian’s girls compete in softball, basketball and soccer. The school’s basketball programs have long been a source of pride for Georgia Christian, and the Lady Generals have done their part to make it that. They have won several region championships, and have had several deep runs in the state playoffs.
“Overall, our girls have been pretty competitive,” Georgia Christian athletic director Kent Copeland said.
Open Bible’s girls basketball team has won four state championships in the past decade. The most recent came in 2010. Open Bible also won three consecutive state championships from 2005-07.
Open Bible’s girls softball team won a state championship in 2010. The cheerleading squad also won a state title recently.
Coming Tuesday: How Title IX altered the landscape for women's sports in general.
Local Sports
Vikettes excelling in sports
Lowndes girls teams are perennial playoff teams, region title contenders
- Local Sports
-
-
VSU softball wins South Region, headed to nationals
For the third time in four years, and second in a row, Valdosta State’s softball team will play in the national championship tournament.
The Blazers won their third South Region championship Saturday, beating Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 in game three of the best-of-three series at Steel’s Diamond at Blazer Park. -
VSU baseball season comes to an end
Delta State scored seven unanswered runs to defeat Valdosta State 7-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at the UT Baseball Field Saturday afternoon.
-
Blazers take 1-0 series lead
Angela O’Connor launched a pinch-hit two-run home run over the left-field fence, tying the game against Alabama-Huntsville in the bottom of the sixth inning, and sparking the Blazers and their fans along the way.
-
Blazer baseball stays alive, beats Stillman
Valdosta State scored five runs in the first inning to defeat Stillman 6-2 in an elimination game of the NCAA South Region Tournament at UT Baseball Field Friday morning.
-
Lowndes’ Harwell, Wortham sign with Valdosta State
Lowndes’ Ty Harwell and David Wortham won’t have to go far to play college baseball.
-
Blazers host respected rival UAH in Super Regional
One would expect a matchup featuring two of the top softball programs in Division II to come in the national championship game.
Unfortunately for Valdosta State and Alabama-Huntsville, who have combined to appear in four straight national championship games, they won’t be meeting in title game on Memorial Day in Salem, Va. -
Pop Warner Football coming to Valdosta
Pop Warner Football is coming to Valdosta.
The nationally known organization that puts an emphasis on education and developing American youth has been established in the Valdosta area and will begin playing football this August. -
Blazers lose to Delta State, fall to loser’s bracket
If the Valdosta State baseball team is going to win the South Region Tournament, the Blazers going to have to do it from the loser’s bracket.
The Blazers (33-17) dropped their first game of the tournament Thursday, falling to Delta State 4-2 at UT Baseball Stadium.
VSU will face Stillman College, which lost to No. 1 seed and tournament host Tampa Thursday, Friday at 11 a.m. to advance to the weekend portion of the tournament. The loser will be eliminated. -
Lowndes’ Willis, Breit named Region 1 Coaches of the Year
The All-Region 1-AAAAAA soccer teams were announced Wednesday and Lowndes was well represented.
Lowndes coaches Chris Willis (girls) and Jordan Breit (boys) were named the Region Coaches of the Year, after leading the Lowndes teams to region championships and going undefeated in region play. -
Vikings commit 4 errors, fall to Roswell, 5-2
The small things matter in baseball, especially in a winner-take-all game three.
On Wednesday, Lowndes’ baseball team made too many mistakes on the little things. The Vikings committed four errors that led to five Roswell runs and were eliminated in the Class AAAAAA state playoffs with a 5-2 loss to the Hornets. - More Local Sports Headlines
-



