Student athletes and coaches are celebrating Dawson County High's latest victory after the school was awarded the Region 7-AAA All-Sports Trophy last week.

"We had to beat Lumpkin at the region track meet to win the trophy and we did," said senior track and cross country star runner Rhys Adams.

The coveted trophy is awarded to the school that accumulates the most points in the region for all-sports played. Schools receive points ranging from 11 points for winning the region championship, nine for second, seven for third, five for fourth, three for fifth, two for sixth and one for competing.

This is the first year Dawson County has won the contest.

"It's a big honor because what it says is that your overall sports program is the best in the region, at least for this year," said Athletic Director Grady Turner. "We finished second several times. We finished third multiple times, but we've never won."

Dawson County teams won six region championships: Boys and girls golf, girls basketball, competition cheerleading, softball and girls cross country.

Out of the 17 sports played at the school, 14 of them went to state.

"This year, going into the spring sports, it was us and Lumpkin County separated by one point," Turner said. "We had a very good spring all across the board. All of our spring sports, except for one, went to state, so we finished in the top four and got a lot of points."

The school's boys and girls tennis teams, for the first time in school history, competed at the state level, propelling Dawson to a 141 point victory over second place Lumpkin's 126 points.

"The tennis, track and golf this year really excelled and pushed us over the top," Turner said.

Senior Jake Phillips, who plays football and golf, said winning the trophy was a goal the upperclassmen have had since they were in ninth grade.

"It's really important to our team. It's been a goal of ours since I was a freshman. It's a great feeling," he said.

Winning region as a senior in golf was also a highlight of his high school athletic career, he said.

The trophy represents the hard work and dedication of the student athletes and their coaches, according to Principal Richard Crumbley.

"The All-Sports Trophy is a wonderful accomplishment for both our coaches and our kids," he said. "It's a testament to the professionalism and dedication that our coaches show, but also shows how hard our kids work and that they believe in our coaches and their proud to represent Dawson County.

"We're extremely proud how they represent our high school and the community."