By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Williamston’s domination of area sports continued to pay dividends as it was announced this week that the school had won the Wachovia Cup for in the Four Rivers Conference.
The Tigers have made strong playoff runs in just about all of the major sports as the girls’ basketball team finished second in the state and the softball team placed fourth. However, their success in the lower profile sports such as golf and tennis contributed greatly to Williamston’s second Cup in a row. and fifth in six years.
“I’m excited for our athletic program,” Williamston athletic director Herbie Rogers said. “Each year it is one of our goals to win the Wachovia Cup for our conference.”
The Tigers racked up 126 points, and thanks to a good effort by their spring performers, were able to spring past Manteo (121) to lock down the Cup.
“In our conference we did very well. We won championships in golf and boys’ and girls’ track, our softball team finished second in the conference and so did our baseball team. Our tennis team also made it to the third round of the dual team tournament,” Rogers said.
From the time the first football was hiked this season, to the final out recorded by the softball squad, Williamston was seemingly in contention to win the Four Rivers Conference in just about every sport.
“I can’t really remember ever having a class like this,” Rogers said. “I think overall it is probably one of the best years we have ever had at Williamston High School.”
 Rogers said the key to his school’s success is the dedication of its athletes and their willingness to play more than one sport.
“We have a lot of our athletes doing a lot of different things,” Rogers said. “We have a lot of participation at our school, not just in the major sports, but in the minor sports too. We have a lot of kids playing a lot of different sports and that’s really what you have to have if you want to have a chance to win the Wachovia Cup.”
Rogers, who coaches volleyball and led his team to a second place finish in the conference, said that his favorite sports moments that didn’t involve volleyball was watching the girls’ basketball team and softball team make a run at state titles, respectively.
“Having the girls basketball team make it to the state championship and watching the softball team get to state was really nice,” Rogers said. “It’s been a long time since either one of those programs played for a championship, so it was very special.”
Williamston is set to merge with Jamesville, who won the Wachovia Cup in the Tideland Conference, to form the Riverside Knights, and Rogers said winning the Cup in the final year at Williamston was a great way to go out.
“It’s always exciting for our athletic program to win one, especially with this year being the last year.”
Wachovia Cup top-five standings
Four Rivers Conference
Williamston 126
Manteo 121
Perquimans 100.5
Southside 74.5
Camden 74.5
Tideland
Jamesville 32.5
Creswell 26.3
Cape Hatteras 26.3
Bear Grass 25
Columbia 25