GAINESVILLE — C.W. Davis had a vision 60 years ago.
The former South Hall principal envisioned an invitational tournament that didn’t require a lot of travel and the four Hall County-based schools -- East Hall, Gainesville, North Hall and South Hall -- all could share expenses and rotate the event each year.
Thus, Lanierland was born and 60 years later, it’s as strong as it ever has been.
The state’s oldest invitational tournament has grown from four schools to nine schools -- East Hall, Gainesville, North Hall, Johnson, Flowery Branch, Lakeview Academy, Chestatee, Cherokee Bluff and West Hall.
With the addition of Cherokee Bluff in 2018, the tournament expanded its format, adding a play-in game to get the bracket down to an even eight teams on both sides.
The 2019 Lanierland Tournament will rotate rounds between three schools with the first round at East Hall; the semifinals at Johnson; and the finals at the newest Hall County school, Cherokee Bluff. The tournament officially begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. You can hear all first-round games live on FM 94.5 The Lake.
Last year, the Gainesville boys beat East Hall to win their third straight tournament title, 21st overall, and the Flowery Branch girls knocked off North Hall to capture their fourth in a row, 5th overall.
Through six decades, East Hall and Gainesville have dominated the tournament on the boys’ side, winning a combined 45 titles. East Hall owns the most wins with 24 and holds the longest win streak with 7 straight from 1994-2000. The Vikings also own the second-longest streak with 6 from 2002 to 2007 but haven’t won Lanierland since 2010. Gainesville’s, who has 21 titles, best win streak is 5 titles from 1975-1979.
On the girls’ side, it’s been a bit more contested. East Hall holds the most titles with 17. North Hall has 13 and Gainesville has 11. West Hall (1999-2000), Gainesville (1992-1995) and Flowery Branch (2015-2018) are the only teams to win four straight, but no team has won more than four. If the Falcons win the 2019 Lanierland, they’ll be the first in the 60-year history to win five straight.
The action begins at 9:30 a.m. when the Lakeview and Chestatee girls tip-off at East Hall High School. Tickets are $8.
ALL-TIME LANIERLAND CHAMPIONS
BOYS
Team, number of titles
East Hall - 24
Gainesville - 21
North Hall - 7
Johnson/South Hall* - 5
Flowery Branch - 1
West Hall - 1
Overall
1960 -- Gainesville
1961 -- Gainesville
1962 -- East Hall
1963 -- North Hall
1964 -- South Hall
1965 -- North Hall
1966 -- North Hall
1967 -- South Hall
1968 -- East Hall
1969 -- East Hall
1970 -- East Hall
1971 -- Gainesville
1972 -- East Hall
1973 -- East Hall
1974 -- North Hall
1975 -- Gainesville
1976 -- Gainesville
1977 -- Gainesville
1978 -- Gainesville
1979 -- Gainesville
1980 -- East Hall
1981 -- East Hall
1982 -- Gainesville
1983 -- Gainesville
1984 -- Gainesville
1985 -- Gainesville
1986 -- East Hall
1987 -- Gainesville
1988 -- Johnson
1989 -- Gainesville
1990 -- East Hall
1991 -- Gainesville
1992 -- Gainesville
1993 -- North Hall
1994 -- East Hall
1995 -- East Hall
1996 -- East Hall
1997 -- East Hall
1998 -- East Hall
1999 -- East Hall
2000 -- East Hall
2001 -- Gainesville
2002 -- East Hall
2003 -- East Hall
2004 -- East Hall
2005 -- East Hall
2006 -- East Hall
2007 -- East Hall
2008 -- West Hall
2009 -- North Hall
2010 -- East Hall
2011 -- Gainesville
2012 -- North Hall
2013 -- Johnson
2014 -- Johnson
2015 -- Flowery Branch
2016 -- Gainesville
2017 -- Gainesville
2018 -- Gainesville
GIRLS
Team, number of titles
East Hall - 17
North Hall - 13
Gainesville - 11
Johnson/South Hall* - 7
Flowery Branch - 5
West Hall - 4
Chestatee - 1
Forsyth County - 1
Overall
1960 -- East Hall
1961 -- East Hall
1962 -- Gainesville
1963 -- East Hall
1964 -- North Hall
1965 -- Forsyth Co.
1966 -- South Hall
1967 -- South Hall
1968 -- East Hall
1969 -- North Hall
1970 -- East Hall
1971 -- North Hall
1972 -- Johnson
1973 -- Gainesville
1974 -- Johnson
1975 -- North Hall
1976 -- North Hall
1977 -- East Hall
1978 -- East Hall
1979 -- East Hall
1980 -- North Hall
1981 -- East Hall
1982 -- North Hall
1983 -- East Hall
1984 -- East Hall
1985 -- East Hall
1986 -- North Hall
1987 -- North Hall
1988 -- North Hall
1989 -- Johnson
1990 -- North Hall
1991 -- Johnson
1992 -- Gainesville
1993 -- Gainesville
1994 -- Gainesville
1995 -- Gainesville
1996 -- East Hall
1997 -- West Hall
1998 -- West Hall
1999 -- West Hall
2000 -- West Hall
2001 -- East Hall
2002 -- Gainesville
2003 -- Flowery Branch
2004 -- Johnson
2005 -- Gainesville
2006 -- East Hall
2007 -- North Hall
2008 -- Gainesville
2009 -- North Hall
2010 -- East Hall
2011 -- East Hall
2012 -- Chestatee
2013 -- Gainesville
2014 -- Gainesville
2015 -- Flowery Branch
2016 -- Flowery Branch
2017 -- Flowery Branch
2018 -- Flowery Branch
*-South Hall became Johnson High
