By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor

When Westlake’s baseball team stunned nationally ranked San Antonio Reagan in the Class 5A Region IV finals last month, the win did more than lift the Chaps into the state tournament.

It also broke a deadlock of sorts for the unofficial title of the best athletic program in the region.

In nine head-to-head meetings in team sports –  which include football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball – since Westlake moved back into Region IV prior to the 2006-07 school year, the Chaps have a 5-4 advantage against their fiercest regional rival. No school has faced the Chaps more than Reagan in that three-year span, and no school has handed Westlake as many defeats.

And based on a glance at Westlake’s playoff records in the aforementioned team sports during the past three years, defeats have been few and far between for the Chaps when it comes to matchups with San Antonio-area schools. Westlake has a 36-12 playoff record in team sports against the Alamo City in that span and has captured five regional titles.

San Antonio Madison, which has won three regional titles since the start of the 2006 season, is the only other school to win more than two Region IV titles.

This analysis doesn’t include teams from outside of the San Antonio metropolitan areas. Schools from the Rio Grande Valley have captured two regional soccer titles and one regional baseball crown, and Laredo United represented Region IV at the 2008 state baseball tournament. However, the facts prove that San Antonio and Austin schools have dominated South Texas 5A competition; of the 27 possible regional titles since the 2006-07 school year (which includes two playoff brackets in football), those two cities have accounted for 23 regional titles.

No program has been more dominant that Westlake volleyball. Despite playing in the region widely regarded as the strongest in the state, the Chaps have gone 11-1 against San Antonio schools. The lone loss came against Reagan in 2006, but the Chaps avenged that setback with back-to-back wins over the Rattlers in the last two regional finals.

Westlake’s baseball team has accounted for eight playoff-series wins without a loss in the past three years against San Antonio teams. The Chaps have five wins, compared to two losses, in football, and Westlake’s girls soccer team has a 4-1 record.

Surprisingly, Westlake’s unheralded softball program has won three of four playoff matchups against its southern rivals. That success includes a second-round win this year against Clark, which has suffered seven playoff losses to Westlake’s athletic programs in the past three years with just one win.

Only Churchill, which has lost all six meetings with Westlake teams, has a worse record among schools that have faced the Chaps at least five times.

Which San Antonio school has had the most success against Westlake? Based on the strength of its basketball programs, Converse Wagner is the only team that has faced the Chaps more than once with a winning record against the Chaps. Wagner won both meetings – a girls basketball game in 2007 and a boys basketball game in 2008.

Jay, which lost to Westlake’s football team in 2006 and defeated the girls basketball team this past season, is the only other San Antonio team that has faced the Chaps more than once since 2006 not to have a losing record.

Because of the lack of participation among all schools, other sports such as team tennis and golf weren’t included in this analysis.