Radford, Maggie Walker, Blacksburg, Jamestown, Deep Run, and James Robinson claimed the top spots in VHSL athletic competition for the 2016-17 school year, winning the coveted Wells Fargo Cup for Groups 1A through 6A.
In Group 4A William Byrd finished 42nd among 53 schools in their classification. After scoring 22.5 points in the fall the Terriers, who won the cup three straight years from 1996-98, failed to score in the winter or spring.
First awarded in 1990, the Wells Fargo Cup goes to the school in each group classification that has achieved the best overall record in VHSL state-level competition in 27 sports – the state champions’ state champion. Cups are presented for athletic and academic activities to the top school in each of the League’s enrollment groups. Radford, Central-Wise, Cave Spring, Woodgrove, Princess Anne, and Clover Hill were announced earlier as 2015-16 winners for academic activities.
The winner of the Wells Fargo Cup is determined by a point system based on performance in state championship events. Points are awarded for all sanctioned sports in the following manner; first place-50 points, second-45, third-40, fourth-35, fifth-30, sixth-25, seventh-20 and eighth place-15. In the event of a tie, the schools received an equal number of points based on the number of schools that tie and the number schools that finish higher in the standings.
Schools earning the League’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award earn 50 points each.
Radford claimed its third Cup in four years in 1A and its sixth overall while Maggie Walker earned its fourth straight Cup in 2A while winning 10 state titles. In 3A, Blacksburg totaled a record 677.5 points earning the school’s 12th Cup title, second straight, and seventh in the past eight years. In 4A, Jamestown won its second Cup while Deep Run was awarded its first Cup in 5A and Oakton won for the third time in five years in 6A.
Jamestown returned to the top spot in Group 4A for the first time since 2001, earning 417.5 points. The Eagles earned 80 fall points, followed by 130 points in the winter, and 207.5 points in the spring. Two-time Cup champion Midlothian finished second with 300 points, followed by defending Cup champ Hanover with 282 points, E.C. Glass with 280, and with Great Bridge and Loudoun Valley rounding out the top five with 240 points each.
“We congratulate all the schools who competed in this year’s VHSL championship events,” said John W. “Billy” Haun, Ed.D., VHSL executive director. “We especially congratulate the best of the best and we thank Wells Fargo for supporting this important recognition.”
The Wells Fargo Cup athletic and academic winners will be recognized during VHSL Day at a University of Virginia football game this fall in Charlottesville.
