On the strength of three state championships and one runner-up finish, former two-time champion
Bentonville (Ark.) surged into first place in the MaxPreps Cup standings after the month of May.
Winner of the MaxPreps Cup in 2014 and 2015, Bentonville won state championships in boys and girls track and field as well as girls soccer while finishing second in baseball. The Tigers moved ahead of winter leader
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) with a total of 1,996 points. The Patriots, who won a state championship in baseball, are second with 1,841 points.
The MaxPreps Cup competition uses a formula to determine the top overall high school athletic program in the country. Points are awarded for state championships and runner-up finishes along with placement in national rankings for each sport where available. Points vary based on the size of the state, popularity of the sport, enrollment level in which the school competes and the number of schools participating in that enrollment level.
Many of the southern and southwestern states have completed their state competition, which is one reason Bentonville – along with a host of Florida schools – were able to move up in the final MaxPreps Cup standings before the final release in late July. Some states in the Midwest and Northeast do not begin their state playoffs until June.
Florida has three schools in the top 10 with
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) moving up 55 places to No. 4 with one championship and four runner-up finishes.
Bolles (Jacksonville) also made a big move, going from No. 40 to No. 7 with two state titles and two runner-up finishes.
Schools are listed with the MaxPreps Cup formula point totals with their placement in the winter standings listed in parenthesis.
A runner-up finish by the Bentonville baseball team helped fuel the Tigers' surge to No. 1 in the MaxPreps Cup standings for May. (Photo: Richey Miller)
1. (7)
Bentonville (Ark.), 1,996
2. (1)
American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 1,841
3. (5)
Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 1,761
4. (59)
St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 1,680
5. (2)
Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 1,670
6. (49)
Oceanside Collegiate Academy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), 1,665
7. (40)
Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), 1,650
8. (10)
Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.), 1,631
9. (4)
Bedford (N.H.), 1,572
10. (13)
Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 1,522
11. (16)
Hoover (Ala.), 1,503
12. (18)
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 1,502
13. (20)
St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), 1,490
14. (3)
Carmel (Ind.), 1,481
15. (9)
Hinsdale Central (Hinsdale, Ill.), 1,464
16. (32)
Skutt Catholic (Omaha, Neb.), 1,375
17. (86)
Punahou (Honolulu, Hawaii), 1,362
18. (26)
Fayetteville (Ark.), 1,335
19. (6)
Champlain Valley Union (Hinesburg, Vt.), 1,310
20. (48)
Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), 1,263
21. (47)
Boise (Idaho), 1,240
22. (33)
Pace Academy (Atlanta), 1,238
23. (8)
Columbus (Miami), 1,234
24. (22)
Ponte Vedra (Fla.), 1,227
25. (41)
Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.), 1,217
