It was oh, so close for George Wythe.
In fact, the VHSL originally, mistakenly reported that GW was the 2022-23 Class 1 National Guard Cup winner for athletic excellence.
It would have been the first win for the school.
Instead, the Virginia High School League was issuing a correction, saying that George Wythe was in second and Auburn had snagged its fifth cup straight cup and sixth in an eight-year span (discounting 2019-20, where no cups were awarded due to COVID-19).
The VHSL explained that when tallying results for spring sports, Auburn hadn’t received 7.5 points for finishing in an eighth-place tie in the boy’s state track meet, bringing the Eagles’ total to 310 total points. George Wythe had 305 points.
Abingdon was a first-time winner, taking the cup in Class 3. In Class 2, Glenvar was the cup winner, while Western Albemarle won its eighth cup in Class 4. Deep Run was the Class 5 winner. James Robinson won in Class 6.
First awarded in 1990, the Cup represents 34 seasons of excellence, with six Cups awarded for academic activities and athletics in each of the VHSL’s six enrollment classifications.
The winners are determined through a point system based on overall performance in VHSL state championship competitions. First place earns 50 points, second place earns 45 points, third place earns 40 points, fourth place earns 35 points, fifth place earns 30 points, sixth place earns 25 points, seventh place earns 20 points, and eighth place earns 15 points. Schools earning the League’s Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award earn 50 points each.
In case of a tie, the schools receive equal points based on the number of schools that tie and the number of schools that finish higher in the standings. For instance, semifinal losers split third and fourth-place points, each earning 37.5 points.
