Herald Athletic Cup update: Lake Stevens sits in 1st place

It was quite the fall for Lake Stevens High School athletics.

Highlighted by its Class 4A state runner-up volleyball team, five of the school’s fall sports teams either advanced to their respective state tournaments or earned a top-16 state finish.

With all of their success this fall, the Vikings sit atop this school year’s first installment of the Herald Athletic Cup standings with a total of 68 points.

“It’s just a credit to the athletes and the coaches and then obviously the community, because at every single event we had quite a few people there,” Lake Stevens athletic director Jason Pearson said.

This is the second year of the Herald Athletic Cup, which rewards area schools for their overall athletic performance during the school year. Jackson won last year’s inaugural Herald Athletic Cup.

Schools receive points based on how their teams perform in their respective state competitions for Washington Interscholastic Activities Association-sanctioned sports. For individual sports, scoring is determined by where a school finishes in the team standings at their respective state events.

Lake Stevens’ banner fall sports season was highlighted by its volleyball team, which earned a program-best second-place state trophy. The Vikings advanced to the 4A state championship match, where they fell in four sets to Tahoma.

It was the fourth second-place state finish for a Lake Stevens team in the past 12 months. Last school year, the Vikings’ football team, softball team and girls track and field team each earned a runner-up state finish.

“(They had) a lot of high expectations on them,” Pearson said of the volleyball team. “And sometimes with high school athletes, they kind of struggle to live up to those expectations. But I thought coach (Kyle) Hoglund and the rest of his staff did a great job keeping them focused, keeping their eye on the prize. … The run at state was incredible.”

The Lake Stevens football team advanced to the 4A state quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years and the girls soccer team reached the 4A state tournament for the third consecutive season. The Vikings also placed ninth at the 4A girls cross country state meet and 12th at the 4A girls swim and dive state championships.

The Lake Stevens girls swim and dive team’s success came despite a challenging travel schedule. With their on-campus pool under renovation, the Vikings operated exclusively on the road this fall and racked up approximately 2,000 miles on a school bus between practices and meets.

“For not having a pool and still to have the success they had, I think was extremely impressive,” Pearson said.

The Lake Stevens boys tennis team also qualified a doubles pair for next spring’s state tournament. Because the tennis state tournaments are in the spring, any points scored from boys tennis won’t be determined until then and thus aren’t included in this installment of the Herald Athletic Cup standings.

After the conclusion of the fall sports season, King’s is second in the standings with 55 points. Arlington is third with 51 points.

Schools are awarded 25 points for a state title and 20 points for a second-place state finish. From there, the scoring decreases by one point for every place — all the way down to six points for a 16th-place state finish.

The scoring system was adjusted slightly from last year, when schools were awarded 20 points for a state title, 15 points for a second-place finish and all the way down to one point for a 16th-place finish. The change was made in an attempt to better reward schools that qualify numerous teams for state.

In the case of a tie in a state event, teams receive the average number of points for however many teams were part of the tie. For instance, if there is a three-way tie for sixth place, a team would receive 15 points — the average number of points for places six through eight.

The same concept applies to sports where not every state placing is determined. For example, if a soccer team loses in the state quarterfinals, that would be considered a four-way tie for fifth place.

Below is a scoring breakdown for the current top 10 schools in the Herald Athletic Cup standings, as well as a list of any other schools that scored points during the fall sports season.

Another standings update will be provided after the winter sports season. The final standings will be released following the spring sports season.

1. LAKE STEVENS — 68 points

Volleyball: 2nd place — 20 points

Football: lost in quarterfinals — 15.5 points

Girls cross country: 9th place — 13 points

Girls swim & dive: 12th place — 10 points

Girls soccer: lost in first round — 9.5 points

2. KING’S — 55 points

Volleyball: 2nd place — 20 points

Girls soccer: 3rd place — 19 points

Girls cross country: 6th place — 16 points

3. ARLINGTON — 51 points

Boys cross country: 4th place — 18 points

Girls cross country: 5th place — 17 points

Volleyball: 6th place — 16 points

4. SOUTH WHIDBEY — 41.5 points

Boys cross country: 4th place — 18 points

Girls cross country: 8th place — 14 points

Girls soccer: lost in first round — 9.5 points

5. SNOHOMISH — 41 points

Girls swim & dive: 9th place — 13 points

Volleyball: T-9th place — 11.5 points

Girls soccer: lost in first round — 9.5 points

Boys cross country: 15th place — 7 points

6. JACKSON — 34 points

Boys cross country: 5th place — 17 points

Girls swim & dive: 5th place — 17 points

7. EDMONDS-WOODWAY — 26 points

Girls cross country: 6th place — 16 points

Boys cross country: 12th place — 10 points

8. GLACIER PEAK — 25.5 points

Girls cross country: 6th place — 16 points

Girls soccer: lost in first round — 9.5 points

9. MARYSILLE GETCHELL — 23.5 points

Girls cross country: 8th place — 14 points

Girls soccer: lost in first round — 9.5 points

10. KAMIAK — 21 points

Girls swim & dive: 8th place — 14 points

Boys cross country: 15th place — 7 points

BEST OF THE REST

T-11. Marysville Pilchuck — 15.5 points

T-11. Lakewood — 15.5 points

T-11. Archbishop Murphy — 15.5 points

14. Shorewood — 13 points

15. Shorecrest — 11 points

16. Cedarcrest — 9.5 points

17. Grace Academy — 7.5 points

18. Lynnwood — 7 points