With the winter portion of the high school sports season, Lowry High School moved into third place place in the Division I-A NIAA Award of Excellence standings.
The Buckaroos scored 600 points during the winter season, with the girls basketball team being named the academic state champions. The Lowry wrestling team finished second at the state tournament and both the boys and girls basketball teams also made the state championships.
Faith Lutheran, the 2009 and 2014 champion, continued its lead in the Division I-A standings with 1,840 points. Clark maintained its hold on second place. The Chargers scored 970 in the fall and 520 in the winter for a total of 1,490. Lowry (1,220), South Tahoe (1,210) and Truckee (the 2003 and 2008, 2010 winner) hold down the third, fourth and fifth-place positions, respectively, after the winter season.
Rounding out the top 10 are Boulder City (1,160), Spring Creek (1,130), Elko (1,020), Sierra Vista (970) and Virgin Valley (870).
The Meadows, the defending champion and a six-tome award winner, piled up 570 points on top of the 930 points it scored in the fall season to take the lead in the Division III standings with 1,500 points.
Incline, the 2011 and 2013 champion which, had for the fifth consecutive year taken the lead after the fall season, scored 280 points and fell to second with a total of 1,430. Yerington moved up to third place (660 fall season points and 360 winter season points), Battle Mountain is fourth (440 and 540) and Lincoln County is fifth (420 and 480) with totals of 1,020, 980 and 900 points, respectively.
Whittell, the defending Division IV champion, has gotten off to another hot start, tallying 540 total points in the fall and 410 points in the winter to lead with 950 points.
Pahranagat Valley, the eight-time consecutive champion until the Warriors' victory last year, remains in second with 760 points (390 in the fall and 3707 in the winter). Wells (320 fall and 350 winter) remains in third with 670 points. Rounding out the top 10 are Smith Valley (560 points), Virginia City (460), Sage Ridge (410), Eureka (390), Carlin (380), Beatty (280) and Round Mountain (240).
The NIAA, the governing body of high school athletics in the Silver State, began the Award competition in 2001. The scoring system awards points to schools based on their varsity teams' performances in the classroom, at the athletic venue and in the Citizenship Through Sports initiative.
Each of the three major categories of high school activities - academics, athletics and sportsmanship - are weighted equally and boys and girls programs are combined in the standings.
Spirit points have been added and leadership points will be added after the state conference.
Points will be deducted at the conclusion of the spring season for ejections and other acts of unsportsmanlike conduct.[[In-content Ad]]
