BMHS finishes fifth in NIAA Award of Excellence standings

The Meadows grabs top spot, Incline notches second

BMHS finishes fifth in NIAA Award of Excellence standings

BMHS finishes fifth in NIAA Award of Excellence standings

With the end of the high school sports season, the NIAA has announced its Award of Excellence in Academics, Athletics and Citizenship winners for 2015-16.

The NIAA honors the winning school in each classification by presenting it with a championship banner and commemorative trophy.

The NIAA considers the Award of Excellence in Academics, Athletics and Citizenship to be its top overall program.

The Meadows also made it a three-peat in Division III/2A) and won its eighth award crown overall. The Mustangs, who did not lose any points for an ejection, tallied 2,750 points.

Incline, which is the last Division III/ Class 2A champion besides The Meadows dating back to 2011, scored 1,900 points to place as the runner-up.

Yerington (1,740), Needles (1,310) and Battle Mountain (1,170) rounded out the top five, respectively.

Battle Mountain won its fourth consecutive state wrestling championship this past February.

The Lady Longhorns’ golf team placed third at the state tournament and the football team reached the first-round of the playoffs.

The basketball, baseball and softball teams made the playoffs and the track and field team had a strong showing at state.

Faith Lutheran made it a three-peat and captured its seventh championship overall in Division I-A (3A). The Crusaders scored 3,525 points to run away from the rest of the pack.

Runner-up Boulder City (2,585) won four consecutive titles from 2010 through 2013 and has captured six championships overall. Truckee (1,980), Clark (1,870), Sierra Vista (1,870), Churchill County (1,650), Lowry (1,575), Spring Creek (1,555), South Tahoe (1,500) and Elko (1,390) rounded out the top 10.

Bishop Manogue is a back-to-back champion in the large-school division (Division I/4A), and winner of five titles in the last seven years.

The Miners, who did not have a single coach or player ejected all year, totaled 3,640 points to outdistance traditional contenders Palo Verde (3,165) and Reno (3,005).

Palo Verde still holds the lead for the most Award of Excellence championships won at the large-school level with six. Reno, which won the inaugural Award title in 2001, has finished in the top three on seven occasions.

Centennial (2,905), Douglas (2,725), Bishop Gorman (2,015), Coronado (1,995), Spanish Springs (1,990), Carson (1,890) and McQueen (1,790) rounded out the top 10.

Pahranagat Valley captured its 11th championship overall in Division IV/1A). The Panthers tallied a total of 1,440 points in winning the closest competition in the awards history.

Whittell, the two-time defending champion, scored 1,430 points. Sierra Lutheran (1,240), Wells (980) and Eureka (970) rounded out the top five in the Division IV.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, the non-profit governing body of high school athletics in the Silver State, began the program 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 (CTS) Program.

Each of the three major categories in high school activities —academics, athletics and sportsmanship — are weighted equally, and boys and girls programs are combined in the standings table.

Spirit and student council/leadership points were added after the conclusion of the winter season. Points were deducted at the conclusion of the spring season for ejections and other acts of unsportsmanlike conduct.