SBLive's 2021 MHSAA 1A All-Sports Awards: Tupelo Christian's 5 state titles speak for themselves
Welcome to a continuing tradition at SBLive Mississippi – the MHSAA All-Sports Awards.
At the conclusion of every high school athletic year, SBLive’s Tyler Cleveland will crunch the numbers to award Mississippi high school athletic programs who achieve the highest level of success in the most sports. Think of it as an Athletic Director’s Award.
The scoring system has developed over the years and is based on how each team finishes in each sport. For example, a team receives 30 points for winning a state championship in any respective sport. If the sport relies on a playoff bracket to determine a champion, the runner-up receives 25 points and the teams who were defeated in the semifinal round receive 20 (and so on). Every team that reaches the playoffs, regardless of the team’s record, scores points for their school.
In a sport determined by indirect competition (like powerlifting or cross country), the first-place team receives 30 points, second place gets 25 (and so on), with the top eight teams receiving points.
Here's a look at how the top teams in MHSAA's Class 1A fared during the 2020-2021 athletic season:
CLASS 1A ALL-STATE AWARDS
1. Tupelo Christian Prep
Total Score: 262.5
Championships: Baseball, Girls’ Cross Country, Boys’ Cross Country, Boys’ Powerlifting, Boys’ Track
Remember when TCPS was a whipping post for MHSAA schools when it first joined? Those days are over, partner. The Eagles made off with a whopping five state championships in the past year and finished runner-up in tennis and girls’ track. Their state baseball title was just the icing on the cake.
2. Myrtle
Total Score: 170
Championships: Softball
The championship run in softball got a lot of attention, but Myrtle had already been a solid program all year. They finished runner-up in boys’ powerlifting, finished third in girls’ track and made the playoffs in baseball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, girls’ soccer and football.
3. Sacred Heart
Total Score: 135
Championships: Boys’ Golf, Tennis
The Crusaders had a big year with two state championships, but were respectable in just about every sport in which they competed. They reached the state semifinal in volleyball, the quarterfinals in girls’ basketball and finished fourth in boys’ powerlifting.
4. Resurrection Catholic
Total Score: 132.5
Championships: Volleyball
Talk about a program knocking on the door of greatness — Resurrection nearly kicked in that door in the last year. After winning the 1A volleyball title, the Eagles lost to Tupelo Christian in the baseball finals and finished second in boys’ bowling. They also reached the playoffs in football and had a deep run in the Class I boys’ soccer tournament, despite competing against 2A and 3A schools.
5. Biggersville
Total Score: 115
Championships: Boys’ Basketball
Biggersville was another program on the precipice of greatness in the 2020-2021 athletic season. After falling short in the football state championship against Lumberton in December, the Lions took down Ingomar to capture the boys’ basketball championship in March. They also made the playoffs in baseball and Volleyball and reached the semifinal round in girls’ basketball.
