Atlanta private school St. Pius X finished second in the 2013-14 MaxPreps Cup national rankings recognizing the top high school athletic programs in the USA. The Golden Lions put together the best athletic season in school history with eight state championships, three state runners-up and 21 of 22 teams qualifying for state playoffs or competition. In addition, St. Pius X won the GADA Regions Director’s Cup for the fifth time in six seasons and, for the second straight year, St. Pius was the top Catholic school in the United States.
The 2013-14 school year began with the boys cross country team and volleyball team both winning GHSA Class AAA state titles. Girls’ cross country finished as state runners-up. The success continued during the winter as the girls basketball team won its second consecutive state championship, while the boys swimming and diving team won its first ever state crown.
In the spring, both soccer programs won a state title. The girls won their fifth championship in the past six seasons and the boys won for the third time in four years. The boys’ track and field program won the state championship and the girls’ track program finished runners-up. Boys tennis captured the state title and the girls finished second.
St. Pius X was one of only three schools from Georgia to finish ranked in the national Top 25, with Marist at No. 5 and Westminster at No. 13.
The MaxPreps Cup rankings are compiled by giving schools points for finishing first or second at the state level. For states that don't have state competition, point totals were adjusted to award first and second-place teams at the section level. Points were also awarded for size of playoff division (championships won at the large school level were worth more than championships at the small-school level), size of state (championships for Texas, for example, were worth more than championships for less populous states like Alaska) and type of sport (football championships were worth more than tennis championships).
Here is the complete Top 25:
1. Bentonville (Ark.), 1,090 points
2. St. Pius X (Atlanta), 985
3. Punahou (Honolulu), 980
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 967
5. Marist (Atlanta), 918
6. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 834
7. Carmel (Ind.), 832
8. Deer Creek (Edmond, Okla.), 804
9. The Pingry School (Martinsville, N.J.), 799
10. Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), 766
11. Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.), 743
12. Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), 739
13. Westminster (Atlanta), 732
14. Cardinal Gibbons (Raleigh, N.C.), 730
15. Webb (Knoxville, Tenn.), 715
16. Tottenville (Staten Island, N.Y.), 710
17. Summit (Bend, Ore.), 702
18. Bozeman (Mont.), 686
19. Madison Central (Miss.), 676
20. Bedford (N.H.), 674
21. Darien (Conn.), 664
22. Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.), 662
23. Mountain Brook (Birmingham, Ala.), 650
24. Montgomery Academy (Ala.), 648
25. La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.), 642
