Tupelo Christian wins MHSAA Class 1A All-Sports Award
JACKSON — The MHSAA's 2023-2024 athletic season is in the books, and it's time to recognize the athletic programs that excelled across the board in the past year with the Blue Cross & Blue Shield Mississippi All-Sports Award powered by the MHSAA and SBLive.
The awards are designed to identify the top schools in the state in overall athletic performance for the given school year.
The winners are decided by a points-based system in which schools are rewarded for both reaching the post-season and advancing once their teams get there.
State Championships are worth a total of 30 points, with the runners-up receiving 25 and the teams that reached the semifinal (or finished third) earning 20, and so on. Each team that reached the post-season in a team sport or finished in the top eight in a state meet earned some points.
This year, the MHSAA sponsored 22 different sports, including volleyball, girls and boys swimming, boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls bowling, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls powerlifting, boys and girls track, girls and boys golf, softball, baseball, tennis and archery.
Without further ado, here's a look at the schools in the MHSAA’s Class 1A that excelled on the fields, courts and arenas across the Magnolia State. Congratulations to all our honorees.
2023-2024 MHSAA Class 1A All Sports Winners
1. Tupelo Christian Prep Eagles (217.5)
State titles: Boys Track
For the third year in a row, Tupelo Christian was the top athletic program in the MHSAA’s smallest classification. On top of the school’s state championship in boys track, the Eagles finished third in girls track and boys powerlifting, second in girls cross country and reached the semifinals and finals in girls and boys soccer, respectively.
2. Myrtle Hawks (167.5)
State titles: Girls Powerlifting, Girls Cross Country
Myrtle’s total score jumped from 150 last year in Class 2A (when they also finished runner-up) to 167.5 this year in Class 1A. They scored big points with the two state titles, but the Hawks also finished second in boys powerlifting, reached the quarterfinals in baseball and the semifinals in softball.
T3. Biggersville Lions (150)
State titles: Football, Boys Basketball
If we were only ranking the big, mainstream sports, Biggersville would win in a landslide. In addition to the school's first-ever football championship, the Lions won a title in boys basketball, made the semifinals in both girls basketball and baseball and reached the playoffs in volleyball, softball and tennis.
T3. Resurrection Catholic Eagles (150)
State titles: None
Resurrection improved its year-over-year performance after finishing fourth in the Class 1A All-Sports standings a year ago. The Eagles made the semifinals in baseball and tennis, finished second in boys cross country, third in boys track and fourth in boys golf.
The best of the rest:
5. West Union (130)
6. Velma Jackson (125)
7. Baldwyn (122.5)
8. Sacred Heart (120)
9. Pine Grove (105)
T10. Stringer (95)
T10. Taylorsville (95)
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of posts announcing the winners of the All-Sports Awards for the 2023-2024 athletic year. Class 2A winners will be announced Thursday, June 20, and the winners for classes 3A-7A will be released from Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 29.
TYLER CLEVELAND