How do the Herald Cup standings look after the fall season?
Now that we’ve seen more than a foot of snow smack the ground and already melt, it’s probably time to check in on the Herald Cup standings.
Debuted two school years ago, the Herald Cup honors athletic excellence among the dozens of high schools in our coverage area.
For those who remember the Paddock Cup, which years ago celebrated the top overall sports programs in the Mid-Suburban League, the Herald Cup is similar except it looks at state tournament performance for all our schools.
We developed a points system that awards schools for top-10 team finishes in individual sports. There’s a separate points system for “team” sports like basketball, soccer, volleyball, etc.
When the final points are tabulated in June, we’ll rank the schools and separate them into divisions of large schools and small schools based on enrollment. The dividing line roughly groups the large schools in football’s Class 7A and 8A, and the small schools from 6A down. We do not place an enrollment multiplier on the private schools.
With the fall sports season in the books, here’s where the rankings stand.
Large schools
Stevenson (70 points)
Hersey (64)
Barrington (56)
Downers Grove North (55)
St. Charles North (46)
Small schools
St. Francis (65)
Montini (45)
Wheaton Academy (37)
St. Viator (32)
Hinsdale South (27)
New blood
It’s no surprise seeing Stevenson at the top of the Large School standings. Barrington and Downers North close behind also isn’t a shock. All three have been Herald Cup regulars.
But how about Hersey? The Huskies were one of the more consistent point scorers among all our schools, tallying in five of the 10 fall sports. A third-place finish in boys cross country and a run to the Class 7A quarterfinals in football powered their strong season.
With the boys and girls basketball teams off to solid starts, a deep postseason would help keep Hersey in the top five after the winter season.
St. Charles North is another new face. The football team’s quarterfinal appearance and the girls swimming team’s second-place finish helped push the North Stars into the fop five.
Lurking
Last year’s first-place finishers in the large and small school divisions — Hinsdale Central and Benet — aren’t in the top five based on the fall standings, but don’t expect either to remain on the outside looking in.
They’re both lurking in the top 10 with some of their strongest sports still to come. Benet should thrive in boys and girls basketball, while Hinsdale Central is the defending state champion in boys swimming and boys tennis.
Small school jumble
The top five small schools have staying power, but there are plenty of others poised to replace them if they keep up the pace from the fall.
Burlington Central, Carmel, IC Catholic Prep, Timothy Christian and Geneva are just a handful of the schools within striking distance of the top five.
What’s next?
As we mentioned, Hersey and Benet are two schools looking to add a bunch of points in boys and girls basketball.
Other Mid-Suburban League schools should thrive this winter, including Barrington, Fremd and Palatine.
If you’re looking for dark horse candidates to jump into the top five, keep an eye on Cary-Grove, Lake Zurich and York.
We’ll check in with another Herald Cup update when the winter sports season ends in March.