Lakewood Ranch, Saint Stephen’s earn top finishes in FHSAA Sunshine Cup All-State Awards
Lakewood Ranch High School and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School topped Manatee County programs in the final Florida High School Athletic Association Floyd E. Lay Sunshine Cup All-Sports Awards’ standings.
The Mustangs finished sixth in the overall Class 8A standings, which concluded following the state baseball championships earlier this month.
The Falcons placed seventh in the Class 4A/3A private overall standings, but the programs ahead of Saint Stephen’s are all 4A schools. That means the Falcons topped 3A programs in Florida. The FHSAA combined the Class 4A/3A private schools this year because of a lack of numbers.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Saint Stephen’s athletic director Lenny Paoletti said. “To me, it is a definition that we are a balanced program.”
Lakewood Ranch logged 110 points for its finish in the overall standings, while the Falcons notched 71. The two were the only ones from the county to earn top-10 finishes for their respective classifications. The Mustangs girls programs finished 10th, while the boys finished third. The Saint Stephen’s girls programs finished 12th while the boys programs finished third.
The FHSAA awards points throughout the school year to programs based on how well they do in each sport.
For team sports, programs earn 20 points for winning a state championship, 12 as a state runner-up, 9 as a state semifinalist, 6 for fifth- to eighth-place finishes and 3 for ninth- to 16th-place finishes. Schools also earned a two-point bonus for winning a district or regional title. Deductions are given for unsportsmanlike conduct ranging from a 0.25 point deduction for Level 1 incidents to a one-point deduction for Level 3 infractions and 3-5 point deductions for team-based violations such as a bench-clearing brawl or a coach taking a team off the field.
Jason Dill: 941-745-7017, @Jason__Dill
This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch, Saint Stephen’s earn top finishes in FHSAA Sunshine Cup All-State Awards."