Utah high school All-Sports Awards: Bingham, Mountain Crest among champion schools

SALT LAKE CITY — After thousands of games, meets, invitationals and matches, and then 87 state tournaments, the 2010-2011 high school sports season is officially in the books.

Of the 87 titles, many were won by the usual suspects. There was, however, plenty of new blood atop the championship podiums, and the same goes for the 32nd annual Deseret News All-Sports awards.

Bingham is back on top in 5A after a one-year hiatus. Mountain Crest won its first 4A title in four years. Desert Hills is 3A's best in just its third year of existence, while San Juan is 2A's best for the first time in a decade.

Only St. Joseph, now a five-time winner in 1A, was a repeat winner.

The Deseret News All-Sports award denotes the top overall athletic programs in each of the five classifications. Schools earn All-Sports points for placing in the top eight at state. Ten points are awarded for first, eight for second, six for third, five for fourth, four for fifth, three for sixth, two for seventh and one for eighth. Points are divided when teams tie.

Schools earn points in football, cross country, golf, basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, track, soccer, tennis, volleyball and softball.

For the first time in over a decade, there wasn't one classification in which every school earned a point.

Brighton, which finished second in 5A, holds the record with 11 consecutive awards from 1980-1991. Juan Diego holds the record for most awards points in a season with 112.

Here's a look at each classification.

Class 5A: A year after missing out on a second consecutive All-Sports title by one point, Bingham is comfortably back on top in 2011.

Led by state titles in football, baseball and girls golf, the Miners racked up 87.5 points to easily beat Brighton with 68 points and last year's champ Davis with 66. Alta, Lone Peak and Skyline rounded out the top six.

Bingham placed in the top eight at state in 18 of 19 sports, with boys track the lone exclusion.

Bingham's fifth all-sports title in school history was a fitting way to cap a season in which the Miners' football team finished the season ranked fourth nationally, according to the USA Today super rankings.

Nine different 5A school won state titles, with Brighton leading the way with four (girls soccer, boys tennis, both swimming).