Private schools lead way in 4A; Marist takes No. 1 spot in all-sports standings

Marist won four state championships during the 2025-26 school year and accumulated a state-best 1,734.5 points, more than enough to finish in first place in Class 4A in the inaugural AJC Varsity all-sports standings for Georgia High School Association schools.

The War Eagles got off to a strong start in the fall with a state championship in volleyball and followed with a productive winter, earning state titles in girls basketball and boys and girls swimming. The girls basketball team, led by national player of the year Kate Harpring, has won three state titles in the past five years. Marist also had top-four finishes in eight other sports.

Schools can earn up to 100 points in each of 31 sports, and those points are multiplied (1.3, 1.2 or 1.1 times, based on national and GHSA participation numbers and titles awarded in the sport) for a total score in each sport. A school’s overall score is made up of its top eight boys finishes, top eight girls finishes, and next-best finish regardless of gender (or co-ed).

Five of the seven private schools in the classification finished in the top eight of the final standings. Behind Marist were No. 4 Westminster, No. 5 Pace Academy, No. 6 Blessed Trinity and No. 8 St. Pius. Additionally, all-boys private school Benedictine finished No. 22 overall but was No. 3 in the boys standings behind Marist and Cambridge.

North Oconee, which finished No. 2, was the highest-scoring public school in the classification.

Class 4A results

• Top overall program
• Marist - 1,734.5
• Top boys program
• Marist - 771.7
• Top girls program
• Marist - 878.8
• Top schools by region
• Region 1: Ware County
• Region 2: Union Grove
• Region 3: Starr’s Mill
• Region 4: Pace Academy
• Region 5: Marist
• Region 6: Cambridge
• Region 7: Cartersville
• Region 8: North Oconee