AJC Varsity

With 15 top-5 finishes, Pope takes No. 1 spot in Class 5A all-sports standings

Pope was in third place in Class 5A after the winter championships but turned it on in the spring with nine of its 15 overall top-five finishes.
Pope’s Parker Troughton scores in the fourth inning of Game 2 against Loganville in the GHSA Class 5A baseball championship series at Gwinnett Field in Lawrenceville on May 26, 2026. Pope won the game, but ultimately not the series. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
Pope’s Parker Troughton scores in the fourth inning of Game 2 against Loganville in the GHSA Class 5A baseball championship series at Gwinnett Field in Lawrenceville on May 26, 2026. Pope won the game, but ultimately not the series. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
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21 hours ago

Slow and steady won the race for the Pope athletic department during the 2025-26 school year.

The Greyhounds won state championships in flag football, girls cross-country and girls track and field, was the runner-up in baseball, and had top-five finishes in 11 other sports to compile 1,574.1 points and finish in first place in Class 5A in the inaugural AJC Varsity all-sports standings for Georgia High School Association schools.

Pope was in third place in Class 5A after the winter championships but turned it on in the spring with nine of their 15 overall top-five finishes. It was enough to give the Greyhounds a 99.4-point cushion over second-place Milton, which won state titles in girls lacrosse and girls tennis.

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).

Creekview, which led Class 5A after the winter championships but finished in fifth place, led all schools in the state with five state titles. The Grizzlies won boys titles in cross-country and duals wrestling and girls championships in fast-pitch softball, slow-pitch softball and basketball.

Woodward Academy had the most points in boys sports with 676.6.

Class 5A results

Final 5A overall standings