Cold Sport

A week ago, the Varsity Letter focused on the inaugural Varsity Cup banquet, which will honor the premier athletes, teams, coaches and sports programs in District 10.

When the banquet takes place June 1 at the Erie Maennerchor Club, one of the highlights will be the awarding of the first Varsity Cup. D-10′s premier all-around athletic program, based on a points system, will earn the 27-inch, traveling trophy each year.

Earlier this week, the Erie Times-News released the current Varsity Cup standings through the fall and winter sports seasons.

Mercyhurst Prep still leads the standings, but McDowell and Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria closed the gap during the winter seasons. Mercyhurst has 345 points based on 12 sports — the best six boys and six girls programs determined from their D-10 finish. Only programs that compete in District 10 and sponsor at least six boys sports and six girls sports are eligible.

McDowell has closed to within five points at 340, while Prep/Villa is right behind at 325.

Here’s a closer look:

Mercyhurst Prep kept its lead from the fall thanks to a second-place effort by the girls swimming team, a third-place effort from the boys basketball team and a D-10 title from the girls basketball team. McDowell won D-10 titles in wrestling, girls swimming and girls basketball and finished second in boys swimming and boys basketball.

Prep/Villa claimed D-10 championships in boys swimming, boys basketball and girls basketball while placing second in wrestling.

Points are awarded in this manner: 50 points to a District 10 champion, 25 points to a runner-up and 10 points to a third-place team. If there is not an official third-place game or designation by District 10 in a particular sport, no third-place points will be awarded. If fourth place is recognized in a particular sport, 10 points also will be allotted to the fourth-place team. All District 10 championship qualifiers earn five points, plus five points for each round advanced. A district champion in an eight-team field, for instance, would earn 65 points — five for qualifying, five points for a quarterfinal win, five points for a semifinal win and 50 points for the championship. In D-10 meets that do not feature head-to-head team play, only the top two team finishers will receive Cup points.

In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is most District 10 championships. Second tiebreaker is head-to-head results.

Here is the current top 10: (The first figure is the total number of points compiled, and the second is the program’s Varsity Cup score, which includes only the top six programs for both boys and girls. Sports teams that gain points but are not among the top six for that school are not used.)

Varsity Cup standings:

Program Total points — 6 best boys/girls
1. Mercyhurst Prep 435 — 345
2. McDowell 500 — 340
3. Cathedral Prep/Villa Maria 390 — 325
4. Fairview 200 — 200
5. Meadville 160– 160
6. West Middlesex 150 — 150
7. North East 145 — 145
8. Franklin 130 — 130
9. Sharon 125 — 125
10. Grove City 115- 115
11. Farrell 105 — 105
12. Warren 100 — 100
13. Kennedy Catholic 80 — 80
13. Wilmington 80 — 80
13. General McLane 80 — 80
13. Fort LeBoeuf 80 — 80
13. Hickory 80 — 80
18. Reynolds 75 — 75
19. Saegertown 70 — 70
20. Rocky Grove 65 — 65
20. Sharpsville 65 — 65

Back in action:

The area weather conditions became more bearable this week, and District 10 athletes returned to the playing fields en masse. To catch up on recent results and highlights, go to the Varsity home page at GoErie.com/Varsity and look under the heading of your favorite sport. For standings, go to the Varsity blog at GoErie.com/blogs/Varsity.

Breakout Athletes:

Vote every week for the spring Breakout Athletes of the Week on the Varsity blog at GoErie.com/blogs/Varsity. We’ll choose the finalists and readers can vote for their favorite in each of four categories: baseball, softball, and male and female track and field athletes. Voting takes place Sunday through Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Winners are featured each week in the Erie Times-News. Check it out on the Varsity blog.

Send feedback:

We welcome feedback on today’s Varsity Letter or suggestions for future material. Send an e-mail to sports@timesnews.com and please type “Varsity Letter” in the subject line.