Berks boys teams enjoyed a banner ’22-23 season, but which program was No. 1?
Exeter’s boys sports enjoyed one its most successful all-around seasons, with the Eagles claiming division titles in five sports, league championships in cross country, football, and volleyball and its first District 3 basketball championship.
Most years that would good enough to claim the mythical “Berks Cup,” awarded to the BCIAA’s most successful all-around program.
This wasn’t most years.
| League champs | |
| Baseball | Gov. Mifflin |
| Basketball | Reading High |
| Bowling | Wilson |
| Cross country | Exeter |
| Football | Exeter (LL2) |
| Wyomissing (LL4) | |
| Golf | Wilson |
| Lacrosse | Wilson |
| Soccer | Tulpehocken |
| Swimming/diving | Wilson |
| Tennis | Wilson |
| Track/field | Twin Valley |
| Volleyball | Exeter |
| Wrestling | Berks Catholic |
Good as Exeter’s 2022-23 season was Wilson was just a little better, with six division champs, five league titles and a consistent program that saw it score points in each of the 13 sports considered for the rankings. The Bulldogs had winning records in 11 of the 13 sports considered.
MikeDragoSports.com applied a college-style Directors’ Cup breakdown to rank the success of Berks boys programs for the now-completed 2022-23 school year.
Teams were awarded points for division championships, qualifying and advancing in the Berks playoffs and reaching or winning a league championship game.
For district competition the points were doubled: 10 for reaching a district final, 20 for winning a championship. Also, two points were awarded for each victory in district competition up to the finals (but not including play-back or consolation rounds).
For the PIAA Tournament the points were increased again: four for qualifying, four for winning a game (up to the championship). Fifteen points were awarded for reaching a state final, 30 for winning one.
Not every sport fits into a cookie-cutter style playoff system. In swimming, for example, there is no league tournament, just a regular season champ. In bowling there are no district or state team tournaments.
For track and field and cross country additional points were awarded for Top 5 finishes at the district and state meets.
Water polo was not included because only five Berks schools compete. Individual winners in sports such as tennis, swimming and diving, wrestling, and track and field, were not factored in; only team events were used.
Finally, the schools were split into size classifications: The 10 largest Berks schools fall into the Big School category, the eight smallest into the Small School.
Wilson came out just ahead, with 163 points. Exeter was second with 144 points. Wyomissing, with 102 points, earned the Small School crown and finished third overall, ahead of Kutztown and Reading High.
When combined with the girls’ rankings, Wilson came out No. 1 overall with 315 points. Wyomissing, one of the smaller schools in the league, came out a surprising No. 2, with 215 points.
Exeter was third overall, followed by Twin Valley and Berks Catholic.
| District 3 champs | |
| Baseball | Kutztown (2A) |
| Basketball | Reading High (6A) |
| Exeter (5A) | |
| Berks Catholic (4A) | |
| Cross country | Wyomissing (2A) |
| Kutztown (1A) | |
| Football | Wyomissing (3A) |
| Soccer | Fleetwood (2A) |
| Tulpehocken (1A) | |
| Swimming/diving | Wilson (3A) |
| Track/field | Wyomissing (2A) |
| Wrestling | Berks Catholic (2A) |
The Wilson boys weren’t carried by a banner season in a single sport, such as at Reading High, which earned all of its 63 points in basketball. The Red Knights won county, district and state titles; their hoops total was easily the most of any single program in the county.
Exeter basketball, a runner-up at the county and state level, had the second-highest scoring single program, with 41 points.
Tulpehocken’s district championship soccer team and Wilson’s swimming and diving team each earned 39 points. The Bulldogs won Central Penn League and District 3 Class 3A championships in swimming and finished fifth in the state.
It was consistency across the board that netted Wilson a second straight Berks Cup. The Bulldogs won division championships in bowling, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and wrestling.
As you might guess from that mixed bag of sports there weren’t too many crossover athletes contributing to multiple titles. The 22 all-league picks in those six sports are represented by 22 different student-athletes.
The Bulldogs weren’t carried by one superior multiple-sport athlete, either. Their only Berks Player of the Year came in football, where Cam Jones was selected.
Exeter built its successful season on the strength of its runs in basketball and volleyball.
The Eagles enjoyed an historic basketball season in which they won their first district title and won four PIAA Tournament games before falling to powerhouse Imhotep Charter in the title game.
In volleyball the Eagles won division and league championships and reached the District 3 Class 2A championship game to earn 33 points. They also returned to the district title game in football.
The Eagles had the Berks Player of the Year in three sports: Ty Yonas (lacrosse), Teddy Snyder (tennis) and Chase Nugent (volleyball).
Wyomissing didn’t have a strong overall year – it had winning records in just seven of 12 sports – but its top programs were at the very top. The Spartans won Lancaster-Lebanon League Section IV and District 3 Class 3A championships in football, and division and district titles in both cross country and track and field.
Kutztown, one of the smallest schools in the BCIAA, had a big year, finishing second in the Small School division and fourth overall – ahead of Reading High, Berks Catholic and Gov. Mifflin, among others.
The Cougars finished first in their division in baseball and soccer (tied with Brandywine Heights) and won district titles in cross country and baseball. They advanced to the PIAA semifinals in baseball.
Berks 2022-23 Players of the Year
Overall, it was a highly successful year for Berks boys, who brought home a dozen District 3 titles, in eight sports. That’s twice as many golds as a year ago.
Berks teams dominated in basketball, winning the Class 6A (Reading High), 5A (Exeter) and 4A (Berks Catholic) titles – a feat not accomplished in more than 60 years locally.
| Big School | Small School | |||
| Wilson | 163 | Wyomissing | 102 | |
| Exeter | 144 | Kutztown | 67 | |
| Reading High | 63 | Tulpehocken | 56 | |
| Berks Catholic | 61 | Brandywine Heights | 26 | |
| Fleetwood | 50 | Oley Valley | 21 | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 48 | Hamburg | 16 | |
| Conrad Weiser | 45 | Schuylkill Valley | 16 | |
| Twin Valley | 33 | Antietam | 5 | |
| Muhlenberg | 30 | |||
| Daniel Boone | 9 |
| Boys/girls combined | ||||
| Wilson | 315 | Fleetwood | 68 | |
| Wyomissing | 215 | Tulpehocken | 66 | |
| Exeter | 196 | Brandywine Hts. | 46 | |
| Twin Valley | 144 | Oley Valley | 42 | |
| Berks Catholic | 123 | Muhlenberg | 39 | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 100 | Schuylkill Valley | 37 | |
| Reading High | 88 | Hamburg | 26 | |
| Kutztown | 87 | Daniel Boone | 17 | |
| Conrad Weiser | 76 | Antietam | 5 |
