Carrboro High School reached the top of the hill for North Carolina high schools last week with the announcement it had won its first Wells Fargo Cup from the NCHSAA.

The Wells Fargo Cup, formerly known as the Wachovia Cup, recognizes the high schools that achieve the best overall interscholastic athletic performance within each of the state’s four competitive classifications. The Cup program is in its 33rd year.

Carrboro has been edging up the standings since the 2A high school opened in 2007. Last Wednesday’s announcement from the N.C. High School Athletic Association brought Carrboro its first cup.

“It is a great tribute and honor for our student athletes, coaches, parents and the Carrboro community,” said April Ross, athletics director at Carrboro. “We are extremely proud of our effort and commitment to academic and athletic excellence.

“The Class of 2012 had a tremendous impact on our success this year,” Ross said. “We share this acknowledgement with our alumni and feel fortunate to have established a tradition of competitive spirit in a short five years of existence.”

Wednesday was a good day for the Carolina-12 1A/2A Conference. One of Carrboro’s conference opponents, Durham’s N.C. Science and Math, tied with Bishop McGuinness for first place in the 1A cup standings with 527.5 points apiece. Cedar Ridge (282.5) of the Carolina Carolina-12 finished eighth in the 2A standings with 282.5 points. Carrboro won with 602.5 points.

East Chapel Hill earned 15th place among 4A schools, finishing with 227.5 points.

In the 3A standings, Chapel Hill (435) finished fourth behind cup-winner Cardinal Gibbons (775), runner-up Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (642.5) and Charlotte Catholic (575). Orange High was 11th in the 3A with 240 points.

Chapel Hill had beaten out Cardinal Gibbons for Well Fargo’s Conference Cup by finishing ahead of the Crusaders in more league standings and tournaments. The statewide Wells Fargo Cup gives more points for how far a team advances in each NCHSAA post-season tournaments.

Cardinal Gibbons led from the first semester onward after winning five state championships in fall sports — volleyball, women’s tennis, both females’ and males’ cross-country (beating out CHHS by one point) and men’s soccer. After winning men’s indoor track and men’s swimming in the winter, Gibbons led Marvin Ridge 517.5 points to 362.5. In the spring, it capped off with firsts in men’s dual-team tennis and 3A lacrosse.

Salisbury led Carrboro in the 2A’s fall standings after edging the Jaguars 3-2 in a sudden-death final for the state championship in men’s soccer; Salisbury also won titles in women’s tennis and golf. Led by Grace Morken’s individual championship, Carrboro won its third straight NCHSAA championship in women’s cross country and finished second in men’s cross country.

Carrboro pulled ahead in the winter, sweeping state championships in women’s and men’s swimming (where Sam Strosnider brought home four golds).

The Jaguars locked up the cup in the spring by winning the school’s first 2A women’s soccer title and the women’s outdoor track crown for a third straight year (helped by Morken’s state record in the 800 meters.) Carrboro also was the top 2A team in the open men’s lacrosse championships and reached the finals of the NCHSAA dual-team tennis tournament.

Wells Fargo Cup points are based on finishes in state championship events. All schools in the top eight positions earn points. In playoffs that involve teams from more than one classification (such as lacrosse), points are awarded based on the team’s standing against schools in its classification.