Is taking 4.5 AP classes too much?

Only take those courses if you KNOW that you can handle it. You have to prioritize. If you take just a few AP classes and have high grades and good scores on the exams while balancing the courses with your sports, it reflects well to colleges. If you that many AP classes and get poor grades in all of them, it doesn't look so great on your application. It's a very common misconception that colleges want to see students load tons of AP courses onto their schedule as a junior/senior; they'd rather you take 1-3 AP courses and succeed in them as opposed to taking a bunch of them and doing poorly.