Next Saturday is the running of the Belmont Stakes, marking the end of the trio of races that make up horse racing's Triple Crown. The spring is also the time of year when high schools have one last chance to earn a state championship and possibly complete high school's own version of the Triple Crown — a state title in football, basketball and baseball.
While horse racing won't have a Triple Crown winner this year, the high school ranks will. Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) completed the feat for the second time in school history. The Titans went 12-1 in football, winning the Class 5A championship. They also went 23-4 with a Class 5A title in boys basketball and finished 33-7 in baseball for a third Class 5A championship. Carl Albert also won a Triple Crown during the 2006-07 school year.
Additionally, Harding Academy (Searcy, Ark.) completed its second Triple Crown in 2020-21. Harding Academy is the only school in Arkansas to accomplish the feat.
MaxPreps has found 60 Triple Crowns in high school history — listed below in chronological order. Some states, like Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, don't have any Triple Crown winners because the state association does not sanction baseball. California, meanwhile, does not have any Triple Crown winners because it does not hold a state championship in baseball.
Then there's Texas, which has never had a Triple Crown winner in a school year, due mainly to the fact that well over 200 schools compete in each playoff enrollment division. Muenster did win a Triple Crown during the 2017 calendar year, winning basketball and baseball state titles during the 2016-17 school year and a football title during the fall of the 2017-18 school year.
This Triple Crown list only includes school-year trifectas. The very first Triple Crown is believed to be Raleigh (N.C.) in 1936. While many states have only held state championships, especially in football, since the 1970s, North Carolina has had statewide playoffs since the 1920s. Durham (N.C.) followed suit three years later to become the second school to win the Triple Crown.
Nevada is the king of Triple Crown winners. With a small number of schools in the state and four enrollment levels of competition, the state has produced 13 Triple Crown winners. Pahranagat Valley produced four in a row between 2009-10 and 2012-13 while Bishop Gorman won three.
The 2009-10 Bishop Gorman trio might have been the most dominant. The football team went 15-0, the basketball team was 30-2 and the baseball team finished 36-4. Among the athletes dotting the rosters included future pros Ronnie Stanley, Xavier Grimble, Shabazz Muhammad and Joey Gallo.
Jackson Prep (Miss.) has the most Triple Crowns of any school. Competing in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, Jackson Prep has won Triple Crowns in 1974-75, 1979-80, 1990-91 and 2012-13.
If you know of any schools that should be included on the list, e-mail kevinaskeland65@gmail.com
Tate Martell, Bishop Gorman
File photo by Jann Hendry
Raleigh (N.C.), 1935-36
Durham (N.C.), 1938-39
Bristol (RI), 1940-41
Camden (S.C.), 1956-57
Medford (Ore.), 1959-60
Nashua (N.H.), 1959-60
Rancho (Las Vegas, Nev.), 1960-61
Rocky Mount (N.C.), 1962-63
Portsmouth (N.H.), 1964-65
Manchester Central (Manchester, N.H.), 1967-68
Marana (Tucson, Ariz.), 1968-69
Manchester Memorial (Manchester, N.H.), 1969-70
Roswell (Ga.), 1970-71
Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.), 1974-75
Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.), 1979-80
Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.), 1980-81
Virginia City (Nev.), 1981-82
Virgin Valley (Mesquite, Nev.), 1982-83
Virgin Valley (Mesquite, Nev.), 1984-85
North Valley (Grants Pass, Ore.), 1984-85
Clinch County (Homerville, Ga.), 1988-89
Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.), 1990-91
Patrick Henry Academy (Estill, S.C.), 1990-91
Lincoln County (Panaca, Nev.), 1991-92
Lincoln County (Panaca, Nev.), 1992-93
Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 1994-95
St. Raphael Academy (Pawtucket, R.I.), 1995-96
Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.), 1996-97
Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.), 1997-98
Manchester Central, (Manchester, N.H.) 1999-2000
St. David (Ariz.), 2001-02
Juan Diego Catholic (Draper, Utah), 2004-05
Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.), 2006-07
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (Ind.), 2007-08
Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City), 2007-08
Wheeling Central Catholic (Wheeling, W. Va.), 2008-09
Essex (Essex Junction, Vt.), 2009-10
La Cueva (Albuquerque), 2009-10
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 2009-10
Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.), 2009-10
Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.), 2010-11
Fruitland (Idaho), 2010-11
Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.), 2011-12
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 2011-12
Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.), 2012-13
Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.), 2012-13
Harding Academy (Searcy, Ark.), 2012-13
Shanley (Fargo, N.D.), 2012-13
Rice Memorial (South Burlington, Vt.), 2013-14
Rice Memorial (South Burlington, Vt.), 2014-15
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 2014-15
Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 2014-15
Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.), 2014-15
Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.), 2015-16
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), 2016-17
Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), 2016-17
Windsor (Vt.), 2017-18
Banks (Ore.), 2018-19
Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.), 2020-21
Harding Academy (Searcy, Ark.), 2020-21
Note: story was edited to include three new additions, Patrick Henry Academy, Pahranagat Valley and Harding Academy.
