Over the past two weeks, we identified the
greatest athletes of all-time in every sport and all of the
greatest athletes right now. Now it's time to look at the greatest teams of all-time, starting with a Mater Dei football team that dominated some of the best teams in Southern California last year.
In all, we examine the greats in 32 different sports going all the way back to 1956 to highlight a special boys golf team from Ohio that featured a promising youngster by the name of Jack Nicklaus.
Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson is carried off the field after California's Open Division state championship game in 2021. The Monarchs outscored a challenging slate of opponents by an average margin of 33 points per game. (Photo: Louis Lopez)
Football — Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 2021
The De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) team of 2001 topped our list of
top 50 greatest teams of all-time, but that was before Mater Dei took the field in 2021. The Monarchs went undefeated in Trinity League (arguably the toughest league in the nation) play, winning by an average of 33 points per game. They won their three Southern Section playoff games by an average of 20 points and beat Serra (San Mateo) in the CIF Open Division Bowl Game 44-7. They also crushed a Duncanville team that was a 6A Division 1 runner-up in Texas. Four of Mater Dei's opponents finished in the MaxPreps Top 25 with three of those finishing in the top 10.
Boys basketball — Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.), 1983
With an undefeated season in 1982, Dunbar did even better in 1983 with a 31-0 season and a lineup that remains one of the greatest in high school history. Reggie Williams was a Parade All-American before going on to win a national championship at Georgetown. Muggsy Bogues also went on to a NBA career along with reserve forward Reggie Lewis, who was an NBA All-Star with the Celtics until his tragic death. Three other starters went on to play Division I basketball.
Girls basketball — Oregon City (Ore.), 1996
The 1996 squad at Oregon City was the second of three straight mythical national champions for the Pioneers. The team went 26-0 and coach Bob Smith was national coach of the year. The team also featured three players who went on to play at the Division I level.
Baseball — Fresno (Calif.), 1958
The pitching staff had two future MLB starters in Dick Ellsworth and Jim Maloney while their catcher, Pat Corrales, became a MLB manager. The Warriors' only loss was to the Fresno State freshman team and the pitching staff hurled 15 shutouts during a 25-1 season. Defeated the Cal and Stanford freshman teams among its wins.
Softball — Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City, Texas), 2004
The Knights went 39-0 with 31 shutouts in winning a Texas state championship. Along the way, they defeated five teams ranked in the top 11 in the nation including two of the top-ranked teams in California – Pacifica (Garden Grove) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana). Pitcher Regan Blake was 31-0 with a 0.08 ERA.
Boys wrestling - Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.), 2001
Featuring a pair of four-time National Prep champions in Cory Cooperman and Steve Mocco, Blair Academy scored over 400 points at the National Prep Tournament, becoming the only team to ever accomplish the feat. Cooperman and Mocco were also named on the Wrestling USA All-American team.
Girls wrestling - Wyoming Seminary College Prep (Kingston, Pa.), 2022
Although Wyoming Seminary does not compete in traditional high school competition in Pennsylvania, it does field a freestyle team that competes all over the world and its wrestlers are ranked by USA Wrestling. Twin sisters Kennedy and Korina Blades were ranked No. 3 and 9 in the national pound-for-pound rankings and the team had 20 wrestlers ranked in the final Wrestling USA national rankings. The Blue Knights also defeated a team from Russia in a dual meet.
Boys lacrosse — West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 1982
Coached by arguably the greatest boys lacrosse coach in high school history in Mike Messere (24 state titles, 841 career wins), West Genesee won 91 straight matches from 1981 to 1984 with the 1982 team likely the best of that group. The team featured senior All-Americans Tom Korrie and Mark Brannigan and juniors who went on to be named All-Americans the following year, Todd Curry and Pat Donohue. All four played in college at Syracuse. The Wildcats finished 24-0 for the second straight season.
Girls lacrosse — McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 2016
Considering that the Eagles won 198 games over a stretch of 10 seasons, there are a number of McDonogh teams that could be considered the greatest of all-time. We'll go with the 2016 crew that had six players make the USA Today All-American team, including Brindi Griffin, Andie Aldave, and Savannah Buchanan on the first team; Sarah Dohler on the second team and Catie May, and Maddie Jenner on the third team. The Eagles went 22-0 and were the top team in the nation for the second straight year. A total of 20 players on the roster went on to play collegiate lacrosse and McDonogh defeated six top 25 teams during the year.
Boys golf — Upper Arlington (Columbus, Ohio), 1956
Between 1955 and 1957, the Golden Bears went 70-1-1 in dual meets and also won the 1956 Ohio state golf championship by 26 strokes over the next team. Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 PGA Major championships, was a junior on that team and he set a tournament record with a 144, which gave him the win by nine strokes.
Girls golf — Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2006
Led by the winningest girls golf coach in high school history, Sister Lynn Winsor, the 2006 team was one of many state championship teams for the Gators, who have won 37 girls state golf championships in Arizona since 1980. The medalist for the 2006 team was Cheyenne Woods, the half-niece of Tiger Woods. The Gators shot a 570, which was the lowest score in tournament history to that point. Xavier Prep won the tournament by 82 strokes.
Boys soccer — St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio), 2010
The Wildcats have won three national championships in their history and 10 state championships. The 2010 team went 23-0 and defeated eight teams that finished in the Fab 50 national boys soccer rankings.
Girls soccer — St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 1996
No girls soccer coach has won more games than Carlos Giron (861 wins). He had his greatest group of teams in the 1990s when the Raiders won seven straight state championships and had a 119-game winning streak. The 1996 team may have been the best team of the bunch, posting a 30-0 record and a national record 29 shutouts. The Raiders outscored opponents 238-1 on the year and were named national champions by USA Today.
Volleyball — Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), 2018
Playing a killer schedule and traveling all across the country, the 2018 Assumption team still managed to post a 43-0 record while dropping just eight games all season. The Rockets beat teams from eight states, including California's top two teams, Marymount and Mater Dei, within a three-hour window. The Rockets are also coached by Ron Kordes (1,219 career wins), who has won 22 state championships.
Assumption celebrates a win at the Durango Fall Classic in September of 2018. (Photo: Jann Hendry)
Santa Clara is home to multiple Olympic swimmers, including Mark Spitz who one year later swam at the Olympics in Mexico City as a high school senior. The 1967 team held nine out of 10 national records and had three AAU National champions in Spitz, Jack Faunce and Fred Haywood.
Girls swimming — Carmel (Ind.), 2015
Drawing comparisons to the great Mission Viejo teams of the early 1980s, Carmel broke three national records and scored a state record 445 points at the state meet while winning nine out of 11 events. The Greyhounds won the state meet by 266 points and secured a 29th straight state championship to set another national record. At the sectional meet, Carmel scored 544 out of a possible 544 points, going 1-2-3 in every event.
Boys track — Berkeley (Calif.), 1981
The Yellowjackets won the state meet in 1980 and returned many of the same runners setting up a titanic performance in 1981. Berkeley won five events at the state meet and set three national records in the process by Pete Richardson in the 800 meters, Walter Murray in the 300 hurdles and the 1,600-meter relay team anchored by sprinter Ken Robinson.
Girls track — Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), 2004
Anchored by sprinter Shalonda Solomon, Poly set three national relay records during the season, including one at the California state meet. Solomon finished second in the 100 and 200 and the Jackrabbits won both relays at the state meet. The team scored a state record 80 points and won the meet by 30 points.
Boys bowling — Sun Prairie (Wis.), 2017
Sun Prairie set a national tournament record with a 12-game Baker series score of 2,763 points. The Cardinals won the national championship and were led by individual champion Andrew Olson.
Girls bowling — Harlem (Machesney Park, Ill.), 2019
Harlem's championship in 2019 was the third national title for the Huskies. The team set national records for a five-player two-game series (2,149 pins) and three-game series (3,190 pins).
Boys cross country — Newbury Park (Calif.), 2021
The Panthers scored an incredibly low 15 points in winning the Southern Section championship by 70 points over traditional national power Great Oak. They did even better at the state meet, scoring 16 points and winning by 103 over Great Oak. The Panthers finished 1-2-3-4-7 and were led by state champion Colin Sahlman, who went under 4 minutes in the mile at the Prefontaine Classic during track season, and junior twins Leo and Lex Young.
Girls cross country — Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.), 2010
The Hornets have won 11 Nike National cross country events in their history with the 2010 team having the best finish with a score of 27. If F-M had competed against the rest of the field as a team, it would have still won the meet 27-30. Christie Rutledge, Kaite Sischo and Jillian Fanning finished 2-4-6 in the event.
Field hockey — Emmaus (Pa.), 1997
The Hornets went 26-0 with its fifth state championship in seven seasons. Emmaus outscored opponents 116-1 while posting national records of 25 shutouts (breaking the record of 24 set by Emmaus in 1996) including a record 24 in a row. The Hornets were coached by Sue Butz-Stavin, who became the first field hockey coach in the nation to win 1,000 career games in 2021.
Boys gymnastics — Hinsdale Central (Hinsdale, Ill.), 1971
State tournaments are often won by only a few points, so what Hinsdale Central did in 1971 is phenomenal. The Red Devils scored 228 points in the state meet and defeated second-place Hersey by 92.5 points. Bob Anderson won the all-around while Ted Marcy won the side horse and Marty Myers won the parallel bars.
Girls gymnastics — Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.), 2004
The fourth of four straight state championships for the Patriots who scored a state record 152.775 points which still stands as the most points ever scored. Lindsey Borkan won the all-around with a state record 39.22 points.
Boys ice hockey — Jefferson (Bloomington, Minn.), 1993
The Jaguars finished the season 28-0 and dominated in the postseason, outscoring opponents 17-2 in the regional playoffs and 14-3 in the state tournament. Jefferson had four players on the all-tournament team including Mr. Hockey winner Nick Checco.
Girls ice hockey — South St. Paul (Minn.), 2003
The Packers went 31-0 in winning the state championship, part of a four-year run of state titles that included a 67-game win streak that set a national record.
Boys tennis — Boca Prep (Boca Raton, Fla.), 2001
The Lions went 23-0 without losing a set at the state meet, sweeping all of the singles and doubles championships. Four of the players on the team held Top 15 rankings by the USTA Under-18 rankings, including state champion Peter Shults, Chris Martin and Ytai Abougzir.
Girls tennis — St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 1972
Although Aquinas only went 8-2 during the season, part of the reason for that is that the top two players were absent while playing in more competitive events. Those two players were sisters Chris and Jeanne Evert, both of whom were national champions in their age group. At the state finals, Aquinas won four of the five singles titles and both doubles championships. Two months later, Chris Evert played at Wimbledon where she reached the semifinals.
Boys volleyball — Huntington Beach (Calif.), 2015
The Oilers had a pair of All-American players in Brendan Sander and T.J. DeFalco as the team posted a 40-0 record and were ranked No. 1 in the nation. The 40 wins were part of a national record 121 straight victories.
Boys water polo — Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, Calif.), 1975
Posting a 24-0 record, Newport Harbor was loaded with Division 1 talent including players who combined to earn 12 All-American honors at the collegiate level. Eight players went on to play in college, including Southern Section players of the year Kevin Robertson and Frank Anderson. Also on the team was future actor Ted McGinley (Love Boat, Married with Children, Revenge of the Nerds).
Girls water polo — Johansen (Modesto, Calif.), 1999
Under coach Brent Bohlender, who had 707 wins in girls water polo, the Vikings won three straight Sac-Joaquin Section championships with identical 37-0 records en route to a national record 128 consecutive wins. The 1999 team featured three players who went on to play at the Division 1 level.
