MaxPreps is celebrating 20 years as America’s source for high school sports this month. Back in 2002, the site consisted of schedule, score and roster data for teams in the Sacramento area and quickly expanded across the state of California. Less than two years later, it encompassed the entire country.
In recognition of two decades of high school sports coverage, we are looking back at some of the greatest athletes, teams and stories of the past 20 years. Our rewind begins today with a breakdown of the 20 greatest dynasties since 2002.
Punahou celebrates a volleyball state championship in 2012, one of 215 the school has won across all sports over the past two decades.
Photo: Darryl Oumi
It's hard to pin down one sport that Punahou has
dominated over the past 20 years. But it's impossible not to put the Buff N' Blue at No. 1 when you consider they have
won at least one state championship in 27 different sports during the
past 20 years. The combined total for those 27 sports amounts to 215
state championships in the past two decades. The top sports include girls tennis with 18 (COVID
canceled two seasons); girls water polo, boys tennis and girls cross
country with 15; boys volleyball with 14; girls swimming with 13; girls
track and field and girls golf with 12; and boys swimming with 10.
2. Carmel (Ind.), girls swimming
The Greyhounds have won a national record 36
straight state titles after winning the Indiana state
championship last spring with the second highest point total in state
meet history. The set the all-time meet total in 2021. Of the 11
events contested at the state meet, Carmel holds the state record in
nine — with two being national records.
3. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), girls lacrosse
Between 2005 and 2019, the Eagles won 12
state championships including 10 in a row. USA Today once called the
Eagles "the most unbeatable team in high school sports history." The
reason for the high praise was a 198-game win streak between 2010 and
2018.
4. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), boys basketball
While the Eagles don't compete for
a Florida state championships, they have finished No. 1 in the nation
multiple times in the past 20 years. While winning six GEICO Nationals titles,
Montverde has also finished No. 1 in the nation six times as ranked by
MaxPreps.
5. Xavier College Prep (Phoenix), girls golf
The Gators have one of the most
consistent golf programs in the nation, winning 17 state championships
from 2002 to 2020 and 37 in the program's history. The Gators also had a
255 dual meet win streak heading into the 2020 season.
6. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), football
The Spartans' 151-game win streak was nearing its end when MaxPreps first began in the early 2000s, but De La Salle has managed to maintain the most consistent, dynastic football program in the country over the past 20 years. De La Salle has been named national champion by at least one media service during that span while winning six state championships and finishing runner-up five times. The Spartans are ranked No. 1 in the CalPreps dynasty rankings for the past 20 seasons.
7. Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), boys swimming
The Bulldogs have won 34 state championships in a
row. During that time, Bolles has also won
eight independent school national championships. The Bulldogs have
produced 108 All-Americans since 2002, including Olympic gold medalists
Ryan Murphy and Joseph Schooling.
8. Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.), wrestling
The Buccaneers have the top wrestling program
in the nation over the past 20 years including prep schools.
Blair Academy has won 17 National Prep Tournament championships since 2003 and
40 in the program's history. The Buccaneers have had four-time
national prep champions four times and 13 three-time champions in the past 20
years.
9. St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.), boys swimming
The Tigers have one of the highest state
championship win totals for a single sport in high school history. St.
Xavier won its 58th boys state swimming championship last spring and the
34th in a row. The Tigers recently won back-to-back national
championships by the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
10. Fayetteville-Manlius (Manlius, N.Y.), girls cross country
No team has dominated high
school girls cross country like the Hornets. From 2006 to 2017,
Fayetteville-Manlius won 11 Nike Cross Nationals, which is generally
considered the high school cross country national championship. The
Hornets not only own 11 national titles, they've crushed the competition.
The Hornets often scored less than half the total number of points than
the second-place team with the best season coming in 2010 when they
scored just 27 points (1, 2, 4, 8 and 12). The best possible finish in a
cross country meet is 15 points as a lower total is better.
11. St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), wrestling
Among non-prep school programs, it's hard to
beat the success of the Eagles. Over the past 20 years, St. Edward has won 18 state tournament championships and 10 dual-meet
state championships. St. Edward was also national champion in 2007 and
has had 25 All-Americans over the past 20 years.
12. Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), boys tennis
Winners of 44 state championships in team
history, Cherry Creek has won 16 state championships in the past 20
years. At one time, Cherry Creek won 316 dual matches in a
row, the longest streak ever for a high school boys tennis team.
13. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), football
The Monarchs have been one of the top programs in
the nation for well over 20 years, but they have been particularly
impressive the past decade. Over the past five seasons, Mater Dei has
been named national champion four times. According to CalPreps "Top
Single Seasons" list, Mater Dei owns the top three single season
finishes over the past 20 years (2017, 2018, 2021) and four of the top
seven.
14. Duncanville (Texas), girls basketball
The Pantherettes made eight appearances in the state tournament final four and have captured six state championships during the past 20 years. Duncanville also had a 105-game win streak between 2011-14. Six times Duncanville won 39 or more games in a season.
15. Norco (Calif.), softball
The Cougars have had the top softball program in the nation, based on the MaxPreps softball dynasty rankings, for the better part of a decade. Norco has finished No. 1 in the MaxPreps computer rankings three times and a MaxPreps National Championship in 2019.
16. Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft, N.J.), boys cross country
With an active 385 consecutive dual meet win streak stretching over 50 years, the Colts have dominated for much longer than the past 20 years. Of their 24 state championships, 11 have come during the MaxPreps era along with a national championship in 2011.
17. Assumption (Louisville, Ky.), volleyball
The Rockets have won 22 state championships
since Kentucky first started holding state volleyball championships in
1979. Twelve of those championships came during the MaxPreps era,
including 2018 when they were named MaxPreps National Champions.
18. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), football
The Gaels have fielded one of the premier football programs in the nation over the past 20 years, specifically since 2007. During that time period, Bishop Gorman has not won fewer than 11 games while putting together six undefeated seasons, 12 state championships (including 10 in a row), and a 55-game win streak. The Gaels won three straight national championships between 2014-16.
19. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), baseball
The Buccaneers have consistently been ranked among the
top 25 teams in the nation for close to 30 years. In the past 20
seasons, Barbe has won eight state championships and has finished No. 1
in the nation by MaxPreps in 2014 and 2021.
20. Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), girls basketball
The
only school to twice finish No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 national girls
basketball rankings in the past 20 years, Riverdale has posted a
phenomenal record during that stretch. The Warriors won 30 games or more
eight times since 2007 (the first year MaxPreps has records for the
school) with seven state championships.
