Top 50 greatest high school sports performances

For one, what is more impressive, a 100-point game in basketball or a sub-4 minute mile? A world record in swimming or a national record in football? MaxPreps tries to make those decisions with its list of the Greatest High School Performances.

First, the ground rules. A performance is considered to be anything that occurs in a single game or a series of events, such as a track or swim meet. Also, performances during the summer following an athlete's senior year are also considered. Performances can also be in non-high school events, such as the Olympics or other amateur events. We also tried not to load up on any one category, thus there are not five of the greatest high school passing performances on the list, only one.

Top 50 Greatest High School Performances
1. Bob Matthias, Tulare Union (Calif.)
Won Olympic decathlon
A football and track star at Tulare Union, Matthias became the world's greatest athlete the summer after graduating and prior to entering Kiski Prep School. Just 17 years old at the London Olympics in 1948, Matthias won the decathlon with 7,139 points to become the youngest medalist in a track and field event. He went on to set the world record in the decathlon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

2. Jim Ryun, East (Wichita, Kan.)
First high school sub-4 minute mile
As a high school junior in 1964, Ryun became the first high school athlete to run the mile under four minutes, clocking a 3:59.0. Ryun ran five sub-4 minute miles in his high school career and his 3:55.3 time in 1965 stood as a high school record for 36 years.

3. Michael Carter, Jefferson (Dallas)
81 feet, 3 ½ inches in the shot put
Shot put records are often broken by a couple of inches. Carter broke the national high school shot put record in 1979 by NINE FEET! Carter has the top three high school throws of all time and no other thrower has come within six feet of his mark.

4. Danny Heater, Burnsville (Minn.)
135 points in a basketball game
In search of getting his top player a possible scholarship, Burnsville coach Jack Stalnaker came up with the idea to have the team feed Heater and have him try to score as many points as he could and possibly break the state record of 74 points. Heater did that and more, scoring 135 points on 53 field goals and 29 free throws. He also added 32 rebounds and finished three assists short of the greatest triple-double in history. Heater's record still stands nearly 50 years since it was established on Jan. 26, 1960.

5. Lisa Leslie, Morningside (Inglewood, Calif.)
101 points in a half
Not surprisingly, Leslie has the top two marks for points scored in a quarter with 52 and 49 in a 102-24 win over South Torrance. Leslie's coach annually rewarded one player each year by making them the sole focus of the offense in that one game. In 1990, it was Leslie's turn. Playing at the top of the full-court press, Leslie made 37-of-56 field goals and 27-of-35 free throws. Leslie scored all of her points in the first half as South Torrance forfeited the second half. The forfeit prevented Leslie from breaking the national record of 105 points, held by Cheryl Miller.

6. Don King, Atlantic (Iowa)
Most hits, stolen bases
Setting a national record for base hits and stolen bases in a single game might be enough for most athletes, but Don King decided to take it up a notch and throw a no-hitter as well. In a 109-0 win by Atlantic over Griswold on April 28, 1915, King went 15-for-17 at the plate and also registered 19 stolen bases. King also tossed an 8-inning no-hitter, giving up no base-on-balls while striking out 13 and hitting three batters. There was also one Atlantic error (Griswold committed 22). Atlantic is listed in the NFHS record book as having scored the most runs in a single game, but King's totals are not listed as national records by the NFHS. (Source: Arizona Interscholastic Association)

7. Art Smith, Cozad (Neb.)
15 touchdown passes, 10 rushing touchdowns
Smith had a day. In a 201-7 win over Overton, Cozad got 15 touchdown passes from Smith, who also ran for 10 touchdowns. His 25 touchdowns accounted for easily rank as the all-time best by 11 total touchdowns. No player has come within four touchdown passes of Smith's 15 since he set the record in 1921. Cozad also had defeated Farnam 174-0 earlier that year and had lost 176-0 to North Platte.

8. Jesse Owens, East Tech (Cleveland)
Four state records at state track meet
As a senior at East Tech in 1933, Owens gave a foreshadowing of what was to come at the 1936 Berlin Olympics as he won four events at the Ohio state track meet (for the second straight year) and also set four state records. He won the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds, the 200-yard dash in 20.8 seconds, the long jump in 24 feet, 3.75 inches, and the 3,200 meter relay in 1:30.3.

9. Matthew Boling, Strake Jesuit (Houston)
100-meter dash record
Boling caught everyone's attention when he ran a wind-aided 9.98 100-meters in a region meet in Texas in 2019. Since the wind was not legal, Boling did not get credit for a national record. No matter, Boling broke Henry Neal's national record of 10.15 seconds with a 10.13 wind-legal time the next month. He was named the Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

10. John Giannantonio, Netcong (N.J.)
754 yards rushing in one game
En route to setting the national record for rushing yards in a season with 4,756 yards, Giannantonio got one-sixth of that total in one game when he rushed for 754 yards and nine touchdowns in a win over Mountain Lakes.

11. Will Grier, Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.)
837 passing yards
While his record doesn't appear in the NFHS record book (Davidson Day is not a part of the North Carolina state association), Grier still has the most passing yards of any high school player for a single game. In a 104-80 win over Harrells Christian Academy on Nov. 9, 2012, Grier threw for 837 yards while completing 35-of-42 passes with 10 touchdowns. Grier went on to be named the Parade Magazine National Player of the Year in 2013.

12. Mark Spitz, Santa Clara (Calif.)
Five gold medals at Pan-American Games
A seven-time medal winner at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Spitz made a big splash as a high school swimmer at the Pan-American Games in 1967. He won five gold medals at the event, which was the most by any swimmer until the record was broken in 2007. Spitz also set World Records in the 100 butterfly and the 200 butterfly.

13. Kathy McMillan, Hoke County (Raeford, N.C.)
National long jump record
In setting the national high school record in the long jump with a leap of 22-1.75 at the Golden West Invitational in 1976, McMillan not only set the high school mark, but the women's U.S. record as well. Following her graduation from Hokes County, McMillan went on to have a great bicentennial summer as she broke her own women's record at the National AAU championships with a leap of 22-3 and then finished with a silver medal at the Montreal Olympics.

14. Debbie Meyer, Rio Americano (Sacramento, Calif.)
Three individual gold medals in Olympics
Just 16-years old when she competed at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Meyer became the first female swimmer to win three individual gold medals in any one Olympic Games when she won the 200, 400 and 800-meter freestyle races. Meyer was named the winner of the Sullivan Award, honoring the nation's top amateur athlete, for her efforts.

15. David Nolan, Hershey (Pa.)
Four national records in one swim meet
Nolan, a future All-American swimmer at Stanford, set four national records at the PIAA state meet in 2011. On the first day of the event, he set the national record in the 200 Individual Medley in 1:41.39. He then swam the lead leg of the 200-meter freestyle relay that set a record of 1:21.01. On the second day, he set the national mark in the 100 backstroke in 45.49. He then swam the lead leg in the 400 freestyle relay and set the national record for the 100 free with a time of 42.34. Nolan still holds the national record for the 200 IM and the 100 freestyle.

16. Renaldo Nehemiah, Scotch Plains-Fanwood (Scotch Plains, N.J.)
12.9 seconds in 120-yard hurdles
Before he became the top hurdler in the world, Nehemiah was setting national records at Scotts Plains. As a high school senior at the Eastern States track championships in May 1977, Nehemiah became the first high school hurdler to break 13 seconds in the 120-yard hurdles with a time of 12.9. His mark broke the previous record of 13.2.

17. Ken Hall, Tara (Baton Rouge, La.)
Wind-aided triple jump
While Hall did set the national high school triple jump record of 54-feet, 10 ½ inches at the USATF Junior Nationals in Eugene in 2004, on his third jump, it was his wind-aided jump on his fourth attempt that caught everyone's attention. Hall jumped 56-2.5, breaking his previous personal record by nearly five feet. While that jump was not wind-legal, his previous jump was, allowing him to break the previous high school record by nearly a foot. All totaled, Hall broke the previous national record four times on his six jumps with two of them not being wind-legal.

18. Alicia Hollowell, Fairfield (Calif.)
61-strikeouts in softball
Hollowell's name is all over the national high school record book, including her career strikeout total of 2,328, but it's her single-game strikeout performance against Woodland in 2001 that might be her best mark. In a 30-inning game that started on May 25, was suspended and finished on May 29, Hollowell struck out 61 batters to break the previous national record of 53. Hollowell went on to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in 2002. She ranks No. 6 all-time in NCAA history in strikeouts.

19. Michael Phelps, Towson (Md.)
Youngest swimmer to set a world record
As the all-time Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps has a multitude of great moments in his career. However, perhaps his greatest achievement as a high school-aged swimming might have come at the World Championships in 2001. At the age of 15 years, 9 months, Phelps became the youngest swimmer to ever break a world record when he swam the 200-meter butterfly in 1:54.58.

20. Terry Bradshaw, Woodlawn-Shreveport (Shreveport, La.)
National javelin record
Prior to winning four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bradshaw earned recognition in high school as the nation's top javelin thrower. He broke the national record four times in 1966, finishing the season with a toss of 244-11 at the Preptacular. That total was 12 feet farther than the previous national record. Bradshaw's mark isn't listed in the NFHS record book, but it would rank No. 2 all-time and lasted for 44 years.

21. Harold Sayger, Culver Academies (Culver, Ind.)
113 points in a basketball game
Sayger's 113 points aren't the most points ever scored in a high school boys basketball game (see Danny Heater), but he was the first one to ever score over 100 points in a game. And he did it all the way back in 1913. Playing against Winamac, Culver won 154-10 with Sayger scoring 113 points on 56 field goals and a free throw. Sayger's record lasted 40 years until it was broken by Dick Bogenrife of Ohio, who had 120 points in 1953.

22. Tiger Woods, Western (Anaheim, Calif.)
Wins SoCal Tournament by 10 strokes
A week after winning the Southern Section championship, Woods played in the Southern California golf championships and became the first golfer to win both tournaments. He also won the event by 10 strokes over the No. 2 golfer, which was the largest margin of victory in the 22 years of the event. Later in the summer, Woods won the first of his three Junior Amateur championships. Woods was just 15 years old and a freshman in high school at the time.

23. Houston McTear, Baker (Fla.)
9.0-second 100-yard dash
All season long, McTear was on a quest to go 8.9 in the 100-yard dash. After setting the national high school record at 9.30 (electronic time) earlier in the season, McTear nearly saw his dream come true at the Florida AA state championships in May of 1975. During the preliminary trials, McTear ran a hand-timed 9.0, making him only the second runner to ever run that fast. Although three different timers all clocked McTear at 9.0, his time is not recognized as the national high school record in the event because it was hand-timed. His 9.30 mark, however, is still the national record.

24. Alan Webb, South Lakes (Reston, Va.)
Mile run record
Webb became the first miler to break the 4-minute mile barrier in 34 years when he did it at the New Balance Games in New York in January 2001. However, it was Webb's performance at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene (Ore.) in May of that year that gets the honor here as he broke Jim Ryun's high school mile record with a time of 3:53.43. Six high school runners have broken the four-minute mile since 2001, but none have broken Webb's record.

25. Ryan Crouser, Barlow (Gresham, Ore.)
Best combined throws of discus, shot put
Crouser not only broke the national discus record at the Summer Open in June 2011, but he also went over 73 feet in the shot put. Not a bad day's work. The two distances rank as the best combined throws of the discus and shot put at a single meet. Crouser broke the national high school discus record with a toss of 237-6. He also put the shot 73-5.25 on the same day. Crouser went on to win the gold medal in the shot put at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

26. Walter Garrett, West End (Birmingham, Ala.)
Scored all 97 of his team's points
In the penultimate game of his high school career, Garrett had the ultimate performance. With his teammates giving him the ball on every possession, and refusing to score even on free throws, Garrett scored all of his team's 97 points in a 97-54 win over Glenn. Garrett made 39 field goals and 19 free throws and was reportedly quintuple teamed by game's end.

27. Kamy Keshmiri, Reno (Nev.)
225 feet, 2 inches in discus
In 1987, Keshmiri was a revelation in the discus. In throwing 225 feet, 2 inches at the Golden West Invitational in June, Keshmiri broke his own national record for the third time that year, but he also bested the previous record held by someone else by nearly 12 feet. At one time, Keshmiri held the top 15 throws in high school discus history. At the Golden West Invitational, all six of his throws bettered the previous meet record of 209-4. He was named the Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year and went on to win three NCAA discus titles and he won gold at the US Olympic Trials in 1992. Keshmiri's distance has since been surpassed (see Ryan Crouser), but it's safe to say that no thrower dominated the event quite like Keshmiri.

28. Epiphanny Prince, Bergtraum (New York, N.Y.)
113 points in 5-on-5 girls basketball game
Although she's not listed in the NFHS record book, Prince holds the national high school record for points scored in a 5-on-5 girls basketball game (see Marie Boyd). She had 58 points by halftime and connected on 54-of-60 shot attempts in a 137-32 win over Brandeis.

29. Simone Biles, HomeSchool (Spring, Texas)
Two-time World Champion gymnast
As a high school senior, Biles won her second consecutive World Championship at Nanning, China in 2014. She also raised her career World Championship gold medal record total to six, which was the most ever by an American gymnast. After graduating in 2015, Biles went on to become the first person to win three World Championships.

30. Jeff McGinness, Iowa City (Iowa)
Youngest junior world wrestling champion
Already a wrestling legend by the end of his junior season, McGinness added to his resume by becoming the first U.S. wrestler to win a junior world title prior to his senior year. McGinness's performance in Cali, Columbia in 1992 was so impressive that he was named the meet's "champion of champions." McGinness went on to win four state titles in Iowa and finished 170-0. He was also a three-time All-American in college.

31. Mary Cain, Bronxville (N.Y.)
Sub-2 minute 800 meters
When it comes to record-breaking performances and Cain, you can take your pick. We'll go with her IAAF Diamond League run in the 800 meters when she became the first, and only, high school female to break the 2-minute barrier at the distance with a time of 1:59.51.

32. Katie Ledecky, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bethesda, Md.)
Five Gold Medals at Pan-American Games
A contemporary of Missy Franklin, another great swimmer from the 2010s, Ledecky is the more decorated of the two. She has 15 World Championship medals and she became the first to ring up five gold medals at the Pan-American Games in 2014 as a high school junior. She set two world records during the event and three championship meet records.

33. Marie Boyd, Central (Lonaconing, Md.)
156 points in a 6-on-6 basketball game
Prior to the 1970s, high school girls basketball was played with six players on a side and players were only allowed to go to certain sections of the court. As a result, scores tended to be lopsided and there are a number of players with over 100 points in a game. However no player ever topped the total set by Marie Boyd. In a game against Ursuline in 1924, Boyd made 77 baskets and two free throws for her 156 points.

34. Don Wile, Salem (Ill.)
13 Touchdowns, 88 points
While the NFHS record for touchdowns and points in a single high school game are 14 and 98, respectively, Wile's 13 touchdowns and 88 points in a 184-0 win over Fairfield in 1943 might be the more impressive performance. The NFHS records were set in the early part of the 1900s when lopsided scores were the norm and the rules allowed for a scoring team to actually receive the ensuing kickoff. When Wile scored his 13 touchdowns, lopsided affairs were much less prevalent and scoring teams were required to kickoff.

35. Billy Brimm, Asher (Okla.)
Joe Edelen, Gracemont (Okla.)
72 combined strikeouts
While the all-time record for most strikeouts by an individual is 40 by Joe Labek, that record was set over the course of two different days. Brimm and Edelen, however, posted their outrageous strikeout totals over one day in a 17-inning, 1-0 marathon that determined the Class B Fall State Champions in Oklahoma in October of 1971. Brimm finished with 37 Ks for the winners while Edelen had 35. Brimm went on to earn state player of the year honors in the spring, finishing with a career pitching record of 60-10 while pitching shutouts in five state championship games over his career. Edelen went on to become one of the top players in the nation his senior year of 1973 and was the No. 12 overall pick in the 1973 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

36. Ken Hall, Sugarland (Texas)
687 combined yards on 14 touches
One reason Hall was able to set a national career rushing yardage record (11,232 yards) that stood for nearly 60 years was because of performances like this one against Houston Lutheran in 1953. On 11 carries, Hall had 520 yards rushing for a 47.3-yard average. He also returned a punt 82 yards, a kickoff 64 yards and an interception 21 yards for a total of 687 yards on just 14 touches.

37. Katie Wilkins, Christian (El Cajon, Calif.)
61 kills, 28 blocks
It wasn't enough that Wilkins registered 61 kills against Parker (San Diego) in a volleyball match in 1999, but she also had 28 blocks. Both totals rank No. 1 in the nation, according to the NFHS record book. Wilkins also has other kill totals of 54 and 47 on the all-time national list.

38. Jacob Finer, Utica Academy (Utica, N.Y.)
8 blocked punts in one game
Suffice it to say, Fulton did not do a very good job of blocking Finer on punts in their game in 1926. Finer got through the Fulton line to block eight punts in the game. The rest of Utica Academy's opponents didn't have the same problem as Finer finished the season with eight blocked points.

39. Jack Golson, Lowndes County (Deposit, Ala.)
6 punt return touchdowns
In a 1950 game in which he scored eight touchdowns and led his team to a 61-13 win over Loretto, Golson scored six of the touchdowns on punt returns. He had returns of 65, 50, 90, 75, 75 and 73 yards with four of them coming in one quarter. Ironically, Golson did not have a single punt return for a touchdown the rest of the season after setting the national record for such a feat.

40. Theresa Cross, Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.)
38 assists in a basketball game
Brea-Olinda had a powerful girls basketball program in the 1980s and usually won by lopsided scores. As a result, the second and third strings saw plenty of playing time. Thus it came to pass that Theresa Cross came to pass. A third-string player, according to the account in the Los Angeles Times in 1987, Cross dished out a national record 38 assists in a 119-26 win over Anaheim.

41. Adrien McGowen, Goodrich (Goodrich, Texas)
35 free throws in one game
McGowen ranks as one of the all-time leading scorers in girls basketball history and she is the all-time leading scorer in Texas with 5,424 points. She is also the all-time national leader in free throws in a career with 1,258. She also has the top four averages in the nation in average free throw attempts per game, according to the National Federation of High Schools Record Book. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that McGowen sank 35 free throws out of 44 attempts in a game against Martinsville on Dec. 30, 2004. McGowen finished the game with 74 points.

42. Max Oshie, Warroad (Minn.)
12 hockey goals
A tradition for winners of the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League is the opportunity to carry around the trophy and essentially take it wherever the player desires. T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals took the trophy back to Warroad, Minn. and displayed it in front of a mural depicting his great uncle, Max Oshie, who was one of the town's first great hockey players. On Jan. 6, 1948, Max Oshie set a record that has never been topped as he scored 12 goals in a win over Thief River Falls.

43. Brittney Griner, Nimitz (Houston)
25 blocks in one game
While Griner's national record of 25 blocks in one game has since been surpassed (Kamera Harris of Dutchtown in Hampton, Ga., had 28 in 2014), the fact that Griner also had a triple double in the game makes it that more amazing. In beating Alief Hastings 69-18 in November of 2008, Griner also had 21 points and 13 rebounds, thus outscoring the opponent and having more blocked shots than the opponent had points.

44. Dominique Fortunato, Topsail (Hampstead, N.C.)
20 girls lacrosse goals in one game
In a 29-2 win over Northside — Jacksonville on March 13, 2012, Fortunato was unstoppable. She posted 20 goals and she had five assists for 25 total points to set a national record for lacrosse goals in a single game. Amazingly enough, it might not have been Fortunato's best game. Earlier in the season she had posted 17 goals and 10 assists in a 28-5 win over Northside — Jacksonville, which set the national record for most points scored in a single game.

45. Kade Scott, Pawnee Heights (Rozel, Kan.)
14 touchdowns in 6-man football
Breaking a record that had stood for 106 years, according to a report in USA Today, Scott scored 14 touchdowns in a 118-85 win over Cheylin in 2018. Scott had 11 rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns and a kickoff return for a touchdown. He also had an extra point to give him a national record 85 points.

46. Russell Gunter, Straughn (Andalusia, Ala.)
72 rushing attempts
Gunter averaged 42 carries a game his senior year at Straughn (Andalusia, Ala.) so it wasn't uncommon for him to carry the ball — a lot. However Straughn's Oct. 31 game against Coffee Springs in 1986 went to the extreme. Gunter finished with 72 carries, gaining 331 yards. His total was 10 more attempts than the previous record and is still nine carries more than the next highest total.

47. Henry Kelting, Moline (Ill.)
Most extra points
In one of the most lopsided high school football games ever played, Staunton defeated Galva 172-0. Henry Kelting had a busy day for Moline as he kicked a total of 27 extra points in the contest. Touchdowns were only worth five points in 1902 and teams had the option of receiving the kick or kicking off after they had given up a touchdown. Galva opted to kickoff every time Moline scored, thus giving Kelting all those extra point opportunities.

48. Harrison Nowak, Strawn (Texas)
15 TD passes, 845 yards passing, 6-man
While it might have been 6-man football, Nowak equaled the 11-man touchdown pass mark (see Art Smith) and bettered the passing yardage mark (see Will Grier) in a win over Gustine in 2014. Nowak set national 6-man records by throwing 15 touchdown passes (on just 22 completions) for 845 yards.

49. BJ Oskzyeki, Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.)
Five triples in a softball game
Hitting a triple is one of the more difficult things to do in the sport of baseball or softball. So B.J. Oskzyeki's five triples in one game for Westminster Christian in 2001. Ironically, Oskzyeki did not appear to hit many more triples the rest of the season as she is not on the Alabama state list for most triples in a season (the list ends at 10 triples).

50. Heidi Garrett, King (Riverside, Calif.)
48-yard field goal by female
U.S. Women's soccer player Carli Lloyd made headlines when she booted a 55-yard field goal at a Philadelphia Eagles practice earlier this year. However, 15 years ago, Heidi Garrett of King (Riverside) was kicking long field goals in live action as one of the best female kickers in high school football history. Her 48-yard field goal against Paloma Valley (Menifee, Calif.) remains the longest field goal ever kicked by a female in high school competition.