Every State’s Top High School Track and Field Team

These high school track and field programs have won the most state championships in the United States.

The track and field events at the Olympics showcase the greatest sprinters, long-distance runners, throwers and jumpers the world has to offer. And they all had to start somewhere.

In the United States, that start often comes with an elite high school track and field program. While track and field may not grab the headlines other high school sports get, track and field has had a great impact on sports history.

These are the greatest high school boys outdoor track and field programs of all time, ranked by the most team state championships in all 50 states.

Alabama: UMS-Wright Preparatory School

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Location: Mobile, Alabama

State championships (23): 1981-83, 1990, 1991, 1997-2000, 2002-06, 2009-16, 2021

Notable coaches: Pat Galle

Notable athletes: Donnell Hill, John Megginson, Brandon Gibson

Bottom line: Any conversation about UMS-Wright Prep’s record-setting track and field team begins and ends with head coach Pat Galle.

Galle has been the head coach for track and cross country at UMS-Wright since 1972 and has won a whopping 69 Alabama state championships in that time across different sports, with the most recent coming in 2021.

UMS-Wright made the correct decision in 2011 when they renovated their track stadium and renamed it Galle-Leatherbury Track. He’s joined in the UMS-Wright Athletics Hall of Fame by his daughter, Corey Steele.

Note: All-time state records for boys track and field are not available for South Carolina.

Alaska: Bartlett High School

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Location: Anchorage, Alaska

State championships (17): 1979-86, 1989-92, 2001, 2008-10, 2012

Notable coaches: Larry Whitmore

Notable athletes: Richard Madison, DeWayne Ingram, Doug Herron, Jordan Clarke

Bottom line: Legendary Bartlett High track and field coach Larry Whitmore is in the Alaska High School Hall of Fame for good reason. Whitmore, who retired in 1991 after 24 years, won 11 state championships in boys track and field as part of the 23 total state championships he won and was named Alaska Coach of the Year 14 times.

Bartlett also owns the state record in two relays — the 400-meter relay and the 800-meter relay, with the 800-meter record standing since 1990. In the throwing events, Jordan Clarke owns state records in both the discus and shot put.

Arizona: Tucson High School

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Location: Tucson, Arizona

State championships (18): 1923, 1927, 1928, 1936, 1938-41, 1943-49, 1953, 1970, 1971

Notable coaches: Doc Van Horne, Don Anderson, Bud Doolen

Notable athletes: Joe Batiste, Abdi Abdirahman

Bottom line: Tucson High School — now known as Tucson High Magnet School — dominated the early eras of boys outdoor track and field in Arizona, including winning at least one state championship in every decade from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The greatest trackster from those early years was Joe Batiste, who set a national record in the hurdles that stood for decades. The people of Tucson famously pooled their money to send Batiste and his coach, Doc Van Horne, to the AAU national championships in 1939.

That’s where he defeated world-record holder and Rice University star Fred Wolcott.

Arkansas: Little Rock Central High School

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Location: LIttle Rock, Arkansas

State championships (50): 1921, 1922, 1926-45, 1947, 1949-58, 1960-65, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1979

Notable coaches: Clyde Horton

Notable athletes: Doug Spencer, Dariel Johnson, Bill Runyan, Derek Russell, Bruce Fullerton, Ralph Brodie, Mike Hoffman, Randy Taylor

Bottom line: Little Rock Central High School’s 50 state championships in boys outdoor track and field are a national record — even more incredible considering they haven’t won a state championship since 1979.

The most well-known of Little Rock Central’s head coaches was Clyde Horton, who coached the Tigers from 1963 until 1987, winning a combined 25 state championships between track and field and cross country.

Two of Little Rock Central’s relay teams, in the 800-meter and 1600-meter relay, still own state records. The 800 record was set in 1985, and the 1600 record was set in 1968.

California: Long Beach Polytechnic High School

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Location: Long Beach, California

State championships (10): 1928, 1932, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2011

Notable coaches: Don Norford

Notable athletes: Earl Thomson, Gary Lee, Kareem Kelly, Bryshom Nellom, Darrell Rideaux, Bryan Woodward, John Rambo

Bottom line: California was slow to adapt to comprehensive state championships in a lot of sports but not in track and field, where they’ve held state tournaments that included the whole state since the 1910s.

If we’re looking for the all-time GOAT when it comes to Long Beach Poly’s track and field athletes, we could do a lot worse than pointing at sprinter Bryshon Nellum, who swept the 200- and 400-meter state titles in back-to-back years and set the state record with a 20.43-second 200 as a senior and a broke a 20-year record.

Legendary head track coach Don Norford won 24 CIF Southern Section championships and 18 total CIF state championships — more than any coach in California history.

Colorado: Fountain-Fort Carson High School

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Location: Fountain, Colorado

State championships (17): 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017 2018 (since 2010)

Notable coaches: Art Hassler, Ben Montoya

Notable athletes: Gregg Trigg, Jai’Shawn Thompson, Jequan Hogan, Jamarius Mathis

Bottom line: Fountain-Fort Carson High School has a track and field legacy that almost saw itself derailed by bureaucracy. After winning four state titles in his first six seasons, head coach Ben Montoya was asked to reapply for his job alongside every other coach at the school.

Fountain-Fort Carson has never been as dominant as it has in the last decade. They won six state championships alone in the 2010s.

Connecticut: Hartford High School

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Location: Hartford, Connecticut

State championships (22): 1929, 1938, 1939, 1941-43, 1948, 1949, 1962, 1965, 1968-76, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1995

Notable coaches: Larry Amann, Lindy Remigino

Notable athletes: Lindy Remigino, Mel Taylor, Pablo Franco, Eugene Jenkins, Ed Lemieux, Daryl King, Melvin Braswell, John DeRagon,

Bottom line: When we tell you that Hartford Public High School is old, we mean old as in the second-oldest public high school in the United States. It first opened its doors in 1638.

You can’t tell the story of the historic track and field program at Hartford Public without telling the story of Lindy Remigino, the 1952 Olympic champion in the 100-meter dash. Remigino qualified for the Olympics after two runners were injured and won the finals in the 100 by a tenth of a second.

He returned to Hartford, where he was the longtime head track and field coach at his alma mater.

Delaware: Salesianum School

Salesianum School Athletics

Location: Wilmington, Delaware

State championships (17): 1971-74, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005-07, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019

Notable coaches: Fr. Joseph Beattie, Michael Lo Sapio, Ralph Heiss

Notable athletes: Ron Mazik, Gabe Gigliotti, Frank McKeone, Joe McCool, Matt Rendina, Dom DellaPelle

Bottom line: The greatest coach for the greatest high school track and field team in Delaware history was Father Joseph Beattie, who jump-started the school’s running programs across all disciplines in the late 1960 and was inducted into the Delaware Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1994.

Beattie kicked things off by guiding Salesianum to four consecutive state championships from 1971 to 1974 before taking an assistant coach role. Salesianum has dominated in distance running. The boys cross country team won 37 of 42 state championships between 1972 and 2013.

Florida: Florida A&M University High School

Florida A&M University High School Athletics

Location: Tallahassee, Florida

State championships (13): 1984, 1985, 1987-97

Notable coaches: Harry Jacobs, Samuel Pennypacker

Notable athletes: Kenneth Perry, George Shuler, Christopher Ford, Terrance Hinson

Bottom line: The amazing thing about Florida A&M University High School’s record 13 state championships is they were all won from 1984 to 1997. The only year FAMU lost was in 1986, when they finished as state runner-up and lost to Lakeland Christian by just four points.

The man who guided the way to the first 12 state championships for FAMU was head coach Harry Jacobs. Another amazing fact is that FAMU hasn’t won another state championship since winning it all in 1997.

Georgia: Carrollton High School

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Location: Carrollton, Georgia

State championships (28): 1955-60, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1980-83, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010-12, 2021

Notable coaches: Craig Musselwhite

Notable athletes: Harvey Copeland, Jimmy Morrow, Barry McClure, Craig Musselwhite, Broderick Snoddy

Bottom line: Craig Musselwhite went from a star athlete winning track and field state championships at Carrollton High to a legendary coach leading his alma mater to state championships. He won eight before he retired in 2020.

Musselwhite’s status as the coach with the most state titles in Carrollton High history is only eclipsed by his status as perhaps the school’s greatest track and field athlete. He won three consecutive state high jump titles from 1983 to 1985 before going on to star at Auburn University.

Hawaii: Punahou School

Punahou School Athletics

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

State championships (35): 1959-62, 1965, 1967-70, 1972-75, 1977-80, 1984, 1988-90, 1993, 1996-99, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017-19

Notable coaches: Al Rowan, Dacre Bowen, Louie Johnson, Micah Pavich, Todd Iacovelli

Notable athletes: Henry Marsh, Kaionne Crabb, Jac Hebert, Bennett Valencia,

Bottom line: Head coach Al Rowan led Punaho to 20 state championships from 1959 to 1990, which included at least three consecutive titles five different times.

Punahou has won at least one state championship in every decade since the 1950s save for the 2020s — Hawaii hasn’t held a state track tournament since 2019.

The greatest track and field athlete in Punahou history was undoubtedly Henry Marsh, a three-time Olympian and nine-time U.S. champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Idaho: Jerome High School

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Location: Jerome, Idaho

State championships (17): 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982-84, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1993-98

Notable coaches: Karl Kleinkopf, Tim Dunne

Notable athletes: Gary Hulsey, Taeo Schneider, Timothy Dunne

Bottom line: Karl Kleinkopf led Jerome to its first two state championships. Tim Dunne took care of the next 15, including seven straight titles from 1993 to 1998 and 15 overall, and Jerome High actually named its track after Dunne, who died in September 2019 and won an additional 13 state championships as the head coach of Jerome’s cross country team.

Dunne’s son, Timothy, was an 11-time All-Big 12 runner at the University of Missouri and ran in the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Illinois: East St. Louis High School

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Location: East St. Louis, Illinois

State championships (17): 1973, 1975-78, 1981-85, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2016, 2019

Notable coaches: Jimmy Lewis, Arthur Marshall, John Davis, Barry Malloyd

Notable athletes: Marvin Edmonds, Mike Goodrich, Mike Monroe,

Bottom line: East St. Louis still holds several state records for relay teams. Most notably, the school’s 800-meter relay team from 1975 still holds the state record at 1:25.70 and featured Stanley Braggs, Lamar Pickett, Richard Townsend and Marvin Edmonds.

That 1975 team won the first of four consecutive state championships for East St. Louis, and Edmonds’ time of 10.3 seconds in the 100-meter dash is still on the state’s career top 10 list.

Former 110-meter hurdles champion Barry Malloyd led the school to state track championships in 2016 and 2019.

Indiana: Roosevelt High School

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Location: Gary, Indiana

State championships (20): 1951, 1952, 1954, 1959-62, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1977, 1981-89

Notable coaches: Bo Mallard, Don Leek, John Campbell

Notable athletes: Jeffrey Patrick, John Story, Don Young, Elbert Turner

Bottom line: John Campbell won his first state championship as Gary Roosevelt’s head coach in 1970 and won three titles in his first decade before truly hitting his stride. He led the team to nine consecutive state titles from 1981 to 1989. He holds the state record with 12 state championships.

Sprinter Jeffrey Patrick still holds a pair of state records he set in 1982 — in the 200-meter dash and as part of Roosevelt’s 400-meter relay team.

Roosevelt High, which was also home to several members of The Jackson 5, is now known as Roosevelt College and Career Academy.

Iowa: Ames High School

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Location: Ames, Iowa

State championships (20): 1941, 1949, 1955-58, 1960, 1963-65, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1986-91

Notable coaches: John Sletten, H.W. Covey

Notable athletes: Orville Madsen, Dustin Avey, Andy Kohler

Bottom line: Ames High owns 20 state titles in boys outdoor track and field and can count another 11 state titles on the indoor circuit.

Orville Madsen was Ames High’s first great winner at the state meet, winning three consecutive gold medals in the high jump from 1930 to 1932 — but no team titles.

Those came fast and heavy starting with the first in 1941, and Ames won state championships in every decade from the 1940s through the 1990s, with the school’s last team title coming in 1991.

Kansas: Wichita East High School

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Location: Wichita, Kansas

State championships (28): 1913, 1914, 1917, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952-54, 1957-59, 1961, 1962, 1964-67, 1974, 1996

Notable coaches: Bob Timmons, J.D. Emiston, Steve Sell

Notable athletes: Jim Ryun, Ronald Mayo Jr., Marcus Walker, Archie San Romani Jr., Steve Sell, Randy Smith, Brad Speer, Bob Hanson

Bottom line: Wichita East High won its first few state titles as Wichita High School before formally changing its name to Wichita East.

The story of track and field at Wichita East can’t be told without mentioning the legendary Jim Ryun. In 1964, he became the first high schooler to run a mile under 4 minutes with a time of 3:59, and his best time of 3:55.3 was the national high school record for 36 years.

Ryun, who eventually became a U.S. Senator, was named the greatest high school athlete of all time by ESPN and ran in the Olympics three times, winning a silver medal in the 1,500 meters in 1968.

Kentucky: Male High School

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Location: Louisville, Kentucky

State championships (32): 1921, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1932, 1936, 1942, 1943, 1945-49, 1952, 1966-72, 1994-96, 1998, 2007-11, 2017

Notable coaches: Damon Smith, Mark Miller

Notable athletes: Tony Driver, Justin Green, Skip Laird, Kyle Jenkins, Darian Clyburn, Dylan Allen, Mark Miller

Bottom line: Male High School won at least one state title in every decade from the 1920s through the 2010s with the exception of the 1980s. Its first state title came in 1921, and its latest was in 2017.

Two of the best sprinters in Male history were also big-time football players. Justin Green swept the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dash at the Class 3A state championships in 2008. He played for the University of Illinois then briefly in the NFL, Arena Football League and CFL.

Tony Driver won the 1996 state championship in the 100-meter dash, then played for Notre Dame and two seasons in the NFL.

Louisiana: Episcopal High School

Baton Rouge Episcopal High School Athletics

Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

State championships (19): 2004, 2009, 2014-19, 2021 (incomplete list)

Notable coaches: Claney Duplechin

Notable athletes: John Dupont, Zach Miller, Sean Swanner, Bryan Stamey, Julian Darden

Bottom line: Episcopal High’s website lists 18 state championships, not including the latest state title in 2021, although online records are only available for state meets going back to 2004 — a span in which Episcopal has won nine state titles.

That includes seven in a row after the 2020 meet was canceled.

There isn’t a great way to find Episcopal’s individual state champions other than a list on the school’s website of Division I runners.

Maine: Orono High School

Orono High School Athletics

Location: Orono, Maine

State championships (19): 1961, 1962, 1968-70, 1972-77, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2015-17

Notable coaches: Chris LIbby

Notable athletes: Jake Koffman, David Frederick, Jeff Topliff

Bottom line: Orono High’s domination in track is evident in its record 19 state championships and in its individual athletes dotting the state record books.

Orono still owns three state records in field events — Jake Koffman in discus, David Frederick in pole vault and Jeff Toplin in javelin. Head coach Chris LIbby, who also leads the powerhouse girls track and field program, was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2015.

Orono High’s mascot is worth mentioning because it is so unique. They’re known as the Red Riots.

Maryland: Oakland Mills High School

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Location: Columbia, Maryland

State championships (14): 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993-96, 1998, 2000-02, 2003, 2010, 2021

Notable coaches: Ivan Walker, Caskie Lewis-Clapper, Sam Singleton, Bryan Winfield

Notable athletes: Baidy Ba, Kyle Farmer, Chris Bianchi, Cam Vereen, Damon Ferguson

Bottom line: Oakland Mills High School didn’t open until 1973, and it took less than a decade before it began its domination in boys track and field. With its latest state championship in 2021, they’ve now won at least one state title in five consecutive decades.

Out of the 14 state championships won by Oakland Mills, eight of them were won under the guidance of former head coach Sam Singleton, including four consecutive titles from 1993 to 1996 and three consecutive from 2000 to 20002.

Sprinter Kyle Farmer has owned Class A records in the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and 400-meter and 800-meter relays since the late 1990s.

Massachusetts: Andover High School

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Location: Andover, Massachusetts

State championships (9): 1966, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1979, 1985, 2009, 2010, 2015

Notable coaches: Dick Collins, Arthur Iworsley, Peter Comeau

Notable athletes: Sebastian Silveira, Sean Caveney, Jake Dalton

Bottom line: No coach has loomed larger over Andover High’s athletic legacy than Hall of Famer Dick Collins, who coached both the football and track teams for almost four decades. Andover actually has three coaches in the MSTCA Hall of Fame — Collins, Art Iworsley and Peter Comeau.

Massachusetts hasn’t done a great job of compiling its track and field records over the long haul, which is too bad because there have been some exceptional athletes to come out of the state.

Michigan: St. Martin de Porres High School

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Location: Detroit, Michigan

State championships (16): 1972-77, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005

Notable coaches: Fred Wright, Robert Lynch, Tony Taylor

Notable athletes: Larry Jordan, Stan Young, Brian Haughton, Dwayne Stozier, Stanley Youngs, Michael Martin, Deron Early, Daniel Holloway, Greg Henderson, Ray Robinson

Bottom line: Financial hardship led to the ultimate closing of St. Martin de Porres High in 2005, ending one of the great legacies for athletics in Michigan history.

St. Martin de Porres’ boys track and field team was one of the reasons why the legacy was so potent. They won a record 15 state championships, including in the final two years they were open.

Minnesota: Minneapolis Central High School

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Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

State championships (13): 1923-25, 1927, 1928, 1944, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1980, 1982

Notable coaches: Bob Hoisington, Joe Markley, “Wild” Bill Hawker, Levain Carter

Notable athletes: Kenneth Rubrecht, Blaine Chatham, Jeff Byrd, Robert Durham, Peter Najarian, Walter Groce, David Thompson, Butch Miller, Ken Wallace

Bottom line: The legacy of Minneapolis Central High School’s track and field legacy has a definitive beginning and an end, which begins with three consecutive state championships from 1923 to 1925 and ends with a final state title in 1982 — the same year the school closed.

How much was the track and field team tied to the school’s story? Just check out the first verse of Central’s alma mater: “Oh, Red and Blue, Dear Red and Blue/our Hearts are true to you/On field and track, we’ll never slack, But, win our honors true!”

Mississippi: Pearl High School

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Location: Pearl, Mississippi

State championships (13): 1981, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010-12, 2016

Notable coaches: Woody Barnett, Chris Barnett

Notable athletes: George Kersh, Rickey Crutcher, Evan Osborne, Kyle Bynum

Bottom line: Few high school coaches in any sport, anywhere, have been as successful as former Pearl High track and field coach Woody Barnett — he won 43 state championships in track and cross country over 36 years.

Pearl High School named its new track complex after Barnett in 2003.

Missouri: University City High School

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Location: University City, Missouri

State championships (18): 1932-36, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1962-64, 1977, 1980, 2010

Notable coaches: Henry Schemmer, Charles Beck, Matt Keller

Notable athletes: Gene Crews, Tim Sims, Jim Knight, David Lee, Steve Goodrich

Bottom line: Legendary University City High coach Henry Schemmer won 15 state championships — more than any track and field coach in Missouri history. He won his first seven state titles in the 1930s and closed out his career with three consecutive titles from 1962 to 1964.

While University City won 15 state championships in Schemmer’s time as head coach, they’ve only won three in the almost 60 years since. Charles Beck led the school to a pair of state championships in 1977 and 1980, and Matt Keller led them to a state title in 2010.

Montana: Missoula County/Hellgate High School

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Location: Missoula, Montana

State championships (27): 1904, 1908, 1915, 1916, 1926, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1939-42, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953-58, 1964, 1971, 1972, 1980

Notable coaches: Guy Stegner, Lou Rocheleau

Notable athletes: Dan Tabish, Mike Ramos

Bottom line: Missoula County High School won its first state championship in 1904 — a legacy that stretches back 117 years. Missoula County didn’t truly begin to dominate until about 20 years later. They won four state titles in the 1930s, then six state titles in the 1940s.

Out of Missoula County’s 27 state titles, 21 of them were won by two men. Guy Stegner won 14 titles and Lou Rocheleau won seven titles, including six consecutive from 1953 to 1958.

Missoula County High School changed its name to Hellgate High in the late 1950s after another high school, Sentinel, opened in Missoula.

Nebraska: Omaha Central High School

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Location: Omaha, Nebraska

State championships (21): 1909-12, 1914-16, 1922, 1924, 1945, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1982, 1983, 1989, 2007, 2010, 2011

Notable coaches: Frank Smagacz

Notable athletes: Gale Sayers, Ahman Green, Calvin Jones, Roger Sayers, Kelly Yancy, Terry Williams, Tom Riviera, Joe Orduna, Deverell Biggs, Stanley Smith, Larry Station, Keith Jones

Bottom line: It’s hard not to look at the history of track and field at Omaha Central High School and not see two names jump out at you — future NFL stars Gale Sayers and Ahman Green.

The two running backs weren’t just there to keep in shape for football. Sayers’ state long jump record he set in 1961 stood for 44 years, and Green’s 100-meter dash time of 10.4 seconds in 1995 is still in the state’s top five of all time.

Nevada: Las Vegas High School

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Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

State championships (20): 1930, 1933, 1939, 1941, 1946-49, 1953-59, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1973, 1993

Notable coaches: NA

Notable athletes: Charles Smith, Anthony Park, John Pollard, Cory Williams, Aaron Adkins, Antonio Verdugo, Tre James

Bottom line: Las Vegas High’s seven consecutive state championships from 1953 to 1959 are tied for the most in Nevada history, and its four consecutive titles from 1946 to 1949 also rank in the Top 10.

Track star Charles Smith’s record in the long jump stood for 31 years and is still the top mark in the history of Class 4A and his 100-meter dash time of 10.54 seconds set the state record in 1983 and stood until 2009.

New Hampshire: Nashua High School/Nashua South High School

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Location: Nashua, New Hampshire

State championships (19): 1955, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1964-71, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1993, 2003, 2009

Notable coaches: Bob Demello, Francis Tate

Notable athletes: Barney Borromeo, Daniel Frechette, Matt Sheehan, Mark Russel, John Schroeder, Bruce Hall

Bottom line: Nashua High School’s record of 19 state titles came mostly before the school changed its name to Nashua South High in 2004 — 18 of the 19 championships to be exact.

The greatest era for Nashua High came in the 1960s, when they won nine out of 10 team state titles in the decade, only missing in 1963 under coach Francis Tate.

The school saw a resurgence from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, picking up four more state titles between 1985 to 1993, including a record in the 200-meter dash set by Barney Borromeo in 1986 that would stand for 20 years.

New York/New Jersey: Christian Brothers Academy

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Location: Middleton Township, New Jersey

State championships (26): 1978-83, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1993-95, 1999-2004, 2012, 2016-19, 2021

Notable coaches: Karl Torchia

Notable athletes: Andrew Canale, Dave Desarno, Kam Coleman

Bottom line: Christian Brothers Academy won its first state championship in 1978 — the first of six consecutive state titles — and is currently on a streak of five consecutive state championships in the Non-Public A Division dating back to 2016.

Current track and field head coach Karl Torchia has been at CBA since 2001, and the former West Virginia University star decathlete has carved out a reputation as one of the best track and field coaches in the United States.

We wanted to do a separate entry for New York, but the links to the archives for past track and field state champions no longer work.

New Mexico: Highland High School

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Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

State championships (22): 1952-59, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2005, 2009

Notable coaches: Hugh Hackett, Henry Sanchez, Gary Sanchez

Notable athletes: Bobby Newcombe, Rolando Trammel, David Powdrell, Anthony Fairbanks

Bottom line: Highland High School started off its record state championship run in a big way, winning eight consecutive state titles from 1952 to 1959, which is tied for the most consecutive championships in state history.

Like a lot of teams on this list, one of Highland’s greatest sprinters starred in another sport. Bobby Newcombe set the state record in the 100-meter dash in 1997 before he won a national championship as a backup quarterback at the University of Nebraska in 1997, then was an All-Big 12 player for the Huskers in leading them to a Big 12 title in 1999.

North Carolina: Charlotte Central/Garinger High School

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Location: Charlotte, North Carolina

State championships (16): 1923-27, 1929-31, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1952, 1990

Notable coaches: Dr. Harvey P. Barret

Notable athletes: Jim Beatty, Bill Wartman, R.W. Smith, Don Moss, Bartley Tarlton, Dave Adair

Bottom line: Charlotte Central High School existed in name only from 1923 to 1959 — it was previously Charlotte High and Alexander Graham High — before it was given the name it goes by today, Garinger High.

We know that’s confusing, but the thing to focus on here is the domination of Charlotte Central in track and field, when it won 15 state championships in its 37 years of existence.

Charlotte Central’s greatest track and field star was distance runner Jim Beatty, who led Central to the 1952 state title before becoming a three-time All-American at the University of North Carolina and making the 1960 U.S. Olympic team.

North Dakota: Bismarck High School

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Location: Bismarck, North Dakota

State championships (34): 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1945-52, 1957, 1958, 1968-73, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2004-14

Notable coaches: Darrell Anderson

Notable athletes: Weston Dressler, Sean Korsmo, Bruce Perry

Bottom line: Bismarck High’s track and field legacy extends back to the 1920s, and they’ve won at least one state championship in every decade since, except for the 1980s.

Bismarck’s greatest sprinter of all time is a name you might recognize. Weston Dressler set the state record with a 10.44-second time in the 100-meter dash but is also one of the greatest high school football players in state history.

Dressler was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American at the University of North Dakota, a two-time Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and played 11 seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Ohio: Glenville High School

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Location: Cleveland, Ohio

State championships (16): 1959, 1960, 1965-68, 1970, 1973-75, 2003-07, 2014

Notable coaches: Ted Ginn Sr., Robert “Bump” Taylor

Notable athletes: Ted Ginn Jr., “Bullet” Bob Ware, Quincy Downing, Kyle Jefferson

Bottom line: You can make a good argument that the Cleveland Glenville High Tarblooders could go up against any team in the country in their best year and come out on top. Their 16 state championships in boys track and field are an Ohio record.

What’s amazing about the Tarblooders’ track tradition is they didn’t win a state championship from 1975 until 2003 — the year that future NFL star Ted Ginn Jr. won his second consecutive state title in the 110-meter hurdles, took state in the 200-meter dash and led Glenville to the state championship in the 400-meter relay on the way to the team title.

That being said, Ginn Jr. probably isn’t the fastest person to ever hit the track for Glenville. That honor belongs to sprinter “Bullet” Bob Ware.

Oklahoma: Ardmore High School

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Location: Ardmore, Oklahoma

State championships (11): 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998-2001, 2000, 2007, 2021

Notable coaches: Jim Secrest

Notable athletes: Freddie Hurd, Rafeal Denson, Jaywayne Allen, Kenny Shelton, Geoffrey Tabor, Brayden Bryant, Jamaal Moore, Tony Posey, Kevin Shelton

Bottom line: The state track meet in Oklahoma was 40 years old before Ardmore High won its first state championship in 1986, and they’ve consistently produced title teams since and won their first state title in 14 years in 2021.

The impressive thing about Ardmore is that their success has been spread across all the disciplines — sprints, jumps and throws.

Perhaps the most impressive of those state champions was Geoffrey Tabor, who won eight state championships by sweeping the shot put and discus events from 2005 to 2008 before becoming a two-time All-American and Pac-10 champion at Stanford.

Oregon: Medford High School

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Location: Medford, Oregon

State championships (14): 1940-43, 1948-51, 1953-57, 1964

Notable coaches: Berny Wagner

Notable athletes: Dick Fosbury, Bob Newland, Jerry Close, Mike Diebele, Ray Johnson, Jack Morris, Rick Lewis

Bottom line: Medford High School is an interesting case study in a town holding onto its athletic glory for probably too long. Even though an entirely new high school was built in the 1960s, Medford High simply retained its name and split students between the two high schools until 1986, when the old Medford High became North Medford, and the “new” school became South Medford.

Which is a bit of a point of contention because for all intents and purposes, the state championships should be shared by the two schools but remain the sole custody of North Medford High, including those 14 track and field state championships.

That track legacy includes the most influential high jumper of all time — 1968 Olympic gold medalist Dick Fosbury, who invented the “Fosbury Flop” technique.

Pennsylvania: Glen Mills School

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Location: Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania

State championships (7): 1987, 1993, 1995-97, 1999, 2000

Notable coaches: NA

Notable athletes: Bernard Pierce, Keon Rantin, Mahdi Koliso

Bottom line: While we aren’t sure how much we totally trust Pennsylvania’s cut-and-paste history of state track and field team champions, this seems like the best one to go with.

One notable star for Glen Mills was NFL running back Bernard Pierce, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012. As a senior at Glen Mills, Pierce ran the fastest 100-meter and 200-meter dash times in the state.

Rhode Island: Bishop Hendricken High School

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Location: Warwick, Rhode Island

State championships (26): 1979, 1980, 1982-89, 1991, 1998-2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021

Notable coaches: Jim Doyle

Notable athletes: Will Blackmon, Jacob Freeman, John Frenze, Steven Williams, Josh Gardella

Bottom line: Athletic powerhouse Bishop Hendricken has one of the nation’s great high school track and field and cross country coaches in Jim Doyle, the brother of world-class marathoner Bobby Doyle.

One of Bishop Hendricken’s greatest sprinters — and definitely the most well-known — was two-time 100-meter dash state champion Will Blackmon, who was also a USA Today All-American in football as a senior.

Blackmon played for Boston College then nine seasons in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants.

South Dakota: Washington High School

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Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

State championships (32): 1906, 1907, 1912-14, 1928, 1931-33, 1935-40, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1953-61, 1963, 1988, 2011-13

Notable coaches: Shane Reilly

Notable athletes: Dave Bakke, Matthew Stahl, Christian Parker, Roger Wardlow, Jim Adams, Gary Hennington, Mike Tuttle

Bottom line: Sioux Falls Washington High’s track legacy is pretty amazing when you consider they’ve won 32 state championships — one of the higher totals anywhere in the nation — and there’s a 107-year gap between their first title in 1906 and the last one they won in 2013.

Washington won state championships in every decade from the 1900s through the 1960s, went 25 years without winning a state title, then won in 1988 and went another 23 years before winning three consecutive state titles from 2011 to 2013.

Tennessee: Brentwood Academy

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Location: Brentwood, Tennessee

State championships (25): 1980-83, 1987-91, 1993, 1996, 2003-08, 2011-13, 2015-19

Notable coaches: Brad Perry

Notable athletes: John Krawulski, Jason Patrick, Bryson Lillard, Andrew Bumbalough, Jalen Ramsey, George Patrick, Greg Johnson, Clay Adams, Chris Vaughn, Sean Keveren

Bottom line: Brentwood Academy’s 25 state championships have almost all come in chunks. They’ve had streaks of six, five, five and four when it comes to reeling off titles, and they are 15 titles ahead of the team in second place.

Bryson Lillard won six state championships in the hurdles, including three consecutive in the 110-meter high hurdles, but the school’s most dominant track and field athlete is someone you’ve probably heard of.

NFL All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey won six state championships spread across sprints, long jump and decathlon along with three team state titles.

Texas: Refugio High School

Refugio High School Athletics

Location: Refugio, Texas

State championships (10): 1981-83, 1987, 1990, 1993-95, 2000, 2001

Notable coaches: NA

Notable athletes: Toya Jones, Ernest Campbell, Matt McKinney, Arthur Smith

Bottom line: Track and field state championships are always spectacles. Nowhere is that done bigger than when the UIL puts on its state championship in Texas.

For the sheer number of schools competing for titles, Refugio High’s 10 titles are remarkable because it’s the most for any public school in state history, and all 10 were won in a 20-year period between 1981 to 20001, kicking things off with three consecutive state titles from 1981 to 1983.

No athlete looms larger over that track dynasty than Toya Jones, who starred in the sprints and long jump for Refugio. His name still dots the Class 3A record books. He went on to star in football and track at Texas A&M, then played three seasons in the NFL, two in the CFL and one in the XFL.

Utah: Davis High School

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Location: Kaysville, utah

State championships (20): 1941, 1942, 1973-75, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2002, 2005, 2007-09, 2011-13, 2015-18

Notable coaches: Corbin Talley, Roger Buhrley, Mike Jones, John Flint

Notable athletes: Logan MacKay, Ben Gardner, Bryce Hall, Mark Davenport, Xakai Harry, Dixon Brown

Bottom line: One interesting stat about Davis High School’s track and field domination is despite winning more state titles than any program in Utah history, they went over three decades without winning a single title — from 1942 to 1973, when they reeled off three consecutive state titles.

Since then, Davis has won at least one state title in every decade since, with six titles alone in the 2010s, including four in a row from 2015 to 2018.

Vermont: St. Johnsbury Academy

Vermont Track and Field Hall of Fame

Location: St. Johnsbury, Vermont

State championships (32): 1928, 1930, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1952, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966-70, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1980-84, 1989, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2021

Notable coaches: Ray Frey, Norman Rand, Bruce Johnson, Chip Langmaid

Notable athletes: Herbert Furse, Nate Cloutier, Ken Bunnell, Kyle Powers, Elijah Doerfler, James Fitzhugh, Peter Weiss, Larry Rapagnani, Peter Handy, Erich Pearson, Chris Watkins, Vince Egizi

Bottom line: There are state records — team and individual — kept for all of the sports in Vermont by the Vermont Principals Association except boys and girls track and field and boys and girls cross country.

According to Paul Stanfield, who runs the website vermontsportshistory.com, the leader in boys outdoor track and field titles is St. Johnsbury Academy with 32 state championships.

A whopping 16 of those state titles were won by Hall of Fame coach Ray Frey, who won 21 state titles in his career while also coaching cross country and girls track and field at St. Johnsbury.

Virginia: Newport News High School

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Location: Newport News, Virginia

State championships (19): 1934-35, 1938-42, 1946-47, 1949, 1952-53, 1960, 1963-65, 1967-69

Notable coaches: NA

Notable athletes: Benton Dodd, Doug Dickinson, James Bull, Doug Mitchell

Bottom line: Newport News High School won 19 state championships before it closed its doors in 1971 — still 11 titles ahead of the No. 2 team on Virginia’s all-time list of track state champs despite not having a team for the last 50 years.

Newport News star Benton Dodd still owns the record for most individual state titles in Virginia History. Dodd won 10 state titles while competing from 1934 to 1937.

He won three times in high jump, three times in long jump, twice in the 100-yard dash, once in the 220-yard dash and once in the 440-yard dash.

Washington: Lincoln High School

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Location: Tacoma, Washington

State championships (10): 1935-37, 1969-71, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2016

Notable coaches: Dan Watson

Notable athletes: James Mwaura, Harold Berndt, Dick Kenniston, Keith Tinner, Neil Rader, Quadelle Satterwhite, Dio Cadogan

Bottom line: Dan Watson was hired as Lincoln High’s head coach in 1965, and the former University of Northern Colorado track athlete carved out a Hall of Fame career.

Under Watson, who coached at Lincoln until 1986, the school won six state championships from 1969 to 1977, including three consecutive state titles from 1969 to 1971.

Watson was honored with the Tacoma Athletic Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and is also a member of the Washington Track and Field Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

West Virginia: Charleston High School

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Location: Charleston, West Virginia

State championships (18): 1916, 1924-26, 1929, 1933-36, 1943, 1944, 1956, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1971, 1974

Notable coaches: N/A

Notable athletes: Rocco J. Gorman, Mike Tyson, Gordon Fraser

Bottom line: Charleston High School’s 18 state championships in track and field came before Charleston and its rival, Stonewall Jackson High, were combined to form the newly built Capital High in 1989.

There would have never been a state track meet in West Virginia without an ambitious athlete from Charleston High. The first meet was held in 1914 when sophomore Rocco J. Gorman, a three-sport star, invited 12 other boys from around the state to come to Charleston and compete.

Charleston’s best athlete was arguably Mike Tyson, who narrowly missed making the Olympics in the 100-meter dash and whose state record in the long jump has stood since 1973.

Wisconsin: Whitefish Bay High School

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Location: Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

State championships (18): 1937-52, 1962, 1970

Notable coaches: C.A. Wangerin, Bill Cross, Earl Zamzow

Notable athletes: Joe Kiehm, Jim Pflugrad, Bill Eichfield, Steve Markson, Gary Chapman, Bob Albrecht

Bottom line: C.A. Wangerin was the first male teacher hired by the Whitefish Bay school district, and it’s safe to say they nailed it. He led Whitefish Bay High to 16 consecutive state championships in track and field from 1937 to 1952.

Of the 97 individual or relay state championships won by Whitefish Bay in the entirety of the program’s history, 69 of them were won in that stretch of consecutive state championships under Wangerin across three decades.

Wyoming: Cheyenne Central High School

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Location: Cheyenne, Wyoming

State championships (24): 1935, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1957, 1965-68, 1973-75, 1977-80, 1983, 1988, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2012

Notable coaches: Brad Pickett,

Notable athletes: Brendan Ames, John Godina, Tillie Cooley, Tony Turner, Steve Allen, Sam Burley, Percy Johnson, Kiffin Wigert

Bottom line: Cheyenne Central saw one of its own hit the big time. After John Godina left their storied track and field program, he became an 11-time All-American in the shot put and discus at UCLA and set the NCAA record in the shot put.

Godina, who was also an All-State offensive and defensive lineman at Cheyenne Central, won five state championships in the shot put and discus and three NCAA championships in the same events.

Godina also was a two-time Olympic medalist. He won a silver medal in the shot put in 1996 and a bronze medal in 2000. He was elected to the National High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.