Most High School Wrestling State Championships by State

To understand the sacrifice of a high school wrestler is also to understand the pursuit of state championships, either as a team or as an individual. It also means you have to understand what those championships mean to the communities and the schools involved, where high school wrestling takes on greater importance in some parts of the U.S. than any other sport played at the school. 

These are the programs with the most high school state wrestling championships in all 50 states, except for Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, which do not keep comprehensive high school wrestling records. 

Location: Vestavia Hills, Alabama

State championships: 1976, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998-2001, 2007-09, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2023

Notable coaches: Steve Gaydosh, Monterrious “Tee” Adams

Notable wrestlers: Keaton Thompson, Henry Carlson, James Edwards

Bottom line: Vestavia Hills has four of the top 10 all-time scores in the history of the Class 7A state tournament, including a record 210 points on the way to the 2023 title. Vestavia’s wrestling dynasty has spanned generations — the school has won at least one state title in every decade dating back to the 1970s. 

Only one wrestler in Vestavia Hills history is credited with having an unbeaten season, when James Edwards went 41-0 on his way to the 220-pound state title in 2017. Keaton Thompson is the only four-time state champ in school history, winning it all from 2005 to 2008. 

Location: Anchorage, Alaska

State championships: 1975, 1976, 1982-84, 1986, 1993-95, 1998, 2000, 2012

Notable coaches: Byron Wilson, Luke Duffy, Frank Adame

Notable wrestlers: Martin Nowka, Stephen Ellis, Rick Navrot, Kurt Nixon

Bottom line: Service High’s glory years of the 1970s and 1980s included six state championships in an 11-year stretch between 1975 to 1986. The Cougars won four more state championships in the 1990s, including three straight from 1993 to 1995, but haven’t won a title since 2012. 

Location: Tucson, Arizona

State championships: 1979, 1981-88, 1990-94, 1996, 1998-2011, 2013, 2018-23

Notable coaches: Rober DeBerry, Don Klostreich, Anthony Leon, Richard Sanchez

Notable wrestlers: Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Gallick, Matt Lopez, Mike Moreno, Kyle DeBerry, Kory DeBerry, James Armstrong

Bottom line: Sunnyside High’s wrestling program stands among the most dominant across high school sports — not just in Arizona but in the entire U.S. 

Sunnyside holds almost every significant record in Arizona high school wrestling history, including head coach Robert DeBerry’s record for most state titles (15), consecutive state championships (14), most individual state champions in a single tournament (eight), highest state tournament score (307.5) and most consecutive dual meet wins (421). 

Out of Sunnyside’s record eight four-time state champions, one stands above the rest — Roman Bravo-Young didn’t lose a match during his entire career, setting a record with 182 consecutive wins from 2015 to 2018. Bravo-Young went on to win a pair of NCAA championships at 133 pounds for Penn State. 

Location: Clovis, California

State championships: 1974-76, 1990-92, 2003, 2008, 2011-15

Notable coaches: Steve Tirapelle, Rod Balch, Dennis Deliddo

Notable wrestlers: Seth Nevills, Justin Mejia, Jim Aguirre, Alex Tirapelle, Troy Tirapelle, Nick Nevills

Bottom line: Clovis has California’s state record with 13 titles but has also finished as state runner-up five times and in the top four teams at state an incredible 33 times. Clovis set the team individual scoring record at the state tournament in 2015 when it racked up 267.5 points on the way to a fifth consecutive state title. Two Clovis wrestlers have been four-time state champions — Justin Mejia and Seth Nevills. 

Former head coach Steve Tirapelle retired in 2018 after 22 years at Clovis and almost 40 years as a high school wrestling coach in California.