Most High School Wrestling State Championships by State

These are the high schools in the U.S. with the most state championships in wrestling.

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.

Alabama: Vestavia Hills High School — 17 State Championships

Vestavia Hills High Head Coach Tee Adams

1Rebel Athletics / Facebook

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.

Alaska: Service High School — 12 State Championships

Gess Lim / Facebook

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.

Arizona: Sunnyside High School — 36 State Championships

Sunnyside Wrestling Academy / Facebook

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.

California: Clovis High School — 13 State Championships

Ronald Webb / Clovis High Wrestling

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.

Colorado: Wray High School — 16 State Championships

Colorado High School Activities Association

Location: Wray, Colorado

State championships: 1957, 1960, 1965, 1969-72, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1988, 2018-20, 2022, 2023

Notable coaches: Robert C. Smith, Matt Brown

Notable wrestlers: Dusty Fix, Derek Fix, Brady Collins

Bottom line: Former Wray head coach Robert C. Smith led the program across five decades, from 1959 to 1991, winning 10 state championships and racking up 337 dual-meet wins, which is one of the highest totals in U.S. history. Smith’s contributions don’t stop there — he also wrote the definitive history of Colorado high school wrestling.

Just one wrestler in Wray history won four consecutive state championships, with Dusty Fix winning in three different weight classes from 1985 to 1988 — 98 pounds, 112 pounds twice and 119 pounds. Fix’s older brother, Derek, was also a three-time state champion.

Connecticut: Ledyard High School — 23 State Championships (Tie)

Ledyard High School Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Ledyard, Connecticut

State championships: 1972, 1974, 1975 (2), 1976, 1977, 1981 1982, 1984, 1986-88, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012-15, 2017

Notable coaches: Lou Gabordi, Rod Leyland, Steve Bilheimer

Notable wrestlers: T.J. Marcaurele, T.J. Hepburn, Jason Lanoue

Bottom line: Trying to understand the history of Connecticut high school wrestling state championships makes the movie “Tenet” look like an episode of “Sesame Street” … it is confusing to the point you begin to question reality.

The Connecticut state record book lists Ledyard High and Danbury High as being tied for the most state championships with 23 each. However, the Ledyard state championship total, including Open, Class L, Class M and Class S titles adds up to 23 — that’s with giving Ledyard credit for two titles in 1975 in Open Class M. For Danbury, the total of Class LL state titles equals 23 — without giving them credit for any Open titles. If you figure in Open titles the number for Danbury goes up to 23.

Either way, that’s a lot of winning.

Connecticut: Danbury High School — 23 State Championships (Tie)

Danbury High School / Facebook

Location: Danbury, Connecticut

State championships: 1989, 1990, 1997-2010, 2013, 2016-20, 2022

Notable coaches: Ricky Shook, John Nimock, Mike Morris

Notable wrestlers: Ryan Jack, Charlie Costanzo, Kevin Jack

Bottom line: We are listing just the 23 Class LL state championships for Danbury and not including the extra 10 Open state titles because Connecticut lists both Ledyard and Danbury as having 23 titles each — in Ledyard’s case, that does seem to give them credit for both their Open and Class M titles in 1975.

Danbury also owns the state record for undefeated and untied dual-meet seasons with 12, including at least one undefeated and untied season in every decade dating back to the 1970s.

Danbury has also won four prestigious New England Wrestling Championships — a multi-state competition for Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Delaware: Caesar Rodney High School — 14 State Championships

Caesar Rodney Wrestling Alumni / Facebook

Location: Camden, Delaware

State championships: 1975, 1978, 1982, 1985, 2001, 2003-07, 2011, 2012, 2018

Notable coaches: Pete Basile, Dicky Howell, Tom Leonard, Dan Rigby, Alex Meade

Notable wrestlers: Ian Moser, Matt Cathell, Jackson Dean, Alex Meade, Kevin Hudson, Randy Smith, Issah Meade, Kaleb LeMaire, Micah Height

Bottom line: Caesar Rodney High has the record for the most team state championships in Delaware history, along with the record for most individual state champions with 102. While Caesar Rodney has never had a four-time state champion, they have a whopping nine three-time state champions.

Florida: Brandon High School — 28 State Championships

Brandon Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Brandon, Florida

State championships: 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991-93, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001-17

Notable coaches: Russell Cozart

Notable wrestlers: Rossi Bruno, Clark Glass, Kevin Norstrem, Kyle Norstrem, Joe Cozart, David Craig, Cesar Grajales, Eric Grajales

Bottom line: Brandon High owns the longest winning streak in high school sports history, winning a national-record 459 consecutive dual meets from 1973 to 2008. Before retiring for the second time in 2023, former head coach Russell Cozart was the man behind 27 of the school’s 28 state championships — Brandon once won 17 state titles in a row from 2001 to 2017.

Brandon’s 122 individual state champions are also a state record and 42 ahead of the next-highest school.

Georgia: Jefferson High School — 23 State Championships

BHMunro1 / Twitter

Location: Jefferson, Georgia

State championships: 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2001-18, 2021

Notable coaches: Jack Keen, Doug Thurmond

Notable wrestlers: Hunter Garner, Kyle Baird

Bottom line: Jefferson High produced both of its four-time state champions in a seven-year stretch with Hunter Garner (2000-2003) and Kyle Baird (2004-2007).

Former Jefferson High head coach Doug Thurmond, who retired in 2019, finished his legendary career with 18 state championships before handing the reins of the powerhouse program to Baird.

Thurmond gave one of the all-time great quotes when he was asked about his retirement in 2019. “In all honesty, I haven’t won anything,” said Thurmond, who led his team to 18 consecutive team titles from 2001 to 2018. “But our team has won a lot.”

Hawaii: Iolani School — 14 State Championships

Iolani School / Facebook

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

State championships: 1984, 1986, 1988-94, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2016, 2017

Notable coaches: Carl Schroers, Yoshi Honda, Walden Au

Notable wrestlers: Patrick Higa, Kale Flagg, Tito Lolotai, Ryan Hoopi, Brad Takenaka, Brian Pascua

Bottom line: Former Iolani head coach Carl Schroers won the first wrestling state title in school history in 1984, kicking off an 11-year stretch in which he won nine state championships. The most impressive stretch under Schroers included seven consecutive titles from 1988 to 1994.

Iolina has one four-time state champion in the program’s history — Patrick Higa, who won two state titles at 105 pounds, one title at 112 pounds and one title at 119 pounds from 1983 to 1986.

Idaho: Teton High School — 14 State Championships (Tie)

Brent Schindler / Facebook

Location: Driggs, Idaho

State championships: 1964-66, 1968-73, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1992

Notable coaches: Alvin Dalley, Lyn Jardine, Richard Berry

Notable wrestlers: Royce Foster, John Berry, Ronnie Foster, Buddy Berger

Bottom line: Alvin Dalley led Teton High to nine state championships in 10 seasons, winning three consecutive titles from 1964 to 1966 and then six consecutive titles from 1968 to 1973. Dalley returned for a second stint as head coach and won another state title in 1982.

Idaho: Snake River High School — 14 State Championships (Tie)

Lisa Jones Nilsson / Facebook

Location: Blackfoot, Idaho

State championships: 1969, 1971, 1982-84, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2011, 2015, 2016

Notable coaches: Keith Williams, Laron Hansen, Jon Cook, Jeff Gardner

Notable wrestlers: Clint Wolfley, Shawn Jones, Treyton Nilsson, Randy Jones, Kory Wheeler, Payson Anderton

Bottom line: It’s a testament to the staying power of the wrestling dynasty at Snake River High that three different head coaches have won multiple state championships — Keith Williams (six), Laron Hansen (four) and Jeff Gardner (three). Williams, who coached at Snake River from 1956 to 1989, finished his career with one of the best dual-meet winning percentages in national history, going 403-68-6 (85.1 percent).

Illinois: Montini Catholic High School — 16 State Championships

Illini Matmen / Facebook

Location: Lombard, Illinois

State championships: 2000, 2002-05, 2008-15, 2018-20

Notable coaches: Mike Bukovsky, Israel Martinez

Notable wrestlers: Mike Benefiel, Colton Rasche, Chase Beebe, Connor Beebe, Garrett Goebel

Bottom line: Former Montini Catholic star Mike Benefiel had one of the great runs in high school wrestling history over his last three seasons, winning 123 consecutive matches from 2005 to 2007 — even though Montini Catholic won just one team title in that stretch. Benefiel is one of three four-time state champions from Montini Catholic, along with Chase Beebe and Connor Beebe.

Indiana: Bloomington High School South — 24 State Championships

Bloomington South Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Bloomington, Indiana

State championships: 1924, 1925, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1941-43, 1945-50, 1953, 1957, 1969-73, 1978

Notable coaches: Harold Mumby, Cliff Myers, Kay Hutsell

Notable wrestlers: Estell Ritter, Charles McDaniel, Vernon Finley, Jack Benson, Richard Lyon, Jim Cornwell, Randy May

Bottom line: Bloomington High School South was known as just Bloomington High when it won the majority of its state titles — after becoming Bloomington South in 1972, the school won just two more state titles in 1973 and 1979. Bloomington South’s greatest decade was the 1940s when it won three consecutive titles from 1941 to 1943, followed by six consecutive titles from 1945 to 1950. Bloomington South also has the most state runner-up finishes with seven.

Iowa: Waterloo West High School — 17 State Championships

AP Photo

Location: Waterloo, Iowa

State championships: 1942-46, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1965-67, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1989

Notable coaches: Bob Siddens, Don Huff

Notable wrestlers: Dan Gable, Jimmie Stoyanoff, Dick Hauser, Tom Huff

Bottom line: Waterloo West’s greater claim to fame than owning 17 state championships is being home to arguably the greatest wrestler of all time, 1966 graduate Dan Gable, who was an undefeated, three-time state champion in Iowa high school wrestling.

Gable went on to become a two-time NCAA champion at Iowa State, world champion and gold medalist at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where he didn’t surrender a point over six matches. As a coach, Gable led the University of Iowa to 15 NCAA Division I national championships from 1976 to 1997.

Kansas: Arkansas City High School — 20 State Championships

Arkansas City High School / Facebook

Location: Arkansas City, Kansas

State championships: 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1982, 1988-98, 2000, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2018

Notable coaches: Wayne Jackson, Greg Buckbee

Notable wrestlers: Justin Ware, Devin Bahm

Bottom line: Wayne Jackson was a star wrestler at Ark City High in the late 1960s and returned to his alma mater as the head wrestling coach from 1979 to 2000, winning 13 state championships, including 11 consecutive titles from 1988 to 1998. Jackson finished his career with an incredible dual-meet record of 205-14.

Kentucky: Union County High School — 14 State Championships

Union County Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Morganfield, Kentucky

State championships: 1976, 1980, 1982, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016-22

Notable coaches: Mike Thomas, Dennis Walls, Robert Ervin

Notable wrestlers: George King, Robert Ervin, Mitch Ervin, Brock Ervin, Caleb Ervin

Bottom line: The story of Union County High’s wrestling dynasty is the story of the Ervin family, where 26 of the 68 individual state titles in school history reside.

Five wrestlers in Union County history have been named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the state tournament, and four of them have been Ervins — Robert Ervin (1981), Mitch Ervin (2007), Caleb Ervin (2011) and Brock Ervin (2014).

Robert Ervin eventually became Union County’s head coach and has led his alma mater to eight state championships, including seven consecutive titles from 2016 to 2022, and has been named Kentucky Coach of the Year three times.

Louisiana: Holy Cross School — 28 State Championships

Holy Cross head coach Brother Melchior Polowy

Holy Cross School

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

State championships: 1945-50, 1952-65, 1967, 1968, 1983, 1988, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017

Notable coaches: Brother Melchior Polowy, Ed Kavanaugh, Eric Desormeaux

Notable wrestlers: Klay Guillot, Ryan Hess, Alex Nicosia, Evan Frost, Jake Rando

Bottom line: The history of high school wrestling in Louisiana connects directly to Holy Cross, where former head coach Brother Melchior Polowy helped found the sport in the state in the 1940s and led Holy Cross to 22 state championships from 1945 to 1968.

Polowy retired from coaching in 1971 but continued to teach at Holy Cross through the 1980s and died in 1997 at 86 years old. He was posthumously inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007. Holy Cross’ 212 individual state champions are also a national record.

Maine: Sanford High School — 17 State Championships

Sanford High School Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Sanford, Maine

State championships: 1961-68, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1992, 1995

Notable coaches: John Caramihalis, Dick Faulkner, Roland Gagne, Rick Sparkowich

Notable wrestlers: Conrad Turgeon, Reggie Monroe, Wes Leighton, Les Leighton, Rod Lavigne

Bottom line: Sanford High’s stretch in the 1960s can hold up against any high school dynasty in Maine history, regardless of sport. Sanford won eight consecutive state titles from 1961 to 1968 and brought home the New England Wrestling Championship twice in 1964 and 1967. Sanford hasn’t won a state title since 1995.

Massachusetts: Lowell High School — 16 State Championships

Contributed photo

Location: Lowell, Massachusetts

State championships: 1968, 1971, 1973-75, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008

Notable coaches: George Bossi

Notable wrestlers: Brian Sheehan, Casey Boyle, Max Desilets, Jeff Lambert, Francis Elliott, Rodney Redman, Brian McMahon

Bottom line: Few high school coaches, regardless of sport, can compare to what Lowell High has with 88-year-old George Bossi, who founded the program in 1964 and remains the head coach to this day. On top of 16 state championships, Bossi has led Lowell to an additional five New England Wrestling Championships.

Michigan: Detroit Catholic Central High School — 16 State Championships

Detroit Catholic Central's Dylan Gilcher

Detroit Catholic Central Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Novi, Michigan

State championships: 1969-71, 1974, 1978, 1983, 1988, 2010, 2012-14, 2017-20, 2023

Notable coaches: Mike Rodriguez, Mitch Hancock

Notable wrestlers: Trevor Stewart, Drew Garcia, Toby Heaton, Ken Bade, Alec Mooradian, Dylan Gilcher, Darius Marines, Drew Heethuis

Bottom line: Former Detroit Catholic Central head coach Mike Rodriguez coached the Shamrocks from 1968 to 2007, winning seven state championships and an incredible 734 dual-meet victories. Rodriguez’s successor, Mitch Hancock, can also claim his place among the greatest Michigan high school wrestling coaches of all time — the Shamrocks have won eight state championships under Hancock since 2010.

Minnesota: Apple Valley High School — 25 State Championships

Jeff Roberson / AP Photo

Location: Apple Valley, Minnesota

State championships: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999-2004, 2006-17

Notable coaches: Jim Jackson, Bill Demaray

Notable wrestlers: Mark Hall, Destin McCauley, Chad Erikson, Charlie Falck, Brandon Kingsley, Gable Steveson

Bottom line: Apple Valley High not only has the record for the most state championships in Minnesota history but also has the state record with 12 consecutive titles from 2006 to 2017.

Apple Valley was also home to one of the greatest high school wrestlers of all time in the 2010s when Mark Hall began wrestling for the high school varsity in the seventh grade and won 12 state championships — six individual titles and six team titles. Hall, who went 278-5 in high school, won three-time Big Ten championships at Penn State and was a three-time NCAA finalist, including a national championship at 174 pounds as a freshman.

Most recently, Apple Valley four-time state champion Gable Steveson won a gold medal at heavyweight in the 2020 Summer Olympics — he was also a two-time NCAA champion at Minnesota and is currently signed with WWE.

Missouri: Oak Grove High School — 17 State Championships

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

Location: Oak Grove, Missouri

State championships: 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992-95, 1997-99, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2013-15, 2017

Notable coaches: Bog Glasgow, Bobbe Lowe

Notable wrestlers: Matt Infranca, Brett Fry, Keith Dickey, Connor Brown

Bottom line: Along with 17 state championships, Oak Grove High has finished as state runner-up 10 times and in the top four at the state tournament 33 times. Oak Grove’s most dominant decade was the 1990s when the school won eight state championships, including four consecutive titles from 1992 to 1995.

All of Oak Grove’s state championships have come under two head coaches — the first 12 under the legendary Bob Glasgow and the last five under former Oak Grove star and University of Minnesota All-American Bobbe Lowe. The tenures of Glasgow and Lowe covered a 34-year stretch from 1983 to 2017. Amazing.

Montana: Butte High School — 17 State Championships

Butte High School Sports / Butte Sports

Location: Butte, Montana

State championships: 1980-92, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003

Notable coaches: Jim Street

Notable wrestlers: Eric Dunmire, Cole Dallaserra, Bill Krum, Randy Street, Jason Street, Kyle Smith

Bottom line: Butte High’s first state championship in 1980 kicked off a run of 13 consecutive titles that ended in 1992 and remains the state record. Four-time state champion Eric Dunmire racked up an incredible 152 wins from 1995 to 1998 with three undefeated seasons. Dunmire is one of Butte’s two four-time state champions alongside Cole Dallaserra.

Almost 30 years since he last coached, former Butte head coach Jim Street still holds the state record with 14 state championships.

Nebraska: Skutt Catholic High School — 20 State Championships

Skyhawk Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Omaha, Nebraska

State championships: 1998-2010, 2012-18

Notable coaches: Brad Hildebrandt

Notable wrestlers: Kasey Kohl, Todd Meneely, Tyler Sackett, Thomas Gillman, Korbin Meink

Bottom line: Skutt Catholic set the Nebraska state record with 13 consecutive state titles from 1998 to 2010 — not bad considering the school didn’t even open its doors until 1993.

Skutt Catholic knocked out its next seven state titles all in a row from 2012 to 2018 and its five four-time state champions are more than any school in Nebraska history. Skutt Catholic also owns the state records for most points in a state meet with 256 (2008) and most state champions in one year with seven each in 2006 and 2008.

Of Skutt Catholic’s 20 state championships, 17 came under the leadership of former head coach Brad Hildebrandt, who led the program from 1993 to 2015.

Nevada: Battle Mountain High School — 21 State Championships

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Location: Battle Mountain, Nevada

State championships: 1988, 1989, 1994, 2001-08, 2010, 2013-18, 2020, 2022, 2023

Notable coaches: Mitch Domagala

Notable wrestlers: Travis Jones, Arty Clark, David Dominguez, Patrick Dominguez, Cameron Thompson, Chad Taylor, Brandon Schultz

Bottom line: Legendary Battle Mountain High head coach Mitch Domagala is the man behind 17 of the school’s 21 state championships and holds the state record with 458 career dual-meet victories. Battle Mountain High set the Class 2A state record with eight consecutive state titles from 2001 to 2008, then reeled off six more titles in a row from 2013 to 2018.

New Hampshire: Timberlane Regional High School — 29 State Championships

TRHS Wrestling Boosters / Facebook

Location: Plaistow, New Hampshire

State championships: 1987, 1993-98, 2000-14, 2016-22

Notable coaches: Barry Chooljian

Bottom line: Timberlane High has been the dominant team in not just New Hampshire but the New England region for the last 20-plus years — a stretch that included 200 consecutive dual-meet victories. While the New Hampshire Interscholastic Association keeps a detailed record of its state champions, it doesn’t keep the same records for individual state champions. That means a lot of Timberlane’s great wrestlers have been lost to time.

New Jersey: Paulsboro High School — 33 State Championships

Jersey Wrestling

Location: Paulsboro, New Jersey

State championships: 1983-2007, 2009-11, 2016-20

Notable coaches: Paul Morina

Notable wrestlers: Tom Curl, Jermaine Ruffin, Matt Suter

Bottom line: Paulsboro is the very best high school program in wrestling-rich New Jersey, kicking off its dynasty by winning 25 consecutive state championships from 1983 through 2007, which is one of the longest state title streaks in any high school sport in U.S. history.

Paulsboro’s domination in the Colonial Conference also brought it national attention — 307 consecutive wins over 37 years, stretching from 1971 until 2008. In a true testament to its dominance as a team, Paulsboro has never had a three-time individual state champion.

New Mexico: Aztec High School — 20 State Championships

Aztec High Athletics

Location: Aztec, New Mexico

State championships: 1963, 1971, 1982, 1990-2000, 2002, 2018-22

Notable coaches: Herb Stinson, Monte Maxwell, Fred Cook, Jerry Parker, Monte Maxwell

Notable wrestlers: Phil Holman, David Hines, Emory Kaiser, Jeremy Stinson, Nate McClain, Chris Keating

Bottom line: Aztec High’s wrestling dynasty dates back to when John F. Kennedy was president — they won their first title in 1963 and have won at least one title in each of the last seven decades. It’s a testament to the wrestling talent in the community that five different head coaches have won state championships at Aztec, with Herb Stinson’s 13 titles leading the way. Under Stinson, Aztec won 11 consecutive state championships from 1990 to 2000.

North Carolina: Cary High School — 12 State Championships

Cary High School Wrestling Coach Jerry Winterton / Facebook

Location: Cary, North Carolina

State championships: 1977, 1987-89, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005-09

Notable coaches: Jerry Winterton

Notable wrestlers: Kobe Early, Nick Koren, Justin Koren, Eloheim Palma, Gabe Brotzman

Bottom line: Legendary coach Jerry Winterton racked up 642 dual-meet wins at three schools in his 32-year career, the majority of which was spent at Cary. Winterton coached Cary from 1981 to 2010 when he won 11 of the school’s 12 state championships, including eight in the 2000s — that included five straight titles from 2005 to 2009.

At one point during Winterton’s tenure, Cary won 138 consecutive dual meets.

North Dakota: Bismarck High School — 40 State Championships

NDHSAA / Twitter

Location: Bismarck, North Dakota

State championships: 1960-63, 1965, 1972, 1976, 1978-84, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002-05, 2008-11, 2014-22

Notable coaches: Jerry Halmrast, Scott Knowlen, Mike Schaff, Jeff Schumacher

Notable wrestlers: Travis Lang, Chad Renner, Jeramie Welder, Math Bitz, T.J. Sailer, Scott Glasser, Ryan Blees, Taylor Nein

Bottom line: Bismarck High has won state championships in North Dakota for seven consecutive decades dating back to its first title run of four straight from 1960 to 163 and continuing through its current streak of nine consecutive titles dating back to 2014.

Former Bismarck High head coach Scott Knowlen owns almost every significant coaching record in North Dakota high school wrestling history and is widely thought of as one of the greatest high school wrestling coaches of all time.

He was inducted into the National Association of High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2019.

Ohio: St. Edward High School — 35 State Championships

OHSAASports / Twitter

Location: Lakewood, Ohio

State championships: 1978-87, 1989, 1992, 1997-2009, 2011-13, 2015-19, 2021, 2022

Notable coaches: Howard Ferguson, Greg Urbas, John Heffernan

Notable wrestlers: Ryan Lang, Lance Palmer, Collin Palmer, Dean Heil

Bottom line: St. Edward is home to the greatest high school wrestling program in Ohio history and one of the best high school wrestling programs in the nation since the late 1970s.

St. Edward opened its dynasty by winning 10 consecutive state titles from 1978 to 1987 and six consecutive national championships from 1982 to 1987, becoming the first school from Ohio since the 1950s to do so.

St. Edward has won the state championship in Ohio all but two seasons since 1997, only missing in 2010 and 2014.

Oklahoma: Perry High School — 43 State Championships

PriceOfLegacy / Twitter

Location: Perry, Oklahoma

State championships: 1952, 1955, 1961-66, 1968, 1971-81, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1998-2001, 2004-11, 2013, 2014, 2017-19

Notable coaches: John Divine, Scott Chenoweth

Notable wrestlers: Jack VanBebber, Cecil Beisel, Ladd Rupp, Ian Fisher, Dan Hodge

Bottom line: Perry High stands above all other high school wrestling programs in the United States. Its 43 team titles are still more than double that of the next closest team in Oklahoma.

Perry’s 1973 state championship team is arguably not just the greatest in Oklahoma history but one of the greatest of all time, crowning seven state champions out of 12 weight classes. Perry’s 1973 point total at the state tournament would have also beaten the combined scores of the teams who finished in second, third and fourth place.

Perry’s record of seven individual state champions stood for 47 years until it was broken by Tuttle High with nine state champions in 2020.

Former Perry High wrestler Dan Hodge was a three-time NCAA Division I champion at the University of Oklahoma and is the namesake for the Dan Hodge Trophy — the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Hodge at one point was even on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Oregon: Lowell High School — 14 State Championships

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Location: Lowell, Oregon

State championships: 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983-88, 1991, 2013

Notable coaches: Jerry Dilly, Jeff Cardwell

Notable wrestlers: Scott Cardwell, Jeff Cardwell, Dan Casarez, Heath Harvey, Zac Cardwell

Bottom line: Lowell High’s 14 state championships are just ahead of five schools that are one or two state titles behind them — incredible considering Lowell only has one title in the last 33 years. Legendary head coach Jerry Dilly led Lowell to 13 of its 14 titles and owned the 1980s when his teams took state eight times, including five straight from 1983 to 1988. Dilly’s teams also finished as state runner-up 12 times.

Of the five Lowell wrestlers who have been four-time state champions, three are Cardwells — brothers Scott Cardwell and Jeff Cardwell in the late 1970s and early 1980s and Jeff’s son, Zac Cardwell, from 2008-11.

Rhode Island: Coventry High School — 20 State Championships

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Location: Coventry, Rhode Island

State championships: 1972, 1974, 1982-98, 2022

Notable coaches: Charlie Gaffney

Notable wrestlers: Frank Pucino, Hayden Myers

Bottom line: Coventry High owns Rhode Island’s premiere high school wrestling dynasty, including a staggering 17 consecutive state championships from 1982 to 1998.

Coventry gave its fans a taste of the old ways in 2022, when it won its first state title in 22 years with 11 individual medalists and two state champions under head coach Charlie Gaffney.

South Carolina: Rock Hill High School — 19 State Championships

Tony Humphries / Facebook

Location: Rock Hill, South Carolina

State championships: 1980, 1982-86, 1989-91, 1994-97, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018

Notable coaches: Jim Barnes, Cain Beard

Notable wrestlers: Weston Beck, Marcus Cherry, Chris Collins, Corey Dye, Wes Hallman, Keith Harris, Lamont Hicks, Rodney Hinton, James Jones, Kevin Nichols, Bailey Wilkins

Bottom line: Rock Hill High’s hold on the top spot in South Carolina seems pretty tenuous — Eastside High trails by just one championship and was trying to win its ninth consecutive state title in 2024, and Rock Hill hasn’t won a title since 2018.

Former Rock Hill head coach Jim Barnes won 14 state championships in 18 years from 1982 to 2000. Barnes won 17 state titles overall at Airport and Rock Hill and coached 85 individual state champions.

South Dakota: Canton High School — 8 State Championships

Canton Wrestling

Location: Canton, South Dakota

State championships: 2012, 2016, 2018-23

Notable coaches: Jeremy Swenson

Notable wrestlers: Kellyn March, Shaeden Scheidt, Paul Wong, Ayson Rice, Braden Sehr

Bottom line: All eight of Canton High’s state championships have come since 2012, including six straight from 2018 to 2023 — that made Canton the first team in South Dakota, regardless of class, to win six consecutive titles.

Kellyn March became Canton’s first four-time state champion in 2020 after winning titles at 106 pounds, 126 pounds, 132 pounds, and 138 pounds. March went 202-2 in high school, which included 122 consecuitve wins to close out his career and 49 consecutive pins at one point.

Tennessee: Baylor School — 19 State Championships

Baylor School Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee

State championships: 1962, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004-08, 2010, 2011, 2019-23

Notable coaches: Rex Kendle

Notable wrestlers: Zach Watson, Bailey Whitaker, Garrison Dendy, Jordan Leen, Michael Murphy, Ryan Parker, Stuart Doster

Bottom line: Baylor has the record for most state championships along with the record for most individual state champions, with 117. Baylor is also home to one of just three five-time state champions in Tennessee history with Zach Watson, who won every year from 2008 to 2012.

Texas: Allen High School — 14 State Championships

Allen Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Allen, Texas

State championships: 2010-23

Notable coaches: Jerry Best

Notable wrestlers: Nick Cobb, Braeden Redlin, Braxton Brown

Bottom line: All 14 of Allen High’s state championships have come in a row and have come under head coach Jerry Best since 2010. In the history of UIL high school wrestling in Texas, only four wrestlers have ever won four state championships, and three of them have come from Allen — Nick Cobb (2010-2013), Braeden Redlin (2015-2018) and Braxton Brown (2018-21).

Utah: Delta High School — 34 State Championships

Delta Rabbit Wrestling / Facebook

Location: Delta, Utah

State championships: 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963-67, 1974-81, 1985-93, 2002, 2009-15, 2017

Notable coaches: Ladd Holman, Ronald Petersen, Jim Porter

Notable wrestlers: Allen Lake, Jim Cox, Joel Holman, Justin Penn, Rick Porter, Sean Thomas

Bottom line: Delta owns the most state titles of the five high schools from Utah to make the list, winning 17 of its 34 state championships in a 20-year stretch from 1974 to 1994.

Before that, Delta won a whopping 159 consecutive dual meets from 1962 to 1971.

In all of its great history, only one Delta wrestler has been able to call himself a four-time state champion. Allen Lake ran the table in his high school career from 1978 to 1981, winning his titles in three different weight classes.

Vermont: Mount Anthony Union High School— 36 State Championships

Mount Anthony wrestling head coach Scott Legacy

Mount Anthony Union High

Location: Bennington, Vermont

State championships: 1969, 1980, 1989-2022

Notable coaches: Scott Legacy, Brian Coon

Notable wrestlers: Jeremiah Rogers, Scott Legacy, Andy Appleby, Rafael Vega, Steve Forrest, Hayden Gaudette

Bottom line: Mount Anthony Union High School is on an almost unprecedented run of state championships — regardless of sport — after winning a 33rd consecutive state title in 2022, which is a streak that stretches back to 1989.

In an interesting twist, Scott Legacy won three individual state championships for Mount Anthony from 1979 to 1981 and a team state title in 1980 before returning to become his alma mater’s head coach in 1985.

Under Legacy’s leadership, Mount Anthony won 27 consecutive state championships before he left to coach at Castleton University in 2015.

Virginia: Grundy High School — 26 State Championships

Grundy Wrestling Club / Facebook

Location: Grundy, Virginia

State championships: 1978, 1987-98, 2000, 2001, 2012-14, 2016-23

Notable coaches: Kevin Dresser, Travis Fiser

Notable wrestlers: Chris Stiltner, Albert Childress, Shane Bowman, Kaleb Horn, Peyton McComas, Tyde Prater, B.D. Robertson, Scott Justus, Luke Owens, Eric Kendrick, Greg Stiltner, Reid Ratliff, Gabe Fiser, Jacob McNutt

Bottom line: xxxx

West Virginia: Parkersburg South High School — 25 State Championships

wvssac / Twitter

Location: Parkersburg, West Virginia

State championships: 1975, 1983-85, 1990, 1991, 1995-97, 1999-2002, 2005, 2009-12, 2015-21

Notable coaches: Paul Jackson, Tim McCartney, Rod Oldham

Notable wrestlers: Justin Allman, David Jeffrey, Gavin Quiocho, Braxton Amos, Brad Dornick, Brayden Johnson, Jason Johnson, Luke Martin, Darren Moore, Scott Moore, Brayden Roberts, Rich Underwood, Jim Weatherholt

Bottom line: Parkersburg South has produced three four-time state champions since 2009 — David Jeffrey (2009-2012), Justin Allman (2014-2017) and Gavin Quiocho (2018-2021), with Quiocho winning all of his titles in different weight classes.

Parkersburg South is one of two schools from Parkersburg — alongside Parkersburg High — to make the list. Parkersburg South was most dominant in the 2010s, when it won eight state titles, including five consecutive to close out the decade.

Wisconsin: Lincoln High School — 21 State Championships

Wisconsin Rapids coaches Lewie Benitz and Scott Benitz

Wisconsin Rapids Wrestling

Location: Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

State championships: 1974, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1995-2001, 2003-07, 2009-12

Notable coaches: Lewie Benitz, Scott Benitz

Notable wrestlers: Josh Hansen, Jeff Brundridge, Jim Hamel, Rocky Biegel, Jere Hamel, Travis Tritz, Kevin Tritz, Josh Chappa, Jared Jaminski

Bottom line: Wisconsin Rapids won its first 13 state championships under head coach Lewie Benitz, then won its next eight state titles under a combination of either Lewie Benitz and his son, Jason Benitz, as co-head coaches before Jason Benitz took over as head coach in 2010.

Wisconsin Rapids hasn’t won a state title in Wisconsin high school wrestling since 2012, and its wrestling dynasty came undone due to an ugly scandal that led to a six-figure settlement in 2014 for a deaf wrestler who was sexually abused, bullied and harassed by teammates.

The lawsuit uncovered a decades-long history of a “win at all costs” culture by the coaching staff and led to criminal charges against several wrestlers.

Wyoming: Star Valley High School — 25 State Championships

Katsumi Kasahara / AP Photo

Location: Afton, Wyoming

State championships: 1968, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1992-98, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2016-22

Notable coaches: Eddie Clark

Notable wrestlers: Rulon Gardner, Dallas Warren, Nick Aullman, Todd Jensen

Bottom line: Star Valley High was home to one of the most famous wrestlers of all time — 1989 Wyoming heavyweight state champion and Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner.

Gardner shot to fame in 2000 after he pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history when he defeated Russian three-time Olympic gold medalist Aleksandr Karelin, 1-0, in the Greco-Roman Olympic heavyweight finals. Karelin hadn’t lost a match in 13 years and hadn’t had a point scored on him in six years before his match against Gardner.