The Other Contenders for Best Overall Program in CA History:
Saugus
- CIF State Titles: 10 (9 girls, 1 boys) - 2 in Division 1, 8 in Division 2
- Podium Finishes: 18 (12 girls, 6 boys)
- Longest Streak: 7 girls' titles*
*As a overall program, won 10 straight state titles: 7 girls, 1 boys, then 2 more girls
The Saugus girls won our 2016 poll for the best single-gender program in state history - and rightfully so! Their titles have all come in larger-school divisions, and their streak of 7 consecutive girls' championships is unmatched as of yet. Consider this: they won 9 girls titles in 10 years in Divisions 1 and 2 - and the one year the girls didn't win, they took home the boys' team trophy! That's why the Centurions have a very strong case for being the best of all time. The only knock on this program is that their success is nowhere near as balanced as Great Oak's, as their titles have been almost exclusively with the girls' program. It's also worth noting that, like Great Oak, the Saugus success has come in the modern era, and they are far from done competing for championships. The Centurions finished second to Claremont the last 2 years in the girls' Division 2 championships and have enough talent returning to make another run in 2018.
San Francisco University
- CIF State Titles: 11 (10 girls, 1 boys) - All in Division 5
- Podium Finishes: 23 (15 girls, 8 boys)
- Longest Streak: 4 girls' titles
The girls program at University is legendary, even though it fell on harder times over the last five years. Those times may be over, as the Red Devil girls finished 2nd this year. Perhaps even more important for the purposes of this discussion: their boys team won the Division 5 title in 2017 (which means University fell just short of a sweep), and they had just 2 seniors on this year's squad. That makes the Red Devil boys the favorites to repeat, which would add to their already very strong resume as an overall program. Historically, this is THE premier small-school single-gender program in the state, although in our poll last fall the fans seemed to favor Saugus and their record against larger schools. If you think it is harder to win in the long term against larger schools, then that might sway you in another direction; however, it would be unwise to ignore the difficulties of building a great program at a small school. University shares the largest number of team titles with Great Oak and Nordhoff, and that alone should be enough to put them in the discussion for best program ever.
Nordhoff
- CIF State Titles: 11 (6 boys, 5 girls) - 7 in Division 4*, 4 in Division 3
- Podium Finishes: 19 (10 boys, 19 girls)
- Longest Streak: 2 boys' titles, 2 girls' titles
*Some of these were before there was a Division 5.
This is definitely the school with the most balanced credentials among these contenders, with nearly equal state titles for boys and girls. In their favor, the Rangers had a long period of success that includes many top 3 finishes in addition to their titles, which are tied for the most in state history with Great Oak and San Francisco University. Nordhoff did compete in the smallest division in the state early in their peak (before there was a Division 5, that is), but they also won in Division 3. Is it fair to say that the overall talent in the state wasn't quite as deep in the 90's? I'm not sure I have the expertise to make that claim. I think the Rangers are clearly one of the 5 best programs in state history, and they have a VERY strong case for being the best ever.
McFarland
- CIF State Titles: 9 boys - 1 in Division 3*, 5 in Division 5, 3 in Division 4
- Podium Finishes: 16 (14 boys, 2 girls)
- Longest Streak: 5 boys' titles
*In the first state in 1987, there was only three divisions
To consider the legacy of the Cougars, you have to consider what might have been. McFarland is the only school among these contenders that has essentially been penalized for being too successful: under a rule unique to the Central Section, they have been bumped up to higher-enrollment divisions to preserve "competitive balance" (a rule that seems to only benefit less-successful teams at the expense of programs that are able to achieve long-term success). As a result, McFarland now competes in Division 1 despite having an enrollment around 600 (which would place them in D4 or D5 in any other section). How many titles could the Cougars have won if they were allowed to stay in D4 over the last decade?
Even with that very important caveat, McFarland's resume is very impressive. As with Saugus, the success has been primarily confined to one gender; but 14 boys' podium finishes is amazing! They won 5 straight titles at one point, and continue to be competitive even when forced to face schools with 4 times their student population.
Flintridge Prep
- CIF State Titles: 9 (5 boys, 4 girls) - All in Division 5
- Podium Finishes: 24 (16 boys, 8 girls)
- Longest Streak: 2 boys' titles
Over the last decade, Flintridge Prep is really the only school that can claim to match Great Oak's accomplishments. They have won in both genders, including a sweep in 2015. The Rebels also have the most podium finishes in California history with 24, one more than San Francisco University. The only thing that you can say might take away from this school's stellar record is that they compete against the smallest schools in the state. On the other hand, it's clear that Flintridge Prep is still building their resume, as they will have the top returning girls' team in the division (shooting for a 5th straight win in 2018).
Jesuit
- CIF State Titles: 9 boys - All in Division 2
- Podium Finishes: 12 boys
- Longest Title Streak: 3
As with McFarland, you can ask "what if" for Jesuit: what if they actually had girls at their school? It's not the Marauders' fault that they have only won boys' titles, and who knows whether Coach Walt Lange could have had the same success if guiding two programs (my guess is the answer would be yes). One thing you can say for Jesuit: they have the best all-time boys' record among large-school programs, essentially equal to the success Saugus has had on the girls' side. In addition, it's worth noting that the Marauders have a student population just above 1000, which makes them the equivalent of a 2100-student co-ed school (definitely on the smaller side of Division 1, where they compete right now).
Palos Verdes
- CIF State Titles: 8 (6 girls, 2 boys) - 3 in Division 1, 5 in Division 3
- Podium Finishes: 17 (11 girls, 6 boys)
- Longest Streak: 3 girls' titles
Palos Verdes is our third "What If?" school on this list. Very few programs can claim to have been successful over the entire 31-year state meet era, and this is one: their girls won the first three Division 1 titles, and won their most recent championship last year. So what happened in the years between 1991 and 2002? Well, their school district actually closed the school, consolidating them into Peninsula High School due to declining enrollment and using the building as a junior high (the high school students, along with those from Miraleste High, were moved to the campus of what was formerly known as Rolling Hills High School). If you include the top finishes of Peninsula in this total, you get 12 combined state titles and 26 combined podium finishes - but those additional titles were earned with the combined student body of what was essentially three schools, which makes crediting them to Palos Verdes highly problematic. The Sea Kings compete in Division 3 now, which has been very competitive recently, although the overall team talent just isn't as strong as in Divisions 1 and 2. Still, this program clearly belongs in the discussion for the best ever, even though their history is complicated.
Corona Del Mar
- CIF State Titles: 9 (7 girls, 2 boys) - 1 in Division 2, 5 in Division 3, 3 in Division 4
- Podium Finishes: 13 (9 girls, 4 boys)
- Longest Streak: 2 girls' titles
Somehow Corona Del Mar seems to get overlooked when discussing the best programs in state history, but 9 overall titles certainly makes the Sea Kings a worthy part of this discussion. They have less podium finishes than the other programs listed here, which indicates that their program has a sort of "boom or bust" history (although the term "bust" is definitely extreme when you're only considering teams that finished in the top 5 at the state meet!). Corona Del Mar last won a championship in 2009, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them get into contention again.
Are we missing anyone? Let us know in the comments, or email jgeorge@milesplit.com!