XC Girls' State Podium Teams

Each year, the CIF publishes a list of all the past XC Team and Individual Champions in their meet program. It's an impressive list that includes many of the powerhouse teams that have succeeded through the years at Woodward Park. The question is do you have to win a state championship to consider your season a success? I know many teams who have walked away from the state meet proud as can be for winning a 2nd or 3rd place plaque and many others who's season was a success for qualifying to the state meet. So to give a fuller picture of success at the state meet, I compiled a list, starting with the girls, of all the state podium teams dating back to the inception year of 1987.

What girl's team has won the most plaques? What team has won the most plaques without winning a state championship? Who has won the most 2nd place plaques? 3rd place plaques? What section has done the best?...as if I have to ask. Yes, the Southern Section has had the most teams on the podium so what section is 2nd?

To help answer those questions and more, you can find a complete list of all the podium teams here. Please keep in mind that Division IV was added to the State Meet in 1990 and Division V was added in 1996. The opportunity for plaques definitely increased for many teams with the additional divisions.

If you are too impatient to look at that list, keep reading for the answers.

The team that has won the most plaques is:
San Francisco University with 10 plaques.

The team that has won the most plaques without winning a state title is:
Dana Hills with 5 plaques.

Two teams tied for most 2nd place plaques and those two teams are:
San Francisco University and Woodbridge with 4 plaques.

The team that has won the most 3rd place plaques is:
Dana Hills with 4 plaques.

Two teams had the longest span of time between their 1st and last plaque:
Corona del Mar with 16 years (1989-2005)
San Francisco University with 16 years (1987-2003)

The following is a section breakdown for teams that have won at least 1 plaque:
(1) Southern Section-54
(2) North Coast Section-13
(3) San Diego Section-8
(4) Central Coast Section-6
(4) Northern Section-6
(6) Central Section-5
(7) San Joaquin Section-4
Los Angeles City Section-0
Oakland Section-0
San Francisco Section-0

Qualifying to the state meet is difficult. Walking away with a plaque (no matter the place) is quite an accomplishment.

I will post the boys' results tomorrow. If you spot any errors, please let me know.