The numbers that tell the story of Washington County volleyball's unparalleled success

When it comes to Washington County high school sports, volleyball stands alone in Maryland state championship glory .

The county's public-school programs have won 41 state titles since 1981. The list of Washington County public-school state championships by sport is below:

• Volleyball - 41
• Girls outdoor track and field - 32
• Girls cross country - 24
• Baseball - 14
• Boys outdoor track and field - 12
• Boys cross country - 10
• Football - 6
• Girls basketball - 6
• Girls indoor track and field - 6
• Boys indoor track and field - 6
• Girls soccer - 3
• Boys soccer - 3
• Boys basketball - 3
• Softball - 2
• Golf - 1
• Wrestling - 1
• Tennis - 1

The history of Washington County volleyball

Four years ago, during the COVID-19 shutdown, I wrote a series of articles documenting the history of volleyball in Washington County:

Since the series of articles was published, the county has earned five more state championships: Two each by North Hagerstown (2022-23) and Clear Spring (2022-23), and one by Williamsport (2021).

Washington County teams boast a 41-14 record in state championship matches, and a 100-26 record in all state tournament matches (not including region play).

The county's dominance has only grown stronger in recent years. Since 2011, Smithsburg ranks first in the state with seven championships. North Hagerstown ranks second with five. Williamsport ranks tied for third with four (along with Northwest). Clear Spring ranks fifth with three. That's 19 championships over the last 12 seasons.

Washington County volleyball by the numbers

• 92.9% -- The percentage of Class 1A state championships since 2009 won by Washington County teams, which have won 13 of the last 14 titles. That includes nine by Smithsburg, three by Clear Spring and one by Williamsport.
• 67.4% -- The percentage of all Class 1A state championships won by Washington County teams, which have won 31 of the 46 titles.
• 38.1% -- The percentage of seasons since 1981 in which Williamsport has raised a state championship trophy.
• 33.3% -- The percentage of seasons since 1981 in which Smithsburg has raised a state championship trophy.
• 21.9% -- The percentage of all Maryland volleyball state championships won by Washington County teams, which have won 41 of the 187 state championships.
• 16 -- The number of state championships won by Williamsport, which holds the state record.
• 14 -- The number of state championships won by Smithsburg, which ranks third in state history.
• 9 -- State championships won by Smithsburg over an 11-year span from 2009 to 2019, the most ever in an 11-year span.
• 9 -- The number of state championships won by Smithsburg coach Rachel Bachtell, which is tied for the state record.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: The numbers that tell the story of Washington County volleyball's unparalleled success