The Super XC Sweep: A WPIAL Cross Country Achievement Still Waiting to Happen
Winning a WPIAL cross country championship is difficult. But what about one school winning all four championships in the same classification and season?
While researching the history of the WPIAL Cross Country Championships, that question stood out.
I’m calling it the “Super XC Sweep.”
To complete the Super XC Sweep, one school would need to win:
- Boys’ Individual Championship
- Girls’ Individual Championship
- Boys’ Team Championship
- Girls’ Team Championship
Based on the available WPIAL championship records I’ve researched, I haven’t found a school that has accomplished all four in the same classification and season.
However, winning three of the four has happened 13 times.
Quaker Valley accounts for seven of those near-sweeps, including an impressive stretch of three consecutive seasons from 2009 through 2011.
Of those performances, 2009 and 2011 especially stand out because the missing championship was different each time.
2009: Just Four Seconds Away
Quaker Valley won both WPIAL Class 2A team championships in 2009, with the boys scoring 41 points and the girls 85.
Sarah Miller added the girls’ individual championship, winning in 19:30.
That left only the boys’ individual title.
Laurel’s Evan Miller won the Class 2A championship in 16:33, while Quaker Valley’s John Yankello finished second in 16:37.
Four seconds separated Quaker Valley from completing the Super XC Sweep.
Quaker Valley’s 2009 Results
Boys’ Team: WPIAL Champion — 41 points
Girls’ Team: WPIAL Champion — 85 points
Girls’ Individual: Sarah Miller — WPIAL Champion, 19:30
Boys’ Individual: John Yankello — 2nd Place, 16:37
2011: Right Back in the Same Position
Quaker Valley made it three consecutive years with three of the four WPIAL Class 2A championships.
The boys won the team championship with 29 points, while the girls won with 36.
Roy Hadfield captured the boys’ individual championship in 17:21.
The girls’ individual title was the only championship missing.
Sarah Miller, the 2009 WPIAL Class 2A champion, finished fifth overall, 36 seconds behind WPIAL champion Caitlin Bungo of Sewickley Academy.
Quaker Valley’s 2011 Results
Boys’ Team: WPIAL Champion — 29 points
Girls’ Team: WPIAL Champion — 36 points
Boys’ Individual: Roy Hadfield — WPIAL Champion, 17:21
Girls’ Individual: Sarah Miller — 5th Place
Thirteen Near-Sweeps in WPIAL History
Based on the available championship records, there have been 13 instances of a school capturing three of the four championships in the same classification and season.
| Year | School | Class | Missing Championship |
| 1974 | North Allegheny | 3A | Girls’ Individual |
| 1975 | North Allegheny | 3A | Girls’ Individual |
| 1978 | North Hills | 3A | Girls’ Individual |
| 1984 | Richland | 2A | Boys’ Team |
| 2001 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Boys’ Individual |
| 2002 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Boys’ Individual |
| 2003 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Boys’ Team |
| 2009 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Boys’ Individual |
| 2010 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Girls’ Individual |
| 2010 | North Hills | 3A | Boys’ Team |
| 2011 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Girls’ Individual |
| 2016 | Quaker Valley | 2A | Boys’ Team |
| 2018 | North Allegheny | 3A | Girls’ Individual |
Quaker Valley accounts for seven of the 13 near-sweeps, more than any other program in the records researched.
Why Is the Super XC Sweep So Difficult?
A school needs championship-level depth on both the boys’ and girls’ sides while also having athletes capable of winning both individual races.
All four pieces have to come together in the same classification and on the same WPIAL championship meet.
Quaker Valley’s run from 2009 through 2011 shows just how difficult that can be.
Three straight years.
Three championships each year.
But never all four.
And in 2009, the Quakers came within just four seconds of completing the sweep.
WPIAL cross country history has produced plenty of dominant teams and outstanding individual champions.
Thirteen times, a school has won three of the four championships.
But based on the available records I’ve researched, the complete Super XC Sweep has never happened.
Four championships. Two team titles. Two individual titles. One school. One classification. One season.
The WPIAL Super XC Sweep is still waiting to happen.
Who will be the first school to pull it off?
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