America's best: These Jacksonville-area high school teams have earned national titles

The best between the goals, from sea to shining sea.

After an undefeated season and a third Florida High School Athletic Association championship in four seasons, Bartram Trail closed out 2022-2023 atop the United Soccer Coaches and MaxPreps national rankings for girls soccer.

When it comes to national champion status, the Bears aren't alone in Northeast Florida sports history.

Bartram Trail's title this year adds to a list of Jacksonville-area teams to claim at least a portion of a national championship, a line of teams that stretches back for more than a century.

Here's a look at some of Northeast Florida's previous teams to earn national accolades.

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Duval football (1921)

The team that started it all for Northeast Florida's national champions list. The Tigers rolled through the competition at 9-0, and by season's end, they were widely regarded as the nation's best. Their foes ranged from the University of Florida junior varsity squad (at a time when college vs. high school matchups were still contested) to the cream of the crop from Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and even Ohio. Only Charleston even managed to score against Duval, booting a field goal to little effect in a 21-3 Tiger win. John Marshall, a unanimous selection at guard and a future Georgia Bulldog, headed a collection of 10 Duval players on the year's All-State team.

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Bolles boys swimming (1972, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2021)

The ultimate dynasty: The Bolles boys have brought home every Florida High School Athletic Association swimming title since the end of the 1980s, plus nine national championships as well. The list of champions in that span is too long to list here, but the Bolles team of the early 2010s achieved particular heights with two future Olympic champions (Ryan Murphy and Joseph Schooling) and an Olympic finalist (Santo Condorelli) in a lineup that took down numerous state and national records.

Bolles girls swimming (1983, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003)

Not to be outdone, the Bolles girls also own nine national titles and a state title streak that extends for three decades. Bolles earned six consecutive national championships in the middle to late 1990s with a squad that included future Olympians Janelle Atkinson, Trina Jackson and Ashley Whitney. Jackson and Whitney both won gold with the United States 4x200-meter relay at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Trinity Christian football (2014, 2015)

For two years in a row, the Conquerors not only captured the FHSAA's championship, but brought home the MaxPreps award for the top small-school program in the nation. The 2014 Conquerors (12-2) lined up a host of senior stars on the defensive side of the ball, including defensive backs Javon Hagan, Kevin Toliver and Deontai Williams, linebackers Victor Alexander, Jeff Holland and Andre Smith and tackle Kendrick Norton. The 2015 team was a steamroller, averaging more than 44 points per game with a loaded offense: Rasheed Martin (882 yards) and Jalin Buie (723 yards) in the backfield, D.J. Matthews (630 yards) and Damien McGhee (598 yards) as prime receiving targets and Billy Cobb (2,579 yards, 29 TD) behind center.

Ribault girls basketball (2016)

Was it the greatest team in Jacksonville girls hoops history? One can certainly make a case for Ribault's dynasty between 2000 and 2003, which rolled up 101 consecutive entries in the win column and lifted the 2001-02 Nike Invitational trophy on the way to a No. 2 USA TODAY national ranking. But also in the running is the 2015-16 team, which not only overpowered its foes in a 30-1 season but finished it off at New York's Madison Square Garden. Invited to the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals, the Trojans left no doubt, trouncing Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist 75-49 in the final. Juniors Rennia Davis and Day'Neshia Banks combined to average nearly 40 points per game for Ribault, which returned home to a parade through downtown Jacksonville.

St. Johns Country Day girls soccer (2017, 2018, 2021)

Between 2012 and 2022, the Spartans rewrote Florida's record books. They racked up 11 state championships in a row, won 76 consecutive games between January 2015 and December 2018 and topped at least one of the major national rankings on three occasions. Payton Crews, Alisa Detlefsen and Abbey Newton, all regulars on the team as sixth-graders in 2012, ended up winning an FHSAA record seven state trophies, including a 2017-18 team that finished 26-0-0 and might have been the area's best ever. The Spartans also outscored their foes 115-5 in a 2020-21 campaign that finished 18-0 and included eight senior college signees.

Bartram Trail girls soccer (2023)

Three state titles in four years. That's just one part of the story for the Bears, who closed the 2022-2023 season atop the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. Bartram Trail steamrolled foes at 21-0-2 — only Montverde Academy and St. Johns Country Day escaped defeat — and outscored opponents 102-7. Five Bartram Trail senior starters signed with Division I college programs: fullback Anna Bachman (Mercer), forward Olivia Bori (Florida Atlantic), central defender Emma Revels (College of Charleston), central midfielder Malia Roberts (Western Carolina) and Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Soccer Grace Ivey (Texas A&M).

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school sports: Northeast Florida's all-time national champions