Centennial High School entered the 2025 cross country season with a whispered possibility hanging over them, something that has not been accomplished since the volleyball teams of the late nineties. By November, that whisper had become reality. The Eagles completed a historic three-peat at the MPSSAA state championships, cementing themselves as a dynasty built not on flash or secrets, but on something far more grounded. As Head Coach Kevin McCoy puts it, “There is no secret ingredient.”
When asked how Centennial managed to win three consecutive titles, McCoy did not attribute it to anything fancy; in fact he gave credit to a more unexpected source of inspiration.
“My first thought always goes to Kung Fu Panda, when Po gets the dragon scroll and realizes there’s no secret ingredient,” he said with a grin. “We don’t do anything unbelievably different or uncommon. We just show up every single day, we go to work, we have a collective dream, a collective goal, a collective vision. Everybody that’s in the boat is rowing in the exact same direction.”
He made it clear that Centennial’s dominance was not shaped by mystery, but by consistency. While the Eagle’s course is well-rounded as one of the hardest in the state, McCoy gave the credit to his runners, “Fitness is fitness,” he said. “If you’re fit and you can run fast, it doesn’t matter where you go. You get on the line, and if you’re ready, may the best man, may the best girl win.”
Still, winning three in a row is something that goes beyond standard fitness and preparation. This year’s title wasn’t just another victory, it was a milestone for the program and the school.
“We try to be big-time dreamers. We believe in these kids to accomplish things they don’t ever dream are possible.”
Those big dreams are enforced not only through training, but through culture, something McCoy and Assistant Coach Chris Graff have heavily reinforced. One tradition stands out, which is that every athlete and coach wears red before the state meet. To outsiders, it might look like a standard choice but to the team, it’s something much deeper. “We wear red out of solidarity for one another,” McCoy said. “When they see us on the line, they know we have their back. We’re behind them, we’re in their corner.”
Leadership as well has been a defining ingredient, though McCoy refuses to crown a single star. For him, the strength of this team rests on its upperclassmen as a whole.
“These seniors, all of them, are at the tip of the sword,” he said. “This is a program, it evolves every single year. New chapter, new faces, but the expectations never change.”
McCoy also emphasized how the athletes didn’t need to be reminded of the historic stakes. The staff didn’t have to deliver motivational speeches about making history or chasing a three-peat, the team already had a clear understanding of what the goal was.
“We didn’t have to mention it,” McCoy said. “These kids know it. It’s kind of an unspoken thing now. They know the job they have to do, they know the work that’s involved.”
That work carries through every mile, every practice, every grueling offseason session. And on the biggest stage, the state championship line, it manifests not only through results, but through symbolism. The biggest symbol of the team were the group buzz cuts, which this year’s team got before the championship. McCoy jokes that he’s “the OG buzz,” but he’s the first to admit how much the ritual matters.
“It’s a sign of solidarity,” he said. “State is hard. No matter how good you are, it’s just flat-out hard. You can look at your brother next to you and know that in that hard moment, they have your back. Everyone has a hard time at some moment in every race, without fail. When you look left and right and know that person’s got your back, that’s what the buzz cut means.”
The theme of togetherness runs through everything McCoy emphasizes. For him, the story of Centennial’s three-peat is about belief, unity, and commitment passed down from class to class. The 2025 team, he emphasizes, didn’t rise out of nowhere. They were shaped by the expectations of teams prior.
“This is a snapshot of the entire thing,” he said. “The group that’s here now has been impacted by the groups that were here eight to ten years ago. The expectations will never change. We’ll continue trying to drive this program forward.”
In a sport defined by individual performance, Centennial has crafted a culture that feels more like a family than a roster. As previously emphasized, there is no secret ingredient, and somehow, that simple truth has led Centennial High School into one of the most extraordinary runs in Maryland cross country history. As senior, and three time state champion, Harper Koenig puts it, “I guess we built a dynasty.”
