Valdosta High School

Valdosta High School
Address
3101 N. Forrest St.
Valdosta, Georgia 31602
United States
Information
School type Public, high school
School district Valdosta City School District
Principal Dr. Janice Richardson
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2249 (2012)
Color(s) Gold and black         
Mascot Wildcat
Website Valdosta High School

Valdosta High School is a public high school located in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. The school colors are gold and black. The school mascot is the Wildcat.

School

Valdosta High School serves grades 9-12 in the Valdosta City School District. It offers a wide range of academic choices, including technical, college preparatory, dual enrollment, and Advanced Placement classes, and an International Baccalaureate programme.

Valdosta High is home to 31 faculty-sponsored clubs, including Debate, Robotics, Key Club, FBLA, DECA, Model UN, Science, Journalism, and Beta Club. The Valdosta High Math team won the 2009 regional championship, and VHS won the regional Academic Bowl in four of the last five years.

The first African American students attended Valdosta High in 1965. Full integration was achieved in 1969, with the merging of Valdosta High and Pinevale High School. This caused severe overcrowding; in 1971, VHS had 1400 students in a building designed to hold 700. This was quickly remedied after additions were built, but the school remained extremely full for many years.

The present school building opened in 1973; it replaced the old Williams Street building which had served as Valdosta High since 1922 and burned to the ground in 1977. J.L. Newbern and Valdosta Middle School are the two main feeder schools for Valdosta High.

As of July 1, 2014, the Valdosta City School system still has a federal lawsuit against for failing to comply fully with desegregation. The lawsuit originally filed in 1970 is being reviewed for dismissal by a federal judge.[1]

Athletics

Baseball

The Cats have had a long winning tradition on the baseball diamond. Valdosta High has one state title and multiple region titles.

Football

Valdosta High School is home to the winningest high school football program in the United States, with a record 907 wins, 220 losses, and 34 ties, for a winning percentage of 79.44% as of November 20, 2015.[2] From 1913-2016, the Wildcats have won six national championships in football, 23 state championships, and 42 regional championships.

Valdosta High plays its home games at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in downtown Valdosta. Cross-town rival Lowndes High School has also built a strong program, winning five state titles (1980, 1999, 2004, 2005 and 2007).[3] Since 1968, the Wildcats' record against Lowndes County is 33-16 with 0 ties, scoring an average of 20.9 ppg as compared to Lowndes County's 10.1 ppg. The Wildcats, however, had a dry run, losing seven straight until their 21-17 come-from-behind victory in 2011.

In the summer of 2008, due in part to the successes of the Valdosta High School athletic programs, Valdosta was featured on ESPN as a candidate for TitleTown USA.[4] This was a month-long segment on ESPN that started in the spring of 2008 and continued through July. Fans nominated towns and cities across the country based on their championship pedigree. A panel reviewed the nominees and fan voting in May determined the 20th finalist. SportsCenter visited each city in July, and fan voting July 23–27 determined the winner.[5] On July 28, 2008 Valdosta was named Titletown, United States by ESPN.

Basketball

In 2008 the Valdosta High School basketball team was one of the most successful basketball teams in school history and also one of the best in the state; they went 28-2. The team was coached by Rufus McDuffie, who previously coached Mitchell Baker High and won five state championships.

Golf

The boys' golf team at Valdosta High won six consecutive state championships in the 1950s. Valdosta won three state titles in Class A (1954, 1955, 1956), two in Class AA (1957, 1958), and one title in Class AAA (1959).[6] The golf team has won seven region championships (1959, 1961, 1970, 1977, 1978, 2002, 2003, 2014).[7]

The girls' golf team has also been region champions four times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005).[7]

Soccer

The boys' soccer team has not won any championships. It is a relatively new development in the history of the school. The current head coach is Jacob Crawford.[8]

The girls' soccer team also has not won any championships and was instituted at the same time as the boys' team. The current head coach is Brent Doughty.

Volleyball

This is a new sport at VHS, having started in 2015.[8]

Music

The marching band "Marchin' Cats" is the most recognizable performing group of Valdosta High School.[8] They have a history of success, beginning with their former and nationally recognized director, Frank Butenschon. He led the Marchin' Cats to numerous national field and parade championships and sweepstakes during his tenure as head director.

The band is now under the leadership of Michael Thomas. Since his arrival in 2006, the Marchin' Cats have won five contest grand championships. Their latest win was at the Battle on the Border in Lowndes County, on October 22, 2011. In 2016 they placed 1st runner up at the Sound Of Silver Invitational.

Thomas also conducts the wind ensemble, which has received straight Superior ratings at the Georgia Large Group Performance Evaluations held in Waycross and then Jesup. In 2006, the wind ensemble performed in the Heritage Festival in New York City, receiving Superior ratings and second place overall in the concert band category. In 2007, the ensemble performed at the Music USA Festival in Orlando, Florida, receiving straight Superior ratings as well as overall concert band Grand Champion. The ensemble consistently performs level 6 music, which is most challenging level in the state.

The jazz ensemble is under the direction of world-renowned trombonist and vocalist Andrew Hill. They perform at events in the state of Georgia, including the ABAC Jazz Festival, the Waycross Jazz festival, and country club and social events in south Georgia. Their musical selections include swing, Latin, bebop, funk, rock, and big band.

Starting in 2015, a new symphonic band was instituted, to add more variety to the program.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/x611399694/Judge-weighs-schools-status
  2. ↑ National High School Sports Record Book
  3. ↑ http://www.lowndesfootball.com/history.htm
  4. ↑ "Titletown" (English). Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  5. ↑ "ESPN - TitleTown USA - SportsCenter". Retrieved 2009-11-11.
  6. ↑ http://www.ghsa.net/ghsa-boys-golf-champions
  7. 1 2 http://www.valdostacity.com/Index.aspx?page=374
  8. 1 2 3 "Valdosta High School". vhs.gocats.org. Retrieved 2015-10-23.
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Coordinates: 30°52′47″N 83°15′49″W / 30.879687°N 83.263598°W / 30.879687; -83.263598

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