Summerville High School

Summerville High School
Established	1924
Type	Public High School
Principal	Buddy Chapel
Students	3165
Grades	9-12
Location	1101 Boone Hill Road, Summerville, South Carolina, United States
District	Dorchester School District 2
Colors	Green and Gold (Kelly Green and Sunflower Gold)
Mascot	Green Wave
Yearbook	'The Green Wave'
Newspaper	'The Wave Breaker'
Website	http://dorchester.shs.schoolfusion.us/

Summerville High School is a public high school in Summerville, South Carolina.

History

In 1924, a brick building on Main Street, which is now Rollings Middle School of the Arts, was the only high school in the Summerville area. As Summerville’s population increased rapidly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a larger campus was needed. In 1969, the present building on Boone Hill Road was opened to students. From the first day of classes, the new facility was too small. Because of the unexpectedly high enrollment, several mobile units were set up on the campus.

In 1970, Summerville High School and Alston High School, the district’s Black school, were combined to integrate the school district. Attendance continued to increase throughout the 1970s. In 1972, double sessions were used until an additional underclassman campus was completed in 1975. Another classroom wing was created by the spring of 1978.

In 1992, Fort Dorchester High School was opened, splitting the school’s student body. As a result, the Gregg underclassman campus was renovated as a middle school, and the switch to a single campus was completed in 1998. Construction of a fine arts hall and cafeteria expansion was completed in the fall of 2001.

In 2008, Ashley Ridge High School was opened to further ease congestion in the Dorchester District 2 school system. When attendance zones where realigned for the opening of the new high school, the Ashley Ridge zone contained mostly students who would have attended Summerville high school, whereas only a small portion of the Fort Dorchester attendance zone was diverted.

Statistics

As of 2004, Summerville has a 78.9% graduation rate, which is rather low. However, the school boasts a 97.3% passing rate of the state's standardized exit exam.

Summerville and Fort Dorchester High schools hold the record for the largest turn out for a high school football game in the southeast, with a total of over 13,000 people in attendance^{[citation needed]}.

Demographics

Demographic	Percent
Black	35%
White/Other	65%

Athletics

Wrestling

The Green Wave captured 5 State Championships under Steve Laprad as head coach between 1979 and 1993. Summerville has won 12 state championships in total ('81, '87, '88, '92, '93, '98, '01, '02, '04, '05, '06, '08). Coach Laprad had a 211-8 dual meet record over his coaching career. The program boasts 87 individual state champions, several high school all-Americans, an NCWA national champion (Quinn Tolbert), a JuCo national champion (Kelly Revells), 3 NCAA all-Americans (Quinn Tolbert, Andrew Young, Bryant Blanton), an NCAA national champion (Bryant Blanton), a USA Wrestling national assistant coach of the year (Darryl Tucker), and a USA Wrestling man of the year (Kenny Walker - 2002).

Football

The team has won 12 state championships, 10 of them under coach John McKissick. In the 1998 season, the Greenwave went undefeated, rounding out the season playing Gaffney High School to win the State Championship.

Basketball

Summerville won the Class 4A boys championship in 2007-2008 in a hectic game against Spartanburg, with a score of 50-48. The game may be watched here: http://www.schsl.tv/events/7395

Louis Mulkey, one of the team's assistant coaches, was one of nine firefighters who perished in the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire. A golden helmet sat beside the team during every game of the season in Mulkey's honor during the 2008 and 2009 season.

Baseball

Summerville has won a total of four 4A baseball state championships, most recently in 2003.

Track and Field

Summerville has had an excellent history of track teams and individuals. In 2010, the girls team competed in the AAAA State Championships and was the state Runner-Up team. A year later, the Lady Green Wave won the State Meet by .5 points. The team states that they dedicated their performances to coach Jim Kilbreth, who came back after retiring in 2010 for the team. 1985 Green Wave standout Wade Brantley achieved All-American status and a world ranking in the Decathlon and was named the University of South Carolina's track athlete of the decade for the 1980's.

Soccer

The girl's soccer team won the 4A state title in 1996.

Swimming

Summerville has won 2 AAAA Mens State Championships (2003, 2004) and 2 4A womans State Championships.

Cheerleading

The Summerville cheerleading team has 2 consecutive state champions ships in 2008 and 2009, this 2010 year they will not be able to compete for a 3rd consecutive because of the retirement of the well known, long time coach Saundra Guerard, also known as Coach G.

Notable alumni

• Mark Blount, 1994 (Transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Virginia)), NBA Basketball Player, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Converse Chellis, 1961, South Carolina Treasurer
• Savanna D'Amico, 2004, "Looking For Stars" TV show
• Dustin Fry, 2002, current center for the St. Louis Rams
• A.J. Green, 2008, 1st round pick (4th overall) in the 2011 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals
• Keith Jennings, 1985, former NFL football player
• Stanford Jennings, 1980, former football player, Cincinnati Bengals
• Kevin Long, 1994, former football player, Tennessee Titans
• Louis Mulkey, 1991, Charleston firefighter, one of the "Charleston Nine"
• Jamar Nesbit, 1995, football player, New Orleans Saints
• Bryant Blanton, 2006, wrestler, football player, and baseball player, NCAA National Champion at Newberry College

External links

• http://dorchester.shs.schoolfusion.us/ Official Webpage