Westmont Hilltop High School

Westmont Hilltop High School
Location
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Information
Type	Public, secondary
Motto	Scientia fons Veritatis "Knowledge is the Source of Truth" (English translation)
Established	1919
School district	District VI
Principal	Matthew Thomas Thomas Mitchell (Assistant Principal)
Staff	Staff directory
Faculty	38 teachers
Grades	9 – 12
Number of students	624
Color(s)	Red and Gray
Athletics	The Hilltoppers & The Lady Hilltoppers
Athletics conference	Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference
Mascot	The Hilltoppers
Information	(814) 255-8726 (Phone directory)
Website	WHHS main page

Westmont Hilltop High School is the public high school for the Westmont Hilltop School District. The high school is located in Upper Yoder Township, Cambria County in the western suburbs of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The high school serves the populations living in Upper Yoder Township, Westmont Borough, and Southmont Borough, Cambria County. The high school is located at 200 Fair Oaks Drive, Johnstown, PA 15905.

History

The high school was founded when Westmont School District merged with Upper Yoder School District to form Westmont-Upper Yoder School District in 1919. The high school became its current entity when Southmont School District merged with Westmont-Upper Yoder School District in 1956, forming Westmont Hilltop School District.

The high school was originally located on Diamond Blvd, Southmont Borough. The former high school is now Westmont Hilltop Middle School.

Tradition

The Alma Mater of Westmont Hilltop is:

Dear Alma Mater we sing to you, sing of your kindness your power too. We glory in your name, your works to view, dear Alma Mater, we sing to you. Dear Alma Mater we sing to you, pledging our loyalty our vows renew. Your name we’ll ever love, your precepts true. Dear Alma Mater, we sing to you.

The Alma Mater was written by Willard E. Ackley, the supervising principal from 1934 to 1954.

Athletics

The high school's mascot is the Hilltopper. The school's official colors are scarlet and gray, with white and/or black often appearing in athletics uniforms. Westmont Hilltop High School is a member of the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference for most sports. Westmont's rivials include Bishop McCort and Richland.

There have been many athletic accolades awarded to the school including many Laurel Highlands Conferences Championships and PIAA District 6 Championships. The school has also won the Laurel Highlands All-Sports Trophy multiple times. Many individuals from from Westmont Hilltop have won state championships, and a men's swimming relay team won the state championship in 2002. Two Westmont wrestlers have also won state championships, they were Matt Beaujon who won in 1991, and Zac Bennett, who won it in 2007.

On four occasions Westmont Hilltop sports teams have advanced to the PIAA or equivalent state championship finals; however, no WHHS team has ever won a state championship. The first team to do so was the 2002 men's soccer team, which was defeated in sudden death double overtime. The second team was the 2003 men's hockey team, which advanced to the state championship, but also lost by one goal. The women's basketball team were state runners-up in 2005 and 2006.

Arts and music

Westmont Hilltop High School has a very strong choral program and consistently sends many students to participate in the PMEA District 6 and Region III Honors Choruses. Westmont Hilltop sends students to the All-State Chorus as well. Similarly, the school sends students to the PMEA District and Regional Band and Orchestra Honors Festivals and has recently sent students to the All-State Jazz Chorus Honors Festival. Many students also participate in a variety of other honors festivals. Westmont Hilltop has also sent representatives to the ACDA All-Eastern Honor Choir, and to the ACDA National Honor Choir.

The Westmont Hilltop Marching band and Indoor Percussion and Guard ensembles currently compete in the Atlantic Coast Championships yearly. The ensembles have won numerous awards and have performed in front of large crowds.

Westmont Hilltop has a rich history of musical theater. The first musical was performed in 1962 and one has been performed every year since. In 2006 Westmont Hilltop's musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying won many accolades from the inaugural Isaac Awards. Westmont Hilltop won the Best Production, Best Musical Number for "Coffee Break," Best Actor, Jeff Howanek, in a Leading Role, and Best Actress, Sarah Sahlaney, in the Leading Role awards. Westmont Hilltop also had nominees for Best Actor in Supporting Role and Best Actress in Supporting Role. In 2007, Westmont Hilltop performed a production of Guys and Dolls Jade Stager was awarded Best Actress in a Leading Role, and also won an award for Best Musical Number. Westmont presented Grease (musical) in 2008.

Academic competition

The Westmont Hilltop Forensics Team and Scholastic Quiz team are consistently competitors for the district and regional titles, and have consistently represented Westmont Hilltop at regional, state, and national competitions. This year, Westmont's Scholastic Quiz team won the local championship and then went on to win the Regional championship over Altoona. They will be competing in the state tournament in April. The Scholastic Quiz team is led by their advisor, John T. Wood, who is also the high school's chemistry teacher. The Forensics team is led by Angela Sloan and Billie Joe Kisko.

Notable alumni

• Mark Singel, former lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania
• Jeff Skowron, stage and film actor (IMDB filmography)
• John Pomp, Artist and Glassblower ([1])
• Matthew Bednarz, Successfull Businessman and Photographer

Cultural references

The Walnut Heights High School football team that appeared in the 1983 movie All the Right Moves was played by the Westmont Hilltop High School football team. The fictitious name Walnut Heights was consistent with the prominent "WH" that appeared on the team's athletic uniforms.

External links

• District Homepage