Valdosta High School
| Valdosta High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
4590 Inner Perimeter Road , 31602 United States | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public, high school |
| School district | Valdosta City School District |
| Principal | Dr. Janice Richardson |
| Faculty | 121.50 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 2,191 (2018-19)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 18.03[1] |
| Color(s) | Gold and black |
| Athletics | GHSA |
| Athletics conference | AAAAAA (6A) Region 1 |
| Mascot | Wildcat |
| Website | Valdosta High School |
Valdosta High School is a public high school located in Valdosta, Georgia, United States.
School
Valdosta High School serves grades 9-12 in the Valdosta City School District.
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.[2]
Athletics
Football
Valdosta High School is home to the winningest high school football program with the most wins in the United States, with a record 929 wins, 235 losses, and 34 ties as of 2019 season.[3] From 1913-2016, the Wildcats have won six national championships in football, 24 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).[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] On July 28, 2008 Valdosta was named Titletown, United States by ESPN.
Current Head Football Coach is former Colquitt County and Hoover Head Coach, Rush Propst.
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).[7] The Valdosta High School golf team won their seventh state championship in 2014 as they claimed the Class AAAAAA title. The golf team has won eight region championships (1959, 1961, 1970, 1977, 1978, 2002, 2003, 2014).[8]
The girls' golf team has also been region champions four times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005).[8]
Wrestling
Under Coach John Robbins, The Valdosta Wildcats brought home the 2018-2019 Dual and Traditional State Championships, with Freshman Noah Pettigrew winning the 195lb weight class. This is the first time in history the wrestling team has brought home a state championship in either Duals or Traditional.
Notable alumni
- Buck Belue - football and baseball player; sports radio personality
- Luther Blue 72-73 Played for Detroit Lions
- John Bond - four-year starting quarterback at Mississippi State
- Dusty Bonner -Kentucky Wildcats football quarterback, later played for Valdosta State Blazers and eventually NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and Arena Football League
- Dana Brinson - former NFL player
- Ellis Clary - former professional baseball player (Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns)
- Buck Coats - former professional baseball player (Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays)
- William "Red" Dawson - only surviving coach of the 1970 Marshall tragedy, chronicled in the documentary Marshall University: Ashes to Glory and dramatized in the movie We Are Marshall
- Willie Gary - St. Louis Rams NFL player, played in Super Bowl XXXVI
- DL Hall - professional baseball player and former first round pick
- Noah Langdale - president of Georgia State University 1957-1988
- Malcolm Mitchell - football player, former Georgia Bulldog college player, former New England Patriot NFL player and Super Bowl LI champion
- Todd Peterson (born 1970) - former NFL player
- Charles Ramsey - saved three kidnapped girls[citation needed]
- Stan Rome - former Kansas City Chiefs NFL player
- Coleman Rudolph - football player, former Georgia Tech college player, New York Giants and New York Jets NFL player
- Sonny Shroyer - actor, best known for playing Deputy Enos Strate on The Dukes of Hazzard and Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in Forrest Gump. Shroyer played tackle for the VHS Wildcats.
References
- ^ a b c "Valdosta High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
- ^ http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/x611399694/Judge-weighs-schools-status
- ^ National High School Sports Record Book
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Titletown" (English). Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ^ "ESPN - TitleTown USA - SportsCenter". Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ http://www.ghsa.net/ghsa-boys-golf-champions
- ^ a b http://www.valdostacity.com/Index.aspx?page=374
External links
