South Eugene High School

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South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon. It was built in 1953 as Eugene High School, but was changed to South Eugene after North Eugene High School was built four years later. It is located at 400 E. 19th Avenue. The current principal is Randy Bernstein.

[edit] Notable alumni

Neil Goldschmidt (Class of 1958), Mayor of Portland, Oregon (1973-79), Governor of Oregon (1987-91), and United States Secretary of Transportation (1979-81)
Tim Hardin (Class of 1960), anti-war folk singer
John Kitzhaber (Class of 1965), Oregon Governor (1995-2003)
Bill McChesney (Class of 1977), distance running standout, four-time NCAA All-American and 1980 Olympian in Track and Field, and University of Oregon school record holder in the 5000 and 10,000 meters
Paul Pierson (Class of 1977), Avice Saint Chair in Public Policy at University of California, Berkeley, co-author of Off-Center: The Republican Revolution & the Erosion of American Democracy
Richard Smith (Class of 1977), Jazz musician
Corin Tucker (Class of 1990), lead singer of Sleater-Kinney
Sean Flannery (Class of 1992), saxophonist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Dustin Lanker (Class of 1993), keyboardist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Nate Jaqua (Class of 1999), MLS soccer player for the Chicago Fire
The Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers (Class of 2001), punk rock musicians

[edit] Track and Field

Located in "Track Town USA", South Eugene has been a Track and Field powerhouse, especially in distance events, since the early 70s. In fact, the program has often reflected the fortunes of the University of Oregon track and field and cross country teams. Coinciding with the bringing of the Olympic Trials to Eugene, the founding of Nike, and the emergence of Steve Prefontaine, South Eugene began a tradition of winning which continues today, with a total of 22 boys cross country and track and field championships, and 5 girls cross-country and track and field championships. Some notable things in school history include:

First high school team to wear all Nike shoes.
John Gillespie coached at both the UO and South for many years.
The 1976 Boys 4xMile relay team still holds the national record in that event, in a time of 17:06.
Billy McChesney, who ran for South Eugene, later went on to set the UO school records in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

South Eugene still holds National Prep Records in the following events:

South Eugene alumnus and current coach Jeff Hess still holds the national prep record in the steeplechase (athletics), in a time of 8:50.1, set in 1979.
The 1976 Boys 4xMile Relay team of Dirk Lakeman, Chris Neilson, Bill McChesney, and John Gustafson hold the record in 17:06.6.
The 1982 Boys 4x1500 Relay team of Eric Mason, John Chambers, Will Kimball, and Matt McGuirk hold the record in a time of 16:03.7.
Brad Hudson holds the 5,000 meter Indoor record in 14.29.28, set in 1984.
Craig Brigham holds the International Decathlon record of 7359, set in 1972.