Coventry High School (Rhode Island)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coventry High School is a public high school located in Coventry, Rhode Island. Servicing grades 9 through 12, it has close to 1,900 students, and is the only public high school in Coventry. The current principal is Micheal Hobin

According to the latest report from Public School Review, the school is 49% male and 51% female. In terms of ethnicity, Coventry High School is 97% Caucasian, 1% Asian, 1% African-American, and 1% Hispanic.

Coventry High School is located off of Route 3, at 40 Reservoir Road. [1]

The school's nickname/mascot is the Knotty Oakers, which is usually shortened to simply "Oakers". The unique nickname came from a knotty (twisted or gnarled) oak tree which once stood on the grounds of the school's original location on Route 116. [2] The school's colors are white and red.

From an athletics standpoint, Coventry High is most well-known for its wrestling program, which won an unprecedented 17 consecutive Rhode Island State Championships from 1982 through 1998, an unequalled nation-wide record. (In 1990, the Oakers shared the title with Warwick Veterans High School). The streak finally came to an end in 1999, when Johnston High School won the state championship. Since the program's inception in 1968, Oaker wrestlers have won a total of 19 state team championships (1972, 1974, 1982-1998).[3]

As referenced above, the program was started in 1968 by Dick Magarian, who was responsible for leading the Oakers to 12 state championships (1972, 1974, 1982-1991). Magarian stepped down as head coach prior to the 1992 season and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Smith. Smith continued the winning ways, guiding the Oakers to seven state championships from 1992 to 1998. In 2006 the Coventry Girls soccer team won the state championships also.