South Eugene High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon.
It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. In 1915, Eugene High moved to a new, larger facility at 250 W. 17th Ave.
By 1943, the Eugene School District had outgrown the cramped old high school, and voters had approved a bond measure to build a new facility. World War II and other factors delayed construction for a decade, but the current building at 400 E. 19th Ave. was completed and occupied in September 1953. The old high school served as Woodrow Wilson Junior High School until 1967, and was torn down six years later.
In the fall of 1957, Eugene High was renamed South Eugene High School, when rival North Eugene High School opened in the River Road area north of the city.
South Eugene High School's current principal is Randy Bernstein.
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[edit] Notable alumni and students
- Sam Adams, mayor-elect of Portland, Oregon
- Cecil Andrus (Class of 1949), Governor of Idaho (1971-77) and United States Secretary of the Interior (1977-81)
- John Beckett (Class of 1912), football star at Oregon and Mare Island, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
- Richard Brautigan (Class of 1953), counterculture author and poet (Trout Fishing in America)
- Sean Flannery (Class of 1992), saxophonist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
- 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 (If I Were A Carpenter)[1]
- Nate Jaqua (Class of 2000), MLS soccer player for the Houston Dynamo[2]
- Mat Kearney, acoustic singer and songwriter
- John Kitzhaber (Class of 1965), Oregon Governor (1995-2003)
- Dustin Lanker (Class of 1993), keyboardist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
- Julie Payne (Class of 1964), actor
- 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
- Tracy Robertson (Class of 1984), Grammy-nominated musician now known as Tracy Bonham
- The Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers (Class of 2001), punk rock musicians[3]
- Stephen Stageberg (Class of 1965), distance running standout, USA track and field team member, Pan American Games medalist
- Corin Tucker (Class of 1990), lead singer of Sleater-Kinney
[edit] Sports
South Eugene High School has had a successful sports history. Dating back to a state baseball championship in 1943, South has won titles most notably in boys' basketball, cross country, track and field, and gymnastics (which has been discontinued), as well as in tennis, soccer, and swimming. Due to the OSAA redistricting policies set in place in 2006, South Eugene, along with cross-town rival Sheldon, competes in a league with schools from as far away as Medford, three hours south of Eugene, a move that was initially unpopular among many students.
[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:
- 1973 cross country team first "all Nike" team in the world, ie first to all wear Nike shoes.
- Harry Johnson coached primarily cross country and track & field after starting his career coaching boys and girls gymnastics. He amassed 25 state championships in 3 sports over 15 years of coaching until he left South in 1977 to take over Nike's fledgling Athetics West post collegiate track program.
- John Gillespie coached at South and later UO 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.
- Members of the classes of '79, '80 and '81 set the national 24 hour relay record in the summer of 1979.
[edit] References
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