Sun Valley High School (North Carolina)

Sun Valley High School is a public high school in Union County, North Carolina. Sun Valley is part of Union County Public Schools. It is located between Monroe and Indian Trail. The school's mascot is a Spartan.

History

Sun Valley was founded in 1961, prior to full racial integration of public schools in North Carolina. Integration had little effect at Sun Valley due to the predominant percentage of white students in this part of Union County. Integration of the schools in neighboring Mecklenburg County (the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System) led to white flight to Union County schools, primarily Sun Valley and its feeder elementary schools (Indian Trail, Shiloh, and Wesley Chapel). Two new high schools have recently been built in the western part of Union County, partially relieving the crowded conditions that had plagued Sun Valley High for many years.

Sports

• In 2008 Sun Valley Girls Cross Country Team was ranked first in the state of North Carolina.
• The Sun Valley Girls Cross Country Team won first place at the Union County meet in 2008, beating Weddington High School for the first time ever.
• The Sun Valley Spartans are in the 3A/4A Southern Carolina Conference.
• The boy's track and field team won the state 3A championship in 1987.
• The girl's track and field team won the 3A state championship for five consecutive years (1989–1993).
• The wrestling team won 3A state championship several times in the early 1990s.
• The boy's cross country team won the 3A state championship eight times between 1986 and 1999.
• The Sun Valley Girls Basketball team won the conference championship in 2005.
• The girls and boys cross-country teams won their conference championships in 2006.
• The girls winter track team were the state champions in the 4-by-8 relay.
• The girls volleyball team was 3rd in conference in the fall of 2003.
• The current head coach for football and athletic director is Coach Scott Stein.
• The current head tennis coach is Todd Clemons
• The tennis team were conference champions in 2006-2008. In 2010, the Spartans tennis team won their 4A conference and earned a playoff berth in the NCHSAA State Tournament.

Football

Sun Valley is known for their competitive football program in the Charlotte region. The Spartans have reached the NCHSAA Playoffs 4 years in a row. Prior to the 2009 season, Sun Valley was classified as a 3A team. However, they are now considered a 4A school.

Alumni

1976 graduate Terry White is the inventor of the word game, MAD GAB. As a member of the baseball team, he tried out word puzzles on teammates while on bus trips to other schools.

In 2009, 2003 graduate Katherine Southard was named Miss North Carolina

A 1970 graduate, Wanda Rushing, is author of a book titled: Memphis and the Paradox of Place: Globalization in the American South, published in 2009 by the University of North Carolina Press.

Theatre program

Sun Valley has had a small theatre program for years; however, it has been growing since its 2009-2010 season and has won a few NCTC awards, for excellence in acting female, Best Fight Scene and excellence in ensemble acting for The Long View, both shows The Audition and The Long View received superiors but neither moved on to the state level. In the 2010-2011 season at NCTC Sun Valley received another excellence in ensemble acting for And The Giants Fell and an innovative staging award for Life As A Techie Or Something Like It, Life As A Techie received a good rating whilst And The Giants Fell received an Excellent. Sun Valley has yet to move on to the next level in Competition.

External links

• Sun Valley High School website
• Sun Valley Athletic Booster Club