Midway High School

Midway High School
Address
8200 Mars Dr Waco, Texas, 76712-6575 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
School district	Midway ISD
Principal	Jeff Gasaway
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2107[1]  (2010)
Color(s)	Red, White & Blue
Athletics conference	UIL Class AAAA
Mascot	Panthers/Pantherettes
Website	Midway High School website

Midway High School is a 5A high school in the Midway Independent School District, which serves the Waco, Texas area. Although the school is located in southwestern Waco, most students live in the suburbs of Woodway and Hewitt. Up until the fall of 2003, Midway High School was located on Hewitt Drive in Hewitt. The newly constructed building is a few thousand feet away, in the city limits of Waco. The previous high school is now used as Midway Middle School, which is in the city limits of Hewitt.

The ethnicity breakdown of Midway is approximately: 64.8% White, 17.1% Hispanic, 11.6% African American, 4.3% Asian, 1.0% Native American, 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1.1% two or more ethnicities. In 2013, the Texas Education Agency rated Midway High School as "Met Standard" with two distinctions earned for Academic Achievement in ELA and Student Progress.

Athletics

Boys and Girls Basketball Midway High School and its late superintendent were known as pioneers in the development of girl's basketball in the state. The M.T. Rice Holiday Tournament, which features elite boys and girls teams from across the state and country, is one of the oldest and largest basketball tournaments in the state. Under the direction of legendary coach Reggie Davis, Midway won the 4A State girl's basketball championship in 1994. Davis is one of the few coaches in Texas history to guide both a boys team (the Midway Boys in 1973) and a girls team (on multiple occasions) to the state tournament.

Track & Field In 2008, the Midway High School mile relay team won the 4A state championship with a time of 3:16.09. In 2011, Annie Rhodes won gold in Girls Pole Vault at a height of 12'6", and she placed second in 2012 and 2013. Head Boys Coach is Kenneth Wiethorn. Head Girls Coach is Ronny Boles.

Swimming In 2010, Midway's Will Chandler won state gold in diving. Emily Neubert won back-to-back state gold in the 100yd Butterfly and 50yd Freestyle in 2010 and 2011. Head Swim Coach is Dan Marlin.

State Titles

• Baseball - ^[2]
  • 2003(4A)
• Girls Basketball - ^[3]
  • 1955(B), 1969(2A), 1973(2A), 1975(3A), 1976(3A), 1994(4A), 2009(4A)
• Girls Cross Country - ^[4]
  • 1982(4A)
• Boys Soccer - ^[5]
  • 2002(4A)
• Softball - ^[6]
  • 1998(4A), 2010(4A)
• Girls Track - ^[7]
  • 1975(3A)
• Volleyball - ^[8]
  • 2007(4A)

State Runner-Ups: Baseball - 2005(4A), Girls Basketball - 1977(3A), 1990(4A), Girls Soccer - 2004(4), Softball - 1996(4A), Football - 2011(4A)

Notable Programs

Midway High School added a new robotics program in 2010. The team competed at the FIRST Tech Challenge World Competition in May of 2013.

The MHS Astronomy Club, established in 2011, has already received abundant media attention for the portable, inflatable planetarium. The only school district planetarium in Central Texas was a grant from the Midway ISD Education Foundation.

Although FFA and Agriculture studies are not new to Midway, the growing program is adding a renovated ag barn in 2012. The MHS ag program has tripled in size in just a couple of years.

Midway has a rich history of success in Speech and Debate programs. Midway Speech and Debate was nationally competitive throughout the 1980s and 1990s, qualifying students for the National Forensic League national tournament consistently. In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Midway won the UIL State tournament in 1995. In policy debate, Midway won the UIL State tournament in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 2000. In Informative Speaking, Midway won the UIL State tournament in 1993. In Persuasive Speaking, Midway won the UIL State tournament in 1964, 1965, and 1993. The Speech and Debate team at MHS recently restarted in 2009, and has seen a tremendous amount of success since. In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Midway won their UIL District tournament in 2010. In policy debate, Midway took first place in their UIL district in 2012 and 2013, reached the quarterfinals of the UIL State tournament in 2013, qualified teams to the Texas Forensic Association state tournament in 2012 and 2013, and won the National Forensic League Yellow Rose District tournament in 2013, qualifying Blake Stump and Bryan Cleaver to the national tournament. In both persuasive and informative extemp, Midway has taken first place in their UIL district every year since 2011. Midway Speech and Debate is currently coached by Susan Jones and consults Dr. Matthew Gerber, Baylor University Director of Debate.

The Orchestra program is less than a decade old, but has achieved international recognition with an invitation to perform at the 2012 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Ill, for which only seven orchestras are invited internationally to perform for an audience of over 200 music educators. In 2012, MHS Orchestra was named a national finalist for the American Prize in Orchestra Performance, placing second behind a school from New York. The group submitted a recording of more than thirty minutes of music to compete against any other high school in the nation, as judged by a panel. MHS Orchestra Director Dr. Beau Benson was also an individual finalist in the Orchestra Conducting category. The MHS Camerata ranked fifth in the state amongst all classifications in 2011-12. The orchestra program consistently generates All State Musicians, as well as a Young Master (Brendan Carrillo-2012), and Carnegie Hall Performers (Haeun and Hayoung Moon-2013). The MISD orchestra program runs the Central Texas Opera Festival and Director Dr. Beau Benson wrote a custom score to Nosferatu, now used by multiple schools in the state.

Lone Star Cup

In 2012, Midway ranked in the top 10 of UIL's Lone Star Cup 4A rankings for the fifth year in a row, before moving to 5A in the 2012-13 school year.^[9] The Texas Lone Star Cup is given by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and is based on a school district’s combined academic and athletic achievements.

In addition to strong athletics and academics, Midway was named "One of the Best Communities for Music Education" by the NAMM Foundation four straight years.^[10]

Midway High School on television

Midway High School was the setting of the 2006 teen drama series Texas Cheer Moms on The Learning Channel.^[11]

Notable alumni athletes

• Brian Barkley. Major League Baseball relief pitcher^[12]
• Zach Duke, 2001 graduate, Major League Baseball pitcher - Cincinnati Reds^[13]
• Casey Fossum, 1996 graduate, Major League Baseball pitcher - New York Mets^[14]
• Ryan Harlan, 1999 graduate, 2011 USA Outdoors runner-up; 2006 USA Outdoor runner-up; 2007 NACAC Champion; Two-time USA Indoor champion (’05, ’06); 2004 NCAA champion; 2000 National Junior champion^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Midway ISD Website
• Panther Nation News site