Calallen High School

Calallen High School

"The Pride of Texas"
Address
4001 Wildcat Dr.
Corpus Christi, TX, Nueces, 78410
USA
Information
Type Public High school
School district Calallen ISD
Superintendent Arturo Almendarez, Ed.D.
Principal Yvonne Marquez-Neth
Grades 9-12
Number of students ~1,212 as of September 27, 2013
Color(s) Maroon, White         
Song Hail to Calallen
Fight song Tiger Rag
Sports Football, Baseball, Softball, Basketball, Track and Field, Tennis, Volleyball, Swimming, Soccer, Golf
Mascot Willie the Wildcat
Nickname The Wildcats/Lady Cats
Affiliations University Interscholastic League 5A Classification
Website Official Calallen HS Website

Calallen High School is a public high school serving grades 9–12. The school is located in the Calallen Independent School District in northwest Corpus Christi, Texas. The school is known for its Advanced Placement program, which ranks in the top 5 percent in the state of Texas. The school is also known for its high athletic success in football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and the Pride of Calallen Wildcat Band.

Background

Calallen's name comes from Calvin Joseph (Cal) Allen (1859–1922), a prominent early rancher. Allen owned a 4,000-acre (16 km2) cattle ranch on which the Calallen Independent School District is now located. Allen donated land to the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Rail Line as right-of-way; in exchange, the railroad agreed to place a depot on Allen's property. Allen then subdivided the land adjacent to the depot and established a townsite there. The town was named Calvin until it was discovered that another community in Texas already had that name. Founded in 1910, Calallen was annexed by the city of Corpus Christi in 1970.[1]

Athletics

Calallen High School is known for its traditionally strong athletic programs, especially football, which has played in the state semifinals ten times and in the state finals one time (2005 - Lost to Hebron High School 28-0). Football coach Phil Danaher is only the fourth in Texas high school football history to win more than 300 games.

While football is the best known program from Calallen, it is not the only successful athletic program. The Calallen baseball team has won three state championships in 2000, 2005, and 2008. The baseball team is coached by Steve Chapman. He has had 26 seasons with the Wildcats and has accumulated over 600 career victories.

The Wildcats have also won the state championship in Girls Basketball (1990), and Girls Cross Country (1991).

Amy Acuff, the three-time Olympian and multiple National Championship winner, attended Calallen High School.

Sidney Flores also went on to win state in shot-put in 2007 and is at the University of Houston for Track.

Powerlifter Stephen Rios was first to win a state championship (2008). He went on to compete in USA Powerlifting to become a national champion (2008), and later that year became world champion (2008) in the International Powerlifting Federation.

Calallen is designated by the University Interscholastic League as a 5A high school for interscholastic competitions.

The school mascot is the Wildcat, and the school colors are Maroon and White.

Traditions

There are several traditions among the Calallen student body.

"Tiger Rag" is the Calallen fight song. It is played by the Pride of Calallen Wildcat Marching Band at pep rallies and football games.

"Hail to Calallen" serves as the school's alma mater song. At the conclusion of every pep rally, the senior class forms a circle on the gymnasium floor, interlocks their hands, and sings the song. It is set to the tune of "The Bells of St. Mary's".

The Spirit Stick is a reward for the most spirited class, given out at each pep rally. Each class (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) take turns doing the school's Victory cheer. Whichever class is the loudest is awarded the Spirit Stick.

Senior Dress-Up Day takes place on the Friday before Halloween every year. This tradition features the senior class, who dress up in costume and perform skits during an assembly. In recent years, memorable costumes have included the Village People, Stepford Wives, Batman Crew, the Blue Man Group, Cindy Lou-Who & The Grinch, the cast of Saved by the Bell, and the characters from the movie Zoolander.

Student activities

Each summer, many Calallen students participate in the Sea City Work Camp program. The program locates underprivileged individuals in the Corpus Christi area with particularly unfortunate housing situations. Teams of students and adults repair and restore these project houses over the course of a week.

Also, the bi-annual Europe trip, sponsored by Mrs. Jodi Ferguson and Mr. Steven James, is quickly becoming a hallowed tradition among Calallen juniors and seniors. Every two years the two teachers take a group of fifty or so students to the Old World.

Calallen Band

Calallen High School's band program is made up of about 150 students, under the direction of Craig Ewing, with assistance from Jeffery Valperts, Glenn Herbst, and Christopher Ross. The band is known for its complex drill and its consistently challenging performance repertoires. The band program's "Percussion Theater" was awarded the TECA state title in '07, '08, '09, '11, '12, and '14 while the program's "Percussion Ensemble" was awarded the state title in '13, meaning overall the program's Percussion ensembles has won a state title 7 times out of the past 8 years. The band's Winterguard was awarded the TECA state title 5 times with the most recent title being in 2014.

Calallen Percussion Theater and Calallen Percussion Ensemble

The Calallen Percussion Theater is a program mentored by Jeffery Valperts in the winter season with tryouts at the end of the fall semester. The Calallen Percussion Theater and Calallen Percussion Ensemble has been awarded a combined 7 TECA State Titles in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Calallen Percussion Theater shows since 2007

Calallen Percussion Ensemble shows

Calallen Winterguard

The Calallen Winterguard is a program that takes place in the winter season.. The Calallen Winterguard has been awarded 5 state titles with the recent title being in 2014.

Calallen Winterguard shows since 2011

Band History

Calallen Band: 2010-2011

For the 2010 show "Deja View", the band competed in the Lakeshore Marching Festival at Mathis HS, U.I.L. Region 14 Marching Contest at Calallen HS, and USSBA Marching Band Championships at the Woodlands, TX (near Houston). The band was awarded "KIII-TV Band of the Week" the first week of the football season. At the Lakeshore Marching Festival, the band received 2 awards; Best Percussion in Class 4A and Best Drum Majors in Class 4A. At the U.I.L. Region 14 Marching Contest, they received a Superior Rating (1st Division) from the judges. The Calallen band also marched exhibition at the 3A Area E Marching Contest (Regions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 28) hosted at Calallen HS. The Calallen band competed their last competition of the 2010 season at the USSBA Marching championships at the Woodlands, receiving 3rd place in 4A. The Calallen band performed "Deja View" for the last time at their last football game of the season against CC Ray at Calallen HS.

Calallen Band: 2011-2012

The 2011-2012 show "A Hero's Journey" was the first time the band did something different from previous traditions, expressing a story in the show music and drill. The 2011 show is based on the 2010 L.D. Bell HS band show "Honor: We Will Remember", featuring Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber as the ballad. The band was awarded "KIII-TV Band of the Week" the first week of the football season. For this show, the band competed at Bands of America located the Woodlands, near Houston, the Lakeshore Marching Festival at Mathis HS, the U.I.L. Region 14 Marching Contest at Calallen HS, the 4A U.I.L. Area G Marching Contest at Calallen HS, and finally the 4A U.I.L. State Marching Competition at the Alamodome in San Antonio. At Bands of America, the band was awarded 2nd place in Class 2A. At the Lakeshore Marching Festival, they received Best Percussion in Class 4A, Best Drum Majors in Class 4A, Runner up Colorguard in Class 4A, Best Band in Class 4A, and the Grand Champions in 4A/5A overall. At the U.I.L. Region 14 Marching Contest, the Calallen band received a Superior Rating (1st Division) from the judges which qualified the band to compete at the 4A U.I.L. Area G Marching Contest. From there, they competed in Prelims and received 2nd place overall and advanced to Area Finals along with Veterans Memorial HS, Alice HS, Floresville HS, H.M. King HS, Victoria East HS, and Roma HS. From there, the band was awarded Area Champions of the competition and made their twelfth appearance to the State Marching Contest along with Roma HS (2nd place) and Alice HS (3rd place) and H.M. King being the Alternate band (4th place). From there the Calallen band competed against 24 other bands at the U.I.L. State Marching Contest, making 17th place. The band performed the show "A Hero's Journey" for the last time at Calallen's first playoff game against Mercedes HS.

Calallen Band: 2012-2013

The 2012-2013 show "Once Upon a Time" is an interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood, featuring clarinet soloist Kristen Kunkel playing an excerpt of Salvation is Created by Chesnokov as the ballad. The band competed in the HEB Marching Festival on October 6, 2012 in Hurst, TX (located between Dallas/Fort Worth), scoring 5th place in 4A Division with 9th place overall in pre-lims[2] and 8th place in finals.[3] The band also competed in the Lake Shore Marching Festival on October 13, 2012 at Mathis HS, and was awarded Runner-Up Color Guard in 4A, Best Drum Majors in 4A, Best Percussion in 4A, Best 4A Band, and Grand Champions. The Calallen band competed in the U.I.L. Region 14 Marching Contest on October 20, 2012 at Calallen HS, and received a Superior Rating from the judges (1st Division).[4] The Calallen band also hosted and marched exhibition at the U.I.L. 3A Area (Regions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 28) Marching Contest on October 27, 2012. The band ended their show "Once Upon A Time" by competing at Bands of America Super Regionals on November 3, 2012 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX where the band placed 4th in the 2A Division. The Calallen Band was also awarded KIII-TV's Blitz Band of The Week against CC King on the week of October 7–13, 2012, setting a current record number of 39,000 votes.[5] On November 4, 2012, the Calallen band was nominated for "Band of the Year" since they were one of the bands who won "Band of the Week". They won the award against 9 other bands, making the Calallen Band the first inaugural KIII-TV Blitz Band of The Year.[6] Late in the school year assistant high school director Brett Orr announced that 2012-2013 would be his last year with the Calallen Band Program.

Calallen Band: 2013-2014

The 2013-2014 show "Dmitri" is based on the music of Dimitri Shostakovich along with the 1996 and 2002 Phantom Regiment programs, and also featured tuba soloist Casey Packard playing excerpts from Shostakovich's Ballet Suite No. 4. The band received new marching uniforms and Jeffery Valperts, who has previously been with the Calallen band program from 2004-2007 took over as assistant band director for Calallen High School, replacing Brett Orr. The Calallen band was nominated for "KIII-TV Band Of The Week" for the week of September 23–27 but fell short to Alice HS. The band competed at the "Tournament of Bands" at Gregory-Portland HS and received Best Percussion, Best Colorguard, Best 4A Band and Grand Champions in all classifications. The band has also competed at the 7th annual Lakeshore Marching Festival at Mathis HS and received Runner-Up Drum Majors, Best Percussion, Best Colorguard, Best 4A Band, and Grand Champions in all classifications making it the 5th time the Calallen band has received Grand Champions at the Lakeshore Marching Festival out of the past 7 years. The Calallen band hosted and competed at the UIL Region 14 Marching Contest and received a Superior rating (1st division) from the judges which rewarded the band to advance to the Area level. This also marked the 13th consecutive Superior rating the Calallen band has received. From there, the Calallen band hosted and competed at Area Prelims and received 2nd place overall advancing to Area Finals. From there, the band received 2nd place and advanced to the UIL State Marching Contest along with Alice HS (1st place), Brennan HS (3rd place) and Roma HS (4th place), with Floresville HS being the Alternate for state (5th place). Before competing at State, the Calallen band competed at Bands of America Super Regionals at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX and received 4th place in Class 2A and 56th place overall. On November 5, 2013, the Calallen band made their 13th appearance and 3rd consecutive state year at the U.I.L State Marching Contest at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX and received 25th place out of 28 bands. The Calallen band performed "Dmitri" for the last time at Calallen's last football game for the regular season against Victoria East HS on November 8, 2013. On June 2, 2014, it was announced that middle school director and brass tech Alonzo Martinez will no longer be a director for the Calallen band program after the 2013-2014 school year.

Calallen Band: 2014-2015

The 2014-2015 Calallen band marching show, titled "Crazy", is based loosely on the 2012 Calallen Percussion Theater show with the same name. Arranged by Daniel Montoya Jr., "Crazy" features music from Psycho by Herrmann, Nimrod by Elgar, Crazy in Love by Beyoncé, and Michael Daugherty. Drum Majors for the 2014-2015 school year will be Wes Brewer, Tyler Marek, and Casey Packard. They will all be the first male drum majors since the 2009-2010 school year (Head-Nolan Trevino). On July 2, it was announced that the new middle school Calallen band director and brass tech to replace former band director Alonzo Martinez is Christopher Ross. On October 4, 2014, the Calallen band went to the Gregory Portland Tournament of Bands and received Runner-up Colorguard, 1st place drumline, 1st place drum majors, Best 5A band and Grand Champions of the whole competition. On October 11, 2014, the Calallen band went to the 8th annual Lakeshore Marching Festival at Mathis HS and received 1st place drumline, 1st place drum majors, Best 5A Band, and 2nd place overall. This is the first time since the 2010 show "Deja View" the Calallen band did not receive the grand champions award at the Lakeshore Marching Festival. On October 12, 2014, the band was nominated for KIII-TV's "Band of the Week" against Gregory Portland High School, and won the award which was presented on October 17, 2014, at the pep rally at Calallen. On October 18, 2014, the Calallen band hosted and competed at the UIL Region 14 contest and received their 14th consecutive Superior rating. On October 25, 2014, the Calallen band hosted and marched in exhibition at the 4A Area E Marching Contest. October 31, 2014 was the last time the band performed the 2014 show "Crazy". They performed at Bands of America Super Regional at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX during the day and received 8th place in Class 2A, and 57th place overall, and that night they performed at Calallen's last regular game of the season against Victoria East HS. On November 10, 2014, the band was nominated for KIII-TV'S "Band of the Year" since they won "Band of the Week". They went against 9 other bands, but fell short to the award as H.M King HS was crowned 2014 KIII-TV'S "Band of the Year".

Calallen marching band shows since 1999

Band Directors

Current Calallen band directors

Past Calallen band directors

Drum Majors Since 2004

Year Head Assistant Alternate
2004 Amanda Garcia Jennifer Larsen Stephanie Bridgeman
2005 Amanda Garcia Lizette Lopez Amanda Deaton
2006 Amanda Deaton Chealsie Carasco Lynsey Lopez
2007 Mariel Bustmante Thomas Eaves Sean Slusher
2008 Thomas Eaves Lynsey Lopez Nolan Trevino
2009 Nolan Trevino Maire Bustamante Kelly Curtiss
2010 Maire Bustamante Rheana Flores Chyanna Nelson
2011 Chyanna Nelson Rheana Flores Angelica Martinez-Mayorga
2012 Chyanna Nelson Heather Packard Lauren Pruski
2013 Heather Packard Mercedes Rivera Lianna Peña
2014 Wes Brewer Tyler Marek Casey Packard
2015 TBA TBA TBA

Notable alumni

External links

References

  1. ↑ Robeau, Sally. "About/History". Calallen ISD. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "HEB Marching Contest 2012 Official Pre-Lims Results" (PDF). LD Bell. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "HEB Marching Contest 2012 Official Finals Results" (PDF). LD Bell. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. ↑ "Official UIL Results". UIL. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Calallen Wildcats: Blitz Band of The Week". KIII TV. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "Blitz "Band of The Year": Calallen Wildcats". KIII-TV. Retrieved 10 November 2012.

Coordinates: 27°51′26.3″N 97°38′8.8″W / 27.857306°N 97.635778°W