Fountain Valley High School

Fountain Valley High School

Address
17816 Bushard Street, Fountain Valley CA 92708 Fountain Valley, California
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1966
School district	Huntington Beach Union High School District
Principal	Chris Herzfeld
Grades	9–12
Color(s)	Gold and Blue
Team name	Barons
Website	http://fvhs.com

Fountain Valley High School (or FVHS) is a public high school in Fountain Valley, California. It was established in 1966 and is a part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District. It is notable for its rivalry with Edison High School, particularly during football season, in which both schools compete in the "Battle of the Bell".

The athletic teams are known as the Barons, and the school colors are blue and gold. The school had renovations to some of its buildings, which were sinking, starting in 2002. These renovations yielded new portable buildings in an area which was previously a parking lot. As of 2006, these semi-permanent portable buildings have been removed and replaced with permanent facilities. In March 2011, the track and football field were renovated. The dirt track has been replaced by a synthetic track and the field has been replaced with new natural grass.

For the first few years after opening, Fountain Valley High School had a larger student population than any other high school West of the Mississippi. This was due to the great exploits of its first principal, Dr. Paul Berger.^[1] During these years the school days were split in half with grades 9 and 10 coming during one half of the day, while 11 and 12th graders would come during the other half.

Midway through the 1997 film Wag the Dog, there is a short clip showing students in a high-school gym interrupting a basketball game by throwing shoes onto the gym floor. This scene was filmed at FVHS during Fall 1996 and utilized the 1997 graduating class as extras. If the clip is paused at the correct point, one can see the school's Alma mater hanging on the gym's wall.

In March 2005, the Fountain Valley High School drumline and band was filmed in Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" music video.^[2]

In April 2007, Fountain Valley High School was recognized as a California Distinguished School for the second consecutive time.

Academics

Advanced placement

Fountain Valley High School is known for a rigorous advanced placement (or AP) program which allows high school students to study college level course work. Nearly every AP course available is offered at FVHS and the students tend to score fairly well. Newsweek Magazine has annually ranked United States public high schools according to AP scores. Since the mid-90's, FVHS has ranked in the top 100 schools multiple times.

Sports

The school currently competes in the Sunset League and is a part of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). Among the numerous athletic programs at FVHS: baseball, football, girls' cross country teams have excelled in the past. In 2011 and 2012 the boys cross country team placed first in the Sunset league. Varsity, Junior Varsity and Frosh/Soph all placed first in their respective categories both years running. The boys Varsity Track and Field team also placed first in the Sunset League in 2011 and 2012. The football team won the CIF title in 1978 and 1988 along with numerous Sunset League titles. The baseball team captured CIF Championships in 1985, 1994, and 1995. In the latter two seasons, they ended up being ranked second in the nation. The girls' cross-country team has won the Sunset League title for each of the past three years, not to mention a 2005 CIF Championship. In addition, in 2007 the FVHS Swim Team won the title of Sunset League Champions. In 2012, the FV Dive Team won the CIF Champions and was undefeated all season. One of the most decorated extracurricular activities of Fountain Valley is their marching band. Known as the Fountain Valley Royal Regiment, they were the 2007 Western Band Association 4A Champions.^[3]

Fountain Valley High School also holds Five Counties Wrestling Championships, which is one of the biggest tournaments in the nation. The FV wrestling team has more than 20 Sunset League Champion Titles and 3 CIF Titles (1977, 1985 and 2015). During the 70's they were one of the top wrestling schools in California.

Tennis is also offered at the school and has been very successful within its league over the years. Junior Varsity, in particular, recently won first place three years in a row (2006, 2007, and 2008) going undefeated in 2008 and 2009.

Notable alumni

Glen Anderson, Wrestler: 2x NCAA Div II Champion (4x All American) Cal Poly SLO - NCAA Div II Wrestling Hall Of Fame^[4]
Summer Altice, Actress and Model
Nicholas Arciniaga, 2013 USA Marathon Champion ^[5]
Jack Babashoff, 1976 Olympics swimmer, silver medalist in 100 meter freestyle race
Shirley Babashoff, 2 time Olympics swimmer (1972 & 1976) 8 time medalist (6 Silvers & 2 Golds)
Gary Bohay, 1988 Olympic wrestler, Silver Medal 1989 World Championships (Freestyle) ^[6]
Craig Brewer, 1990, Director ^[7]
Carlos Briceno, Olympic Volleyball Player
Bryan Caldwell, Football player: Houston Oilers defensive end^[7]
Kimberly Cole, Singer
Blake Davis (baseball), Professional Baseball Player
David Denman, Actor
Steve Fifita, Retired NFL Football Player
Mike Freeman (American football),Retired NFL Football Player
Ryan Futagaki, Retired MSL Soccer Player
K. J. Gerard, Retired NFL Football Player
Mitch Halpern, Professional Boxing Referee
Emile Harry, Football player: Denver Broncos wide receiver, 1980 CIF Division I (Big Five Conference) Player of the Year^[8]
Luke Hudson, Retired Baseball player: Kansas City Royals pitcher^[9]
Casey Janssen – Class of 2000 – Baseball player: Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher^[10]
Lovieanne Jung, Olympic Softball Gold Medalist
Candie Kung, LPGA golfer^[11]
Paul La Blanc, Wrestler: N.A.I.A. All American, Vanguard University, Silver Medal 1983 Pan American Games (Sambo)^[12]
Brad Leggett, Football player: Seattle Seahawks center^[13]
Duval Love, Football player: New Orleans Saints offensive tackle^[14]
Ken Margerum, Football player: Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, San Jose State college football assistant coach^[15]
Cathy Marino, Olympic Kayaking
Omar Metwally, Class of 1992, Actor ^[16]
Barry Migliorini, Professional ABA Basketball Head Coach ^[17]
Steve Montgomery, retired Professional Baseball Player
Michelle Pfeiffer, Actress, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1978 Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant winner ^[18]
Kevin Romine, Baseball player: Boston Red Sox right fielder^[19]
Nick Scandone, Olympic Yachtsman
Lisa Marie Scott, Actress and Model
David Sias, Professional Soccer Player ^[20]
Andre Sommersell, Football player: Oakland Raiders linebacker, Mr. Irrelevant of the 2004 NFL Draft^[21]
Matt Stevens, Football player: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, UCLA college football radio analyst^[22]
Brett Stewart, Composer, Musician: Millennial Choirs and Orchestras ^[23]
Kelly Talavou, Football player: Baltimore Ravens
Chris Tillman, Baseball player: Baltimore Orioles pitcher ^[24]
Jasmine Tookes, Class of 2009, Model, Victoria's Secret Angel
CJ Wilson – Class of 1998 – Baseball player: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim starting pitcher ^[25]
Brian Van Holt, 1987, actor
Lance Zeno, Football Player
CeCe Cline, Actress, TV Producer
Tara Lynne Barr, 2011, Actress Bobcat Goldthwait's "God Bless America (film)"

References