Gilroy High School

Coordinates: 36°59′46″N 121°34′32″W / 36.99611°N 121.57556°W / 36.99611; -121.57556

Gilroy High School is a co-educational public school located in Gilroy, California, that serves the city of Gilroy. It is one of two public high schools in the city and has an approximate enrollment of 1,500 students.

Athletics

The school's mascot is the mustang and all athletic teams representing the school go by the mustang nickname. The school's colors are blue, white, and gold. All of the school's athletic teams compete in the Central Coast Section (CCS).

The wrestling team at Gilroy High School has had the most success, winning seven straight CCS championships.^[1] Gilroy also placed second in state in 2008. The team has produced six state champions in the span of six years. Jesse Delgado, who wrestled at Gilroy High School and chose to attend the University of Illinois, has gone on to have much success in his college career winning the NCAA title at 125 pounds in 2013 and 2014.

The boys' soccer team has been successful in recent seasons, winning the Tri-County Athletic League (TCAL) title in 2006–2007, while also winning the 2006–2007 CCS championship. Gilroy defeated Bellarmine College Preparatory in the CCS final, 2-0 and ended the season ranked among the top 12 teams in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).^[2]

The football team has also had a run of success recently, advancing to the CCS championship game in 2008 while winning the TCAL title in the same year.

The Girls Varsity Field Hockey team won the MTAL League 9 years in a row and has also been undefeated in league play for 9 years. Starting the 2010–11 season they will be joining the BVAL in the Mount Hamilton Division. The 2008–09 and 2009–10 teams both reached the CCS semi-finals. The 2010–2011 team reached the CCS championship game.

The Boys Varsity Track and Field team won the CCS team championship in 2011

Incidents

On October 3, 1994, a gang-related fight occurred on campus involving Carlos Vaca, Marcos Valdez, Pavel Zapata, and Gerardo Avila. The unrest began when Carlos was pushed into Marcos during an already active fight. The fight climaxed when Carlos was stabbed with a five-inched blade repeatedly during the fight. The wounds he sustained were fatal and later died from his injuries. Marcos, Pavel, and Gerado were all charged with his murder.^[3]

In 2009, the school faced an violent outbreak of students during their lunch while reviewers from the California School Recognition Program were on campus for consideration of awarding them for distinguished academic performance. There was already 5 police officers on campus because of an earlier incident during the schools brunch involving two members of rival gangs. The fight started when one of the members threw oatmeal at the other. When campus security couldn't control the situation, an administrator called the police. Both were arrested. Later during lunch another fight started. This time it involved multiple people. It quickly escalated when students began throwing food at each other and began aimlessly punching other. 30 police officers in were needed to stop the riot. The school was released early in order to prevent further disruptions. At least 7 students were arrested that day.^[4]

In 2009, Alberto Gomez Vicuna was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 14-year old girl. Vicuna was an Algebra I teacher and worked out of room P-5 according the schools website. The victim did not attend Gilroy High School, but met Vicuna through an a social networking site know as Tagged.com. Vicuna posed as a 15 year old boy and had many profiles set up with at least 100 female friends, most of them being 13–17 years old. The Gilroy Unified School District placed Vicuna on indefinite administrative leave and his school profile was removed from the GHS website. Police still haven't confirmed if the sex was consensual.^[5]

Notable alumni

• Jeff Garcia (class of 1989): quarterback in the CFL (1994–1998), NFL (1999–2009), and UFL (2010); four-time CFL West Division All-Star and four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection; was quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1999 to 2003^[6]
• Chris Gimenez (class of 2001): Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder (2009–present)^[7]
• Charles Gubser (class of 1932): Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 10th congressional district from 1953 to 1974; taught at the school (then known as Gilroy Union High School) from 1939 to 1943^[8]
• Robert Guerrero (class of 2001): professional boxer^[9]
• Alfonso Motagalvan: professional soccer player
• John Ordway (class of 1968): American ambassador
• Kevin Rubio (class of 1986): filmmaker writer Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Cartoon Network Ben 10: Omniverse (2010–present), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Troops (1997)^[10]
• Jesse Delgado (class of 2010): collegiate wrestler at University of Illinois. He is a two-time (2013, 2014) NCAA National Wrestling champion at the 125 pound weight class.^[11]
• Jason Conrad (class of 2008): professional basketball player^[12]

See also

• Gilroy Unified School District
• Live Oak High School
• Silver Creek High School
• Watsonville High School
• San Benito High School

External links

• Gilroy High School Website
• Gilroy Unified School District Website

References