Cooper High School (Abilene, Texas)

32°24′23″N 99°44′56″W / 32.4063°N 99.7488°W / 32.4063; -99.7488

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O.H. Cooper High School (commonly referred to as Abilene Cooper) is a public high school located in

The Cooper High School Volleyball Team won the state 4A championship in 1967, defeating San Antonio Harlandale 15–0; 11–15; 15–7.

Golf

The Cooper High School Golf Team won the 5A State Championship in 1982, 1983, and 1984.

The Cooper High School Tennis Team has made appearances at the Texas state competition 8 times in its history Archived 2007-11-10 at the Wayback Machine, ranking 5th in the state for all-time appearances in conference 5A. It competed in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992 and won the championship for three consecutive years in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Ricky Meyers won the state

Jana Hanks won the state singles title in 1975 and 1976, Susie Ingram and Julie Jones won the state doubles title in 1976, and Leanne Hill and Stephanie Burnam won the state doubles title in 1982. [2] Archived 2007-03-09 at the Wayback Machine

As of November, 2009, The Cooper Tennis Team is ranked 8th in the state in conference 4A.

Tennis State Championships

• Boys Singles
  • 1976 – Ricky Meyers (4A)
  • 1995 – Ryan Hughes (5A)
• Boys Doubles
  • 1982 – Scott & David Meyers (5A)
• Girls Singles
  • 1975 – Jana Hanks (4A)
  • 1976 – Jana Hanks (4A)
• Girls Doubles
  • 1976 – Susie Ingram & Julie Jones (4A)
  • 1982 – Leanna Hill & Stephanie Burnam (5A)
• Team Championships ^[13]
  • 1986 – lost to
    San Antonio Churchill High School
    3–10
  • 1987 – lost to
    Tyler Lee High School
    6–9
  • 1993 – def. Klein High School 9–2
  • 1994 – def.
    Houston Clear Lake High School
    15–3
  • 1995 – def. Plano High School 9–3

Baseball

Baseball teams from Cooper won the state championship game in 1987 and 1988.

Gymnastics

Cooper has won the following titles:

Gymnastics Championships

• Men^[14]
  • 1973 – Donovan Sparhawk(
    Parallel Bars
    )
  • 1975 – Steve Rutledge (Rings)
  • 1976 – Steve Rutledge (Rings)
  • 1978 – Larry Hanson (Floor)
  • 1979 – Team Champions: David Hardy (Floor), David Watson, (
    Parallel Bars), J.T. Fletcher (Pommels, Vault, High Bar
    , All-Around)
  • 1983 – Bobby Cluck (Pommels), David Henson (High Bar)
  • 1984 – David Henson (High Bar)
  • 1988 – Greg Joyner (Vault, High Bar)
  • 1989 – Chris Reese (Rings), Greg Joyner (Vault)
  • 1990 – Andrew Clamann (Pommels)
  • 1991 – Team Champions: Andrew Clamann (Pommels), Jimmy Chai Kong (Rings), Greg Clark (Parallel Bars)
  • 1992 – Team Champions: Landon King (Rings), Eddie Marentes (Parallel Bars)
  • 1993 – Landon King (Rings, Parallel Bars)
  • 2003 – Nate Dalo (Rings)
• Women[15]
  • 1978 – Cathy Cubine (Bars)
  • 1979 – Cathy Cubine (Beam, All-Around)
  • 1980 – Cathy Cubine (Bars, Floor, All-Around), Missy Urquhart (Vault)
  • 1981 – Missy Urquhart (Bars, Beam, Floor)

Football

Professional Players

Dominic Rhodes^[16] and Justin Snow^[17] were members of the 2007 NFL champion Indianapolis Colts.

Ray Berry played for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks from 1987 to 1993

Terry Orr played for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers from 1986 to 1993

Fine arts

Cooper enjoys a rich tradition of success in various branches of the fine and performing arts. 215 individuals have been named to the Texas All-State roster, with at least one Cooper student making All-State Choir, Band or Orchestra every year since 1971. Choir, Band, Orchestra, Art and Theater are all thriving on campus. One of Cooper's two feeder middle schools, Madison, has become the Abilene ISD magnet middle school for fine arts.

Band has a rich and proud history at Cooper High School. Often among the largest high school marching bands in Texas in the 1980s and 1990s, the band made frequent appearances at the State Marching Contest.^[18] The band marched in the 1990 Rose Parade,^[19] one of only a handful of Texas High School bands to have ever done so. The band is currently led by head director Clay Johnson, a former University of Oklahoma drum major who has directed the band since 2003, first as assistant for two years. Since 2005, three former Cooper Band members have been named drum major at Texas Tech University.

TMEA All-State Musicians

Cooper has had over 200 individuals be named to Texas All-State Bands, Choirs and Orchestras since 1971.^[20]

Band

• Piccolo – 4: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999
• Flute – 10: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1986, 1987 (2), 1993, 1997, 2000, 2001
• B♭ Clarinet – 15: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992 (2), 1993, 1994 (2), 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2012
• Bass Clarinet
  – 2: 1988, 2021
• Oboe – 5: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1996, 2023
• Bassoon – 3: 1972, 1974, 1975
• Alto Saxophone
  – 6: 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2018
• Baritone Saxophone
  – 1: 2006
• Cornet/Trumpet – 8: 1986 (2), 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2000
• Horn – 4: 1971, 1974, 2020, 2022
• Tenor Trombone – 14: 1986 (2), 1987 (2), 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995 (2), 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005
• Bass Trombone – 2: 1984, 1985
• Euphonium – 4: – 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008
• Tuba – 2: – 2009, 2010
• Percussion
  – 10: 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2019, 2023
• Harp – 1: 1972

Choir

• Soprano 1 – 8: 1975, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2003
• Soprano 2 – 20: 1975 (2), 1976, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1989 (2), 1995, 1998, 1999 (2), 2001, 2002, 2003 (3), 2004, 2005
• Alto 1 – 18: 1972, 1974, 1975 (2), 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 (3), 1989, 1992, 1996, 1997 (2), 1999, 2003
• Alto 2 – 13: 1975, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2005
• Tenor 1 – 12: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995
• Tenor 2 – 16: 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992 (2), 1993 (2), 2004, 2005, 2011
• Bass 1 – 11: 1977, 1982, 1985 (2), 1986, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2002, 2004 (2)
• Bass 2 – 10: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 (2), 1985, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1995

Orchestra

• Oboe - 1: 1974
• Violin 1 – 4: 1972, 1974, 1993, 1994
• Violin 2 – 2: 1973, 1974
• Cello – 5: 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1990
• String Bass – 7: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2001

Notable alumni

• Cory Aldridge, professional baseball player
• Randy Allen, Highland Park football coach
• Ray Berry, professional football player
• Bob Estes, professional golfer
• Jeff Ireland, former General Manager of the Miami Dolphins
• Dave Johnson, former professional baseball player
• Dowell Loggains, assistant coach, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans
• Jack Mildren, professional football player, Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma
• Terry Orr, professional football player
• Andrae Patterson, professional basketball player
• Dominic Rhodes, professional football player
• Justin Snow, professional football player
• Rawson Stovall, video game producer, author, and first nationally syndicated reviewer of video games
• Steven Stucky, Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer
• Bernie Tiede, convicted murderer, subject of movie Bernie
• Robert Sloan, former president, Baylor University

References

External links

• Cooper HS Website

See also

• Jack Mildren
• Forest Park High School (Beaumont, Texas)
• Post World War II Baby Boom
• Buzz Bissinger
• Friday Night Lights (film)
• Permian High School