Lake Highlands High School
Lake Highlands High School | |
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J.J. Pearce High School, Plano Senior High School, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas | |
Website | Official school website |
Lake Highlands High School (LHHS) is a secondary school serving grades 9–12 in the
History
The first two schools in the Lake Highlands community were Lake Highlands Elementary School which, hosted grades 1-4, and Wallace Elementary, which housed grades 5-8, as the original high school building was under construction in 1959. It would later become Lake Highlands Jr. High School when the current campus on Church Road was opened (albeit under construction) in 1964, with the class of 1970 being the first to graduate from the new campus. The 1978 made for television film Cotton Candy (film) was shot at the high school. The film was both directed and produced by Ron Howard.
On May 16, 1983, Lake Highlands High School was the site of a fatal armed robbery when Billy Conn Gardner (1943-1995) entered the school's office, shot and fatally wounded 64-year-old cafeteria supervisor Thelma Row, and stole $1,600 in cash. Gardner was sentenced to death for the crime and was executed by lethal injection in 1995.[2][3]
On May 30, 2021, valedictorian Paxton Smith replaced her approved speech to the graduating class to attack the limitations on abortion in Texas Senate Bill 8 of the 87th legislature, a heartbeat bill signed by the governor earlier that month.[4][5]
Academics
In 2002, the school received a
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
The school
Under coach Jackie Russell, the school won its first state title in 1964 in Class 2A Cross Country. Russell's cross country squads would repeat in 1965 in Class 3A and in 1966.[7]
The school's football team has been in the UIL regional and state playoffs numerous times, and won the class 5A state championship in 1981. The school has won district championships in baseball over 20 times since 1964.[citation needed]
The school has also won several district titles in boys Basketball including winning the 1968 and 2023 State Championships in Class 3A and 6A, respectively.
Boys golf won the Class 5A Team State Championship in 1988.[8]
The powerlifting team won Texas High School Powerlifting Association State Championships in 1982, 1983 and 1987.[9] The school won National High School Powerlifting Championships in 1983 and 1986.[10]
As the second high school in the Richardson Independent School District, the Wildcats maintained a long standing rivalry with the
Opened in 1969 as "Lake Highlands Stadium", RISD's Wildcat-Ram Stadium is located on the western border of the campus. The stadium is shared with
The Multi-Purpose Activity Center ("MAC") was completed in 2021 as part of the renovation of the entire campus. The 78,000 square foot facility includes an 80 yard indoor practice field and 24,000 square feet for offices, locker rooms, weight room and sport support areas.[12]
Band
The school is the home of the "Wildcat Band", which consists of the Wildcat Marching Band, Jazz Band, several Concert Bands (including Concert, Symphonic, and Wind Ensemble), Winterguard, Percussion Program, Symphony Orchestra, and puts on a yearly Musical. The Symphonic Band made its first trip to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in December 1971. Later that school year, the band was selected as the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Honor Band and performed at the TMEA convention in February 1973. In 2021, the Marching Band was ranked as the top marching band in Richardson ISD, for the first time in the school’s history, after being named Grand Champion at the Midlothian Marching Showcase.[citation needed]
Dance team
The school is home of the "Wildcat Wranglers", one of the few high school
The school is also the home of the "Highlandettes", a Texas-style dance squad. They have performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade numerous times, as well as at many Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars, and Dallas Mavericks games. They have also danced in Dublin, Ireland for the St. Patrick's Day parade; in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii, London, England; and Italy.
Notable alumni
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2018) |
- Amy Acker - actress
- Erin Aldrich - track and field athlete, high jumper in 2000 Summer Olympics
- Nicole Bilderback - actress
- Paul Broome - Major League Soccer player
- Josh Carter - basketball guard ; Texas A&M University, Maccabi Ashdod B.C.
- University of Illinoisbasketball forward
- Marcus Coleman - former NFL safety for New York Jets, Houston Texans, and Dallas Cowboys
- John A. Davis - film director, writer, animator, voice actor and composer
- Phil Dawson - NFL kicker; Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns
- Matt Dunigan - CFL Hall of Famer
- Morgan Fairchild - Emmy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actress
- George Gimarc - local radio personality
- Merton Hanks - former NFL safety for San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks
- The Bachelor
- Gibby Haynes - musician, lead singer for rock band Butthole Surfers
- C.B. Hudson - lead guitarist of rock band Blue October
- Justin Leonard - professional golfer, 1997 British Open champion
- Scott Livingstone - former MLB player
- Lusine - Electronic musician
- Sandra Lynch - first female judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- Scoot McNairy - actor[13]
- Anastasia Muñoz - voice actress affiliated with Funimation
- Marshall Newhouse - NFL lineman, Green Bay Packers
- Reggie Newhouse - NFL wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals
- University of Texas and Houston Texans
- Darvis Patton - Olympic track athlete
- offensive tackle for Cincinnati Bengals
- Rich Phillips - radio personality, SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket
- Detroit Drive, member of Arena Football Hall of Fame
- James F. Reilly - NASA space shuttle astronaut, geologist
- St. Vincent - indie rock musician, real name Annie Clark
- Mark Salling - actor and singer on television show Glee
- Thomas Sleeper - classical composer
- Detron Smith - NFL running back (1996–2003) with Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts
- Granger Smith - country singer
- Wade Smith - Memphis University and NFL offensive tackle
- Matt Stover - NFL kicker with New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts
- Jordan Tata - former MLB player
- Nick Thurman - NFL defensive end with New England Patriots
- Andre Tillman - Miami Dolphins tight end (1975–1978)
- Don Welchel - former MLB pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles[14]
- Kim Wozencraft -y author
- Owen Temple - singer/songwriter
References
- ^ a b c "LAKE HIGHLANDS HS". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- ^ "Killer of a Cafeteria Worker Is Executed in Texas". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 17, 1995.
- ^ Christina Hughes Babb (June 19, 2017). "The lunch lady murder, Lake Highlands High School". The Lake Highlands Advocate.
- ^ Talia Richman (June 2, 2021). "Lake Highlands valedictorian's speech against Texas 'heartbeat bill' goes viral". The Dallas Morning News.
- ^ "Abortion: Texas teen attacks new law in high school graduation speech". BBC News. June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2009.
- ^ Toler, Carol (April 15, 2024). "LHHS Alumni Association presents Distinguished Service Awards". Lake Highlands.
- ^ "Golf Historical Archives — University Interscholastic League (UIL)".
- ^ http://www.thspa.us/documents/team%20champions.pdf
- ^ Richard, Darryl. "Thomas Jefferson -- Plano East Bi - District Show Reaches Act 3: Powerlifting." The Dallas Morning News, May 13, 1986, Page 9B.
- ^ "Wildcat-Ram Stadium - Dallas, Texas".
- ^ "Lake Highlands High School Addition and MAC Completed". 7 April 2021.
- ^ "Watch LH grad Scoot McNairy in AMC's new drama". The Lake Highlands Advocate. June 3, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ "Don Welchel - Baseball Stats - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com.