Blacksburg High School
Encyclopedia
Blacksburg High School is a high school
in the Montgomery County
public school division. The school serves the town of Blacksburg, Virginia
and surrounding areas of the county.
On February 13, 2010 following a snowstorm which dumped two feet of snow on the area, the gymnasium roof on the currently occupied Blacksburg High School suffered a catastrophic structural failure and collapsed, causing structural damage to other areas of the school. The school building was condemned and students attended night school on a split schedule with the Blacksburg Middle School students at their school for the remainder of the year. It was determined that repair costs would exceed $18million and would not be feasible given the age of the school so it was decided not to repair the building. Currently, Blacksburg High School is operating on a normal schedule out of the Blacksburg Middle School building on 3109 Prices Fork Road.
Plans have been approved to construct a new Blacksburg High School at 2409 Prices Fork Road behind the current Blacksburg Middle School and Bill Brown Football Stadium and is tentatively scheduled to be completed and occupied in the fall of 2013.
, which it had joined when the AA New River Valley District dissolved. Blacksburg has also captured the Wachovia
Cup, the VHSL's award for overall excellence in athletics for the academic years 1989-90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2008–09, and 2009-10. Blacksburg boys' soccer team has won eleven state championships (a Virginia state record) and was ranked #6 in the USA in 2007.
The 2002 and 2007 seasons resulted with 23 wins which is the record for second-most wins in a season in Virginia. Blacksburg is currently second for most consecutive wins with 64 from 1998 to 2001.
Additionally, Blacksburg holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak with 87 wins from 1998–2001. The 1999 season has the second-highest goal differential of any season with 103. The 1999 season also holds the record for most shutouts in a season with 18 and the lowest average goals scored against with 0.18 goals per game.
The Blacksburg Boys won the Nike Indoor Nationals 4xmile in 2010 (Matthew Howard, Quinn Hull, Zach Link, George Carter). Kathleen Stevens was awarded the 2010 school year Virginia Gatorade Athlete of the Year for track and field. The Blacksburg girls Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team consisting of Kathleen Stevens, Sarah Dorrell, Hannah Brown and Joanna Stevens won the Penn Relay's High School DMR Championship of America breaking the 18 year old record. They went on to break the national high school record at the New Balance Nationals winning in 11:31. Blacksburg has both Virginia AA state meet records in the 4x800 and the girls 3200 meter run. Blacksburg was awarded National Scholastic All America for the boys 4x800 in 2009 (Brian Hencke, Quinn Hull, George Carter, Matt Howard) and the girls DMR (Kathleen Stevens, Hannah Brown, Trinity Foreman, Joanna Stevens). In 2010 Indoor the boys were awarded Nike National Champions Rings for their 4xmile performance. The girls were awarded the national title in the DMR with their national record setting performance at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Blacksburg finished 2010 school year the #34th ranked school in the country for All-Sport rankings. The girls track & field team finished top ten in the country. http://rise.espn.go.com/all-sports/articles/2010/07/10-FAB-50-program-rankings.aspx
quizbowl
league of the Academic Competition for Excellence
.
The math and all-around teams finished first for the season in the eastern division. The science and social studies teams finished 2nd for the season, and the English team finished 4th.
The math team finished 2nd in the tournament, and because they were the season winners, they will participate in Super MACC (tournament) on March 26, 2007. The science team finished 1st in the tournament, making them also eligible to participate in Super MACC. The all-around team will also go to the Super MACC (tournament) because they finished first in the season.
The 2007 MACC season was officially over on March 26, 2007 after the Super MACC (tournament). The Blacksburg Math and Science MACC teams took the gold trophy home with very close matches. The all-around team finished second in the tournament.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 83,629 people, 30,997 households, and 17,203 families residing in the county. The population density was 215 people per square mile . There were 32,527 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile...
public school division. The school serves the town of Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
and surrounding areas of the county.
History
Blacksburg High School was founded in 1952 and was located at its location on South Main Street in Blacksburg, VA until a new school building was built in 1974. After moving out, the old building housed Blacksburg Middle School, but Blacksburg High School still returned to use the football stadium behind their original building until a new stadium was constructed in October of 2008 behind the new Blacksburg Middle School. The original Blacksburg High School building was demolished in the Summer of 2011, 7 years after the middle school moved out.On February 13, 2010 following a snowstorm which dumped two feet of snow on the area, the gymnasium roof on the currently occupied Blacksburg High School suffered a catastrophic structural failure and collapsed, causing structural damage to other areas of the school. The school building was condemned and students attended night school on a split schedule with the Blacksburg Middle School students at their school for the remainder of the year. It was determined that repair costs would exceed $18million and would not be feasible given the age of the school so it was decided not to repair the building. Currently, Blacksburg High School is operating on a normal schedule out of the Blacksburg Middle School building on 3109 Prices Fork Road.
Plans have been approved to construct a new Blacksburg High School at 2409 Prices Fork Road behind the current Blacksburg Middle School and Bill Brown Football Stadium and is tentatively scheduled to be completed and occupied in the fall of 2013.
Administrative staff
- Michael Hurst, Principal
- Mary Fain, Assistant Principal
- Amanda Weidner, Assistant Principal
- Greg Stick, Assistant Principal
Academic recognition
The Newsweek list of "America's Top Public High Schools" lists Blacksburg High School at 422 for 2009 while the highest ranking for 2008 was 227. Blacksburg High School was ranked 164 in 2003.[1] This status is based partially upon how many Blacksburg High School students elect to take the Advanced Placement Exams.Athletics and extracurriculars
Blacksburg High School is a member of the Virginia High School League and competes in the AA River Ridge District, a district in Region IV of Group AA. Blacksburg formerly competed in the Group AA Blue Ridge DistrictAA Blue Ridge District
The AA Blue Ridge District is a district in the Region III of the Virginia High School League. The district is named for the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are nearby all of the schools. From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, the district steadily grew as four schools dropped in classification...
, which it had joined when the AA New River Valley District dissolved. Blacksburg has also captured the Wachovia
Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
Cup, the VHSL's award for overall excellence in athletics for the academic years 1989-90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2008–09, and 2009-10. Blacksburg boys' soccer team has won eleven state championships (a Virginia state record) and was ranked #6 in the USA in 2007.
Soccer
Blacksburg won state championships in boys' soccer in the following years: 1989, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 That is by far more state championships than any other high school in Virginia. The boys soccer team were also state runner-ups in 1990, 1992, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2011.The 2002 and 2007 seasons resulted with 23 wins which is the record for second-most wins in a season in Virginia. Blacksburg is currently second for most consecutive wins with 64 from 1998 to 2001.
Additionally, Blacksburg holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak with 87 wins from 1998–2001. The 1999 season has the second-highest goal differential of any season with 103. The 1999 season also holds the record for most shutouts in a season with 18 and the lowest average goals scored against with 0.18 goals per game.
Football
Blacksburg High School football is coached by David Crist. Blacksburg won state championships in 1977 and 1989.Basketball
Blacksburg High School won state championships in boys' basketball in class IB for 1965 and 1968. The girls won state championships for girls' basketball in 1978, 1982, 1992, 1993, and 2002.Cross Country
The cross country program has won 17 state championships. The Bruin boys won state championships for cross country in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2009, 2010 and 2011. State runner-ups in 2008. Additionally, the girls won state championships in cross country in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 (these wins also give Blacksburg the record for most state championships for girls cross-country with 12). The girls were state runner-ups in 1980, 81, 2005 and 2009. In 2009 Blacksburg girls xc team was invited to the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, OR after finishing second in the Southeast Championships in North Carolina. The girls finished 6th in the nation. Kathleen Stevens was awarded the 2009 Virginia Gatorade Athlete of the Year and also the Roanoke Times Timesland Athlete of the Year for all sports. She is also the Virginia State record holder at Great Meadows (the site of the state meet).Track
State championships for boys' outdoor track were won in 1949, 1981, and 1982. State championships for girls' outdoor track were won in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2009 and 2010. Blacksburg is ranked #1 for team records for most championships in girls' outdoor track & field for Virginia with nine. Blacksburg also holds state championships in boys' indoor track 1972 (tie with Radford High School) and were second in 2010. Girls' indoor track in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010. Peter Dorrell won nine state championship titles and was awarded the Gatorade Athlete of the Year for Virginia boys high school Track and Field in 2007 and 2008. He was also awarded the Roanoke Times Athlete of the Year for all sports. Blacksburg has five indoor state meet records in the boys 4x800, boys 1600 and 1000 meter runs and in the girls 1600 and 3200 meter runs.The Blacksburg Boys won the Nike Indoor Nationals 4xmile in 2010 (Matthew Howard, Quinn Hull, Zach Link, George Carter). Kathleen Stevens was awarded the 2010 school year Virginia Gatorade Athlete of the Year for track and field. The Blacksburg girls Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team consisting of Kathleen Stevens, Sarah Dorrell, Hannah Brown and Joanna Stevens won the Penn Relay's High School DMR Championship of America breaking the 18 year old record. They went on to break the national high school record at the New Balance Nationals winning in 11:31. Blacksburg has both Virginia AA state meet records in the 4x800 and the girls 3200 meter run. Blacksburg was awarded National Scholastic All America for the boys 4x800 in 2009 (Brian Hencke, Quinn Hull, George Carter, Matt Howard) and the girls DMR (Kathleen Stevens, Hannah Brown, Trinity Foreman, Joanna Stevens). In 2010 Indoor the boys were awarded Nike National Champions Rings for their 4xmile performance. The girls were awarded the national title in the DMR with their national record setting performance at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Blacksburg finished 2010 school year the #34th ranked school in the country for All-Sport rankings. The girls track & field team finished top ten in the country. http://rise.espn.go.com/all-sports/articles/2010/07/10-FAB-50-program-rankings.aspx
Wrestling
On February 21, 2009, Neal Kennedy, as a junior 103 pounder, became the first Blacksburg wrestler to win an individual state title in over two decades.Notable coaches
- Football – David Crist (ranked 11th most wins among active coaches in Virginia)
- Boys soccer – Shelley Blumenthal - Inducted into VHSL hall of fame in 2008
Marching Band
The Blacksburg High School Marching band, is highly rated for their advanced musical abilities, often causing them to score highly at state wide band competitions in music categories. The band competes in a AAA Level; they were under the direction of Diana Love until 2007, when her retirement led to the new band Director Darell Pearman. Darell Pearman has since led the band to achieving Honor Band Status afters receiving a I, the highest score, at the 2009 VBODAs. The band is now notorious for being a VA honor band.Forensics and debate
In the early 1980s, Blacksburg was coached by Frank Moseley and led by academic advisor Michael Cronin, a former national champion in college debate at Georgetown. The team won several district and regional championships between 1978 through 1982. In 1981 and 1982, the switch side team of Ray Allen and Jim Baker won state AA championships in policy debate and garnered the top two spots in individual speaker awards in 1982. From 1988 to 2002, under Coach Karen Finch, and in 2003, under Coach Courtney Thomas, the school won 15 consecutive Group AA state titles in forensics, "the longest unbroken chain of championships in VHSL history", before they were defeated by Salem High School of Salem, Viriginia. The school sends students to national level competition annually, and has had several national champions, specifically in the extemporaneous speaking category. Dennis Price won the National Championship in Prose Interpretation in 1994. Jeff Emerson won the National Championship in Humorous Interpretation in 1991. The debate team currently consists of 4 divisions: Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Public Forum Debate, and Student Congress. The debate team won the 2007 VHSL Group AA state title, against opponents including Potomac Falls and Charlottesville. The debate team also won the 2010 VHSL Group AA state title, winning AA Student Congress and AA Contemporary Policy Debate and semifinaling in Classic Policy Debate.MACC
Mountain Academic Competition Conference (MACC) is a high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
quizbowl
Quizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
league of the Academic Competition for Excellence
Academic Competition for Excellence
Academic Competition for Excellence is a format of high school quizbowl played in the mid-Atlantic, especially in the Commonwealth of Virginia...
.
The math and all-around teams finished first for the season in the eastern division. The science and social studies teams finished 2nd for the season, and the English team finished 4th.
The math team finished 2nd in the tournament, and because they were the season winners, they will participate in Super MACC (tournament) on March 26, 2007. The science team finished 1st in the tournament, making them also eligible to participate in Super MACC. The all-around team will also go to the Super MACC (tournament) because they finished first in the season.
The 2007 MACC season was officially over on March 26, 2007 after the Super MACC (tournament). The Blacksburg Math and Science MACC teams took the gold trophy home with very close matches. The all-around team finished second in the tournament.
VHSL Scholastic Bowl
Blacksburg won the state championship in the scholastic bowl in 1999 and again in 2010.Science
Suzanne Dana won the Teacher of the Year award in 2008. Dana is a Chemistry teacher at BHS. She attended a ceremonial conference where she was presented with a plaque to honor her creative and enthusiastic approach to teaching students.Notable alumni
- Peter Gwazdauskas - focus of Academy Award-winning documentary Educating PeterEducating PeterEducating Peter is a 1992 short documentary film directed by Gerardine Wurzburg about Peter Gwazdauskas, a special needs student with Down's syndrome, and his inclusion in a standard third grade classroom in Blacksburg, Virginia. It won an Academy Award in 1993 for Documentary Short Subject....
and its followup, Graduating Peter