Mt. Spokane High School

Mt. Spokane High School is a public high school located in Mead, Washington. It is located several miles north of Spokane and has a student body that currently enrolls 1,382 students in grades 9-12.^[2] The school opened in 1997, and had its first graduating class in 1999.^[3] Mt. Spokane is one of two high schools in the Mead School District, the other being Mead High School.

Throughout its history, Mt. Spokane has shown excellence through its academics. In the 2007-08 school year, Mt. Spokane had an on-time graduation rate of 95.1%, beating the Washington state average of 72.0% during the 2007-08 school year.^[4] In the first semester of the 2009-10 school year, Mt. Spokane had 478 of its students qualify for the honor roll, which required students to get a 3.5 GPA or higher.^[5]

History

Mt. Spokane High School opened its doors in the fall of 1997 as "Mt. Spokane-Mead High School". The name was changed to Mt. Spokane High School by request of the attending students during the first two years of being open. Mt. Spokane saw its first graduating class in 1999. The class of 2012, with 413 students, is the largest class to attend the high school as of 2010.

Location and structure

Mt. Spokane High School's courtyard. You can see four of the five sculptures in the picture.

Mt. Spokane's courtyard in HDR.

The school is located several miles from Mount Spokane among the many wheat fields populating the Mead area. The school itself has a functional, quarter-circle design with a courtyard in the center. The sculptures within the courtyard, known as "The Circle of Friends", were designed by local sculptor Harold Balazs, also known for designing the Rotary Fountain at Riverfront Park.

Music

Band

The Mt. Spokane High School Band comprises six ensembles, including three concert band ensembles, one percussion ensemble, and two jazz bands.^[6] Since its inception in 1997, the band program has received dozens of awards at local, regional, national, and international levels.^[7] A majority of the funding for the program comes from the Mt. Spokane Bandstand, which is a parent-run organization that raises funds to provide uniforms, instruments, equipment, and travel expenses for the program.^[8] An annual craft fair is the main fundraiser for the program and includes a raffle for baskets that are designed by the Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes.^[9]

Extracurricular activities

DECA

Throughout the Thirteen years of Mt. Spokane's DECA involvement, over 700 students have qualified for state, and over 75 students have qualified for nationals.^[10]

In 2011, Mt. Spokane qualified fifty six competitors from our DECA regional competition to the Washington State Competition. Mt. Spokane also won the 1st annual Bill Christiansen trophy for the top school in Area 11. Following several victories at the state competition, six MSHS students attended DECA's International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida. Washington DECA is known for having fierce competition at the state level, and thus even winning the right to attend a national competition is considered an honor.

In 2007, 6 students went to nationals in Orlando, and in 2008 four more students qualified for nationals in Atlanta.^[11] In 2010, the Mt. Spokane DECA program again qualified four students for Nationals.^[12]

In 2010 and 2011, Mt. Spokane was named one of many schools to be "Gold Level Re-Certified" for its high standards for a model school store operation.^[13]

Debate

Debate at Mt. Spokane is a co-curricular class that focuses on both speech and debate where students learn and practice research techniques, organization skills, analysis, and public speaking.

In 2010, the Mt. Spokane Debate team were 3A Academic State Champions for the 2009-10 season.^[14] During that same season, Mt. Spokane also earned 3rd place at the 2010 3A Speech Tournament.^[15] There were three student finalists for this tournament, in categories that included Impromptu, Dramatic Interpretation, and Oratory.^[15]

Clubs

Mt. Spokane has many clubs that students can be a part of. Clubs offered at Mt. Spokane include: Debate, DECA, French Club, German Club, History Day, National Honor Society, Knowledge Bowl, Math Club, Mock Trial, Robotics Club, Culture Club, Eco Club, Film Club, Ski & Snowboard Club, Yearbook, Gamers Club, WDFY, and Young Republicans and Democrats.^[16]

Athletics

Mt. Spokane offers a wide variety of athletics, including sports such as: baseball, football, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, softball, track and field, and volleyball.^[17]

Baseball

The current varsity baseball coach for Mt. Spokane is Alex Schuerman, who is assisted by assistant coaches Darin Rinck and Gregg Hare.^[18] During his thirteen seasons of coaching baseball, Schuerman has acquired an overall record of 100-56 and has received two GSL titles and one state appearance.^[19] Also, Coach Schuerman has made many baseball projects possible, including receiving a scoreboard for the varsity baseball field.^[20]

2010

The Mt. Spokane Baseball Team finished with a record of 18-5 (17-3 GSL).^[21] They tied Central Valley High School as the 2010 GSL Champions.^[22]

2014

The Mt. Spokane Wildcats finished 20-5 overall and 15-3 in League play just behind Gonzaga Preparatory School.^[23] After beating Hanford High School with a walk-off single by Drew Rassmussen and losing to Kennewick High School in Regionals the Wildcats still obtained a State playoff berth. During the 3A WIAA State tournament, Mt. Spokane was able to play both teams again, beating the Hanford Falcons and seeking revenge against the Kennewick Lions. In what seemed to be the most magical event in Mt Spokane Baseball history, as the Wildcats were trailing by 1 run in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Wildcats center fielder, Connor Cantu, hit a walk-off grand slam to win the game for the Wildcats 7-4 against Kennewick and sending them to the "final four" for the first time in school history.^[24] During the semi-finals, the Wildcats were eager to play for the state title and bring home the championship trophy for not only their school, but for the Spokane area and the Greater Spokane League, which would be the first in GSL baseball history. Playing against O'Dea High School, there were 6 errors by the Wildcats, but a tremendous effort was given ultimately to give up the long awaited dream of almost any high school baseball player and narrowly lost to O'Dea 4-3. Mt Spokane would later play in the 3rd/4th place game and beat Shorewood High School 9-4 to end the season as "the most successful Mt. Spokane Baseball team to have ever taken the field" and take 3rd place in the 2014 WIAA 3A State Baseball Championships. Some members of the team have committed to Schools such as Oregon State University, Pacific Lutheran University, and Walla Walla Community College.^[25]

Football

The official banner to show Mt. Spokane being the 2009 GSL Champions.

The current head coach of the varsity football team is Mike McLaughlin.^[26] McLaughlin has been named the "2009 GSL Coach of the Year", while his assistant coach, Terry Cloer, has earned the "2009 GSL Assistant Coach of the Year".^[27]

During the 2009 season, the Mt. Spokane varsity football team received a record of 10-2.^[28] Their record during that season was almost 9-3 after an appeal was made to determine if Mt. Spokane was required to forfeit a game against East Valley because they allowed an academically ineligible player to play during the last two plays of the game.^[29] However, it was determined that the player did not affect the outcome the game, so Mt. Spokane did not have to forfeit.^[30]

Basketball

Men's basketball

The current head coach of the men's varsity basketball team is Dan Smith, who is in his first season as head coach.^[31]

Women's basketball

The current head coach of the women's varsity basketball team is David Pratt, who is in his first season as head coach as of the 2015-2016 season.^[32]

During the 2010 season, the team received an overall record of 5-18.^[33]

Volleyball

Mt. Spokane has had 5 consecutive state appearances. In 2011 and 2010 the team finished 4th in the state, after finishing 2nd in 2009, and 7th in 2008.

Traditions

Battle of the Bell

Battle of the Bell is an annual football game between Mt. Spokane High School and its district rival, Mead High School.^[34] The winner of the game earns the right to possess the Bell for one year, until the date of the next Battle of the Bell. Mt. Spokane won the bell in 2009 after a four year losing streak. Mt. Spokane again won the bell for the second consecutive time in 2010.

Pack The Palace

Pack The Palace is the annual varsity basketball game played at Mt. Spokane against their rival Mead High School. Mt. Spokane lost during the 2009 season after beating Mead earlier in the season. Mt. Spokane won the Pack the Palace game in the 2010-2011 school year.

Senior Bus Picture

Every year, the senior class takes a photo with school buses as the backdrop. These pictures are displayed in the commons.

Notable alumni

Grace Pena, class of 2003 (also Lilac Princess), class of 2007 graduate from WSU in broadcasting. Formerly reporter and morning/noon meteorologist for KREM 2 in Spokane. Now anchor for What to Watch on Xbox Live for Microsoft in Redmond.^[35] Older sister of Ultimate Fighter Julianna Pena.

Joshua Crawford, competitive powerlifter in Washington State. Currently holds four state records, including the Washington State Open and Junior Squat record.^[36]

Jess Roskelley, class of 2001, became the youngest American to reach the summit of Mount Everest, via the North Col route in 2003.

Julianna Pena, class of 2007, winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate, sister of Grace Pena.^[37][38]

Sam Sicilia, Class of 2004, mixed martial artist currently competing in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Competed on The Ultimate Fighter: Live.^[39]

References

External links

• Mt. Spokane High School website