Arvada West High School

American high school in Colorado

SloganExcellence is our expectationAthleticsCHSAA 5AAthletics conferenceJefferson County LeagueMascotWillie the WildcatNicknameWildcatsNewspaperWindYearbookThe ClawWebsitearvadawest.jeffcopublicschools.org^[2]^[3]

Arvada West High School, nicknamed A-West, is a public secondary school in Arvada, Colorado, United States. Opened in 1963, it is one of four high schools in Arvada. It is part of the Jefferson County School District.

History

Arvada West High School was contracted in 1961 and opened in 1963.^[4]

By the late 1990s, Arvada West was serving so many students it was on a split schedule. Ralston Valley High School, which opened in 2000, relieved the overcrowding.^[5]

Extracurricular activities

The school's athletic teams, known as the Arvada West Wildcats, compete in CHSAA class 5A in the Jefferson County League. Teams are fielded in interscholastic competition in baseball, basketball, cheerleading and poms, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball.

State championship titles held by the school include:^[6]

Baseball: 1994 (6A)
Cheerleading: 1993 (6A)
Girls' basketball: 1978 (AAA)
Boys' cross country: 1974 (I)
Football: 1972 (AAA), 1997 (5A)
Girls' soccer: 1987
Softball: 1993 (6A), 1994 (6A), 1995 (5A), 1996 (5A), 1999 (5A), 2000 (5A)
Boys' track and field: 1975 (AAA), 1994 (6A), 2014 (5A)
Girls' track and field: 1976 (AAA), 1977 (AAA)
Volleyball: 1977 (AAA)
Wrestling: 1988 (AAA), 1992 (6A), 2014 (5A), 2015 (5A)

Notable alumni

Roy Halladay (1995) – MLB pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies^[7]
Barry Kooser (1987) – artist, painter, animation filmmaker, CCO of Worker Studio
Kevin McDougal (1995) – NFL player^[8]
Jayne McHugh – member of the United States women's national volleyball team in the 1988 Summer Olympics^[9]
Casey Malone (1995) – Olympic discus thrower^[10]
Brad Pyatt – NFL player for the Indianapolis Colts in 2003–2006; CEO of the company MusclePharm
John Roush – University of Oklahoma football player;^[11] drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 1975 NFL Draft

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "ARVADA WEST HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
^ "Arvada West High School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
^ "School Detail for Arvada West High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
^ "Place Names Directory – Arvada West High School". Jefferson County, Colorado Archives & Records Management. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
^ Cummins, Cathy (February 21, 1998). "West Arvada seeks silver lining in new high school". Rocky Mountain News. The school, funded through a bond issue approved in November, will cost $26 million and alleviate pressure on overcrowded Arvada West High School.
^ "State Team Champions" (PDF). Colorado High School Activities Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2008.
^ Willis, Paul (July 4, 2007). "Halladay's talent was obvious early on". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. As a high school player at Arvada West, Roy Halladay was physically superior to his peers and was a cinch for the all-conference team.
^ "Hughes Stadium memories: A letter by Kevin McDougal". Coloradoan. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
^ "Feddersen earns Olympic berth". The Denver Post. January 26, 1992. p. 3B. A reception at Arvada West High School will begin at 2:30 pm Tuesday for Jayne Gibson McHugh, a 1978 graduate of the school and member of the 1988 US...
^ "Casey Malone". USA Track & Field. December 28, 2009.
^ Moss, Irv (October 25, 1989). "Unruh opted for warmth". The Denver Post. John Roush of Arvada West was an all-Big Eight and All-America guard...