Wichita South High School

Wichita South High School, known locally as South, is a fully accredited high school, operated by Wichita USD 259 public school district, and serves students in grades 9-12, located in Wichita, Kansas. It is also known as Wichita High School South. The school colors are blue and red. The school's enrollment was 1,752 during the 2018–19 school year, making it the 16th largest high school in Kansas and the 4th largest in Wichita.[5]

Wichita South High School
Address
701 West 33rd Street South [1]

Wichita
,
Kansas
67217
Coordinates37.631748°N 97.345361°W / 37.631748; -97.345361
Information
School typePublic, High School
Established1959
School districtWichita USD 259[2]
SuperintendentDr. Alicia Thompson [2]
CEEB code173211 [3]
PrincipalCara Ledy [4]
Grades9 to 12
GenderCoed
Enrollment1,752 (2018–19)[5]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)  Red
  Royal Blue
AthleticsClass 6A [6]
Athletics conferenceGWAL [4]
Sports19 (10 Boys, 9 Girls)
MascotTitans
RivalWichita West
NewspaperThe Torch[7]
YearbookSceptre
Communities servedWichita
Websiteusd259.org/south

History

South first opened its doors in 1959. South's floor plan was modeled exactly after the Southeast's floor plan for their original building on Edgemoor. When South opened, their sports teams were known as the Colonels, though their colors were still red and blue. In the 1970s, the Wichita School board requested that South change their mascot name. The name Titans was chosen by students and the original Titan logo, which is still used by the school to this day, was drawn by a student. In the late 1970s, a $2 million football stadium was built. In 1985, South High athletic director C. Elmer Carpenter died and the football stadium was named in his honor. Also, in the 1980s, Sims Elementary, which was situated just a few hundred feet from the eastern end of the school, closed. South began using the old elementary school for the language arts department.

The school went up to 2004 without any major changes. In 2003, the school board approved a construction project to connect the main building of South to the "Sim Building" (as students and faculty called it), the project also added two new hallways and 20 new classrooms. The project began in early 2004 and was finally completed a year later in 2005. Also added to the school, from the same bond issue, was a baseball field that opened for play in 2007.

In 2008, another bond issue was passed by the Wichita School Board to create "equal athletic facility opportunities" for all Wichita high schools. South's share of the bond issue was $10 million, which was used to put a new floor on the gym, buy new equipment for the school's weight room, improvements to the school's tennis court, and renovations to Carpenter Stadium including putting in Fieldturf on the field and new goalposts, as well as resurfacing the track.

On October 24, 2011, the Wichita School Board approved a $14.2 million bond issue to build a new 2,400-seat gym, a new practice room for the wrestling team, a walking track, and new locker rooms, as well as a new swimming pool, music suite, new pottery studio, art space, digital photography classrooms, a culinary arts room and a room devoted to its new fire science program that started in the 2011–2012 school year.[8]

Student demographics

Wichita South's 2008–2009 enrollment was 1,617 students. The demographic breakdown of the population is as follows: 55.6% of students are white, 19.6% are African-American, 13.9% are Hispanic, 2.7% are Asian, 4.1% are American Indian, and 4.2% are multi-ethnic. As of 2008, 59% of South's students, due to a low-income family, qualified for reduced lunches. The student-teacher ratio is 22:1. South teachers had an average of 7 years of teaching experience as of 2008. Additionally, south high employed 114 certified classroom teachers, 61 of whom hold master's degrees. The drop-out rate in 2007 was 7%, compared to a district average of 4%. The graduation rate for 2007 was 67.7%, compared to a district average of 76.4%.[9]

Athletics

South is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and the Greater Wichita Athletic League and are known as the Titans. Throughout its history, South has won 26 state championships in 7 of its 19 varsity sports, the majority of which are from the boys' and girls' basketball teams and girls' gymnastics teams.

Facilities
FieldSports using FieldSurfaceNotes
Carpenter StadiumFootball, Track, Boys Soccer, Girls SoccerFieldturfNamed for former South AD who died during his tenure, also used by Southeast, East, and North football teams[7]
Tim Milsap FieldBoys Soccer, Girls SoccerGrassOnly used during the annual soccer tournament, the Titan Classic, named for South High alumni who was killed in the Iraq War[7]
South High GymnasiumBoys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Wrestling, VolleyballN/ANew gym finished in 2013
South FieldBaseballGrassOpened in 2007[7]
Seneca BowlBoys Bowling, Girls BowlingN/APublic Bowling alley used by school for practice and home meets

Rivalry with West

South's Primary rival is Wichita West. The rivalry is widely known across Wichita among fans and local media as one of the fiercest and bitter high school rivalries in the area. The origin of the rivalry is unknown. During sporting events between the two schools, fights often occur during the event between the two teams and even in the stands, and in the parking lots after the events. Extra security is often present by the Wichita Police Department at the request of the Wichita School Board.

Boys

South High fielded the most dominant high school basketball team in Kansas for almost 30 years, winning 15 state championships in that period of time, including 4 straight in 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981. Coach Steve Eck led South High to 10 consecutive Wichita City League titles from 1986 to 1996. During Eck's tenure, he coached two Mr. Kansas Basketball award winners.[10]

Girls

Early in the school's existence, South's girls basketball struggled to find success. During the 2005–2006, the Lady Titans played cross town school Heights in the 6A state championship, which South lost. In 2013, the Titans won their 2nd state title in school history, the first since 1978. South eventually went on to win 4 consecutive state titles, the first girls team ever to win 4 straight 6A titles.[11]

Early success

South has won 3 city championships. Only 1 city championship season resulted in a state appearance, the 1971 team. South waited another 16 years before winning its next City League championship in 1987, and they won again in 1991.

1996 to 2001

The school's football team began to fall off after some success in the early 1990s. The team eventually lost 50 straight games between 1996 and 2001. The losing streak caused players in the graduating class of 2001 to go their entire high school careers without a single win. The streak finally came to an end in October 2001 against North. South finished the season with a 1–8 record.[12]

2003 to 2008

South then improved to 2–7 in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, South improved their record to 3-6 and was one win away from making its first appearance in the state playoffs since 1971.[13]

2009 to present

In 2009, South hired a new coach, Cory Brack. In his first season South finished the season with their best record since the 2005 season, their first winning season since 1996, finishing the season 5–4. The season led to Brack being named City League coach of the year. The Titans defeated Campus 12-9 qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 1971. South went on to lose in the 1st round of the state playoffs 46–14 to Wichita Heights. South failed to follow up that season and dropped to a 1–8 record in 2010.[14] On October 21, 2011, South defeated Campus 30-14 and the win, along with a win the previous week against Wichita North, gave South its 2nd playoff appearance in 3 seasons under Brack and only its 3rd appearance in the previous 40 years.[15] On November 4, the Titans lost to Garden City in the first round of the state playoffs 35-7 finishing the season with a 4–6 record. After only 3 seasons as South's head coach, Brack had more wins than the 5 coaches that preceded him combined. Under Brack, South had a win percentage of .370, a vast improvement compared to the .124 win percentage of the previous 11 seasons for South. At the end of the 2011–2012 school year Brack accepted a coaching job at Cheney High School. South assistant coach Kevin Steiner was named head coach on June 11, 2012.[16]

Wrestling

South's former head wrestling coach, David Nigg, is one of the all-time winningest wrestling coaches in Kansas history and 2nd all time in Wichita behind his own high school wrestling coach. Notable former wrestlers include current UFC flyweight fighter Tim Elliott, who was a state wrestling champion at South,[17] and former NFL football player Allen Lyday.

Soccer

Souths 1996 boys’ soccer team was, and has always been, considered one of the best in history. With the likes of Michael Hundley, Chris Lewis, Adam Baty, and Jeremy Coster, the titans were unbeatable. They finished with a record of 35-1 that year and claimed a share of the World Championships. Just a pleasure and privilege to watch these men.

Gymnastics

South's girls' gymnastics team was one of winningest programs in the city from the time South opened its doors to when the GWAL ended gymnastics after the 1996–1997 school year, winning 11 city titles. The boys' gymnastics team also had success, winning 13 city titles over the course of 14 years, including the last city title awarded for the sport in 1980. (GWAL eliminated gymnastics after the 1979–1980 school year.)[18]

State championships
State Championships[19]
SeasonSportNumber of ChampionshipsYear
FallGirls Gymnastics*51974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1988
WinterWrestling21975, 1978
Boys Basketball101978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1988,
1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996
Girls Basketball51978, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Boys Bowling12006
SpringBaseball21968, 1980
Softball11990
Total26

*Sport discontinued

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. GNIS entry for South High School; USGS; October 24, 2008.
  2. "Wichita Public Schools / Homepage". usd259.org. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. SUNY. "High School CEEB Code Search - SUNY". www.suny.edu. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. "School Search – Wichita-South HS". Kansas State High School Activities Association. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  5. "2018-2019 Classifications and Enrollments". KSHSAA.org.
  6. "KSHSAA School Classification List" (PDF). kshsaa.org. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  7. South High Student Agenda.
  8. "BOE approves $14.2 million bond project for South High". Kansas.com.
  9. "South High facts". High Schools.com.
  10. "Mr. Basketball Kansas Award Winners" (PDF). KansasKBCA.com.
  11. "South girls win fourth consecutive Class 6A title". Kansas.com.
  12. South High 2002 Sceptre (Yearbook). 2001–2002.
  13. "South 2005–2006 football season". Max Preps.
  14. "South Football 2010–2011 season". Maxpreps.com.
  15. "South win clinches spot in 6A playoffs". Wichita Eagle/KSN Official Wichita Area High School Sports Page.
  16. "South names Kevin Steiner as the Titans new football coach". VarsityKansas.com.
  17. "Wichitan Tim Elliott gets his shot in UFC title fight". Kansas.com.
  18. "Source is indirectly in the text. Notice when city championships are no longer awarded for sport" (PDF). GWAL official website.
  19. "State Records & State Champions". Archived from the original (English) on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  20. "Ricky Coon coach profile". GoConqs.com.
  21. "Robert R. Courtney: From quiet kid to wealthy pharmacist to indicted defendant". Tribune News Service. September 25, 2001. Retrieved 2010-08-31.
  22. "Wisconsin hiring ex-Raiders receivers coach Ted Gilmore to same position". SI.com.
  23. "Davontae Harris defies injury to become NFL Draft prospect". KWCH.com.
  24. "Stars from the Sunflower State". kansas.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  25. "Allen Lyday NFL Stats". Database Football. Archived from the original on 2011-11-23.
  26. "Lawrence Pete Profile". Databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29.
  27. Eisenbath, Mike (November 23, 1995). "Meet the Billikens". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  28. "Former Wichita South standout Kyle Wilson gets NFL shot with Philadelphia Eagles". Kansas.com.
  29. "Steve Woodberry Bio". WakeForestSports.com.
Historical

 

 

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