Englewood High School (Colorado)


Englewood High School is a public high school located in the city of Englewood, Colorado, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Englewood Schools District. Its enrollment is approximately 600 students in grades 9-12. There are about 65 licensed teachers, 40 of whom hold a master's degree or higher. The school is accredited by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and the Colorado Department of Education, and holds membership in the College Board, the National Alliance of High Schools, and the National Association of College Admissions Counselors. The school was founded in 1913. Englewood has more Boettcher Scholars than any other metro area high school, with 30.

History

Englewood High's original location was at Broadway and Kenyon Avenues. As enrollment increased, the school grew out of its original building, and in 1953, construction on a new building began. The class of 1954 was the first to move into the new building, which still stands today. In the early 1960s the school renovated its structure, adding a full-size auditorium, library, and more classrooms. The school is currently located in Englewood at the corner of Mansfield Avenue and Logan Street.
Next to the campus is the Hosanna Athletic Complex, which contains the baseball and soccer fields. In 2005, a new artificial turf field was installed at a cost of $600,000.
Until September 17, 2008 the principal of Englewood High had been Linda Torres. She resigned due to personal reasons, and was replaced by Vice Principal Davis.
The new 239,000 square foot campus, dedicated February 7, 2015, located at the corner of Mansfield Avenue and Logan Street, now accommodates roughly 1,250 students from the high school, Englewood Middle School and Englewood Leadership Academy.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Englewood competes in 2A, 3A, 4A and 5A athletics and is a member of the Colorado High School Activities Association.

Football

After failing to win a single game from 1988 until their demotion, Englewood finally managed to turn their program around, losing two regular season games combined in the 1995 and 1996 seasons and only six total from 1993-1996. 1996 was the first conference championship in over 40 years won by the Pirates, which included an 11-game win streak and a run to the state semi-finals for 3A football. Both '95 & '96 seasons ended with losses to the eventual state Champion and four-time consecutive champion, Palisade High School.
Both 1995 and 1996 Englewood teams had several players named to 1st and 2nd All-State teams along with the first ever All-Colorado award for an EHS player in 1996. Many players went on to play in college from those years, as well as at schools including Colorado College, Ft. Hayes St, Occidental College.
In 2006-2007 the Englewood High School football team won the 3A North Metro League with a record of 8-2, and lost in the second round of the playoffs, with a final season record of 9-3.
In 2008, Englewood's head football coach, Randy Penn retired after winning Coach of the Year in 3A football. The Pirates' new head football coach is Coach Graves, who was a coach at Columbine High School before taking the role of head Pirate. Graves is joined by returning coach Randy Penn and many former players and coaches.
The light towers at the Englewood High School football stadium were originally erected in the late 1930s at the University of Denver's Hilltop Stadium, which stood from 1926 to 1971. When the Hilltop Stadium was gradually razed between 1971 and 1974, the light towers were donated to Englewood HS.

Lacrosse

In 2007 the lacrosse team finished with a record of 2-13, picking up their first win in four years. The team that year was led by seniors Karl Kirsch and Dylan McAninch. Kirsch had 18 goals and five assists, and McAninch had three goals and 13 assists. In 2008 the Pirates went 0-14, but showed signs of greatness in midfielder Brandon Pollack and defender turned midfielder Dean McAninch. In the 2009 season the Pirates again went 0-14, but had a strong season with defender Dean McAnich being named to the North All-Stars team. During the 2015 season the Pirates lacrosse team went 10-6, winning their first league title in over 30 years by defeating top-ranked league teams such as Denver South and Lutheran Parker. This was a big improvement from the previous year's 4-9 record. The team was led by junior midfielder Caleb Medina and senior attackman Austin Trail, who both made the all-state lacrosse team. The Pirates had an amazing turnaround season, thanks to Coach Matt Thomas and Todd Porter, plus the support from the Englewood community.

Wrestling

In 2008 Justin Williams went 40-6 in his wrestling season. He then went to the state finals and took second. In 2009 Williams went 40-1, and went on to win the 285 state championship. He finished with a 123-36 career record with 76 pins. He holds the single season and career pins record for Englewood High School.

Boys' soccer

The 2008 season showed the slow downfall of what used to be a great soccer team. With the loss of Head Coach Albert Adetoye, the Pirates saw a lack of hard work and drive. The lack of leadership and upperclassmen help is another reason for the downfall of the Pirates. They fielded a young team in the 2008 season. Several sophomores started and there were several young players with a lot of potential.

Boys' basketball

They head coach of the boys' basketball team is Stu Howard. The team went 11-12 in the 2007 season and made it to the playoffs, where they lost to the Greeley West Spartans by a score of 79-46. The Pirates had two returning varsity starters from the previous year, as well as some young talent that would step up to the varsity level.

Activities

Englewood has many student clubs and activities.
One is the award-winning Pirateer student newspaper, considered one of the best in the state and part of the High School National Ad Network.
The Pirateers advisor, Sheila Jones, received the Don Ridgway Freedom of Expression Award in 2000 and was named the Colorado Publications Teacher of the Year in 2001. In 2009, Jones received the CHSPA Medal of Merit, and upon her retirement in 2012, the national Journalism Education Association honored her with its Lifetime Achievement award. JJ Ogrin now serves as the Pirateer advisor, supervising all aspects of the convergent media program that Jones initiated. Ogrin, a Colorado native, in high school was named the Colorado High School Journalist of the year for her work on the Rocky Mountain High School Highlighter newspaper. She then was a finalist for the national journalist of the year award.
The Pirateer can now be accessed online at pirateer.net.
The Pirate band regularly competes in state competitions and has won numerous awards.

Notable alumni