South Hills High School (West Covina, California)

South Hills High School (often known by its abbreviation, SHHS) is a public coeducational high school located in the hills in the eastern part of West Covina, California (although there is a common misconception that it is in Covina), east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. South Hills High School is part of the Covina-Valley Unified School District. South Hills opened in the fall of 1964, with incoming freshmen, as well as sophomore and junior transfers from Covina and Northview high schools. Its first graduating class was in June, 1966.

Architecture

The buildings were designed by architect Henry L. Gogerty (1894-1990) in 1963.^[1]

Demographics

During the 2007-2008 school year, there were 2,113 students. The school has grown tremendously in the last decade and has had problems with crowding in recent years. By comparison, there were 1,306 students during the 1993-1994 school year.

Demographics by ethnicity; 2007-2008 ^[2]

• Hispanic/Latino: 55.1%
• White: 22.2%
• Asian: 11.0%
• African American: 5.7%
• Filipino: 3.2%
• Pacific Islander: 0.5%
• American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.5%
• Multiple or no response: 1.8%

Academics

As of the 2006-2007 school year, there are three AP courses available at South Hills that are not available at other schools in the Covina-Valley Unified School District: AP French, AP Computer Science, and AP World History.

Athletics

South Hills competes in the CIF Southern Section in the Palomares League. Prior to the 2014-15 school year South Hills had been a part of the Sierra League.

The arch-rivals of the South Hills athletic teams have changed throughout the years as the leagues they have played in have changed. While in the Valle Vista League, the rivals were Northview and Covina. While in the San Antonio League, the rivalry was with West Covina High School. While SHHS was a part of the Sierra League, the rivalry is with Charter Oak.

Notably, the South Hills varsity football team has won the Division VII CIF Southern Section championship 4 out of the 5 years before CIF State was reinstated. The football game between West Covina and South Hills is known as "The Kings of Cameron" game due to both schools being located on Cameron Avenue.

In 1981, South Hills wrestling won both the CIF state title and the CIF-SS title. The varsity wrestling team also won CIF championships in 2003, 2008, and 2009.

The Husky baseball team won the CIF-SS Div. III title in 2009.

The Husky softball team won CIF-SS championships in 1982 and 1997 and advanced to the finals in 1983, 2010, and 2011.^[3] For the 2011 season, the Huskies moved from Div. V to Division 3. In the upcoming 2013 season, the Huskies will be competing in Division 2. The head coach was Scott Fisch (1988-2013).^[3]

The Husky cross country teams won four CIF division III championships in 1999 under head coach Bill Reeves. Individual championships from Jesse Hodges and Rocio Ferree and both team championships.

Band

The South Hills High School Band and Colorguard are highly competitive in Southern California. They consistently rank in the top three marching bands in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association. The Drumline and Colorguard are internationally recognized competing aggressively in the Winterguard International competitions each year. The marching band has won many times with such shows as Zodiac, Endevour, and Deja Vu.

Notable alumni

• Jeff Cox - Major League Baseball player/coach
• David Denson - baseball player^[4]
• Jason Giambi - Major League Baseball player
• Jeremy Giambi - Major League Baseball player
• Derek Klena - Broadway actor
• Cory Lidle - Major League Baseball player
• Chris Limahelu - USC football player^[5]
• Milt McColl - National Football League player
• Matthew Rogers - American Idol finalist, 2004 season
• Aaron Small - Major League Baseball player
• Shawn Wooten - Major League Baseball player, minor-league manager

References

External links

• South Hills High School