Lawrence High School (Kansas)

Lawrence High School is one of the two public high schools located in Lawrence, Kansas. The school originated from an 1857 "Quincy School", held in the basement of a Unitarian church. Three years later the city of Lawrence chartered a public school system, which was located at 15th and Massachusetts, presently the site of Central Junior High School. Construction of the original building for the school was completed in 1865. The high school occupied a succession of buildings until the opening of the present campus, at 19th and Louisiana Streets, in 1954.

The building was expanded repeatedly over the ensuing forty years, as the school district struggled to keep pace with the growth of Lawrence's population. Finally in 1997 a second public high school, Free State High School, was opened, ending the city's long record of all young people being educated in a single high school.

Sports

Currently Lawrence High has more than 100 state championships in various sports, one of the highest totals in the nation. The first state championship was won in 1914 in Boys Gymnastics. The next title, however, wouldn't be until 1954 in Boys Basketball. This started a half century of athletic dominance by the Chesty Lions. From 1954 to 2007 the Lions added 102 more state titles, bringing their total to 103. The Lawrence High School Chesty Lions have 31 undefeated football seasons, the most in the United States. This is much more than the number of championships won by cross town rival Free State High School -- a school opened in the 1990s -- which still has yet to complete a season undefeated, although has two state championships.

Cross Country

The Lawrence High cross country team had a surge where it was seen as a power in the Kansas Cross Country scene. Beginning in 1997 when Chris Williams won the individual title. However, the team finished in 5th place. In 1998 the team finished a distant second place to Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, who has won each team title since 1994. While Williams defended his individual state championship. In 1999, Williams won his 3rd consecutive individual championship, and the LHS team again placed second to SMNW. The team suffered a meltdown in the 2000 state meet and placed 9th. In 2001, the LHS team placed second to SMNW again, narrowing the margin to 12 points, while Dylan McClain was the top finisher (2nd place). After a 2002 regular season where LHS had been ranked above SMNW, the Lions finished 7 points short to claim another second place trophy.

The girls cross country team won three state cross country championships and was undefeated from 1985 to 1987 under coach Dick Reamon.

External links

• Lawrence High School website