Sun Prairie West High School

Sun Prairie West High School (SPWHS) is a high school in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District, the other being Sun Prairie East High School. During the 2023-2024 school year, there were 1,347 students at Sun Prairie West High School. SPWHS is a WIAA Division 1 school and is a member of the Big Eight athletic conference in all sports except for football, in which it is a WIAA Division 2 school and a member of the Badger Conference.^[1]

Sun Prairie West High School
Address
2850 Ironwood Drive Sun Prairie , Wisconsin United States
Coordinates	43°10′50″N 89°16′22″W / 43.18054°N 89.27272°W / 43.18054; -89.27272
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	2022
Sister school	Sun Prairie East High School
School district	Sun Prairie Area School District
Principal	Jennifer Ploeger
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,347 (2023-24)
Color(s)	Navy blue, light blue, and gray
Athletics conference	Big Eight Conference
Mascot	Timber the Wolf
Nickname	Wolves
Rival	Sun Prairie East High School
Yearbook	Legacy
Feeder schools	Patrick Marsh Middle School Prairie View Middle School
SPWHS is one of 2 high schools created from the splitting of Sun Prairie High School in 2022, the other being Sun Prairie East High School

In the summer of 2010, Sun Prairie High School moved to a new building in the southeast part of town. The former school became a combined 8th and 9th grade upper middle school and was named Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School. Cardinal Heights later became a 6th-8th grade middle school and was renamed to Central Heights Middle School. In 2022, the school split into 2 high schools, Sun Prairie West High School and Sun Prairie East High School, with SPWHS getting a new campus on Ironwood Drive and SPEHS keeping the Grove Street Campus.

The school was opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 28, 2022, with Wisconsin governor Tony Evers in attendance. The construction of SPWHS was the culmination of an effort that started in 2019 with a $164,000,000 referendum.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Sun Prairie West includes a 3-court competition fieldhouse that seats 2,100, 2 single-court auxiliary gyms, an 8-lane olympic-size swimming pool with 2nd floor spectator seating, a weight room, a cardio room, a wrestling room, and has an indoor track on the 2nd floor circling the fieldhouse. The south auxiliary gymnasium has an indoor pole vault for the track and field team, and several extra features designed for gymnastics, including a foam pit. The south gym is the home of the Sun Prairie Gymnastics Team, which is a co-op team between SPWHS and SPEHS; and also features a pole vault and long jump pit for the track team.^[2][3]

Sun Prairie West hosts all home football, lacrosse, and some soccer games at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field, a multi-purpose stadium that seats 4,000. The stadium was built in 2022 to replace the original Ashley Field that was built in 1953 on the same site, 155 Kroncke Drive. SPWHS shares the venue with Sun Prairie East. The stadium features aluminum bleachers, team rooms, a multi-purpose synthetic turf field with team colors of both high schools, 2 concession stands, multiple restroom facilities, and ample parking. ^[2][4]

The SPHS hockey team, a co-op team with SPEHS, plays at the Sun Prairie Ice Arena on Grove Street.^[2]

State championships before split (as Sun Prairie High School)

• Baseball: 1974, 1994, 1997, 2005,^[5] 2006,^[6] 2012,^[7] 2013,^[8] 2014,^[9] 2021
• Bowling: 2015,^[10] 2016^[11]
• Cross Country (girls): 2016,^[12] 2017^[13]
• Football: 1995
• Golf (boys): 1991
• Hockey: 1997^[14]
• Softball: 2018

Academic Decathlon

Sun Prairie's Academic Decathlon team has placed in the top three at the Wisconsin state finals five times.^[15]

In April 2014, the Sun Prairie Academic Decathlon team represented Wisconsin in the Large School division of the National United States Academic Decathlon online national competition taking fifth place among the large schools.^{[citation needed]} They repeated this in 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Music

Sun Prairie West includes a Performing Arts Center (PAC) that seats 822. The PAC's 2400 square-foot stage features a 24-line fly system with a full fly loft, an orchestra pit with a removable cover, and a custom-made Wenger Diva acoustical shell system. The PAC is also home to a Steinway D Concert Grand Piano. ^[16] SPWHS also features a black-box theater that seats 120 and features overhead catwalks and tension grids that allow for innovative lighting designs.^[17]

The Sun Prairie High School Jazz I has been selected to compete in the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band competition in New York City 12 times since the festival's conception, most recently in 2023. When SPHS split into two, Jazz I became a co-op extracurricular between Sun Prairie East High School and Sun Prairie West High School. ^[18][19][20] The SPWHS theater department has been nominated for numerous Jerry Awards for both their cast and crew.

Notable alumni

• Gary Hebl, class of 1969 (before split); Wisconsin State Assembly, 2005-present
• John A. List, class of 1987 (before split); University of Chicago economist
• Thomas A. Loftus (Graduated before split); Wisconsin Legislator and diplomat; Ambassador to Norway, 1993-1997
• Steven Quale, class of 1984 (before split); Hollywood film director^[21]
• Andy Thompson, class of 1994 (before split); major league baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays, 2000^[22]

References

1. "Big 8 Conference". 2011
2. "Athletic Facilities - Sun Prairie Area School District". www.sunprairieschools.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
3. Beyer, Elizabeth (29 August 2022). "With 'unmatched' learning facilities, Sun Prairie West High School is ready for the new year". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
4. "Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field". Bray Architects. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
5. "Eau Claire North vs Sun Prairie". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
6. "Wisconsin Lutheran vs Sun Prairie (6/15/06)". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
7. "Sun Prairie vs Bay Port (6/14/12)". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
8. "Sun Prairie High School baseball review". hngnews.com. 2 July 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
9. Polzin, Jim (20 June 2014). "WIAA state baseball: Sun Prairie rallies to bring home a third straight state title". madison.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
10. http://www.wihsbowlclub.com/docs/2015%20BOYS%20TEAM%20DIV%201%20SCORES.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
11. http://www.wihsbowlclub.com/docs/2016FINAL%20SCORES-BoysTeamDivI.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
12. http://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Cross_Country/2016/gd1stateteamresults.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
13. "WIAA D1 State XC Championships - Cross Country Meet".
14. "The Hockey database listing of Sun Prairie Alumni" (SHTML). Retrieved June 19, 2007.^{[permanent dead link]}
15. . Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
16. "Sun Prairie West Performing Arts Center - Sun Prairie Area School District". www.sunprairieschools.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
17. "Sun Prairie West Small Theater - Sun Prairie Area School District". www.sunprairieschools.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
18. "Home". academy.jazz.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
19. "Sun Prairie High School Jazz I wins awards at Essentially Ellington". The Sun Prairie Star. May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
20. "Jazz I has final push before tenth Essentially Ellington trip". The Sun Prairie Star. April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
21. http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/community/article_a823ed00-1f^{[permanent dead link]}
22. "Andy Thompson". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.

External links

• Official website