Kennewick High School is a public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in eastern

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima R ...

. It was founded in 1904 to serve the educational needs of the new city of Kennewick. It is one of only a few schools to have its music department honored with the title of "Grammy Signature School". The school is part of the

Kennewick School District Kennewick School District # 17 is the largest employer in the city of Kennewick, Washington. The school district runs 17 elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides ...

. The current building, constructed in 1954 and originally named Edwin S. Black Senior High School, is located at 500 S. Dayton St., and incorporates the remainder of the second high school building, which until 1966 served as Park Junior High School (now known as Park Middle School) as an annex. Both buildings were renovated in the mid-1990s, the annex first, then the main building. The first building has long since been demolished, the location became until 1994 the location of Kennewick School District 17's administration. For 64 years until the founding of

Kamiakin High School Kamiakin High School is a public high school in Kennewick, Washington, the second of three comprehensive high schools in the Kennewick School District. Kamiakin opened in the fall of 1970 and serves the district's northwest portion. The school c ...

, Kennewick High School served as the sole high school in the city. Its colors are

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

and

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, and its mascot is a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

. Football and soccer games are played at Neil F. Lampson Stadium, which is located on the high school's grounds and is shared by both Kamiakin and Southridge High School.

Athletics

Recently, because of a change in enrollment accounting by the

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...

, Kennewick High, along with Southridge, was reclassified as a 3A school. As a result, the Columbia Basin Big 9 Conference (which consisted of 11 schools), was reconfigured into the Mid Columbia Conference. The new conference now consists of 8 schools; four 3A and four 4A. Kennewick High is in the 3A division, along with Southridge and

Hanford High School Hanford High School is a public high school located on the northern edge of Richland, Washington. It is part of the Richland School District. The school's mascot is the falcon, and its school colors are purple and gold. The high school, buil ...

. The 4A division consists of Kamiakin, Richland High School, Pasco High School,

Walla Walla High School Walla Walla High School (commonly Wa-Hi) is a public high school in Walla Walla, Washington that is a part of the Walla Walla School District. The school colors are blue and white and the mascot is the Blue Devils. Notable alumni * Drew Bledsoe, ...

, and

Chiawana High School Chiawana High School is a four-year public secondary school in Pasco, Washington, the second traditional high school of Pasco School District #1. Opened in 2009 with 1600 students in grades 9, 10, and 11, CHS graduated its first senior class ...

. Kennewick High School has a traditional rivalry with Kamiakin High School, however in recent years both schools have become bigger rivals with Southridge High School than with each other.

Fight song

The school's fight song, ''"Onward Kennewick"'', is based upon the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

's fight song, '' (as well as the Wisconsin state song) "

On, Wisconsin! "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A version with modified lyrics is the official state song of Wisconsin. "On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur Jr. used in the ...

"'', with the words 'Onward Kennewick' replacing 'On, Wisconsin', as well as minor changes in the lyrics, depending on whatever sport season it was. Otherwise, the song's lyrics are the same. ''Onward Kennewick, onward Kennewick''
''Lions, fight for fame''
''Pass the ball right down the field (court) boys''
''Touchdown (Basket) ev'ry time!''
''Onward Kennewick, onward Kennewick'' ''Lions, fight for fame''
''Fight, Lions, fight-fight-fight''
''To win this game!'' ''K! E! N! NEW! I! C! K!''
''(rah-rah-rah)'' ''(next two stanzas unspoken)
'' ''Fight, lions, fight-fight-fight'' ''To win this game!!!''

Notable alumni

Adam Carriker Adam Eugene Carriker (born May 6, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Nebraska. He also played for the ...

, NFL player for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, former player for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

* Michael Farris, founder and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Patrick Henry College Patrick Henry College (PHC) is a Private university, private Liberal arts college, liberal arts Nondenominational Christianity, non-denominational conservative Christianity, Christian college located in Purcellville, Virginia. Its departments tea ...

, founder and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association,

constitutional lawyer Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

Ray Mansfield Burt James Ray Mansfield (January 21, 1941 – November 3, 1996), nicknamed "Ranger," was an American football player, a center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Early years Born in Bak ...

, 2x

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

winner for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, former Hall of Fame player for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

Leilani Mitchell Leilani Seamah Mitchell (born June 15, 1985) is an American-Australian professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA draft. A dual citizen of the United Sta ...

, WNBA player on the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

Russ Swan Russell Howard Swan (January 3, 1964 – April 26, 2006) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher who played from 1989 through 1994 for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

, Former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

)

Hall of Fame

In 2010, Kennewick High School started their Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame committee of Kennewick High School selects inductees from a pool of nominations submitted by the community. Requirements included having excelled in the arts, science, athletics, the military or in community service after graduation. * Michael Farris, United States constitutional lawyer, founder of the

Home School Legal Defense Association The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a United States-based organization that seeks to aid homeschooling families through legal representation. HSLDA describes itself as a " Christian organization." HSLDA is organized as a 501 ...

(HSLDA) and

, Class of '69 *Blanche Dickinson Pratt, co-founder of the East Benton County Historical Society, Class of '21 *John Dexter Smith, inventor, Class of '43 *

, 2x

winner for the

, Class of '59, Hall of Fame player for the

*Jim Jesernig, politician, Class of '75

References

External links

Kennewick High SchoolKennewick High School football
{{authority control High schools in Benton County, Washington Schools in Kennewick, Washington Educational institutions established in 1904 Public high schools in Washington (state) 1904 establishments in Washington (state)