Pickerington High School North 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 ...

Pickerington, Ohio Pickerington is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield and Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1815 as Jacksonville, named after Andrew Jackson. Pickerington was known a ...

. It is one of two high schools in the

Pickerington Local School District Pickerington Local School District, formerly Violet Township Schools (1905–1939), is a public school district in Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest b ...

. In the city of Pickerington, it is referred to simply as "North" and their mascot is the Panther. In 2002, "Pickerington High School" split into two high schools,

Pickerington High School Central Pickerington High School Central is a public high school in Pickerington, Ohio, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Pickerington Local School District. In the city of Pickerington, it is referred to simply as Central and their mas ...

and Pickerington High School North. Pickerington High School North opened on August 24, 2003.

Athletics

The school's sports programs include football, boys basketball, girls basketball, wrestling, boys tennis, girls tennis, boys soccer, girls soccer, boys golf, girls golf, cross country, cheerleading, track and field, baseball, softball, marching band, and orchestra.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

– 2016 * Girls

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

– 2012 (Brittany Beeghley - state singles champion) * Boys

Track and Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

– 2015, 2020

Pickerington North Band Program

The Pickerington North High School Band program has over 140 wind and percussion members who participate in various performing groups including the Pickerington High School North Marching band coined "The Marching Panthers". Other groups including the OMEA Class AA Symphonic Band, Class B Concert Band I, and Class C Concert Band II. The Pickerington North Band is directed by Gregory Benson and assistant directors Chris Carmean and Matthew Guerrieri The Pickerington North Band has served much success in its 19 year history including the following:

Marching Band

*OMEA State Marching Band Finals Qualifier - 2003-2021 *OMEA State Marching Band Finals Superior Ratings - 2004-2021 *BOA (Bands of America) Central Ohio Bronze Medalists - 2019 *Yearly performances at the Ohio State University Buckeye Invitational *2003 Nations Parade, New York, NY *2005 Festival Disney Parade Marching National Champions, Orlando, FL *2005 Festival Disney Indoor Guard National Champions, Orlando, FL *2006 Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena, CA *2007 Fiesta Bowl Parade & National Band Championship, Phoenix, AZ - First Place Parade Marching (Class B) *2009 Citrus Parade, Orlando, FL *2011 NYC Veterans Day Parade, New York, NY *2013 Fiesta Bowl Parade, Phoenix, AZ - Grand Champion *2018 London New Year's Day Parade *2019 Tournament of Roses Parade *2021 Festival Disney Parade Marching National Champions, Orlando, FL

Symphonic Band

*OMEA State Concert Band Qualifier - 2004-2007, 2009-2022 *OMEA State Concert Band Superior Ratings - 2005, 2009-2022 *2014 PHSN Symphonic Band Performance at the Capital University Wind Band Invitational and Reading Clinic *2016 PHSN Symphonic Band Performance at the OMEA Professional Development Conference *2019 PHSN Symphonic Band Performance at the Capital University Band Festival, with Guest Composer, John Mackey

Concert Band I

*OMEA State Concert Band Qualifier - 2007-2010, 2012-2022 *OMEA State Concert Band Superior Ratings - 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014-2022

Concert Band II

*OMEA State Concert Band Qualifier - 2010, 2011, 2014-2021 *OMEA State Concert Band Superior Ratings - 2017, 2018

Controversy

A number of notable incidents of racism have occurred at Pickerington High School North, including two students (one black and one white) who appeared having "former slave" and "former slave owner," respectively, painted on their backs during a football game in 2014, a student who appeared in blackface captioning herself as "#n***amegan" on

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

in 2016, and yet another student appeared dressed as a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

in a

in 2016. The latter two incidents spurred a "cultural-sensitivity training" session. However, in 2020, a school assembly which discussed

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

and violence against Black people during Black History Month caused a number of parents of white students at the school to complain that the program was "politically charged." Later, in June 2020, the Pickerington Local School District (PLSD) released a statement which noted continuing work to " eate periodic open public forums in which all individuals are encouraged to freely discuss cultural, racial, and ethnicity issues that can provide insight and improve our ability to work together as a community."

Notable alumni

Justin Boren Justin Matthew Boren (born April 28, 1988) is a former American football guard. Though a guard in the NFL, Boren played both guard and center during his high school and college football career. In high school, he was widely regarded as one of t ...

, retired NFL Offensive Lineman * Jake Butt, retired NFL

Tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

* Pat Elflein,

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

Offensive Lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

* Godwin Igwebuike,

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

running back *

Jack Sawyer Jack Sawyer (born May 6, 2002) is an American college football defensive end for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Early life and high school career Sawyer grew up in Pickerington, Ohio Where he Attended St. Pius K-8 Catholic school. Attended Pickerington ...

Defensive End Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

References

External links

District Website

Athletic Program Website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2003 High schools in Fairfield County, Ohio Public high schools in Ohio 2003 establishments in Ohio