Sherman E. Burroughs High School
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Sherman E. Burroughs High School is a public high school located in
Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lake). It was incorporated as a ...
. Established in 1945, the school is located in the upper
Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
and is adjacent to the
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Installat ...
. It derives its name from U.S. Navy officer Admiral Sherman E. Burroughs, who served as the first commanding officer of the base at
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is a United States military facility in California. China Lake may also refer to: Places in the United States *China Lake, Kern County, California, an unincorporated community named for a nearby dry lake *Chi ...
(then known as the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake). The school's mascot, the Burro, is taken from the animal which was imported to the area. Burroughs was originally housed at what is now called Murray Middle School aboard the base, but moved to its current site in the Fall of 1959.


History

The Secretary of the Navy created the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake on Nov. 8, 1943, and the need for an educational system for the families stationed at the base was included in the plans. Working with the
California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...
and the legislature, the China Lake School District was established on May 22, 1944. After additional meetings and planning, construction began in May 1945 and was completed in November of that same year. F. R. Wegner was the first principal and Earl Murray was Vice Principal. The buildings and Quonset huts that made up the original campus of Burroughs High School later became Murray Middle School as Burroughs moved to where it is today.


Academics

;Recognition & Awards * Burroughs was honored as a
California Distinguished School California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately 5-10% of California schools are awarded t ...
in 2005 & 2011. ;Principals * 1947–1960 – Earl Murray * 1961–1969 – Kenneth Westcott * 1970–1973 – John Cissne * 1974–1979 – Hal Reid * 1980–1990 – Michael McGrath * 1991–1993 – Joseph C. Carlson * 1994–1996 – Jim Roulsten * 1997–1998 – Ken Bergevin * 1999–2008 – Ernie Bell * 2008–2014 – Dave Ostash * 2014–2019 – Bryan Auld * 2019–Present – Carrie Cope


Athletics

During its history, Burroughs High School has accumulated seven California Interscholastic Federation championships. * Boys' Basketball (1958, Northern Region)http://cifss.org/ * Boys' Basketball (1982, Southern Section 2A) * Boys' Swimming (1994, Southern Section Division III) * Boys' Swimming (1995, Southern Section Division III) * Boys' Swimming (1996, Southern Section Division III) * Girls' Swimming (2003, Southern Section Division III) * Boys' Football (2005, Southern Section Division VIII) Successful athletic teams at Burroughs have always had the ability to play well on the road, with its nearest competitor typically 2–3 hours away. It was a member of the
Desert Sky League The Desert Sky League was established in 1999 as a high school athletic league, and is part of the CIF Southern Section. Members are located around central San Bernardino County, California. Members * Adelanto High School * Barstow High School Ba ...
, but has joined the Mojave River League. ; ;1958 Boys' Basketball Championship It marked the first major championship in any sport for the green and white and the boys varsity basketball team, known then as the 'A' squad, ran off a 21-3 record on their way to the section championship. In the 4-team Desert Inyo League, the Burros went a perfect 12-0 over Palmdale, Victor Valley and Barstow.
Center
Jay Carty Jay J. Carty Jr. (July 4, 1941 – May 4, 2017) was a basketball player, public speaker, church consultant, and ministry leader. He played collegiate basketball for Oregon State University, and was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the 6th round ...
led the team and was the first athlete from the Indian Wells Valley to play professional sports. After playing at
Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
. He was selected by the
St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
in the 6th round (48th pick overall) of the 1962 NBA draft and later played for the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
(1968–69) in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
for 28 games.
Burroughs defeated San Luis Obispo in the opening round 51-35 before advancing to the semifinals where they beat St. Agnes 65-52. In the finals the Burros had to hold off a strong Bell Gardens team in a squeaker, 41-40.
First-year head coach Jim Nau led the squad to the title, and would be the only year he would coach the locals. Members of the team included: Gary Maxwell, Stuart Young, Larry Fletcher, Joel Adams, Jay Carty, Bill Wilde, Ron Thimsen, John Dragovich, Dennis Henden, Doug Brewer, Gary Koehler, Ray Wilson, Rad Bushnell and Phil Donnell. ;1982 Boys' Basketball Championship Under head Coach Larry Bird, the Burros (24-6, 10-0) claimed their fourth consecutive Golden League Championship as they headed into the playoffs. The league streak would eventually extend to 11 ('78/'79 to '88/'89), ranking third all-time in the
CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...
. Burroughs entered the post season ranked a school best #4 in the polls and defeated Victor Valley, San Bernardino, and Righetti to reach the semifinals at the
Long Beach Sports Arena The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center is a convention center located in Long Beach, California. Built on the former site of the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue is composed of the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach Ar ...
. The Burros matched up with #1 ranked La Serna in the semifinals and advanced with a 66-55 victory. The Burros then faced Capistrano Valley in the finals and won 66-55. An estimated 5,000 people made the more than 3-hour trek to witness the game. Burroughs advanced to the first-ever state championship tournament, earning a win over Washington Union before finally falling to Banning in the semifinals. Members of the team included: Dalton Heyward, Daniel Means, David Wooten, Scott Fulton, Dale Killilea, Paul Vander Werf, Bobby Bruce, John Fry, Greg Peake, Paul LaMarca, Jim Cleveland, Jim White and Tim Allen. The coaching staff consisted of Head Coach Larry Bird and Assistants Bill Campbell, Frank Mazer and Jack Clark.The Daily Independent Newspaper, Ridgecrest, California ;1994 Boys' Swimming Championship After years of dominating the waters of the Golden and Mojave River Leagues, Burroughs claimed its first CIF-SS Title in boys' Swimming. The Burros amassed 174 points in the meet, outscoring second place Laguna Hills by 36 points. The team consisted of well-rounded cast of athletes, but was led by freshman phenomenon David Chan who was named Swimmer of the Meet. As with its to subsequent titles, the team's dominance in the water was highlighted by its absence out of it. The competition had both swimming and diving components, and the Burros had no one competing in the latter. Long-time head coach Charlie Lattig was at the helm for all three titles.
Members of the team included David Chan, Andy Lopez, Dale Garland, Mark Garland, Ryan Lopez, Ryan Webb and Haydn Wilson. ;1995 Boys' Swimming Championship Burroughs continued its dominance of the CIF pool in 1995, claiming its second consecutive division title in Long Beach by edging Jurupa Valley 186-185. This time out the squad was smaller, but the result was the same as Burroughs did not field a diving squad. David Chan won his second straight Swimmer of the Meet title and was named as an All-American.
Members of the team included David Chan, Dale Garland, Mark Garland and Ryan Lopez. ;1996 Boys' Swimming Championship The Burros effected a 'Three-peat' in winning the title again. And again, Chan was named the Swimmer of the Meet. Ryan Lopez combined with Mark and Dale Garland to round out what is arguably the most competitive foursome ever seen in a CIF pool.
Members of the team included David Chan, Dale Garland, Mark Garland and Ryan Lopez.
As the 1997 season neared, Chan was named to the US Junior National Team and was on track to be part of the 2000 US Olympic squad. But he was diagnosed with an
osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) (or simply bone cancer) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) a ...
in his right shoulder joint. Surgery and radiation treatments were required and he was forced to have more than 70% of his muscle tissue removed to extract the cancer. He returned to the team as a swimmer/coach in 1997, swimming with one arm and still defeating the league foes that he faced. ;2003 Girls' Swimming Championship It was well worth the long wait for the members of the 2003 Girls Swim Team. After a season that saw them perform better at a variety meets that they had in years past, the Lady Burros claimed the school's first-ever CIF Championship for women. Burroughs took to the waters of the Long Beach Aquatics Center on May 16–17 to compete in the CIF Finals. While they were able to post a handful of first-place finishes in the pre-lims, Burroughs failed to win an event in the finals. But their overall strength in the individual and relay events earned them a nine-point margin of victory over
Yucaipa High School Yucaipa High School is a public high school in Yucaipa, California, United States that serves the cities of Yucaipa and Calimesa and the community of Oak Glen, 65 miles east of Los Angeles. History The original Yucaipa High School campus is n ...
. The Lady Burros finished with 252 points, while Yucaipa had 243. Rounding out the top competitors were
La Serna High School La Serna High School (abbreviated LSHS) is a public high school in Whittier, California that was founded in 1961 and is part of the Whittier Union High School District. The school has been honored five times as a California Distinguished School mo ...
at 234 and
Murrieta Valley High School Murrieta Valley High School (MVHS), colloquially known as MV or Valley opened in 1990 as the first four-year comprehensive high school in Murrieta, California. The school is nestled at the base of the Santa Rosa Plateau, at the western end of th ...
at 171. As with the boys championships of '94-'96, Burroughs did not field any divers. The Lady Burros were coached by Greg Janson. Team members included: Jenna Marvin, Cindy Bithel, Lani Seaman, Kari Seaman, Amy Speer, Lisa Speer, Jennifer Schwalb, Jessica Schwalb, Kym Bauer, Stacy Davis, Moriah Baker, Danielle Herteg and Monika Lee. ;2005 Boys' Football Championship Burroughs brought home the first CIF football championship in the school's history under the direction of Head Coach Jeff Steinberg, who was coaching in his final season at the high school. The Burros wrapped up the season with an 11-3 overall record, with two of their three losses coming to fellow section champions Canyon and St. Bonaventure. Burroughs defeated Colony and Sultana in the first two rounds of the playoffs at home, then traveled to Palm Desert to defeat the then-unbeaten Aztecs, and clinched the title with a 42-30 win over the Palm Springs High School Indians on Dec. 10, 2005.
Notable players on the championship squad included seniors QB David LaFromboise, WR Hayo Carpenter, RB Anthony Williams, and defensive standouts Ron Marker and Shawn Parker.
Following their victory, the Burros were honored with a parade down Balsam Street in Ridgecrest, and a victory rally. ;Boys Basketball Consecutive League Championship Record From 1978 to 1989 the Burros won or shared the Golden league title in Boys Basketball for 11 consecutive years. At the end of its run in 1989, the accomplishment placed them third on the CIF-SS All-Time list behind Banning (17 titles, '77-'93), Bishop (12 titles, '72-'83) and tied with Pasadena (11 titles, '71-'81). Burroughs and Pasadena are currently tied for 7th on the list. Larry Bird was the head coach for the first seven years of the run, while Frank Mazer was at the helm for the final four. Mazer had been a JV and freshman coach during Bird's tenure at Burroughs. Pg. 34. ;Boys' Football Finals Appearances In addition to their championship in 2005, the Burros made the CIF finals in football in 1974 (losing to Neff High School under the direction of Head Coach Bruce Bernhardi), in 2003 (losing to Kaiser High School 44-34 under the direction of Steinberg), and in 2017 (losing to Aquinas High School under the direction of head coach Todd Mather). ;Cross Country & Track Burroughs High School has also fielded excellent cross country and track teams over the years. During the mid to late 1980s, both men's and women's teams regularly captured Golden League titles, the men's team went undefeated in Golden League dual meets from 1987–1988. In 1988 the men's team won the Quartz Hill Relays which also featured a meet record from the men's 4 × 800 relay team (Anthony Asborno, Bobby Moldenhauer, Brian Lindsey, Jack Osborne). Osborne was also a winner of the 1987 Arcadia Invitational 2 Mile in a school record 9:20. Individual Athletic Accomplishments Wrestling 1985: At weight class 132, Michael Chierotti became the first Burros wrestler to achieve the status of a league champion by doing so with an undefeated, Golden League regular season record. Him and three other teammates went on to represent Burros wrestling at the Southern California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), 1985 tournament. District Burroughs High School is a member of the
Sierra Sands Unified School District The Sierra Sands Unified School District is located in the Indian Wells Valley of California. It was established in 1960. It serves all of Indian Wells Valley, including the cities of Ridgecrest, California, Ridgecrest, Inyokern, China Lake, Ker ...
(S.S.U.S.D.).


Notable alumni

*
Ted Bachman Theodore Lewis Bachman Jr. (born January 19, 1952) is a former American football defensive back who played one season in the National Football League with the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins. Bachman played college football at New Mexico Stat ...
, football player *1958
Jay Carty Jay J. Carty Jr. (July 4, 1941 – May 4, 2017) was a basketball player, public speaker, church consultant, and ministry leader. He played collegiate basketball for Oregon State University, and was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the 6th round ...
, Center, St. Louis Hawks & Los Angeles Lakers *1990
Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album. ...
, Grammy-nominated bassist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band
Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
*1995 Jerome Davis, Four-year 400m dash
Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
champion & 1998
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
400m champion at
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
*1995 Demario Brown, All-time leading rusher (as of 2019) at USU *1999
Sabaa Tahir Sabaa Tahir is an American Young adult fiction, young adult novelist best known for her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''An Ember in the Ashes'', its sequels, and the novel All My Rage. Two of her novels, '' ...
, New York Times best selling author.


References


External links


Sherman E. Burroughs High School school web site
{{authority control High schools in Kern County, California Public high schools in California Ridgecrest, California 1945 establishments in California