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 2022-2023 school year, there were 1,345 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. 2011 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 An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

on August 28, 2022, with Wisconsin governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...

in attendance. The construction of SPWHS was the culmination of an effort that started in 2019 with a $164,000,000

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

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 a 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. Sun Prairie West hosts all home football,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

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

State championships before split (as Sun Prairie High School)

* Baseball: 1974, 1994, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2021 * Bowling: 2015, 2016 * Cross Country (girls): 2016, 2017 * Football: 1995 * Golf (boys): 1991 * Hockey: 1997 * Softball: 2018

Academic Decathlon

Sun Prairie's Academic Decathlon team has placed in the top three at the Wisconsin state finals five times. 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. They repeated this in 2016.

Music

Sun Prairie West includes a

Performing Arts Center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to: * A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. :The ...

(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 An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

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. SPWHS also features a

black-box theater A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...

that seats 120 and features overhead catwalks and tension grids that allow for innovative lighting designs. 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. The SPWHS theater department has been nominated for numerous Jerry Awards for both their cast and crew.

Notable alumni

Gary Hebl Gary Alan Hebl (born May 15, 1951) is an American lawyer, businessman, and Democratic politician from Dane County, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for 18 years, representing the 46th Assembly district from 2005 throu ...

, class of 1969 (before split);

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, 2005-present *

John A. List John August List (born September 25, 1968) is an American economist known for establishing Field experiment, field experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis. He works at the University of Chicago, where he serves as Kenneth C. Griffin ...

, class of 1987 (before split);

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

economist * Thomas A. Loftus (Graduated before split); Wisconsin Legislator and diplomat; Ambassador to Norway, 1993-1997 *

Steven Quale Steven Quale is an American film director, known for ''Final Destination 5'' and '' Into the Storm'', as well as his earlier work as a second unit director for James Cameron. Filmography Director *''Darkness'' (1988) *''Superfire'' (2002) *'' Al ...

, class of 1984 (before split);

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...

director * Andy Thompson, class of 1994 (before split); major league baseball player with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, 2000

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Wisconsin Schools in Dane County, Wisconsin