Waterloo West High School is one of three public

high schools 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 ...

under the auspices of the Waterloo Community School District in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...

. The school is located at the intersection of E. Ridgeway Ave. and Baltimore Ave.

Mascot

The school mascot is Westy the Wahawk. The name "Wahawk" is a portmanteau of the city name ( Waterloo) and the county name ( Black Hawk). Much controversy has surrounded the mascot, which was once an Indian chief thought to be

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

. It was later changed to a flying eagle flying through a flaming hoop but was changed back after 3 years. The logo is currently the "Flying W," a capital "W" with a feather hanging off of it. More recently an arrow has been added behind the "Flying W". This is also the only school in the United States with "Old Rose" as its school color.

Demographics

In the 2015–2016 school year, West High had an enrollment of 1,638 students. The racial makeup of the school during the 2015–2016 school year was 60%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 18.5%

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 10%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

, 4.6%

Multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

, 4.5%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

and 2.4% from other races

Athletics

The Wahawks compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports: *Cross Country *Volleyball *Football 2006 Sophomore MVC Conference Champions *Basketball ** Boys' 1925 Class A State Champions *Wrestling ** 17-time State Champions (1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1989) *Swimming *Track and Field ** Boys' 1981 Class AA State Champions *Golf ** Boys' 10-time State Champions (1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1998) ** Girls' 4-time State Champions (1956, 1957, 1981, 1993) ** Coed 5-time State Champions (1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1985) *Soccer *Softball *Baseball ** 1991 Class 4A State Champions *Tennis ** Boys' 1991 Class 2A State Champions *Bowling ** Girls' 2013 Class 2A State Champions ** Boys' 2020 Class 3A State Champions

Notable alumni

Bob Bowlsby Robert Addison Bowlsby (born January 10, 1952) is an American college athletic administrator. Bowlsby most recently was the fourth commissioner of the Big 12 Conference a position he held from 2012 to 2022. Prior to that position, he served as th ...

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

commissioner (2012–current), athletic director at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

(2006–2012) University of Iowa (1990–2006). *

Dan Gable Danny Mack Gable (born October 25, 1948) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler and coach. Considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Gable is a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, a world gold medalist, ...

, 1972 Olympic gold medalist in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, former head

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

coach at

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. * Molly Goodenbour, women's basketball coach,

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The Hil ...

Nikole Hannah-Jones Nikole Sheri Hannah-Jones (born April 9, 1976) is an American investigative journalist, known for her coverage of civil rights in the United States. In April 2015, she became a staff writer for ''The New York Times.'' In 2017 she was awarded a Ma ...

, journalist * Don Perkins, former professional football player,

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* Cal Petersen, American professional ice hockey player * Jack Rule, Jr., former professional golfer who played on

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

in 1960s * Mike van Arsdale, retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

; current

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

coach * Emily West, country music singer-songwriter, signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

; ''

America's Got Talent (season 9) The ninth season of American talent show competition series '' America's Got Talent'' was broadcast on NBC from May 27 to September 17, 2014. Following the previous season, the program underwent a number of format changes, including the second a ...

'' runner up

References

External links

Waterloo West High School website
Buildings and structures in Waterloo, Iowa Public high schools in Iowa Schools in Black Hawk County, Iowa 1922 establishments in Iowa Educational institutions established in 1922 {{Iowa-school-stub