Cabrillo High School is 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 awarde ...

that serves students of Vandenberg Village, the city of

Lompoc Lompoc ( ; Chumashan ) is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast, its population was 43,834 as of July 2021. Lompoc has been inhabited for thousands of years by the Chumash people, who called t ...

, and

Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the ...

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...

, on the

California Central Coast The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles and south of the San Francisco Bay Area, and includes the rugged, rural, and sparsely populate ...

History

The school was founded in 1965 by the Lompoc Unified School District. Built to serve the residents of

, Vandenberg Village, and the northern Lompoc Valley, Cabrillo answered the sudden population boom during the late 1950s and 1960s, a result of the booming space program at Vandenberg. Named for the early Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the school board of Lompoc chose the

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

to be the mascot of the new high school in the early 1960s, with the black and gold of the first Spanish Californian flags as the school colors. In 1986, one student and one teacher started the Aquarium Club, which officially opened the Cabrillo High School Aquarium to tours in 2002. In 2007 the California Department of Education awarded Cabrillo as one of the winners for a California Distinguished School Award, as well as 171 other schools in California. In 2015, a resident spoke in favor of changing the name and mascot due their associations with

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and the colonization of Native Americans. School Board president Steve Straight told a reporter that he had been working at the school for over 50 years but has never heard anyone make that particular statement before.

Sports

Cabrillo High School has won 13 CIF SS championships in 8 sports, including boys' basketball (1979), boys' cross country (2004), boys' track & field (1983, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991), boys' water polo (1976, 1996, 2022), girls' track & field (1986), softball (1976, 1985), wrestling (1988), and women's water polo (2007). Cabrillo High has seen much success in aquatics, with a combined 62 league titles in boys' swimming (17 titles), boys' water polo (28 titles), girls' swimming (9 titles), and girls' water polo (8 titles).

Notable alumni

Danny Duffy Daniel Richard Duffy (born December 21, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. After being drafte ...

(2007), professional baseball pitcher and

2015 World Series The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American Lea ...

champion for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Tracy Gray Tracy Gray is a Canadian politician who served as a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) representing the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country (federal electoral district), Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada ...

(1981), investor * Gary Hargis (1974), professional baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates * Gabe Lopez, singer/songwriter/producer *

George Porter George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham, (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967. Education and early life Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...

(1985), held the national record in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles for 22 years (still third all-time) * Duane Solomon (2003), Olympic track athlete; placed 4th in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

* Roland Solomon (1974), NFL defensive back * Vai Taua (2006), Nevada football coach * Donald Willis, NFL offensive guard

References

External links

GreatSchools Inc: Cabrillo High School

Cabrillo High School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1965 High schools in Santa Barbara County, California Public high schools in California 1965 establishments in California Lompoc, California