Dallastown Area High School is a large suburban, American

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, part of the Dallastown Area School District. The school is located at 700 New School Lane,

Dallastown, Pennsylvania Dallastown is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,187 at the 2020 census. It is part of the York–Hanover metropolitan area. History Settled in 1736, the town was renamed after George M. Dallas of Phila ...

York County, Pennsylvania York County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York, Pennsylvania, ...

. Dallastown Area High School is commonly referred to as Dallastown, Dallastown High, DAHS, and DHS. According to the

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

, in the 2021-2022 school year, Dallastown Area High School reported an enrollment of 1,952 pupils in grades nine through twelve.

History

The first Dallastown High School class graduated in 1898.http://www.dallastown.net/2905101222114043400/lib/2905101222114043400/_files/YIJ_FS.pdf The first constructed building to house the newly created Dallastown High School, a combination of local schoolhouses, was on Charles St. in Dallastown, now Dallastown Elementary. This building became too small, and effective July 1, 1958; the school districts of Loganville, Springfield and York Township became the York Imperial Union School District. Accordingly, the Dallastown Area School System, which operated all of the schools in the area, grades 1 through 12, was composed of three member districts: Dallastown Borough, Yoe Borough and York Imperial Union. Realizing an immediate need for a building for secondary school purposes, a site was selected and construction of a building began. On September 1, 1958, the doors of the new Dallastown Area High School opened. The Dallastown Area High School was first constructed in 1958 and underwent a major renovation and remodel in 2001. The current building contains the longest school hallway in Pennsylvania, at almost one third of a mile long.

Campus

The Dallastown High School is adjoined with Dallastown Area Middle School to form the Dallastown Middle-High School Campus. Due to growing overcrowding, the district administration determined building a new school to host grades four to six, the Dallastown Area Intermediate School, would help to alleviate this problem.http://www.dallastown.net/dallastown/lib/dallastown/Full_Doc.pdf The district removed the sixth grade from the Middle School in 2010, the year the Intermediate School was completed, allowing the High School to obtain some of the former Middle School classrooms. An enclosed hallway was built to connect the high school to the former middle school wing. In 2011, the high school became more energy efficient with solar panels on the roof of the campus; the panels were dedicated to long-time Dallastown Area School District board member Earl Miller.

Extracurricular activities

Dallastown's school newspaper, The Beacon, is published monthly; the yearbook, The Spectator, is produced annually. Each is student-run.

Athletics

The high school competes on a very high level in a variety of sports. Dallastown's athletic director is Tory Harvey. Their teams are part of

PIAA PIAA may refer to: * Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) is one of the governing bodies of Secondary school, high school and middle school athletics for Pennsylvan ...

triple or quad A, District 3, and YAIAA Division I. ;Boys: *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

- AAAA *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

- AAAA *

Bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

- YAIAA * Cross country - AAA *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

- AAAAAA *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

- AAA *Indoor track and field - AAAA *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

- AAAA *

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

- AAA *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

- AAA *

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

- AAA *

Track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

- AAA *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

- AAA *

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

- AAA ;Girls: *Basketball - AAAA *Cross country - AAA *Indoor track and field - AAAA *Field hockey - AAA *Lacrosse - AAAA *Soccer (fall) - AAA *

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

- AAAA *Swimming and diving - AAAA *Girls' tennis - AAA *Track and yield - AAA *Volleyball - AAA

The York Dispatch Cup

Awarded annually since 2006, the

York Dispatch ''The York Dispatch'' is a morning newspaper serving the people of York County, Pennsylvania. The paper is printed in a broadsheet format and published Monday through Friday, with the exception of certain holidays. Founded by Hiram Young in 187 ...

Cup recognizes the most successful athletic programs in the York-Adams League. Dallastown competes in the Large School Division. Dallastown has enjoyed unparalleled success.

Fall sports

Football

=The YAIAA is created (1960-1980)

= The Wildcats emerged with the creation of a York-Adams county athletic conference, the YAIAA, which awarded its first football championship in 1960. Dallastown won four YAIAA championships in this 20-year period (1969, 1971, 1976, and 1980).

=The drought (1981-2006)

= In the time after winning the 1980 YAIAA championship in the 1980–1981 school year, the Wildcats failed to earn another YAIAA title or post-season playoff appearance, once created by the

in 1988. The success of the team was often moderate, but the low point of this period was certainly the two-year stretch of one-win seasons in 2005 and 2006.

=New success (2007-present)

= The 2007 campaign was a welcome change from the previous dry-spell. The Wildcats obtained a 6-4 regular season record.
/ref> Additionally, after a gutsy overtime play against rival Red Lion Area Senior High School to win 22–21, the Wildcats obtained a post-season berth for the first time in school history. Dallastown faced

William Penn Senior High School The William Penn Senior High School is a large, urban, public high school serving York, Pennsylvania in York County, Pennsylvania, York County, Pennsylvania. There were 876 pupils enrolled in 2014. It is the sole high school operated by the York ...

and was defeated 21–6. The Wildcats won the YAIAA Sportsmanship Award for their 2007 campaign. The Wildcats also qualified for the

District 3 football playoffs in 2008 and 2009, each ending in a first-round lose against

Penn Manor High School Penn Manor High School is a large, rural/suburban, public secondary school located in Millersville, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the sole high school operated by the Penn Manor School District. In the 2018–2019 school year, enrollment wa ...

and

Central York High School Central York High School is a large, suburban, public high school in Springettsbury Township, York County, Pennsylvania. Located at 601 Mundis Mill Road, it is the sole high school operated by the Central York School District. In the 2017–2018 ...

, respectively. In 2010, the Wildcats would reach new heights. After going an undefeated 10–0 in regular season play, including a remarkable comeback from a 0–22 deficit against rival Red Lion Area Senior High School to win 38–36, the Wildcats not only saw themselves in post-season play, but holding sole possession of a YAIAA title. Additionally, Dallastown sat atop the final regular season

District 3 power rankings. From there, the Wildcats opened post-season play against Conestoga Valley High School with a victory, the first playoff win in school history, to set up a rematch with Red Lion Area Senior High School. With revenge and redemption on their minds, the visiting Red Lion lions defeated the Wildcats in an upset 14–6. The loss ended the Wildcats season with an 11-1 overall record.

Cross country

The Dallastown Girls Cross Country team has been dominant in recent years, with

District 3 Girls AAA Championship titles in 2018 and in 2021. The 2021 team placed runner-up at the

Girls AAA State Championship in Hershey, PA, with 149 points scored, bringing home the program's first state trophy. The Dallastown Boys Cross Country team won its sole

District 3 Boys AAA title in 1988.

Field hockey

The Dallastown Field Hockey team is noted for its success. Since 1991, the Wildcats have won 14 Division 1 titles in 1993, 1996–2000, and 2003–2010. The team has had varying levels of success in the

District 3 Field Hockey tournament. Starting many

District 3 Field Hockey tournaments as the number 1 seed, the Wildcats have found little success to match their seeding, but the Wildcats have qualified for the

Field Hockey tournament, including a 4-year streak from 1996 to 1999.

Boys' soccer

The Dallastown Boys' Soccer team has been dominant in the YAIAA in recent years, including three-straight Division 1 titles in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and YAIAA Tournament Championships in 2010 and 2011. In all, the Wildcats have won 10 Division 1 titles since 1991, and another YAIAA Tournament Championship in 2001. The Wildcats met great success in 2010 with a

District 3 Championship, the first since the 1996 title.

Winter sports

Wrestling

Once a powerhouse, the Dallastown wrestling program has met more individual than team success in recent years, the most recent being Clay Gable's

Championship at the 171 weight class in 2009. Since 1967, the Wildcats have garnered an impressive 30 YAIAA Division 1 titles. In addition, the Wildcat wrestlers have 10 YAIAA Sportsmanship Award-winning teams.

Spring sports

Girls' soccer

Much like their male counterparts, the Dallastown girls' soccer team has enjoyed much recent success. The Wildcats have four Division 1 titles, including three straight in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In each of these three years, the girls have gone on to win the YAIAA Tournament.

Baseball

Dallastown Baseball has enjoyed moderate success in its history, including 6 Division 1 titles since 1992. In 2011, the Wildcats were runners-up in the YAIAA Tournament.

Notable alumni

Rick Ufford-Chase Rick Ufford-Chase, born in York, Pennsylvania, is a peace activist and long-time member of the Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Ch ...

, Class of 1982, Presbyterian activist and moderator of 216th General Assembly of the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

, the youngest in history *

Kenny Johnson Kenny Johnson (born July 13, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Detective Curtis Lemansky in ''The Shield'', Butch "Burner" Barnes in '' Pensacola: Wings of Gold'', Detective Ham Dewey in '' Saving Grace'', Herman Kozik i ...

, Class of 2023, college football wide receiver for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

Tina Kotek Christine Kotek ( ; born September 30, 1966) is an American politician serving as the 39th governor of Oregon since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Kotek served eight terms as the state representative from the 44th district in the Ore ...

, Class of 1984 or 1985, Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and Governor of Oregon as of January 2023. *

Scott Wagner Scott R. Wagner (born September 21, 1955) is an American businessman and politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He represented the 28th district in the Pennsylvania State Senate. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylv ...

, Class of 1974, politician, former owner of York Waste Disposal and Penn Waste, current owner of KBS Trucking.

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1929 Schools in York County, Pennsylvania 1929 establishments in Pennsylvania