Kennewick High School is a public

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., ...

located in eastern

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima ...

. It was founded in 1904 to serve the educational needs of the new city of Kennewick. It is one of only a few schools to have its music department honored with the title of "Grammy Signature School". The school is part of the Kennewick School District. The current building, constructed in 1954 and originally named Edwin S. Black Senior High School, is located at 500 S. Dayton St., and incorporates the remainder of the second high school building, which until 1966 served as Park Junior High School (now known as Park Middle School) as an annex. Both buildings were renovated in the mid-1990s, the annex first, then the main building. The first building has long since been demolished, the location became until 1994 the location of Kennewick School District 17's administration. For 64 years until the founding of

Kamiakin High School Kamiakin High School is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Kennewick, Washington, Kennewick, Washington (state), Washington, the second of three comprehensive high schools in the Kennewick School District. Kamiakin opened ...

, Kennewick High School served as the sole high school in the city. Its colors are

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, and its mascot is a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

. Football and soccer games are played at Neil F. Lampson Stadium, which is located on the high school's grounds and is shared by both Kamiakin and Southridge High School.

Athletics

Recently, because of a change in enrollment accounting by the

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of October 2024, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...

, Kennewick High, along with Southridge, was reclassified as a 3A school. As a result, the Columbia Basin Big 9 Conference (which consisted of 11 schools), was reconfigured into the Mid Columbia Conference. The new conference now consists of 8 schools; four 3A and four 4A. Kennewick High is in the 3A division, along with Southridge and

Hanford High School Hanford High School is a public high school located on the northern edge of Richland, Washington. It is part of the Richland School District. The school's mascot is the Falcon, and its school colors are purple and gold. History The high s ...

. The 4A division consists of Kamiakin, Richland High School, Pasco High School,

Walla Walla High School Walla Walla High School (commonly Wa-Hi) is a public high school in Walla Walla, Washington that is the largest school in the Walla Walla Public School System. Located in Walla Walla East, the sprawling 60-acre campus features detached buildings ...

, and

Chiawana High School Chiawana High School is a four-year public high school in Pasco, Washington, United States, the second traditional high school of Pasco School District #1. Opened in 2009 with 1600 students in grades 9, 10, and 11, CHS graduated its first se ...

. Kennewick High School has a traditional rivalry with Kamiakin High School, however in recent years both schools have become bigger rivals with Southridge High School than with each other.

State championships

Source:Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association
Tournament History: Championship Information
. *Baseball: 2008 *Girls basketball: 2000 *Boys cross country: 1978, 1979, 1980 *Boys gymnastics: 1969 *Boys wrestling: 1970, 1971, 1982

Fight song

The school's fight song, ''"Onward Kennewick"'', is based upon the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

's fight song, '' (as well as the Wisconsin state song) "

On, Wisconsin! "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A version with modified lyrics is the official state song of Wisconsin. "On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur Jr. used in the B ...

"'', with the words 'Onward Kennewick' replacing 'On, Wisconsin', as well as minor changes in the lyrics, depending on whatever sport season it was. Otherwise, the song's lyrics are the same.

Notable alumni

* Adam Carriker,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

player for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, former player for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

* Geraldine Dawson, William Cleland Distinguished Professor, Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Professor in Pediatrics. Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute, Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy * Michael Farris, founder and

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Patrick Henry College Patrick Henry College (PHC) is a private liberal arts non-denominational conservative Protestant Christian college located in Purcellville, Virginia. Its departments teach classical liberal arts, government, strategic intelligence in national se ...

, founder and

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association,

constitutional lawyer Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

* Ray Mansfield, 2x

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

winner for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, former Hall of Fame player for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

Leilani Mitchell Leilani Seamah Mitchell (born June 15, 1985) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Southside Flyers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 ...

, WNBA player on the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

* Travis Nelson (politician), Oregon State Representative for Oregon's 44th House district *Cheryl K. Smith, primary drafter of th
Oregon Death with Dignity Act
co-author
A Gentle DeathBeyond Final ExitDeparting Drugs
and author of Raising Goats for Dummies
Goat Health Care
and Goat Midwifery * Russ Swan, Former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player (

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

)

Hall of Fame

In 2010, Kennewick High School started their Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame committee of Kennewick High School selects inductees from a pool of nominations submitted by the community. Requirements included having excelled in the arts, science, athletics, the military or in community service after graduation. * Michael Farris, United States constitutional lawyer, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and

, Class of '69 *Blanche Dickinson Pratt, co-founder of the East Benton County Historical Society, Class of '21 *John Dexter Smith, inventor, Class of '43 * Ray Mansfield, 2x

winner for the

, Class of '59, Hall of Fame player for the

*Jim Jesernig, politician, Class of '75

References

External links

Kennewick High School
*

{{authority control High schools in Benton County, Washington Schools in Kennewick, Washington Educational institutions established in 1904 Public high schools in Washington (state) 1904 establishments in Washington (state)