Tuscola High School
historyTuscola High School is a public senior high school located in Waynesville, North Carolina, United States of America about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west-southwest of Asheville. Tuscola High School succeeded the original Waynesville Township High School during the 1966 consolidation that merged Fines Creek and Crabtree High Schools with Waynesville. The school was built in the Tuscola community of East Waynesville, near Lake Junaluska and was named after the community in which it was built. Tuscola is a Cherokee word that means "Digging in Many Places". The school's mascot is a Mountaineer and the school colors are black and gold.
History
On September 30, 1963, the joint boards of education recommended that the schools of Haywood County consolidate. Due to the popular thought that larger schools could provide more opportunities at a more cost-effective price, plans were made to build two senior high schools, one on each side of the county. The construction of these new schools was to be financed by a 2.5 million-dollar bond, along with additional state and local funds. In order to make travel more reasonable for residents of Crabtree and Fines Creek, the location of the high school was moved from West Waynesville to an East Waynesville community near Lake Junaluska known as Tuscola. The name for the new high school became an issue for debate. Some wanted to keep the Waynesville name, while others suggested the name "Crabcreek"- after the Crabtree and Fines Creek high schools. However, in the end the school was named Tuscola- after the East Waynesville community in which it was built. The Waynesville school colors of black and gold and the Mountaineer mascot were both inherited by the new school.
Academics
Tuscola is well known for its academic success. The school offers opportunities for students to earn college credits in high school through its nationally recognized Advanced Placement (AP) classes, and also offers students the opportunity to take classes through the Haywood Community College dual enrollment program. The school places above state and national averages on EOC and SAT scores.
Rivalry
As one of the two major high schools in the Haywood County Schools System, there is a huge rivalry between the Tuscola Mountaineers of Waynesville and Pisgah Black Bears of Canton. The two high school football teams battle it out for the Haywood County Championship each fall, drawing up to 15,000 fans.
Athletics
Tuscola is currently a member of the 3A/2A Appalachian Athletic Conference and will continue to be through at least June 2013. The school is best known for its tradition-rich football program - which holds 24 Haywood County Championships, 13 Conference Championships, 1 Western Division II Championship, and 1 NCHSAA State Championship. State Championships are also held by the Volleyball team, and most recently by the Men's Golf Team (2006).
Current Coaches:
Varsity Football: Donnie Keiffer
JV Football : Brandon Allen
Varsity Mens Basketball: Nathan Messer
JV Mens Basketball : Byron Barnett
Freshman Mens Basketball: Aaron Fernandez
Varsity Womens Basketball: Ann Garnder
JV Womens Basketball : Butch Ray
Varsity Mens Baseball: Eryk McConnell
JV Mens Baseball:
{| class="wikitable" border="1" |- ! FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS ! WON |- | State | 1972 |- | Western Regional | 1972 |- | W. Regional Runner-Up | 2009 |- | Western Division II | 1982 |- | Conference | 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2008, 2009 |- | Haywood County | 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 |}
Notable alumni
Jonathan Crompton, Starting quarterback for the University of Tennessee Football team
Stephanie Glance, UT Lady Vols Special Assistant to Pat Summitt; Former Interim Head Coach for NC State University Women's Basketball team
Judy Green, Head Coach for the University of Alabama Volleyball team.