Wapsie Valley High School

Coordinates: 42°40′52″N 92°08′20″W / 42.681°N 92.139°W / 42.681; -92.139

Wapsie Valley High School (WVHS) is a secondary school in northeastern Iowa, United States. It is located equidistantly between Readlyn and Fairbank.

Athletics

Football: Class 2A state champs in 1986 and 1987, Class 2A runner up 1990, Class 1A state champs in 1997, Class A runner up in 2006.^[1] Class A state champions in 2007 and 2012.^[2][3]

Basketball: Boys: Class 2A runner up in 2003 to state champion Sioux Center Class 2A consolation champion (3rd place) 1989 and 1996.^[4]

Girls: State basketball appearances in 1968, 1970, and 2006. Jamie Sickles state career assists leader (2002-2006)^[5]

Cross Country: Boys Class 1A state champs in 2000,^[6] 2004,^[7] and 2005^[8]

Class 1A state runner-up in 2001; Class 1A 3rd place in 2006.

Volleyball: Class 1A state champs in 2006^[9] and 2007^[10]

Coaches

Football: Jerry Southmayd 241-83 (33 years),^[11] 3 state championships, 34 game win streak from 86-88, 41 regular season game win streak 86-90

Wrestling: Chris Davis 314-173-9 in state dual wins, crowned three state champions, inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006, inducted into Iowa High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008.^[12]

Extra

Claimed the first ever Class 1A Traveling Challenge Cup for their athletic and academic achievements during the 2007-08 school year.

Wapsie Valley was the first of two football teams in the state of Iowa to claim championships in 3 separate classes, A, 1A, and 2A.^[13]

Notable Alumni

Brooks McKowen - Iowa's high-school basketball record holder in points scored in a season (2003). Also the state's all time leader in points scored in a career.^[14] McKowen was the 2003 "Mr. Basketball" for the state of Iowa, and had a successful career at Northern Iowa, spanning from 2003-2007. He is current the head basketball coach at Upper Iowa University.

Chris Jans - Former player for Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He started coaching at Kirkwood Community College in 1996 and had been an assistant coach at Wichita State University under Gregg Marshall for six years. On March 23, 2014, news broke that he would become the next head coach at Bowling Green State University.^[15] On April 2, 2015, Jans was fired from his position at Bowling Green for exhibiting "drunken and inappropriate behavior." He was shown in a video slapping a woman's buttocks and appeared to be intoxicated.^[16]

Josh Moen - Former professional runner for Team USA Minnesota.^[17] Formerly a member of the Brooks Hanson Project. Placed 2nd at the USATF 10-mile Championships among many other accomplishments.^[18][19]

Morgan McGarvey - Class of 2016 at Wapsie Valley High School. McGarvey has placed 1st in Nationals for Taekwondo,^[20] and is on Team USA,^[21] training for the 2016 Summer Olympics.^[22]

References