Point Loma High School

History

PLHS is the third oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District. It was dedicated in 1925 as Point Loma Junior-Senior High school, serving grades 7 through 12. There were 386 students at its opening on September 22, 1925. The first principal was Pete Ross and there were 30 teachers. Some San Diegans opposed creating a school in Point Loma, contending it was too far away from town, but school board member Edgar F. Hastings pushed the proposal through. In its early days the school was sometimes referred to as "Hastings' folly".

The original three-story high school building was torn down in the 1970s as part of a statewide requirement to make all schools earthquake-safe. It was replaced by a number of two-story buildings.

During the 1950s it was converted to a three-year high school with the opening of Richard Henry Dana Junior High School. In 1983 it became a four-year high school. PLHS now draws from six elementary schools serving grades kindergarten through 4, and two middle schools: Dana Middle for grades 5 and 6, and Correia Middle for grades 7 and 8.

The school also holds the distinction of having produced two major-league baseball pitchers who threw perfect games - David Wells and Don Larsen. Only 21 pitchers have thrown perfect games in Major League Baseball history. On May 11, 2016 a sophomore at PLHS threw a perfect game against la Jolla High under coaching of David Wells.

On June 17, 2014, PLHS announced that Wells would be the school's head baseball coach, starting with the 2014-2015 school year. Wells had been volunteering as an assistant coach for several years, and the team's home field was named David Wells Field in 2010.

Demographics

Point Loma High School is the third largest of 16 high schools in the San Diego Unified School District. It is a four-year, comprehensive high school, serving grades 9–12. It houses a student population of approximately 2000 students who come primarily from the local community. Approximately 35 percent of the student body participates in specialized programs, such as the Voluntary Ethnic Enrollment Program (VEEP), the Choice Program, the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) program, or the Seminar Program.

Academics

Point Loma High School is a leader in the number and variety of AP classes offered, ranging from Music Theory to Physics.

Athletics

The school's colors are maroon and gold, although football uniform colors are typically unconforming with their traditional colors of a main maroon with an accent of gold. The mascot is the Pointer Dog. The school offers a variety of men's and women's competitive sports:

Fall

Winter

Spring

Football

The Point Loma "Pointers" football team has won or shared the CIF championship five times in the past fifty years, all under head coach Bennie Edens. In 2005-2006, under head coach Mike Hastings, the Pointers reached the championship game but lost to Saint Augustine High School both times. They reached the championship game again in 2007 and 2009 but lost to Cathedral Catholic High School both times again led by first team All-C.I.F. selection Anthony Joyner and second team All-C.I.F. selection Jordan Sparkman. In recent years the Pointers have had 7 Division 1 football athletes.

Women's soccer

The Lady Pointers soccer team has done almost the same (in terms of winning) each year. However, in 2009, they made more progress than usual and went to the CIF Championship game, defeating many higher seeded teams to get there. The game ended in a tie, with Point Loma winning it in PKs. In 2015 the Lady Pointers soccer team won the CIF Division II Championship against Valhalla with a score of 1-0.

Women's basketball

The Lady Pointers basketball team was a powerhouse at the state level during the late 1980s, capturing the state championship and inspiring a graffiti-style mural at the athletic field. Under legendary women's basketball coach Lee Trepanier, known as "Coach T", the Lady Pointers posted an astonishing record of 335 wins and 51 losses between 1977 and 1990.

Men's water polo

The Point Loma High water polo team had the distinction of making it to the CIF tournament, seeded eighth in 2007. In the 2015 season, water polo won first place in their division.

Men's tennis

The Point Loma High men's tennis team won CIF twice, in 2008 and 2009. Their strongest team rivaled teams from all divisions, losing only one match, to Torrey Pines.

Sailing

The nationally ranked PLHS sailing team has won the Baker Trophy, the national team-racing championship of the Interscholastic Sailing Association, seven times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014), making them the national champions in the sport of sailing. PLHS sailing teams also won the Mallory trophy, the national fleet-racing championship, six times (1993, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, and 2014 ). In 2003 PLHS Sailor Parker Shinn won the Cressy Trophy, the national singlehanded championship of the ISSA.

Leap of Faith

The school became known among skateboarders for an infamous drop called the "Leap of Faith". This was a drop of 18 feet, 8 inches, consisting of 27 stairs, that had to be approached by an ollie over a railing. Professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas made this spot famous in his filmed attempt to land it; he landed without injury, but his board snapped upon impact. His attempt was included in the Zero video "Thrill Of It All". Another skateboarder, Richard King and several rollerbladers also attempted it, among them Ian Brown, Brian Shima, and Chris Haffey, but no one was successful at landing it completely, and several people broke their legs or ankles in the attempt. In 2005 the drop was blocked when the school installed a new elevator. The PLHS Leap of Faith was included as part of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, a skateboarding-based video game.

Notable alumni