# Hurricane High School (Utah)

37°10′30″N 113°17′42″W﻿ / ﻿37.17500°N 113.29500°W﻿ / 37.17500; -113.29500
Hurricane High School is the only high school in Hurricane, Utah, United States. It enrolls students in grades 10–12 from Hurricane and surrounding communities, including La Verkin, Toquerville, Hildale, Virgin, Rockville, and Springdale. As of the 2022 school year, there are 1,141 students enrolled. The student population has grown by 9% over the last five school years. In 2017, a total of 296 students graduated with an 89% graduation rate. USBE Data and Research 2017
Hurricane High's school colors are red, black and white. The school mascot is a tiger.

## History

The first school classes were held in Hurricane in 1906 in the living room of Ira E. Bradshaw's home, consisting of grades one through eight. Hurricane's first high school class graduated in the 1927–1928 (97 years ago) (1928) school year.
A two-story red brick high school building was built during the Great Depression with help from the federal government's Works Progress Administration. The building was completed and the school opened just after Thanksgiving in 1936.
The school chose the colors red and black because those are the colors on a hurricane warning flag. The school originally chose the Red Devil as its mascot in the mid-1920s, but many of the students' parents complained due to the big LDS church influence in the town.Shortly after the complaints from parents, the school then had a student vote between the Blue Jays, Black Pirates and Tigers. The students voted for the tiger as their new mascot, and it was an animal that could be rendered easily in black and red.
In 1974, a new gymnasium and three classrooms were completed at the school site. Students walked between the old high school building and the new building for classes. In 1978, classrooms and a cafeteria were added, and grades 9–12 moved to the new building. The old building remained in use for other grades until it was demolished in the spring of 2004. An auditorium, auxiliary gym, and administrative office areas were added in 1996. In 2001, a science hall was added and named for the outgoing principal, Robert Goulding.
The school's enrollment growth forced an expansion of the existing building. The expansion opened in 2012.
Daniel McKeehan is the principal at Hurricane High School, replacing former principal Darin Thomas in 2023.

### Hurricane High School Principals

| Principal | Years |
| Vivian Decker | 1917–1918 |
| A. L. Winsor | 1918–1919 |
| H. Val Hafen | 1919–1921 |
| Willard O. Nisson | 1921–1924 |
| Lorenzo Parker | 1924–1928 |
| Milton E. Moody | 1928–1929 |
| Glenn E. Snow | 1929–1932 |
| Leeman Bennett | 1932–1938 |
| Maurice Nuttal | 1938–1958 |
| J. Ordean Washborn | 1958–1961 |
| David R. Pearce | 1961–1969 |
| Wayne Edwards | 1969–1983 |
| Harold Tenney | 1983–1985 |
| Rob Goulding | 1985–2001 |
| Roy Hoyt | 2001–2008 |
| Kevin Pederson | 2008–2012 |
| Jody Rich | 2012–2018 |
| Darin Thomas | 2018–2023 |
| Daniel McKeehan | 2023–present |

## Athletics

Hurricane High is a 4A school and is a part of Region 9 of the Utah High School Activities Association, and has teams in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, swimming, softball, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and wrestling. The school also has a speech and debate team, and students from the school's music programs participate in the UHSAA's Solo and Ensemble competitions.The school has long standing rivalries with Cedar High, Dixie High, Pine View High, Desert Hills High and Snow Canyon High in region 9 sports. They also have had some pretty intense sporting events against Crimson Cliffs High school, despite Crimson Cliffs high being by far the newest high school in the county.
School State Championships:
Baseball: 1 – 1956
Boys Basketball: 2 – 1982, 2012
Girls Basketball: 5 – 1988, 1989, 1993, 1994, 2000
Football: 1 – 2011
Boys Track: 8 – 1984, 1989, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
Girls Track: 2 – 1984, 1993
Volleyball: 2 – 2008, 2013