# Papillion-La Vista Senior High School

Papillion-La Vista Senior High School, often referred to as Papio, PLHS, or ‘’’Monarchs’’’ is located in Papillion, Nebraska, United States and is operated by the Papillion-La Vista Public School District. Its school colors are maroon and gold, and the Mascot is monarchs.

## History

The Papillion-La Vista Public Schools District originated well over a century ago. It is reported to be the first school district to be established in Nebraska Territory, in 1872.
Papillion-La Vista High School dates back to September 1876. Originally housed in a single brick building at the corner of Halleck & Adams Streets, Papillion's only school served students in all 12 grades. In 1893 the school moved to a new brick building at 420 S. Washington Street, the present site of the district offices. The city continued to grow, and in February 1957, Papillion High School opened in a new building across Washington Street (presently Papillion Junior High) to students in grades 7-12.
The city of La Vista incorporated in 1960 and presented no education system. The students of this new development area north of Papillion had been incorporated into the Papillion School District. Papillion's steady growth continued. By September 1969, voters in the district had passed a bond issue to build a new high school facility at 84th Street and East Centennial Road. A similar bond issue the preceding year had been defeated. The high school moved north to its present location in August 1971, serving students in grades 9 through 12. In 1987, La Vista was officially added to the district and the high school's name was officially changed to Papillion-La Vista High School.
The 1999 film Election was shot mainly in Papillion-La Vista High School. Papillion-La Vista High School had actual classes going on during much of the filming of Election. The background noises during much of the film are actual teachers and their students in nearby rooms.

### Second high school

Continued population growth resulted in the construction of Papillion-La Vista South High School (PLSHS), in southwest Papillion, which opened in August 2003. PLHS had previously been a 10-12 school, and 9th graders had attended classes at the two junior high schools in the district. After the school district opened a second high school, the freshman class was moved from the junior high schools to the two high schools.

## Sports

* Football - Class A Champions 1990 and 1996;Runner-up 1986, Runner-up 1987, Runner-up 1995 and Runner-up 1997
* Softball - 13 Class A Championships, 2 Runners-up from 1995-2010 (including 10 straight)
* Volleyball - Class A Champions - 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, and 2008
* Girls' track and field - Class A State Champions - 1997, 1998, 1999
* Boys' golf - Class A Champion - 1999
* Boys' tennis - Class A Champion - 1978
* Boys' basketball - Class A Champion - 1993, Runner-up 2013, 1971
* Boys' swimming - Class A Champion - 2003
* Boys' soccer - Class A Champion - 1991
* Wrestling - Class A Champion - 2001
* Boys' All-Nebraska All-Sport Award -2012
* Cross country
* Baseball - 1997, 1998
* Girls' tennis - 2015

## Notable alumni

* Jordy Bahl, college softball player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers
* Kenzo Cotton, All American and Southeastern Conference Champion sprinter at the University of Arkansas.
* Merle Dandridge, Broadway actress and the voice of Alyx Vance in the award-winning action game Half-Life 2 and its sequels, Episode One and Episode Two
* Allan Evridge, former Kansas State and Wisconsin quarterback
* Matty Lewis, Musician and lead singer of the band Zebrahead
* Gina Mancuso, Gatorade Volleyball player of the year
* Carlos Martínez, professional football player, formerly with the Dallas Cowboys
* Jeremy Slechta, former professional football player with the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans
* Becca Swanson, nicknamed "the strongest woman in the world" for lifting more weight than any other woman in the world; squatting over 800 lbs, benchpressing over 500 lbs, and total lifting (squatting, benchpressing and deadlifting) more than 2000 lbs
* Allison Weston, 2000 Olympic Volleyball Captain and University of Nebraska Volleyball, All-State Nebraska High School volleyball, basketball, and soccer