# Austin High School (Minnesota)

Austin High School (originally called Franklin School when constructed in 1869) is a public high school in Austin, Minnesota, United States. It is part of Austin Public Schools, established in 1857. The home of the Packers, the school has over 1,250 students; AHS prides itself on having strong academics, athletics, and fine arts. The school colors are Scarlet and White, and the sports team is the Packers. AHS is a member of the Big 9 Conference.

## School layout

The original (north) block and first addition (south block) are laid out in a fashion where the classrooms all have exterior windows. The only exception being what was the original south hall of the original (north) block which currently overlooks the commons area. The interior of the north block of the building houses the school's library/media center on the main floor and the original auditorium – named Christgau Hall – on the second and third floors. The interior of the south block / first addition houses Knowlton Auditorium and Ove Berven gym. The basement of the south block/first addition is home to the school's cafeteria. The second addition which is located to the south of the main classroom blocks is home to the competition gymnasium, locker rooms, a wrestling mezzanine above the locker rooms, and another gym which has a composite-type floor and is used mainly for wrestling and gymnastics. Across Fourth Street to the west of the main building is the school's Annex building. It is home to industrial arts, child care, and music programs. It is connected to the main building via a tunnel under the street. The Annex basement contains the school's weight room and a small auditorium. The Annex received a second floor addition which houses the MacPhail Center for Music that began construction in winter of 2019 and was opened in the spring of 2020.

## Sports available

* Dance Team (Girls)
* Cheer Team (Girls)
* Gymnastics (Girls)
* Softball (Girls)
* Basketball (Boys/Girls)
* Soccer (Boys/Girls)
* Tennis (Boys/Girls)
* Golf (Boys/Girls)
* Wrestling (Boys/Girls)
* Hockey (Boys/Girls)
* Bowling (Boys/Girls)
* Cross Country (Boys/Girls)
* Track and Field (Boys/Girls)
* Swimming/Diving (Boys/Girls)
* Football (Boys)
* Baseball (Boys)
* Clay Target Shooting (Co-ed)

## Clubs

Austin High School is home to over 100 different clubs such as:
* Ping-pong
* Ultimate frisbee team
* Art club
* Chess
* Culture club
* Competitive speech team
* etc.

## Other information

Austin is a member of the Big Nine athletic and music conference.

## Notable alumni

* Grant Blackwood, novelist
* Mark Cady, jurist for the Iowa Supreme Court
* Burdette Haldorson, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in men's basketball
* Amanda Hocking, New York Times best-selling author
* Molly Kate Kestner, professional singer-songwriter
* John Maus, Avant-Garde synthpop musician
* Bob Motzko, University of Minnesota men's ice hockey head coach
* Laurie Pryor, politician
* Warren Stowell, Minnesota state legislator, businessman, and educator
* Michael Wuertz, former Major League Baseball pitcher, previously with the Chicago Cubs and with the Oakland A's
* Rick Zombo, retired defenseman for 12 seasons in the National Hockey League