# West Springfield High School (Virginia)

West Springfield High School is a public high school located in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, at 6100 Rolling Road, and is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools system. West Springfield (often referred to as WSHS) enrolls students from grades 9–12, offers the Advanced Placement program and currently enrolls over 2,400 students.
The facility has a Springfield postal address and is physically within the West Springfield census-designated place.

## History

The school opened in 1966. A school renovation was completed in 1991, which included the construction of new classrooms in a courtyard and remodeling the library, Auditorium, Spartan Hall, and the Career Center. The first principal was S. John Davis, who subsequently became Fairfax Superintendent of Schools and served as Virginia state Superintendent. Planning for a $75 million, 4-year renovation was started in 2012, and actual renovations began in Summer 2016. The renovations concluded in September 2019 which included a new dance studio.

## Demographics

For the 2019–20 school year, West Springfield High School's student body was 48.15% White, 17.59% Hispanic, 15.07% Asian, 11.59% Black and 7.60% Other. It was also 48.45% female and 51.55% male.

## Athletics

WSHS participates in a wide variety of high school sports. West Springfield's school mascot is a Spartan soldier and school colors are orange and blue.
The school competes in the Patriot District which is in the 6A Region C (Occoquan Region) of the Virginia High School League.

### Varsity softball

The Varsity Softball Team won the AAA State Softball title in 1983.$^{:61}$

### Debate and forensics

Students from both Forensics and Debate compete in the Washington Arlington Catholic Forensics League (WACFL) tournaments in the Diocese of Arlington. Students also compete in invitational tournaments at universities along the East Coast, including Yale University, St. Joseph's University, and George Mason University.
The Forensics Team won its first Group AAA crown in 2006, and won again in 2009.$^{:223}$ Debate also won the Group AAA in 2009.$^{:212}$

### Varsity baseball

The Spartan baseball team won the Virginia AAA State Championships in 1991, 1998, and 2010, and the Class 6 title in 2018.$^{:6}$
The Spartan Baseball motto is "Season est de Tempore, tamen virtus Traditionis sustinet" (From Season to Season, the Tradition Continues).
The 2010 Spartans were led by The All-Met Player of the Year, Bobby Wahl.

### Dance team

The West Springfield dance team, otherwise known as WSDT, are seven-time consecutive NDA National Champions. 2010 in Medium Varsity Hip-Hop, and 2011–2016 in Large Varsity hip hop. Then in 2018 they became DTU National Champions in Hip-Hop as well. In the 2011 America's Got Talent YouTube auditions, WSDT qualified as one of the top 12 acts, earning them a spot to compete on the show. They advanced to the Final 10, but were eliminated.
In 2019 WSDT made it to TV once again when they auditioned and were selected to compete on NBC's primetime hit TV show World of Dance as the very first public high school dance team to compete on the show. They auditioned in New York city and were selected to appear and compete on the show. The team was eliminated in the second round.

### Cheerleading

The Spartan Cheerleading squad won the fall AAA state title in 2003. There was also winter champion as the sport was moved from winter to fall that year.$^{:20}$

### Cross-country/track and field

The West Springfield Boys Cross Country Teams won the AAA State Championship in 1989, 1993, 1994 and 1995, and the Class 6 championship in 2019.$^{:21}$ The West Springfield Boys Track team won the AAA State Championships for both Indoor and Outdoor in 1996, and for Indoor in 1998.$^{:95,125}$ In 1997 a team with Sharif Karie took home The Penn Relays Championship of America in the 4 × 800 m Relay. At the time Karie's split of 1:50 was a carnival record. Karie won the 1997 National Championship in the mile against future US Olympians John Riley and Gabe Jennings. With the win Karie won Gatorade National Track and Field Athlete of the Year. The following year West Springfield set a national record in 1998 in the distance medley relay with a time of 10:10.30, breaking a record that stood for over 15 years.

### Swim and dive

The West Springfield Women's Swim and Dive teams won AAA State Championships in 1994, 1995, and 1996.

### Crew

The WSHS crew team was established in 1989 by Mark Lundquist and David Klett and coaches by Ken Schuster.
In 1989, the team's inaugural year, the men's varsity 8 won the Northern Virginia Championship against all odds on the Fountainhead reservoir.
In 2008, the men's freshman 8 was awarded the bronze medal at VASRA States, and continued through to compete in Nationals. At nationals, they were the fastest freshman men's 8 out of all of the public school competitors. The same year, the women's varsity eight also qualified for Nationals.
In 2009, the women's freshman 8 got 7th in the state, but with a disqualification of a higher ranking boat, was awarded a place to compete in Nationals.
In 2010, the men's junior eight won the silver medal at VASRA States and qualified to compete in Nationals. Both the women's lightweight four and women's varsity four won second place at states and qualified for Nationals. The women's second four won third place at states.
In 2011, the women's lightweight four won third place at states, qualifying them to compete in nationals. The Men's Varsity eight came in 9th place at State and competed in nationals

## Music

The Wind Symphony has received consistent ratings of "Superior" at band festivals in previous years, and the Symphonic and Concert bands, while playing lower grade pieces, continued to receive "Superior" ratings. In 2016, both the Wind Symphony and the Symphonic Band received "Superior" ratings with the Wind Symphony competing in Grade 6, the highest grade possible in Virginia. The Jazz band has received "Superior" ratings in all of their recent competitions, and received several awards during their last spring trip. The Wind Symphony has also participated in concert band festivals such as the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference (VMEA) and the Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis. The school's marching band, the Marching Spartans, has won multiple USSBA Group 5 (A and Open classes) championships, and are Virginia champions and All-States champions from 2015. The band has earned the title of Honor Band in 2000, 2006–2009, 2012–2020, 2022, 2023. In 2024, the band was barred from being adjudicated at VBODA assessment due to controversy over one of their pieces being ungraded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Symphonic Orchestra played as an honor orchestra in the 2005 Virginia Music Educator's Association. There is also a Concert Orchestra, an orchestra below the level of the Symphonic Orchestra. A third orchestra is the Chamber Orchestra, a level above the Symphonic Orchestra, which was established in the 2008 school year for the elite players.
WSHS has a Guitar program, with school-provided guitars for students to use. Their Jazz Guitar Combo is one of few high school groups of its kind in the region. They receive consistent ratings of "Superior," as does the Advanced Guitar Ensemble and Guitar Ensemble. The Guitar Program is currently the largest music department in terms of population, with their 5 different levels of difficulty.
The choral program at WSHS features four classes, two of which require auditions. Cantus is an un-auditioned treble choir, and Spartones is an un-auditioned tenor/bass choir, while the two audition choirs are Bel Canto and Madrigals. Bel Canto is treble choir that typically performs accompanied pieces, and occasionally a cappella pieces. Madrigals is the most musically advanced choir, is a mixed ensemble, and primarily focuses on a cappella pieces. At competitions, the Choral Department has received many awards and recognitions, as well as many "Superior" ratings over the years. In November 2022, the Madrigals were selected to perform at the VMEA conference in Richmond.

## Theatre

The West Springfield Theatre Department has taken part in the Cappies Critics program since it began in 2002. The department is known for its high quality shows that have garnered many positive reviews. In 2013, West Springfield's production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" received a Cappie for Best Lead Actress in a Play; and in the same year, won the VHSL state one-act competition for its show "The Other Room." In 2010, "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" won a Cappie for Best Make-up. In 2022 West Springfield competed in the VHSL Theatre competition with "A Ballad of Dice & Disaster" and it would go on to place 3rd at the District Level, 1st at the Regional Level, and 3rd at the State Level for Class 6 Competition.

## Journalism

West Springfield High School has three printed publications produced by Journalism and Photojournalism students, including The Oracle, The Olympian, and The Symposium. They are the student-led school newspaper, yearbook, and literary magazine respectively. In 2023, the school would be recognized with the First Amendment Press Freedom Award. Started in 1966, The Oracle is West Springfield High School’s award-winning school newspaper. In 2022, the printed paper would win first class in VHSL. The digital version of the publication, The Oracle Online, would win second class in VHSL. The Olympian is West Springfield High School’s yearbook. This publication is led by students in Photojournalism classes. The Symposium is West Springfield High School’s literary and art magazine. All students can submit writing, music, or art to the publication, which is then voted on by the staff anonymously. The magazine is distributed annually with the Olympian.

## Notable alumni

* Dave Albo, Republican politician
* Becky Ann Baker, actress
* Louis Bayard (Class of 1981), author
* Antonio Bustamante (Class of 2015), professional soccer player
* Greg Calloway (Class of 2000), reality show winner
* Brian Carroll (Class of 2000), professional soccer player
* Jeff Carroll (Class of 2001), professional soccer player
* Mike Caussin (Class of 2005), professional football player
* James Dexter (Class of 1991), professional football player
* Nikita Dragun (Class of 2014), YouTuber
* Lars Eckenrode (Class of 2013), professional soccer player
* Patrick Forrester (Class of 1975), astronaut
* J (South Korean singer) (Class of 1996), Korean-American singer based in South Korea
* Jeremy Kapinos (Class of 2002), professional football player 2007–2012
* Sharif Karie (Class of 1997), middle-distance running track runner
* Kara Lawson (Class of 1999), professional basketball player, Gold Medalist 2008 Olympics, ESPN personality
* Laura (Cook) Lenderman (Class of 1989), US Air Force General
* Tony Muskett (Class of 2020), college football player
* Bryn Renner (Class of 2009), professional football player
* Joe Saunders (Class of 1999), professional baseball player
* Mohammed Seisay (Class of 2008), professional football player
* Ryan Speier (Class of 1996), professional baseball player
* Virginia Thrasher (Class of 2015), professional sports shooter, Gold Medalist 2016 Olympics
* Bobby Wahl (Class of 2010), baseball player