Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School is a public high school in the south suburbs of Chicago located in Dolton, Illinois. It was built as part of Thornton Township High School District 205. Thornrigde's doors first opened to the public in 1960. It is sometimes confused with the similarly named schools in the Thornton Township district 205 : Thornton Township High School (Harvey, IL) and Thornwood High School (South Holland,IL). Thornridge HS is currently celebrating their 60th anniversary of education to Dolton as of the 2019-2020 school year. The school is over 96% African American.[5]
Thornridge High School | |
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Address | |
South Suburbs, 15000 Cottage Grove , 60419 United States | |
Coordinates | 41.6189°N 87.6001°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Opened | 1960 |
School district | Thornton Twp HS 205 |
Superintendent | Dr. Nathaniel Cunningham, Jr.[1] |
Principal | Ms. Ebonie Williams [2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Coed |
Enrollment | 1,242 [3] (2019) |
Average class size | 18.7[4] |
Area | South Suburbs |
Campus type | Suburban |
School color(s) | Light Gray Columbia blue[3] |
Slogan | "We Are TR" |
Athletics conference | Southland Athletic Conference |
Nickname | "The Ridge" or "TR" |
Team name | Mighty Falcons |
Newspaper | Bagpipe |
Yearbook | Piper |
Website | www |
Athletics
Thornridge's teams are nicknamed the "Falcons". The school colors are Columbia Blue, and Navy Blue. The school's teams competed as a member of the South Inter-Conference Association or SICA before eventually joining the Southwest Suburban Conference and as of 2019,the Falcons compete in the Southland Athletic Conference. These teams also compete in the state championship series sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).
The school sponsors teams for both men and women in basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, and track & field. Men may also compete in baseball, football, swimming & diving, and wrestling. Women may compete in cheerleading, softball, and volleyball.[6]
The following athletic teams placed in the top four of their respective class in their respective sports in IHSA sponsored state championship series.[7]
- basketball (boys): State Champions (1970–71, 1971–72) The Thornridge Falcons Logo
- cross country (boys): 3rd place (1978–79, 1979–80)
- cross country (girls): 3rd place (1983–84)
- swimming & diving (boys): 4th place (1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69); 3rd place (1969–70)
- track & field (boys): 3rd place (1979–80)
Activities
Thornridge has had an extensive history of success in the performing arts and competitive public speaking. The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective state championship competitions sponsored by the IHSA.[7]
- Debate: State Champions (1975–76); 2nd place (1972–73, 1977–78)
- Drama: State Champions (1971–72, 1989–90, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08); 2nd place (1969–70, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1988–89, 2005–06); 3rd place (1976–77, 1978–79, 1982–83); 4th place (2001–02)
- Group Interpretation: State Champions (1974–75, 1993–94, 2002–03); 2nd place (1980–81, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2003–04); 4th place (1996–97, 1999–2000)
- Individual Events: State Champions (1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71); 3rd place (1984–85, 1993–94); 4th place (1964–65, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1989–90)
- Speech (sweepstakes): State Champions (1967–68, 1969–70); 2nd place (1970–71, 1971–72), 4th place (1968–69)
Notable alumni
- Quinn Buckner was a basketball player and later coach, broadcaster and executive; led Thornridge to 1971 and 1972 IHSA state basketball championships; co-captain of 1976 national champion Indiana Hoosiers, won gold medal in 1976 Summer Olympics, had ten-year NBA career, playing for 1984 NBA champion Boston Celtics; was head coach of NBA's Dallas Mavericks;[8][9][10] his Indiana Pacers biography claims he is one of three people in history to claim championships at all of these levels of basketball competition.[11]
- David Clayton, a human rights activist, was named to the IHSA All-Star Cast for his performance in The Firebugs in 1972
- Kevin Duckworth was a two–time All-Star NBA center (1986–97)[8][12][13]
- Nelsan Ellis is a Juilliard-trained actor, best known for his roles on the television series The Inside and True Blood.[14]
- Reggie Hayward was an NFL defensive end (Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Syleena Johnson is a Grammy-nominated R&B singer and TV reality show star
- Jane Lynch is an actress, comedian, and singer; starred as Sue Sylvester in television series Glee and in various roles in Christopher Guest-directed films like A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show; host of TV's Hollywood Game Night[8]
- Sam Mack was an NBA guard[8][15]
- LisaRaye McCoy is a film and television actress (The Players Club, Single Ladies)
- Richard Roeper is a Chicago Sun-Times columnist and film critic who co-hosted At the Movies with Roger Ebert[8]
- Joe Skalski was an MLB pitcher (Cleveland Indians)
References
- Thornton Township H.S. District 205 District Administration; accessed 23 November 2008 Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Administration, Thornridge H.S. homepage; accessed 23 November 2008
- Thornridge High School profile, ihsa.org; accessed 23 November 2008
- Class of 2007 school report card, p. 1; accessed 23 November 2008
- http://webprod.isbe.net/ereportcard/publicsite/getReport.aspx?year=2019&code=0701620500002_e.pdf
- Thornridge Athletic Department; accessed 23 November 2008
- Season Summaries for Thornridge High School, ihsa.org; accessed 23 November 2008
- Bell, Taylor, Spotlight: Thornridge Falcons, 12 March 2008, Chicago Sun-Times; accessed 23 November 2008
- Heston, Patrick C, One Magical Century: The Story of Illinois High School Basketball, ihsa.org; accessed 23 November 2008
- Quinn Buckner biography and stats, basketball -reference.com; accessed 23 November 2008
- Quinn Buckner biography, pascers.com; accessed 23 November 2008
- Kevin Duckworth statistics and bio, basketball-reference.com; accessed 23 November 2008
- EIU Legend Kevin Duckworth Passes Away, Eastern Illinois University Athletics; accessed 23 November 2008
- Hermann, Andrew, True Blood actor Nelsan Ellis credits Thornridge teachers with on- and off-screen success, 23 November 2008, Chicago Sun-Times; accessed 23 November 2008
- Sam Mack stats & bio, databaseBasketball.com; accessed 23 November 2008 Archived 26 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine