La Cueva High School
Encyclopedia
La Cueva High School is a public high school located in northeast Albuquerque
, New Mexico
. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools
District. Their mascot is a bear
. The La Cueva Cluster has several middle and elementary schools that feed into it, of which include Desert Ridge, Madison, and Eisenhower middle schools, Dennis Chavez, Double Eagle, E. G. Ross, Hubert Humphrey, and North Star elementary schools. La Cueva started in 1986 with 1200 students ranging from Freshman
to Juniors
.
. According to www.greatschools.net, the high school is one of very few high schools in the city and the state to receive a GreatSchools rating of 10 of 10. The website also indicates their test scores are among the highest of any high school in the city. La Cueva has been recognized nationally by Redbook
magazine as a “School of Excellence." La Cueva offers a common variety of courses from practical and fine arts to various social studies classes, and numerous math and science classes. La Cueva Academic Decathlon has won a number of state championships and been recognized for excellence with outstanding performances at the national level. The JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) TEAMS
teams have been state champions every year since 1992. DECA
: Association of Marketing Students program has had many students place in national marketing competitions. The Model United Nations
program has won 8 state first places and finished 3rd in the National Model UN program. Frances Gruette, a teacher of AP Calculus AB, was awarded one of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement.
La Cueva has had national winners in the National Counsel of Teachers of English (NCTE) writing awards for the past eight years. Journalism and yearbook students have achieved state and national recognition for their work on school publications. A number of La Cueva graduates are presently journalists writing for news publications throughout the country. The school has also produced over 150 National Merit Scholarship Finalists since 1988.
LCHS competes in 18 NMAA Sport-Activity Events.
In 2010 and 2011, several substance abuse incidents brought scrutiny to the Bears athletic department.
In late 2010, the Bears football team had just lost a playoff game in Las Cruces when some of its players reportedly were drinking on the bus ride home to Albuquerque. Head coach Fred Romero and assistant coach Mike Tixier lost their jobs after the incident, and Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks put the athletic program on probation at that point.
In February 2011, principal Todd Resch discussed with the school board in February the possibility of random drug testing at the school.
In June of 2011, three La Cueva players and one from Eldorado selected to play in the North-South baseball series were sent home, one day after police pulled over a car in which they were passengers and discovered they had been drinking.
The three baseball players were part of a team that captured the Class 5A state championship despite losing two of its key players to suspension in April when they and a junior varsity player were caught with drug paraphernalia before a midweek practice.
Boys
Girls
During the 2004 to 2005 school year, the Bears baseball team briefly held the national record for consecutive wins. The Bears football team was undefeated for two seasons, losing its third game in the 2004-2005 year.
According to the school's website, the Bears have excelled on the athletic fields since school doors opened in 1986. The school has won a total of sixty-nine state championships, 226 district championships, and has been selected as the NMAA All-Sports Trophy winner 11 times for boys and 8 times for girls and were awarded the first ever Directors Cup honoring the total athletic program for the 2004-05 academic year. The school's first state championship came in 1987 as the La Cueva Girls' Cross Country team won the NM AAAA State Championship. La Cueva has had 29 High School All-Americans, 12 Gatorade Athletes of the Year, 6 APS Athletes of the Year, and 5 Tribune Athletes of the Year. Former Bears include Olympians Lance Ringnald (88) and Nate DiPalma (93). Collegiate All-Americans include Amy Warner (01), Kristen Graczyk (02), Jamie MacArthur (04), Randy Wells (07), Richie Hansen (95), Jennifer Hommert (95), Anna Tuttle (95), Doug Zembiec (91), Jeff Rowland (02). AJ Bramlett (Basketball) (95) played on the University of Arizona
's national championship team and Nick Speegle (2000) was drafted and presently plays football for the Cleveland Browns
. Sports Illustrated ranked the Bears as the 24th best overall sports high school in the country.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. It is part of the Albuquerque Public Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools is a school district based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Founded in 1891, the Albuquerque Public School District is the largest of 89 public school districts in the State of New Mexico....
District. Their mascot is a bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
. The La Cueva Cluster has several middle and elementary schools that feed into it, of which include Desert Ridge, Madison, and Eisenhower middle schools, Dennis Chavez, Double Eagle, E. G. Ross, Hubert Humphrey, and North Star elementary schools. La Cueva started in 1986 with 1200 students ranging from Freshman
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
to Juniors
Eleventh grade
Eleventh Grade is the eleventh, and for some countries final, grade of secondary schools. Students are typically 16 or 17 years of age, depending on the country and the students' birthdays.-Brazil:...
.
Academics
La Cueva has been a New Mexico Exemplary School for the past three years, and the only APS high school to meet AYPAdequate Yearly Progress
Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...
. According to www.greatschools.net, the high school is one of very few high schools in the city and the state to receive a GreatSchools rating of 10 of 10. The website also indicates their test scores are among the highest of any high school in the city. La Cueva has been recognized nationally by Redbook
Redbook
Redbook is an American women's magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines.-History:...
magazine as a “School of Excellence." La Cueva offers a common variety of courses from practical and fine arts to various social studies classes, and numerous math and science classes. La Cueva Academic Decathlon has won a number of state championships and been recognized for excellence with outstanding performances at the national level. The JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) TEAMS
TEAMS (academic competition)
Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science is an annual competition originally organized by the Junior Engineering Technical Society...
teams have been state champions every year since 1992. DECA
DECA (organization)
DECA, also known as Collegiate DECA on the college level) is an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service . DECA prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing,...
: Association of Marketing Students program has had many students place in national marketing competitions. The Model United Nations
Model United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
program has won 8 state first places and finished 3rd in the National Model UN program. Frances Gruette, a teacher of AP Calculus AB, was awarded one of the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement.
La Cueva has had national winners in the National Counsel of Teachers of English (NCTE) writing awards for the past eight years. Journalism and yearbook students have achieved state and national recognition for their work on school publications. A number of La Cueva graduates are presently journalists writing for news publications throughout the country. The school has also produced over 150 National Merit Scholarship Finalists since 1988.
Athletics
La Cueva High School is a New Activities Association (NMAA) AAAAA School in District 2.LCHS competes in 18 NMAA Sport-Activity Events.
In 2010 and 2011, several substance abuse incidents brought scrutiny to the Bears athletic department.
In late 2010, the Bears football team had just lost a playoff game in Las Cruces when some of its players reportedly were drinking on the bus ride home to Albuquerque. Head coach Fred Romero and assistant coach Mike Tixier lost their jobs after the incident, and Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks put the athletic program on probation at that point.
In February 2011, principal Todd Resch discussed with the school board in February the possibility of random drug testing at the school.
In June of 2011, three La Cueva players and one from Eldorado selected to play in the North-South baseball series were sent home, one day after police pulled over a car in which they were passengers and discovered they had been drinking.
The three baseball players were part of a team that captured the Class 5A state championship despite losing two of its key players to suspension in April when they and a junior varsity player were caught with drug paraphernalia before a midweek practice.
State titles (since 2001) AAAAA
Does not include (28) AAAA State Titles, Total Championships: 78.Boys
- Cross Country: 2004, 2010
- Football: 1993,2003, 2004, 2009
- Soccer: 2002, 2008, 2009
- Basketball: 2003, 2009, 2010
- Swimming:
- Golf: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008
- Baseball: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011
- Tennis: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Track & Field: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011
- Wrestling: 2002
Girls
- Cross Country:
- Cheerleading: 2002, 2006
- Volleyball:
- Soccer: 2002, 2004, 2006
- Basketball: 2008,2009
- Swimming: 2001, 2008
- Golf: 2007
- Softball: 2005
- Tennis:
- Track & Field: 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011
During the 2004 to 2005 school year, the Bears baseball team briefly held the national record for consecutive wins. The Bears football team was undefeated for two seasons, losing its third game in the 2004-2005 year.
According to the school's website, the Bears have excelled on the athletic fields since school doors opened in 1986. The school has won a total of sixty-nine state championships, 226 district championships, and has been selected as the NMAA All-Sports Trophy winner 11 times for boys and 8 times for girls and were awarded the first ever Directors Cup honoring the total athletic program for the 2004-05 academic year. The school's first state championship came in 1987 as the La Cueva Girls' Cross Country team won the NM AAAA State Championship. La Cueva has had 29 High School All-Americans, 12 Gatorade Athletes of the Year, 6 APS Athletes of the Year, and 5 Tribune Athletes of the Year. Former Bears include Olympians Lance Ringnald (88) and Nate DiPalma (93). Collegiate All-Americans include Amy Warner (01), Kristen Graczyk (02), Jamie MacArthur (04), Randy Wells (07), Richie Hansen (95), Jennifer Hommert (95), Anna Tuttle (95), Doug Zembiec (91), Jeff Rowland (02). AJ Bramlett (Basketball) (95) played on the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
's national championship team and Nick Speegle (2000) was drafted and presently plays football for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Sports Illustrated ranked the Bears as the 24th best overall sports high school in the country.
Notable alumni
- A.J. Bramlett - NCAA Natl. Champion Arizona WildcatsArizona Wildcats-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
, Cleveland CavaliersCleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
, and European Basketball player - Christina Hall - Miss New Mexico 2006
- Neil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick HarrisNeil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
- actor - Jordan PachecoJordan PachecoJordan Patrick Pacheco is a right-handed Major League Baseball 3rd baseman for the Colorado Rockies....
- Major League Baseball Player - James ParrJames ParrJames R. Parr is a Minor League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He was drafted in the fourth round, 131st overall pick, out of La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico by the Atlanta Braves in the 2004 MLB Draft.On September 4, , Parr made his major league debut for the Braves...
- Major League Baseball Player - Freddie Prinze, Jr.Freddie Prinze, Jr.Freddie James Prinze, Jr. is an American actor. He rose to fame during the late 1990s and early 2000s, after starring in several Hollywood films aimed at teenage audiences, I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer , as well as She's All That , Summer...
- actor - Tony Strascina - actor
- Christina July KimChristina July KimChristina July Kim is an American actress. She began her film debut working on indie films that were screened at the annual LA Shorts Fest, Cinema City International Film Festival, and S.F. Frozen Film Festival to name a few...
- actress - Major Douglas A. ZembiecDouglas A. ZembiecMajor Douglas Alexander Zembiec , the "Lion of Fallujah" and also referred to as the "Unapologetic Warrior" was an officer in the United States Marine Corps who was killed in action while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom...