And then there were 16.
Have you noticed the large sign between the Glenvar tennis courts and the driveway leading to the school? It was new this fall and contains the date and team for every Glenvar High School state championship, beginning with the 1970 boys’ track team. Currently there are 44 teams listed on the board, with four more to come.
Last winter’s boys’ swim championship and the spring boys’ soccer championship have yet to be included on board. Already this fall the Highlanders have earned state championships in both cross country and competition cheering. It’s the first state championship for either team and members of both are excited to be added to the board. When the board was erected there were 20 spots still available and now it’s down to 16 and counting.
The sign was constructed by G&H Contracting and was the idea of former Glenvar athletic director Jason Murray. There had been a small sign on the right side of the drive that most people probably missed. You can’t miss this one.
“Coach (Kevin) Clifford and I were talking about the small sign that had been up for years and maybe we could do something better,” said Murray. “We said something to Troy (Henderson of G&H Contracting) and he took it upon himself to get this done.”
The idea was to present something “bigger and bolder” to showcase the history of athletic success at the school. Since 1970 Glenvar has won 48 state championships in 55 years, and many of these sports weren’t even offered in 1970.
The boys’ tennis team has won the most championships with seven. The wrestling and softball teams have won five each, followed by golf, volleyball and boys’ soccer with three each.
The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have won two each, as well as both boys’ and girls’ swimming, both boys’ and girls’ outdoor track, girls’ indoor track and girls’ soccer. With one championship each are boys’ indoor track, football, baseball, girls’ tennis, and now boys’ cross country and competition cheer. And that doesn’t even count the many individual championships Glenvar has won in sports like track, swimming, golf and tennis.
“Give Mr. Henderson credit for this,” said Murray. “We were just having an informal conversation and he took the ball and ran with it.”
In fact, Hendersons are on the board. Troy played on the ’94 state championship baseball team and his oldest son, Tucker, was on the 2023 boys’ swim team. The Hendersons still have one more shot as son Haden is a sophomore on the football team that’s just three wins away. If they can win one there’s still some room on the board, at least for now.
