‘Tangy Triumph

 Olentangy: Home of the Braves. Our school is more than just a building—it is lined with reputation, success and rich history. The students today continue to thrive as in years past.

Olentangy High School opened in 1953. Over the course of six decades, it evolved from the only school in the district into one of three high schools. Once a tiny farm school, it has grown into one of the top public schools in the country and built up an academically superior reputation—an effort Orange benefited from when it opened in 2008.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, Olentangy scored 111.8 points out of a possible 120 on the performance index of the most recent state report card. Orange trailed behind with 109.9 points. Olentangy also has had higher graduation rates since Orange’s opening.

The triumph of the Braves is not limited to high school. Gary LeVox, class of 1988, has already established himself as a member of musical trio Rascal Flatts. Fellow alum Kenny Anunike, class of ‘08, found success as a defensive tackle for the Denver Broncos. Josh Perry, class of ‘12, is currently a linebacker and captain of The Ohio State Buckeyes football team.

This past season, our football team upheld Anunike and Perry’s tradition of excellence. The Braves played an undefeated season and advanced to the state semifinals.

Our student section has only continued to grow in size and spirit. Over half the student body attended the 2015 Liberty game and crowded into two full sections of the stadium.

According to junior Shannon Cooney, the Keynotes show choir obtained second place at the Solon Invitational and the Clover Hill Invitational. They swept the Fairfield Invitational, which means they won Grand Champs, Best Combo, Best Crew, Best Costumes, Best Show, Best Concept, Best Vocals, and Best Choreography.

With this level of greatness trailing behind us and sure of the accomplishment yet to come, the Braves cannot help but feel a sense of pride in our school. Whether it be through consistently high test scores or a passionate student section, Olentangy has set the bar for the district

Orange pride

Although we are all part of the Olentangy Local community, each school finds itself in constant competition with one another through academics, athletics and the arts.

Each school excels in different areas, but no matter what the score of the game, the grade on the test or the place in the show, nothing compares to the amount of grit every Pioneer has wearing the colors orange and blue.

For Pioneers, nothing stands out more than our colors. No matter where we are or what we are doing, these colors represent the Pioneer name: who we are and where we come from.

Despite opening only seven years ago in 2008, we have still received a great amount of recognition for our extra-curriculars at Orange. With a total of three OCC championships and several state championship athletes, we have consistently proven that the amount of talent each program holds is not reliant on the age of the program.

We have seen multiple student athletes make a mark outside the walls of Orange. Within her high school career, track and field athlete Katelyn Daniels found herself with multiple state titles in discus and shot put, in addition to being awarded Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year in 2013. Similar to Daniels, other athletes have also made remarkable achievements including 2010 grad Aaron Horton who signed with the Columbus Crew after attending University of Louisville for soccer, and the Sanford sisters with their state championship win in tennis in 2013.

Every Friday our marching band, the pride of the Pioneers, puts on an outstanding performance that cannot be compared to any other school. They were also picked to perform at the skull session–a pep rally held before one of the Ohio State Buckeyes game-and they also plan to perform at the Peach Bowl.

Although we have had times of defeat, we find through each other a way to keep ourselves motivated, and carry ourselves over the losses. Whether winning or losing, at halftime the student section finds its attention drawn not to the scoreboard, but rather the marching band’s performance at the 50-yard line.

People don’t know the Orange name only through the colors but also through the titles we are known to create. From our hockey team’s confident slogan “orange hockey or die,” to the 2016’s signature line, “let’s get 16norant,” to our newest slogan “we have grit” which we can thank our new Principal Dr. McFarland for creating.

Although these phrases might seem humorous, they create a sense of community, giving each student a sense of belonging, a sense of pride, a sense of who we are.

Known as the best four years of your life, there’s nothing more a high schooler wants than to make memories that will last a lifetime. As The Courier staff, we succeed in giving each student just that. As a staff we have won First Place Newsmagazine every year since 2011, as the Bronze Bayonet Yearbook has won First Place Yearbook for the past six years. Although this documentation is a huge responsibility, as award winning publication—speaking for our yearbook staff as well–we make it our priority to inform, entertain and educate about everything that goes on within our school.