Central Cabarrus High School

Central Cabarrus High School

Established	1966
School type	public school
Principal	Robert Marshall
Location	Concord, N.C.
Enrollment	1,800
Athletic Conference	ME-CA 7 4A
Colors	Forest green, gold
Nickname	Vikings
Rival Schools	Jay M. Robinson, Northwest Cabarrus, Mount Pleasant
Homepage	[http://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/central Official Site]

Central Cabarrus High School, commonly referred to locally as Central, is a comprehensive public high school located in Concord, North Carolina. With an enrollment of approximately 1,850 students, it is the largest high school in the Cabarrus County Schools system. It opened, along with Northwest Cabarrus High School, in 1966.

Academics

Central's academic curriculum falls in line with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in all core subject areas. The school also offers a variety of Advanced Placement courses.

Central has been consistently recognized as a "School of Distinction" under the state's ABC standards for public schools.

Athletics

Central's athletic teams are known as the "Vikings". The school is in the 4A classification of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and competes in the ME-CA 7 Conference ("ME-CA" stands for Mecklenburg and Cabarrus, the two counties represented in the league). The school sponsors boys' cross country, football, soccer, basketball, swimming, wrestling, baseball, golf, track and field, and tennis; and girls' cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, softball, tennis, track and field, and cheerleading.

Central Cabarrus primarily has three rivals consisting of J.M. Robinson, Mt. Pleasant, and Hickory Ridge. Central Cabarrus having contributed 800 of the 1000 students to Hickory Ridge.

Central has arguably the most successful athletic program of the five high schools in Cabarrus County. Most visible of all athletic programs is the school's softball team, which has won five state championships (3A classification in 1993, 2000, and 2001; 4A classification in 2004 and 2005). A May 2006 loss to North Davidson in the 4A softball playoffs broke the Lady Vikings' win streak of 83 games. The 2006 season ended with the softball team ranked 2nd in the nation after several weeks at the number one spot according to the NFCA poll. In addition to softball, Central's boys basketball team has reared numerous college prospects and won the 3A state championship in 2000. The men's tennis team has gone from not having a team in 2003 to making the state playoffs in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. They also had a doubles team in the State Chanpionship each of those years (2004: Shoaf/Keller; 2005, 2006, 2007: Warber/Warber). The girls tennis team won the MECA-6 conference in the fall of 2006 and made the state palyoffs for the second year in a row. The baseball program has made the state playoffs the last ten years. The volleyball team has also consistently made the state playoffs each year. The cheerleading squad, which is co-ed, has won numerous State and National Championships.

Notable Alumni

*Natrone Means, NFL player

*Clark Whittington, Creator of the Art-o-mat

*Carol Barbee, Hollywood producer of Jericho (TV Series) and Swingtown, writer, and actor

Principals

*M.L. Barnes (1965-?)
*Bob Misenheimer (?-?)
*Gary Drinnen (?-1991)
*John Lentz (1991-1998)
*Anne Shuping (1998-2003)
*Chris Lowder (2003-2005)
*Brad Hinson (2005-2007)
*Robert Marshall (2007- )