Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)

For other schools with the same name, see Hilltop High School (disambiguation)

Hilltop High School
Address
555 Claire Avenue Chula Vista , (San Diego County) , California , 91910 United States
Coordinates	32°38′14″N117°03′35″W / 32.6372°N 117.0596°W / 32.6372; -117.0596
Information
Former name	Hilltop Senior High
School type	Public, high school
Motto	"The Focus at Hilltop is Academics"
Established	1959;66 years ago (1959)
School district	Sweetwater Union High School District
Superintendent	Moisés G. Aguirre
Principal	Bill Walsh
Grades	9–12 [1]
Enrollment	1,841 (2023-2024) [1]
Campus	Suburban [1]
Student Union/Association	ASB
Color(s)	Kelly Green   White   Black
Athletics conference	Metropolitan - Mesa League
Mascot	Lancer
Newspaper	The Lance
Yearbook	The Idyll
Website	Official website
4km 2.5miles Hilltop High School

Hilltop High School (formerly Hilltop Senior High) is a four-year public high school in Chula Vista, California. It is part of Sweetwater Union High School District. As of 2023, Bill Walsh is the current principal of Hilltop High. ^[2]

Academics

Hilltop was named a California Distinguished School in 2005 ^[3] and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

In the 2006–07 school year, the graduation rate was 93.3%. ^[4]

Hilltop has the highest number of AP courses available to all students and the highest AP pass rate out of the entire SUHSD at 72.8%. ^[4] Since the 1999–2000 school year, there has been a 25% increase in exams taken, ^[4] a 7% increase in the overall pass rate, ^[4] and a 30% increase in the total number of students testing. ^[4]

Athletics

The school colors are kelly green, white, and black. Its mascot is the "Lancer".

Hilltop is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section and the Mesa League of the Metro Conference. Hilltop competes in the following sports:^{[ citation needed ]}

• Fall: cross country, football, women's volleyball, boys water polo, women's tennis, women's golf, field hockey
• Winter: basketball, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, Roller Hockey, women’s water polo
• Spring: track and field, men's volleyball, lacrosse, softball, baseball, swimming and diving, men's tennis, men's golf, lacrosse

CIF Champions

2016- Women’s Water Polo

Chula Vista Spartans are the Lancers longtime rival school, dating back to the '60s.^{[ citation needed ]}

Longtime Hilltop Coaches elected as San Diego Sports Hall of Champions Coaching Legends:^{[ citation needed ]}

• Don "Big Dawg" Rollins – JV Basketball (Don is currently third all-time in Southern California JV wins)
• John Baumgartner – Baseball
• Janet Balsley – Field Hockey
• Chip Holmes – Track & Field
• Tim Tyler – Wrestling (Tyler was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame)

Demographics

In the 2005–06 school year, the school's Academic Performance Index placed it 698 (base) where 800 is the California state goal with a state rank of 5 out of 10. ^[5]

Notable alumni

Name	Grad Class	Category	Best Known For
Joan D. Vinge	1965	Literature	Hugo Award-winning Science Fiction Author of The Snow Queen series [6]
Cheryl Cox	1966	Politics	Mayor of Chula Vista [7]
John Tschogl	1968	Sports	NBA player for the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers [8]
Tom Waits	1968	Entertainment	American singer-songwriter, composer and actor [9]
Kyle Foggo	1972	Crime	Pleaded guilty to fraud associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal [10]
Brent R. Wilkes	1972	Crime	Convicted of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, and money laundering associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal [10]
Bryan Wagner	1980	Sports	Former NFL punter for multiple teams [11]
Tommy Hinzo	1982	Sports	Former MLB player [12]
Bob Natal	1983	Sports	Former MLB player and World Series champion [12]
Tami Bruce	1985	Sports	Olympic swimmer [13]
Todd Pratt	1985	Sports	Major League Baseball player from 1992–2006 primarily with Philadelphia and the New York Mets [14]
Charles Adair	1989	Sports	College soccer coach and former professional player [12]
José Silva	1991	Sports	Former MLB player [12]
Jorge Munoz	1992	Sports	Football coach and former player [15]
Mike Jacobs	1998	Sports	Former MLB player [16]
Desiree Linden	2001	Sports	Winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon [17]
Charlotte Mayorkas	2001	Sports	LPGA Golfer, Three-time First Team All-American for UCLA [18]
Brittni De La Mora	2005	Entertainment	Pornographic actress turned Christian speaker [19]
Greg Allen	2011	Sports	Professional baseball player [20]
Calvin Faucher	2013	Sports	Professional baseball player [21]

Notable faculty

• Rene Ortiz, former soccer player ^[22]
• Bryan Wagner ^[11]
• Drew Westling ^[23]

References

1. "Search for Public Schools - Hilltop Senior High (063864006484)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved December 28, 2024.
2. Hilltop High School - Administration , retrieved August 6, 2023
3. "Distinguished School Awards - California School Recognition Program". California Department of Education. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
4. "Executive Summary School Accountability Report Card, 2005-06" (PDF). Hilltop High School. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
5. "School Profile FISCAL YEAR: 2005-06 (General)". Education Data Partnership. 2005–2006. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
6. "Sweetwater District Hall of Fame Welcomes a Dozen More". Sweetwater Union High School District :: News :: New Archive. Sweetwater Union High School District. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2008– via www.suhsd.k12.ca.us.
7. "How much clout does Cox combo carry?". SignOnSanDiego.Com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
8. Carney, Bob (October 12, 1972). "Tschogl makes S D pro debut, then released the next day". Chula Vista Star-News. p. 12. Retrieved July 3, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tom Waits Timeline: 1949 - 1975". Tom Waits Library. Archived from the original on July 9, 2007. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
10. "Documents: Foggo rose despite his CIA misdeeds". San Diego Union-Tribune . February 26, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
11. Brents, Phillip (November 25, 2020). "Wagner returns to alma mater at Hilltop High School". The Star-News . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
12. Brents, Phillip (January 12, 2001). "Hilltop High honors its own with unveiling of Athletic Hall of Fame". The Star-News . p. 9, 10 . Retrieved February 21, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. Berkshire, Kim Q. (August 28, 1988). "She's Playing Hooky in Seoul". Los Angeles Times . San Diego. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
14. "The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Players Information". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
15. "Jorge Munoz". Southwestern Jaguars. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
16. "The Baseball Cube". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
17. "USA Track & Field - Desiree (Desi) Linden". usatf.org. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
18. "Hilltop High School names nine to latest Hall of Fame class, four with ties to athletics". The Star-News. October 3, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
19. "Brittni De La Mora Bio". IMDb . Retrieved February 10, 2024.
20. Kenney, Kirk (June 22, 2016). "Former SDSU outfielder Greg Allen shining in minor leagues". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
21. "Calvin Faucher - Hilltop Stats". Maxpreps. September 9, 2013.
22. Brents, Phillip (April 7, 2022). "Ortiz, a coach at all levels, seeks another ring with San Diego Sockers". The Star-News . Retrieved October 17, 2023.
23. Maffei, John (May 26, 2016). "Hilltop hires former Chula Vista coach". The San Diego Union-Tribune . Archived from the original on February 8, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Hilltop High legacy (archived) web site)