The Mountain Empire District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League which draws its members from Southwest Virginia, west of the Roanoke metropolitan area.
The schools in the Mountain Empire District compete in Region D with the schools of the Pioneer District. Mount Rogers is one of the two remaining consolidated K-12 schools in Virginia, due to its position at the extreme western end of Grayson County making it inadvisable to consolidate it into Grayson County High School. Its enrollment is typically around 25-30 students in grades 9-12, and so its participation in VHSL team activities will be sporadic. Pocahontas High School used to be in the Mountain Empire District but the school closed at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year. Graham High School (Bluefield, Virginia), left the district after 6 years in 2017. Mount Rogers is now part of Grayson County High School. The MED re-formed this year to include Rural Retreat, George Wythe and Auburn which was a former member prior to joining the Three Rivers District. Graham returned to the Southwest District where they were a long time member and Narrows joined the Pioneer District.
School | Location | Mascot | Colors | 2021-22 9–12 enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Auburn High School | Riner | Eagles | 410 | |
Bland County High School | Rocky Gap | Bears | 211 | |
Fort Chiswell High School | Max Meadows | Pioneers | 331 | |
Galax High School | Galax | Maroon Tide | 493 | |
George Wythe High School | Wytheville | Maroons | 353 | |
Giles High School | Pearisburg | Spartans | 323 | |
Grayson County High School | Independence | Blue Devils | 364 | |
Mountain Empire District Online
Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties and named for Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. The county seat is in Wise.
Washington County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,935. Its county seat is Abingdon.
Grayson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,333. Its county seat is Independence. Mount Rogers, the state's highest peak at 5,729 feet (1,746 m), is in Grayson County.
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720.
Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,359. Its county seat is Dobson, and its largest community is Mount Airy.
Safford is a city in Graham County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the population of the city is 10,129. The city is the county seat of Graham County.
Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census.
Mount Rogers is the highest natural point in Virginia, United States, with a summit elevation of 5,729 feet (1,746 m) above mean sea level. The summit straddles the border of Grayson and Smyth Counties, Virginia, about 6.45 miles (10.38 km) WSW of Troutdale, Virginia. Most of the mountain is contained within the Lewis Fork Wilderness, while the entire area is part of the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, which itself is a part of the Jefferson National Forest.
Grayson Highlands State Park is a state park located in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. It is adjacent to the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and lies within the Jefferson National Forest. The park was established in 1965 and contains a total of 4,502 acres (1,822 ha). The park hosts a number of outdoor activities including hiking, camping, mountainbiking, horseback riding, and backpacking. A 2.8 mile (4.5 km) portion of the Appalachian Trail runs through the park in addition to a number of other hiking and horseback riding trails. The state park is musically notable as the home for the Grayson Highlands Fall Festival as well as weekly jam sessions by local folk musicians, who draw upon the traditional styles of the Blue Ridge area. The park is also home to the Wayne C. Henderson Festival and Guitar Competition, a regionally important festival and guitarist contest named for local notable guitar-maker Wayne Henderson.
The Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the two independent cities of Roanoke and Salem.
The Cedar Run District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that includes schools stretching from Prince William County.
The AAA Western Valley District was a high school conference in the state of Virginia that included the small number of schools in Central and Southwest Virginia which competed in Group AAA, is largest enrollment class of the Virginia High School League.
The Pioneer District is a high school conference in the state of Virginia that comprises high schools located in Southwest Virginia
The Southwest District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League that includes schools from southwestern Virginia, United States. The Southwest District was established in the former AA Region IV.
Lee High School is a public high school located in Lee County, Virginia, United States, near the town of Jonesville. It is a part of the Lee County School District and is one of two high schools in the county.
The A Three Rivers District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League located in Southwest Virginia.
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or at its greatest expanse, as far east as Blacksburg and Roanoke. Another geographic categorization of the region places it as those counties within the Tennessee River watershed. Regardless of how borders are drawn, Southwest Virginia differs from the rest of the commonwealth in that its culture is more closely associated with Appalachia than the other regions of Virginia. Historically, the region has been and remains a rural area, but in the 20th century, coal mining became an important part of its economy. With the decline in the number of coal jobs and the decline of tobacco as a cash crop, Southwest Virginia is increasingly turning to tourism as a source of economic development. Collectively, Southwest Virginia's craft, music, agritourism and outdoor recreation are referred to as the region's "creative economy."
Carroll County is a United States county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Roughly one fifth of the county lies in the Virginia Piedmont region, while the rest is part of the Appalachian Mountains. The county seat and only town is Hillsville.
The Little Wilson Creek Wilderness is an area in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the wilderness system, it is intended to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contribute to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools. Over half of the ecosystems in the United States exist within designated wildernesses.
The Lewis Fork Wilderness is an area in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area protected by the Eastern Wilderness Act of Congress to maintain its present, natural condition. As part of the wilderness system, it is intended to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contribute to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools. Over half of the ecosystems in the United States exist within designated wilderness.