New Hanover High School

New Hanover High School
Location
1307 Market Street Wilmington, North Carolina 28401 United States
Coordinates	34°14′16″N77°55′59″W / 34.2376699°N 77.9330431°W / 34.2376699; -77.9330431
Information
Type	Public
Founded	1922(103 years ago) (1922)
School district	New Hanover County Schools
Superintendent	Charles Foust
CEEB code	344350
Principal	Philip Sutton
Teaching staff	97.13 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,515 (2023–2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.60 [1]
Language	English
Color(s)	Orange and black
Mascot	Wildcat
Website	newhanoverhs.nhcs.net

New Hanover High School is a high school in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. New Hanover High is the oldest existing high school in Wilmington. ^[2] It is a part of New Hanover County Schools.

New Hanover is the most diverse high school in New Hanover County. The school's ethnicity is 50% Caucasian, 43% African American, 5% Hispanic, and 2% of other ethnic classification. The school has an enrollment of 1,721 students and a staff of 930.

History

The original school building was designed by William J. Wilkins. Construction started in 1920, and was completed in 1922. ^[3] New Hanover High underwent a complete renovation at the start of the 21st century.

On Aug. 29, 2021, a student was shot and wounded and another student was arrested during a physical fight. ^[4]

Sports

The tradition of Wildcat Athletics is exemplified in having won over 30 North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) State Championships: 14 boys basketball, 5 baseball, 4 football, 3 boys tennis, 3 softball, and 3 boys golf.

In popular culture

The high school's gym was featured in a season 4 episode of the TV series One Tree Hill when the Tree Hill Ravens played their state semi-final game vs. Verona. It was also featured in the 1987 film Hiding Out , 1989 film Dream a Little Dream , and in the film Blue Velvet .

Notable alumni

• Kadeem Allen (born 1993), basketball player in the NBA and currently for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League ^{[5] [6] [7]}
• Cody Arnoux, professional soccer player
• Nick Becton, NFL offensive tackle ^[8]
• Charlie Boney, architect
• David Brinkley, longtime news anchor for NBC and ABC; famous for the Huntley-Brinkley Report and This Week
• Lauren Collins, staff writer for The New Yorker ^[9]
• Alge Crumpler, NFL tight end (2001–2010) and four-time Pro Bowl player ^[10]
• Rod Delmonico, former baseball coach at the University of Tennessee
• Roman Gabriel, NFL quarterback, four-time Pro Bowl player and first team All-Pro in 1969 ^[11]
• Shawn Gallagher, White House Director for Nuclear Threat Reduction, MIT graduate, and baseball player for the Texas Rangers, ^{[12] [13] [14]}
• Kenny Gattison, NBA player ^[15]
• James Goodnight, CEO SAS Institute
• Beth Grant, actress ^[16]
• William D. Halyburton, Jr., U.S. Navy hospital corpsman in World War II, posthumous Medal of Honor recipient
• Ed Hinton, actor known particularly for guest-starring roles on television westerns ^[17]
• Will Inman, poet ^[18]
• Sonny Jurgensen, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, played with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles ^[19]
• Clarence Kea, professional basketball player ^[20]
• Charles P. Murray, Jr., U.S. Army officer in World War II and Medal of Honor recipient
• Mike Nifong, North Carolina district attorney disbarred for misconduct in the Duke lacrosse case ^[21]
• Trot Nixon, MLB right fielder ^[22]
• Don Payne, writer and producer for The Simpsons and other television and film projects ^[23]
• Robert Daniel Potter, U.S. District Judge ^[24]
• Cecil R. Reynolds, noted psychologist, author, and test developer
• Jay Ross, NFL defensive tackle ^[25]
• Robert Ruark, author of Something of Value
• Lamar Russ, professional boxer in the middleweight division ^[26]
• George Edward "Bo" Shepard, former head basketball coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels ^[27]
• Reggie Shuford, ACLU attorney, left before graduation ^[28]
• Sonny Siaki, American Samoan professional wrestler ^[29]
• Clyde Simmons, NFL defensive end ^[30]
• Ross Tomaselli, professional soccer player
• Ty Walker, professional basketball player ^[31]
• Blake Walston, professional baseball player in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization ^[32]

References

1. "New Hanover High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
2. Steelman, Ben. "What is the History of New Hanover High School?" StarNews. MyReporter. 3 Mar. 2010. 11 Jul. 2010.
3. Hoover, Sydney. (April 21, 2022). 100 years in the making: See how New Hanover High School has changed, grown in its lifetime. Wilmington Star-News. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
4. "Student shot at NC HS".
5. "Collegeinsider | Kadeem Allen's Improbable Journey". www.collegeinsider.com.
6. "New Hanover grad Kadeem Allen signs two-way deal wit New York Knicks". January 16, 2019.
7. "Kadeem Allen – Basketball Recruiting – Player Profiles – ESPN". ESPN.com.
8. "Nick Becton, 2008 Offensive Tackle, Virginia Tech". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
9. Steelman, Ben. (Aug 24, 2016). Wilmington native Lauren Collins explores the byways of language in 1st book. Star News Online. Retrieved Sep 7, 2020.
10. Alge Crumpler Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
11. Roman Gabriel Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
12. . "White House Press Briefing" Retrieved 12 January 2024.
13. . "MIT Thesis". Retrieved 12 January 2024.
14. . "Baseball Reference". Retrieved 12 January 2024.
15. Kenny Gattison Stats. Basketball-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
16. Hidek, Jeff. (Sep 7, 2013). Actress Beth Grant talks local roots and broad career. Star News Online. Retrieved Sep 7, 2020.
17. Calloway, Gail. (Aug 26, 2015). Woman explores movie-star father's Wilmington history. starnewsonline.com. Retrieved Aug 22, 2020.
18. Ten Letters | UNCW Archive | Ten Letters From Special Connections. Retrieved Aug 22, 2020.
19. Sonny Jurgensen Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
20. "DraftExpress – Clarence Kea DraftExpress Profile: Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook". DraftExpress.
21. "About Your District Attorney". April 23, 2006. Archived from the original on April 23, 2006.
22. Trot Nixon Profile. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
23. Spiers, Jonathan (March 27, 2013). "Wilmington native Don Payne, writer for 'The Simpsons' and 'Thor,' passes away". Port City Daily. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
24. Resolution re: Dedication of Robert D. Potter Courtroom. Retrieved Aug 27, 2020.
25. Jay Ross Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
26. https://www.fayobserver.com/3899f3be-56d3-592a-9aa5-2ccf3f5b19d7.html. fayobserver.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
27. "Star-News – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
28. Ramsey, Mike (May 30, 1999). "City native fights bias against black drivers". Star-News. Wilmington. p. B1.
29. Carree, Chuck. (Jul 18, 2009). Former New Hanover star gives up wrestling career to save brother's life. starnewsonline.com. Retrieved Aug 22, 2020.
30. Clyde Simmons Stats. Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
31. Grady, Tom. (Jul 13, 2013). Hanover favorite Ty Walker comes home, feels the love. starnewsonline.com. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
32. "Blake Walston Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.

External links

• "New Hanover High School Fact Sheet." New Hanover County Schools. 2008.