The Ravens compete in the Sunflower League and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. A few graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics. Northwest has obtained 13 State championships in various sports.
Athletics
Baseball
In 2007, the ONW baseball team became co-Sunflower League champions for the first time in school history. The team finished with a record of 12–8. The squad reached the Regional Championship game in 2004 and 2005 but fell one game short of the state tournament each time. In the 2003–04 season, the Ravens entered into regional play as the bottom seed and drew Mill Valley High School, the No. 1 team in 5A. The Ravens defeated Mill Valley in one of the biggest upsets in Kansas high school baseball history. [6]
Bowling
The 2014–15 and 2016–17 bowling men's varsity team won the city competition, beating cross-town rivals Olathe North.
Boys' basketball
In 2017, the Raven boys' basketball team qualified for the state tournament for the first time in school history. [7]
In 2004, the first year of varsity play, the ONW football team went 2–7. The next year, they improved to 4–5. The 2006 squad finished 3–7 and made the playoffs for the first time in school history. [8] The 2014 team had the program's first winning record and beat cross-town rival Olathe East for the first time in school history.
Girls' basketball
The Lady Ravens broke a couple of records in their 2015 season, but they did not enjoy the way it ended with a 51–45 loss to Blue Valley in sub state, finishing with a 9–12 record. Their records include most three-pointers made in state, with seventeen, and most three-pointers attempted, with forty-three.
Softball
In 2009, the Lady Ravens girls' softball team compiled a perfect 25–0 regular season record. The team continued on to win the 2009 Kansas State High School Championship title against Washburn Rural High School. In May 2011, entering the postseason as the number 6 seed in 6A, the Ravens captured their second title, beating Washburn Rural 9–1. In 2017, the Lady Ravens won their third state championship. [9]
Wrestling
The 2014–15 ONW wrestling team placed 12th in the state – their best finish to date. Six wrestlers from the 2014–2015 squad qualified for state, three of whom placed.
Volleyball
In 2010, the girls' varsity team went 11–0 in the Sunflower League and claimed the first league championship in team history.
The Lady Ravens won back-to-back state championships in 2016 and 2017. [12]
Non-athletic programs
Debate and forensics
In 2007, the team of Alex Parkinson and Jesi Egan won the two-speaker state championship in policy debate. [15] Parkinson and Egan also won back-to-back Debate Coaches Invitational titles in 2006 and 2007. Parkinson went on to debate at Harvard, where he earned numerous honors, including second speaker at the National Debate Tournament in 2011. [16]
At the 2014 NSDA National Tournament, senior Alaina Walberg was named the Phyllis Flory Barton Top Speaker in policy debate. [17]
As of May 14, 2018, Olathe Northwest is ranked third in Kansas and 27th in the nation for speech and debate. [18]
Orchestra
The Olathe Northwest Orchestra program is split into three separate orchestras: the Freshmen Orchestra (open to freshmen), the Concert Orchestra (open to sophomores through seniors), and the Chamber/Advanced Orchestra (open to sophomores through seniors by audition). The Olathe Northwest Orchestra has four major performances in each school year. The members have also traveled and performed in Chicago, Boston, the Disney Festival at the EPCOT Center in Orlando, Florida, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. [19]
