Rancho Alamitos High School

----Rancho Alamitos High School is located in Garden Grove, California. It is member of the Garden Grove Unified School District.

The school colors are green and gold. The school's athletic team's are known as the Vaqueros, a Spanish type of cowboy figure, though Rancho students tend to shorten its name to "Vaq." Until the mid-70's the school mascot had been "Poco," a cartoon of a short male dressed in a large poncho with a serape, a Mexican / Indian throw blanket or rug over one shoulder and a large sombrero on his head, covering the eyes. It was at this time that the Hispanic club, MEChA, decided it was time to protest the stereotype of Mexicans and changed the mascot. Poco was soon replaced with the more racially sensitive logo of a "boot spur" that you might see today, although an extremely bland and boring large bold "V" seems to be more common.

ports

The athletic teams are governed by the California Inerscholastic Federation's Southern Section and participate in the 6 team Garden Grove League with 5 of the other 6 schools within the Garden Grove Unified School District.

Football

The Vaquero football team had success in the early to mid 90's, led by a sklew of talented running. The team made two straight Div. VII Finals appearance. Falling just short in 1992 by a score of 14-13, to Sunny Hills High School. Runing Back Leon Vickers was the Div. VII player of the year for his performance. Also in 1992 RB Jeff Byrd set the then Orange County high school single season rushing record and received the Orange County Register Male Athlete of the Year Honors. The following year they fell to Mira Costa 29-17, their last finals appearance. In 96 and 97 the Vaqs posted back to back undefeated regular seasons. Only to lose to rival Pacifica in the Semi-finals ('96) and Northview in the Qurter Finals ('97). In 1996 Leo Kosi was the Div. VIII MVP and in 1997 David Vickers held the same honor. Vickers is also the last Vaquero to play on the NCAA Division 1-A level. Since then times have been rough for the Vaqueros who have made 4 playoff appearances since the 1998 season and never advancing past the first round.

Girls Basketball

The Lady Vaqs were a powerhouse in the early 1990's, making it to 3 Div. III-A Championship games in 4 years ('90, 92', 93'). Their only win, however, came in 1992 with a 68-63 win over South Hills High School.

Gymnastics

In 1982 Christie Robell won an All Around Individual Championship as well as a championship on the balance beam.

Cross Country

In 2006, the Vaqs went undefeated in cross country meets. Rancho Alamitos earned the Garden Grove League Championship that year, giving them their 9th championship in the past 50 years, and their first since 1984. In the 2007 season, they lost to La Quinta High School by two points with the score of 31-33, making it the closest race in Garden Grove League history. As of the 08-09 season, the team is being lead by runner Ahmed Mohamed with the rest of the varsity team consisting of Joel Espinoza, Mauricio Magallon, Gerson Flores, Adrian Secrian, Garrett Hundley, and Henry Nicia.

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Notable alumni

Gary Hall, Sr., 3-time Olympian and silver medalist (swimming), 1968, 1972, 1976. Father of ten-time Olympic medalist (5 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze) swimmer Gary Hall, Jr..

Craig Paquette, Third Baseman in MLB from 1993-2003

Randy Vataha, Wide Receiver, Drafted by Los Angeles Rams, Free agent for New England Patriots, retired with Green Bay Packers. Played seven seasons in the NFL. (1971-1977)

External links

* [http://www.ranchoalamitoshs.org/ Rancho Alamitos High School]
* [http://freepages.school-alumni.rootsweb.com/~rahs/ Rancho Alamitos ALL Alumni]
* [http://RAHS60.orgs.cc Rancho Alamitos Class of 1960]
* [http://www.cifss.org/pdfs/record_book_new.pdf]