McCreary Central High School

McCreary Central High School is a high school located in Stearns, Kentucky, United States. The school was built in 1978 by combining McCreary County High and Pine Knot High Schools together. The current principal is first-year Principal Sharon Ross, who replaced Donna Caldwell at the start of the 09/10 school year. McCreary Central High School is a 9-12 grade school that features a "Freshman Academy," which is designed to help transition incoming freshmen into the "high school world."

Academics

Although improving, McCreary Central still ranks among the bottom schools in the region in test scores. Through an initiative started by former Principal David Cothron, McCreary Central offers students an opportunity to take a trip to Disney World if they post high scores on their achievement tests. This initiative has helped increase test scores on a yearly basis.

Athletics

McCreary Central High School's colors are maroon and gold, derived from the maroon of McCreary County High and gold from Pine Knot. The Raiders are the official mascot of McCreary Central, representing teams in both boys' and girls' basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, football, wrestling, golf, and girls soccer as well as cheerleading. The school also offers other clubs and programs centered around athletics.

The Raiders have recently enjoyed success on the basketball court in boys basketball in which they have won the past two^[when?] 48th District Championships, their first titles since 1990. The Raiders have been favorites to win the Region Title and earn a spot to Rupp Arena and the Boys State Tournament, but have failed to do so in the past four years. The Raiders are coached by Carl Michael Coffey, an alum of the school.

The women's (or girls') basketball team is coached by Joe Waters, a teacher at the school. Since taking over for long-time coach Jerry Don Ross, Waters has had minimal^{[clarification needed]} success on the court, posting records below .500 each season.

The Raider football program enjoyed its best season ever in 2009, hoisting a 7–4 record under head coach Clinton Gay. Gay retired (or resigned) at the end of the season. Derek Smith, a former middle school coach, has assumed the reins of the program.

Marc Taylor and the Raider baseball program has also shown improvement, but still hover right above .500, even though they nearly missed winning the districts in recent years. Taylor, a history teacher at the school, has coached the baseball program for several years.

David Durham is the coach of the softball program and an assistant in basketball under Jones. The program just had talented senior (of 2009–10) Taniesha Vanover sign a softball scholarship to Berea College. The team has had marginal success.

The volleyball team is also coached by Robert Jones, which has had very good success in the past five seasons, although has failed to win the region title as well.

Wrestling and coach Justin Bozeman has been tremendously successful in individual performances, taking state titles many times. The wrestling program is also translated to the younger students in which the Whitley City Elementary won the state championship as a school.

Girls' soccer is still fairly new and is just now in the infancy stages of its existence.

Renovation

The school is currently in the last stages of a multi-million dollar renovation that updates the entire school, as well as adding offices and classrooms throughout. This move puts the school itself on or above par against other schools in the region in terms of facilities.

FUN FACTS

Wendell Anderson was the first graduate of McCreary Central High School .