Lincoln Southwest High School

Coordinates: 40°44′23″N 96°42′15″W / 40.73972°N 96.70417°W / 40.73972; -96.70417
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Lincoln Southwest High School
Lincoln Southwest High School
Address
Map
7001 South 14th Street

,
68512

Coordinates40°44′23″N 96°42′15″W / 40.73972°N 96.70417°W / 40.73972; -96.70417
Information
TypePublic High School
Motto"S.O.A.R."
Establishedc. August 2002
Sister schoolSenshu University Matsudo High School
School districtLincoln Public Schools
PrincipalJohn Matzen[1]
Faculty200+
Teaching staff116.31 (FTE)[2]
Grades9-12
Number of students2,112 (2020-21)[2]
Student to teacher ratio18.16[2]
Color(s)  
Forest Green and Silver
Athletics conferenceHeartland Athletic Conference[3]
MascotSylvester Silver Hawk
NicknameSilver Hawks
RivalLincoln Southeast High School
NewspaperHawk Talk
WebsiteLincoln Southwest High School

Lincoln Southwest High School is a Lincoln Public high school located 74 acres adjacent to Wilderness Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.[4] The school opened in August 2002 and was designed to hold around 1,500 students.[5] The student population as of the 2020-21 school year was 2,112 students in grades 9-12.[6]

Academics[edit]

Southwest offers dual enrollment education through three local tertiary education institutions. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln offers dual enrollment to students on the university's campus, Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) offers dual enrollment at Southwest's campus through the NWU Honors Academy, and Southeast Community College (SCC) offers dual enrollment on both Southwest's campus and the Lincoln Public School's Career Academy campus located on the SCC campus.[7]

Extracurricular Activities[edit]

NSAA Sponsored Programs[edit]

Forensics[edit]

In 2006, Southwest was awarded the National Speech and Debate Association's National School of Excellence Award for their debate program.[8] In 2013, Southwest's speech program also received the National School of Excellence Award.[9]

Swim and Dive[edit]

The Southwest Girls swim and dive team has won four state championships, including a three-peat from 2016 to 2018.[10] The Silver Hawk first swimming and diving championship was in 2014, which was also the first swim and dive championship for a Lincoln school since 1999.[11] In 2017 the girls' swimming and diving team took first at state and set five new individual state records.[12]

Science Olympiad[edit]

The Southwest Science Olympiad team has, since 2008, won ten out of eleven state championships, each annually qualifying them for the national tournament.[13]

Football[edit]

After going win-less in their first season, the Southwest football team made the state playoffs during fourteen of the following sixteen seasons.[14]

Golf[edit]

The Southwest golf teams have won five combined team state title for the school, including a four-year run where the Boys team won three championships.[15] In 2018, the Girls golf team won state championship in the first round of competition, finishing with a seventeen stroke lead.[16]

Music[edit]

The Southwest Music program consists of three primary divisions; band, orchestra, and choir. Nearly a quarter of Southwest's student body is involved in the Music Department.

Southwest also has three a cappella ensembles: Hawktet, their varsity octet group,[17] Silver Lining, their women's group, and the Quicksilvers, their men's barbershop quartet. Though these groups are operated inside of the school, they are not directly affiliated with Southwest or its vocal music program.


Softball[edit]

The Southwest softball team have won three state titles, including back-to-back championships in 2008 and 2009.[18] In 2018, the Silver Hawks was first team in Nebraska to lose their first game in the double-elimination tournament to come back and win a state title.[19]

Tennis[edit]

The Southwest tennis teams have won a combined three state championships.[20] During the 2017 Boys State Finals, Southwest swept the entire championship bracket, winning both singles and both doubles bracket.[21]

Track and Field[edit]

The Southwest Girls track and field teams have won three state titles. The Boys' team placed second in the NSAA state meet in 2017[22] by half a point to Lincoln High School.

Theatre[edit]

Silver Hawk Theatre is a member of the International Thespian Society and has performed at the International Thespian Festival four times, most recently debuting the MTI licensing version of Kinky Boots at the 2022 festival in Indiana.[23]


Notable alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Southwest High School".
  2. ^ a b c "LINCOLN SOUTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  3. ^ https://www.heartlandathleticconference.org/public/genie/406/school/8//. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "Lincoln Southwest High School". lsw.lps.org. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. ^ "Lincoln Southwest High School | Sampson Construction - General Contractor, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming". www.sampson-construction.com. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  6. ^ "Southwest High School (2023 Ranking) - Lincoln, NE". Public School Review. 2023-04-27. Retrieved 2023-05-18.
  7. ^ "College Planning – LSW Counseling Center". wp.lps.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  8. ^ "School Recognition". National Speech & Debate Association. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  9. ^ "LSW Forensics". lsw.lps.org. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  10. ^ "Swimming & Diving". nsaahome.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  11. ^ "NSAA Girls Swimming Past Champions". nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  12. ^ "2017 State Swimming and Diving Championship". NET.
  13. ^ "Nebraska Department of Education | NDE". Archived from the original on 2011-11-29.
  14. ^ "Football". nsaahome.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  15. ^ "NSAA Boys Golf Championships HQ". nsaahome.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  16. ^ "Girls state golf: Southwest wins rain-shortened Class A tournament". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  17. ^ "Hawktet - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  18. ^ "Softball". nsaahome.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  19. ^ Grell, Clark. "What high school teams — no matter the sport — can take away from LSW's state title run". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  20. ^ "Boys Tennis". nsaahome.org. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  21. ^ "2017 Boys Tennis Championship" (PDF). NSAA.
  22. ^ https://nsaa-static.s3.amazonaws.com/textfile/cc/bres17.pdf
  23. ^ "Everybody Say Yeah! Kinky Boots is Available for Licensing". Music Theatre International. 2022-02-17. Retrieved 2023-05-18.

External links[edit]