Bexley High School


Bexley High School is a public high school located in Bexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. It is the only high school in Bexley City School system.

Athletics

Bexley runs a comprehensive athletics program, including teams in the following: Football, Basketball, Baseball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball and Wrestling. Bexley purchased artificial grass for athletes to perform on in the winter of 2003. Teams have won Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships in:
In 2016 the program earned its first home playoff game and first playoff win and went 11–1. The program also earned a playoff spot in the 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons, all under Coach John Smith.
After the 2016 season Coach Smith resigned, citing the need to spend more time with his family. As his replacement, Nathan Castorena took over the Lions and served for two seasons. In March 2019, Bexley announced the hiring of long-time Central Ohio coach Mike Golden.

Volleyball program

After setting a school record for wins in the 2007 season, going 25–2, and ending the season as Regional runners-up, Bexley has had few successful seasons since. Reasons for this include lack of a consistent coaching staff, and a competitive league. Bexley has continued to improve over the past few years and expects to do well in the near future.

Soccer program

Both the Men's and Women's soccer programs are outstanding, and are widely known around the state and region. Between the men and the women they have combined for 12 State Final Fours since 1999.
The men's team has won two state championships in its history and have had multiple Final Four and Regional Final finishes. They have also had a flurry of All District, All State, and two All-Americans selection. The Men's program won their league championship for 15 straight seasons, until the streak was ended in 2008. The team was formerly coached by former Bexley player and OWU graduate Greg Kullman and is currently coached by Brian Stoddard.
The women have been one of the most consistent teams, regardless of sport since coach Scott Dempsey took over. They were state finalists in 1999 through 2003, 2005, 2006, state runners-up in 1999, and State Champions in 2009. The women have also had multiple All District, All State, and All American recipients. The team is currently coached by Scott James.

Wrestling program

The wrestling program has had individual successes throughout the school's history. There have been numerous state qualifiers, 10 state placers and one state champion. As a team there has not been a great deal of success until recently when they earned a Mid-State League Title in 2017 for first time since 1998. A team dual record of 17-2 was also set in 2017 breaking the previous season record of 16–3. The program currently has successful youth and junior high teams as well. The head wrestling coach of the program is Chris Bragg. He was the 2017 MSL-Ohio coach of the year and 2017 Division 2 District Coach of the year.

Softball program

The 2018 season was one of the most successful in program history with the team going 14-9 and winning two games in the state tournament. The Lions advanced to the district semi-finals and fell to Hebron Lakewood. Coach Jessica Sciacca took over the program for the 2019 season after long-time coach Rick Wemlinger resigned after nine seasons.

Rivals

Bexley's rival is the Columbus Academy Vikings. This competition stems from Columbus Academy being just two miles from Bexley High School before Academy's move to Gahanna, Ohio. Other rivals of Bexley include the Grandview Heights Bobcats, the Bishop Hartley Hawks, the Whitehall-Yearling High School Rams and the St. Charles Cardinals.

Clubs

The Choral program at the school has been extremely successful for the past decade. The Choral department is broken up into four distinct choirs: All four are directed by Amy Johnston Blosser.

Men's/Women's Glee

Men's and Women's Glee are entry-level choirs of the four. Emphasis is on healthy tone production and developing the voice. Membership in this group will interest those seeking exposure to vocal works. Musical selection consists of SA/TB and SSA/TBB music, all of which will cover a wide variety of styles and genres. Students may compete in OMEA contests and perform outside of school. Students will be exposed to the elements of music theory, sight singing training, and vocal pedagogy. Course work emphasizes vocal and written tests in addition to daily rehearsals.

Women's Chorale

An all-women's choir, Women's Chorale is one of the two elite choirs at Bexley High School. There are students who participate in both the Vocal Ensemble, and Women's Chorale. Women's Chorale has performed very well recently at the OMEA District and State competitions in the class A category, most recently receiving a "Superior" rating, the highest rating. Chorale performs a wide variety of music at various performances around the city. They have shared performances with the Capital University Women's Chorus, The Ohio University Women's Chorus, and The Ohio State University Women's Glee Club. In recent years Women's Chorale has toured to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh and has performed as the "Snow Chorus" with Ballet Met for "The Nutcracker".

Vocal Ensemble

The most prestigious choir in the Bexley High School choral program, it is the goal of most members of the choral program to make it into this group. The 40 members are chosen through a competitive audition in spring of the previous year. Vocal Ensemble performs a wide variety of music at various performances around the city. They participate in the Ohio Music Educators Association District and State Large Group Contest, consistently receiving Superior ratings. Since 2005, they have received straight Superior ratings in Class AA.
Many members study private voice and are active in other musical groups both in school and the community. Since 2004, members have consistently excelled academically, with 90% having a 3.0 GPA or higher. In the 2013–2014 school year, 90% of members had a 3.5 GPA or higher, and two members were National Merit Semi-Finalists.
Vocal Ensemble has shared performances with ensembles from The Ohio State University, Capital University, Ohio University and Baldwin Wallace University. They also performed with the Galron Choir from Israel in 2004. Vocal Ensemble members have worked with many conductors including Eric W. Barnum, David Childs, Christopher Cock, Rollo Dilworth, John Goldsmith, Robert Harris, Ronald Jenkins, James Mulholland, Clayton Parr, Raymond Wise, Jeffrey Redding, Robert Ward and Hilary Apfelstadt.
Since 2003, Vocal Ensemble has toured throughout the U.S. and Canada including New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Vocal Ensemble was invited to perform at the OCDA Summer Conference in 2007, 2009 and 2011 as well as the OMEA Professional Conference in 2009, 2011 and 2013. They performed for the ACDA Central Division Conference held in Fort Wayne, Indiana in March 2012. In 2006, the ensemble performed for audiences in San Marco's Basilica in Venice, St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna and St. Nicholas Church in Prague, as well as many additional impromptu performances. In June 2009, Vocal Ensemble returned to Europe, performing in Haydn Hall in Vienna, St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest and Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kraków. April 2010 took them to New York City as they were invited to perform in Carnegie Hall and they returned to Europe in June 2012 for a performance tour of London and Paris.

Men's Chorus

This extracurricular group is made up of men from the Vocal Ensemble, Symphonic Choir, and Men's Glee. They sing at school functions and some community events. They rehearse at the school during lunch and do not receive high school academic credit for participation.

Band program

The Bexley High School Band is currently under the direction of Andrew Johnson with Assistant Director Jason Hogue. There are over 100 students in the program at the school.

Marching Band

High School Band consists of three separate fields of study starting with the Marching Band during the football season which begins in the summer. For one week, students come together to begin to learn the music as well as the marching for each song. These are long days and are challenging, but the students love this camp. They learn to play various styles of music including rock, pop, funk, and blues while learning to march and play at the same time. Marching Band is a Co-Curricular Board of Education-supported class, which follows district policies and students receive a grade. The marching band is also featured in Bexley's 4th of July Parade and Veterans Day Parade in Downtown Columbus. The band has also performed in Orlando, Florida for the Disney Parade and Honolulu for a Saint Patrick's Day parade.

Concert Band

Concert Band begins at the conclusion of the football season. The students are split into two bands for the Concert Band Season - Sinphonic Band and Prism. Auditions are required for the latter. Students learn to play various styles of music and instruments that unavailable for Marching Band. Concerts are graded performances, including OMEA Contests, and opportunities for OMEA Solo and Ensemble. The Concert Band is a Co-Curricular, Board of Education-supported class where students receive a grade and credit for participation. Students must have participated in the Marching Season or have special permission from the director to be eligible for participation in the Concert Band.

Pep Band

, considered an extension of the Marching Band, is a low-stress opportunity to perform for men's and women's home varsity basketball games. It is a volunteer band composed of students from the school band program. Members perform various styles of music including rock, pop, funk, and jazz. Performances and attendance are graded.

Jazz Band

is under the direction of Jason Q. Hogue. It is a Co-Curricular, Board of Education-supported class where students receive a grade and credit for participation. It performs several concerts throughout the year. Musicians learn to play and listen to various jazz styles and performers. To join, auditions are necessary, and most instruments are accepted. The Jazz Band has traveled to conferences. At the high school level, the Jazz Band focuses on improvisation, where the notes are not all written on the page. The students learn a lot about music theory in order to keep their improvisations in the correct key of music. This class also covers the history of specific jazz icons, what was going on at the respective time in the world and why these musicians wrote the music they did.

Orchestra

Cassie Benedict is the director of the Bexley High School Orchestra, which is split up into two classes: Concert Orchestra, which is the entry-level orchestra and Sinfonia Orchestra, which is the highest level performance group in the program. During the summer, is Orchestra Camp which has been in session since 1975.

Concert Orchestra

A high school entry-level group, this ensemble concentrates on building the necessary technical skills for an advanced performance level. The class meets daily and is assessed quarterly. Playing tests, class participation and preparation, home practice, and concert attendance are all assessment criteria. Membership is open to any high school student who plays a stringed instrument. Bexley Concert Orchestra members are encouraged to participate in OMEA solo and ensemble contest and participate in OMEA large group orchestra state contest together. Attendance at all performances is required.

Bexley Sinfonia

The highest level performance group in the orchestra program, this ensemble performs complex and difficult orchestral literature. The class meets daily and is assessed quarterly. Assessment criteria is the same as Concert Orchestra but membership is selective and based upon student audition. Music selection will cover a wide variety of styles. Members are encouraged to participate in OMEA solo and ensemble contest and perform at OMEA large group orchestra state contest. They are also members of the Bexley Full Orchestra. The class requires occasional rehearsals outside of the school day. Attendance at all performances is required: Two unexcused absences from performances may result in dismissal from the group.

Performance