Hilltop High School (Chula Vista, California)

For other schools with the same name, see Hilltop High School (disambiguation)

Hilltop High School (formerly Hilltop Senior High) is a four-year public high school in Chula Vista, California. It is part of Sweetwater Union High School District. As of 2023, Bill Walsh is the current principal of Hilltop High.^[2]

Hilltop High School
Address
555 Claire Avenue Chula Vista , (San Diego County) , California , 91910 United States
Coordinates	32.6372°N 117.0596°W / 32.6372; -117.0596
Information
Former name	Hilltop Senior High
School type	Public, high school
Motto	"The Focus at Hilltop is Academics"
Established	1959; 66 years ago (1959)
School district	Sweetwater Union High School District
Superintendent	Moisés G. Aguirre
Principal	Bill Walsh
Grades	9–12[1]
Enrollment	1,841 (2023-2024)[1]
Campus	Suburban[1]
Student Union/Association	ASB
Color(s)	Kelly Green   White   Black
Athletics conference	Metropolitan - Mesa League
Mascot	Lancer
Newspaper	The Lance
Yearbook	The Idyll
Website	Official website
4km 2.5miles Hilltop High School

Academics

Hilltop was named a California Distinguished School in 2005^[3] and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

In the 2006–07 school year, the graduation rate was 93.3%.^[4]

Hilltop has the highest number of AP courses available to all students and the highest AP pass rate out of the entire SUHSD at 72.8%.^[4] Since the 1999–2000 school year, there has been a 25% increase in exams taken,^[4] a 7% increase in the overall pass rate,^[4] and a 30% increase in the total number of students testing.^[4]

Athletics

The school colors are kelly green, white, and black. Its mascot is the "Lancer".

Hilltop is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section and the Mesa League of the Metro Conference. Hilltop competes in the following sports:^{[citation needed]}

• Fall: cross country, football, women's volleyball, boys water polo, women's tennis, women's golf, field hockey
• Winter: basketball, soccer, wrestling, cheerleading, Roller Hockey, women’s water polo
• Spring: track and field, men's volleyball, lacrosse, softball, baseball, swimming and diving, men's tennis, men's golf, lacrosse

CIF Champions

2016- Women’s Water Polo

Chula Vista Spartans are the Lancers longtime rival school, dating back to the '60s.^{[citation needed]}

Longtime Hilltop Coaches elected as San Diego Sports Hall of Champions Coaching Legends:^{[citation needed]}

• Don "Big Dawg" Rollins – JV Basketball (Don is currently third all-time in Southern California JV wins)
• John Baumgartner – Baseball
• Janet Balsley – Field Hockey
• Chip Holmes – Track & Field
• Tim Tyler – Wrestling (Tyler was also inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame)

Demographics

In the 2005–06 school year, the school's Academic Performance Index placed it 698 (base) where 800 is the California state goal with a state rank of 5 out of 10.^[5]

Notable alumni

Name	Grad Class	Category	Best Known For
Joan D. Vinge	1965	Literature	Hugo Award-winning Science Fiction Author of The Snow Queen series[6]
Cheryl Cox	1966	Politics	Mayor of Chula Vista[7]
John Tschogl	1968	Sports	NBA player for the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers[8]
Tom Waits	1968	Entertainment	American singer-songwriter, composer and actor[9]
Kyle Foggo	1972	Crime	Pleaded guilty to fraud associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal[10]
Brent R. Wilkes	1972	Crime	Convicted of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, and money laundering associated with the Duke Cunningham scandal[10]
Bryan Wagner	1980	Sports	Former NFL punter for multiple teams[11]
Tommy Hinzo	1982	Sports	Former MLB player[12]
Bob Natal	1983	Sports	Former MLB player and World Series champion[12]
Tami Bruce	1985	Sports	Olympic swimmer[13]
Todd Pratt	1985	Sports	Major League Baseball player from 1992–2006 primarily with Philadelphia and the New York Mets[14]
Charles Adair	1989	Sports	College soccer coach and former professional player[12]
José Silva	1991	Sports	Former MLB player[12]
Jorge Munoz	1992	Sports	Football coach and former player[15]
Mike Jacobs	1998	Sports	Former MLB player[16]
Desiree Linden	2001	Sports	Winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon[17]
Charlotte Mayorkas	2001	Sports	LPGA Golfer, Three-time First Team All-American for UCLA[18]
Brittni De La Mora	2005	Entertainment	Pornographic actress turned Christian speaker[19]
Greg Allen	2011	Sports	Professional baseball player[20]
Calvin Faucher	2013	Sports	Professional baseball player[21]
Bianca Mora	2014	Sports	Professional soccer player[22]

Notable faculty

• Rene Ortiz, former soccer player^[23]
• Bryan Wagner^[11]
• Drew Westling^[24]