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Chalker High School

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Chalker High School is a public high school in Southington Township, Trumbull County, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Southington Local School District. Their mascot is the Wildcats, and compete as a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and is a member of the Northeastern Athletic Conference. The original Chalker High School Building was closed in 2011 and relocated at 2482 OH-534, Southington, OH 44470.

History

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Chalker High School is named for Newton Chalker, an attorney who was born in Southington in 1842.[1][2] Chalker created an endowment for the high school when schools in the township agreed to consolidate smaller schools in a central location. The town agreed to consolidation, and the original campus was completed in 1907, consisting of the Chalker High School building and a smaller elementary school.[2] Newton Chalker agreed to pay for Chalker High school, as long as the townspeople would pay for the elementary school building, which was not nearly as grand, totaling $6000 as compared to the Chalker Building's $20,000. The high school was constructed in the Neoclassical Revival architectural style, including fluted columns and a pedimented gable.[2] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 4, 2011.[3]

The original Chalker High School Building was closed in 2011 and relocated at 2482 OH-534, Southington, OH 44470.

Craig Lefkowitz Incident

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In 2021, Craig Lefkowitz, the school's computer teacher and Athletic Director, was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual battery and one count compelling prostitution, after a former student came forward with allegations that Lefkowitz had paid the student for sex multiple times and supplied alcohol, spanning from his freshman-senior year, that last of the incidents taking place 15 years prior to his arrest (circa 2005-2006) Lefkowitz was employed by the school district for 21 years, and was the coach for the 1998 State Championship softball team, as well as the schools head Volleyball coach for junior high and Spirit Club Advisor.[4] In November of 2021, Lefkowitz was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Lefkowitz had resigned from the school on June 24th and will have to register as a Tier-3 sex offender for the rest of his life.[5]

Athletics

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Chalker High School currently offers:[6]

  • Baseball
  • Bowling
  • Basketball
  • Cross country
  • Cheerleading
  • Football (8-man)
  • Golf
  • Softball
  • Track and field
  • Volleyball

Basketball players with 1000+ point in their careers

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Bold denotes that player is still attending Chalker

Boys:

  1. Trey Tietz - 1428
  2. Jordan Kellar - 1388
  3. David Motz - 1300
  4. Rob Gilanyi - 1207
  5. Eric Wilson - 1165
  6. Tommy Hall - 1112
  7. Jacob Zolina - 1090
  8. Travis Wilcox - 1076
  9. Brain Muckle - 1034
  10. Bill Hurd - 1025
  11. James Stull - 1019

Girls:

  1. Courtney Warnick - 1463
  2. Holly Householder - 1459
  3. Angie Gideon - 1141
  4. Rebecca Derr - 1022

Conference/District/State Champions by Sport

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Baseball

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1998, 1999, 2000 (League Champions)

1998, 1999, 2000 (District Champions)

1999, 2000 (Regional Champions)

1998, 2000 (State Final Four)

Boys Basketball

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1966 (NEO Champion)

1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2004 (League Champions)

1978, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000 (District Champions)

Girls Basketball - 1981, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2010, 2023 (League Champions) 1991, 1992 (District Champions)

Cross Country - 1960 (League Champions)

Football

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1980 (Grand River Conference Champions), 2009 (NAC Champions), 2025 (N8FC Champions)

2001, 2013 (11-man Playoff Berths) 2024, 2025 (8-man Playoff Berth) 2025 (8-man State Runner-ups)

Golf

1965, 1972, 1982, 1983, 1996, (League Champions)

Softball

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1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2023 (League Champions)

1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2023, 2025 (District Champions)

2025 (District Champions)

1998 (Regional Champions)

1998 (State Champions)

Track and Field

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1942, 1975 (League Champions)

2025 (Boys 100m State Champions)

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

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  • Girls Softball – 1998 [7][8]
  • Boys Track and Field - 2025 (individual 100m)[9]

Organizations

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Beta Club

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Beta club is the school's academic honors program that heavily emphasizes community service. Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and fulfill 10 hours of community service to maintain membership. It is affiliated with the National Beta Club organization.[10]

National Honor Society

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The school's chapter of the National Honor Society recognizes students who excel in the program's main criteria of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.[11]

Notable alumni

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  • Rick Badanjek – former NFL player
  • Chad Petty - former MLB player

References

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<references responsive="1">

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  1. "About Us". Southington Local Schools. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Marker #29-78 Southington Township Centralized School and Monument Park". Remarkable Ohio. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  3. "List of Actions Taken on Properties: 1/31/11 Through 2/04/11" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2011-02-11. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  4. "Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex offenses". tribtoday.com. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  5. "Former Southington teacher gets 8 years". tribtoday.com. Retrieved 2025-09-24.
  6. "Athletics". Southington Local Schools. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  7. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Softball". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  8. OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  9. "MileSplit Live Results". milesplit.live. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
  10. "Beta Club". Southington Local Schools. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  11. "National Honor Society". Southington Local Schools. Retrieved 2019-03-19.