A look at most common high school nicknames in state of Washington
High schools try to set themselves apart from other schools in the state with their nicknames.
Some — like the Papermakers or Spudders — succeed in acquiring a unique quality to their nicknames.
Others? Not so much.
So as we try to kill time until the start of high school football practices next week, let’s take a look at the most common high school athletic nicknames in the state of Washington, starting at No. 10.
No. 10 — KNIGHTS
Nine schools across the state call themselves the Knights, including King’s Way Christian here in Vancouver. Others include Kamiak of Mukilteo, Newport of Bellevue, Bremerton, King’s of Seattle, Royal of Royal City, Walla Walla Valley Academy, Highland Christian of Arlington and Sunnyside Christian.
No. 8 (tie) — WARRIORS
There are 10 Warriors in the state, including Edmonds-Woodway, Clover Park, Seattle Christian, Rochester, Wahluke, Cle Elum/Roslyn, Chief Leschi of Puyallup, Crosspoint of Bremerton, Almira-Coulee-Hartline, St. Michael of Spokane.)
No. 8 (tie) — PANTHERS
Washougal helps the Panthers reach the Top 10 of the most common nicknames in the state with help from Snohomish, Wenatchee, Mead of Spokane, Seattle Prep, Bonney Lake, River View of Kennewick, Asotin, Cusick, Valley Christian of Spokane)
No. 7 — WILDCATS
La Center may be the only Wildcats in Clark County, but there are 10 others around the state: Eastmont of East Wenatchee, Oak Harbor, Mount Si of Snoqualmie, West Seattle, Mount Spokane of Mead, Archbishop Murphy of Everett, Toppenish, Ocosta, Wilbur-Creston and Colton.
No. 5 (tie) — COUGARS
The nickname of one of the biggest universities in the state is also shared by 12 high schools (for the record, Huskies is shared by two high schools), including Seton Catholic of Vancouver. Other Cougars include Bothell, Central Kitsap of Silverdale, Holy Names of Seattle, Lakewood, Capital of Olympia, Cascade Christian of Puyallup, Warden, Chewelah, White Swan, Lyle/Wishram and Curlew
No. 5 (tie) — LIONS
There are 12 Lions around the state and that doesn’t even count the one Mountain Lions (of Liberty Bell). The Lions include Auburn Riverside, Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma, Lakeside of Seattle, Auburn Mountainview, Kennewick, Lynden, Cedar Park Christian of Mountlake Terrace, Concrete, Arlington Christian, Eastside Academy of Bellevue, Moses Lake Christian, and Columbia of Hunters.
No. 2 (tie) — VIKINGS
A three-way tie at No. 2? Yep. There are 13 Vikings in the state: Lake Stevens, Inglemoor of Kenmore, Curtis of University Place, Rogers of Puyallup, Rainier Beach of Seatle, North Kitsap of Poulsbo, Selah, Bellevue Christian, Mabton, Orcas Island, Mossyrock, Willapa Valley and Garfield-Palouse.
No. 2 (tie) — TIGERS
Battle Ground helps push Tigers to the No. 2 spot on this list, joined by Stadium of Tacoma, Battle Ground, Lewis & Clark of Spokane (clearly named for all the Tigers Lewis & Clark came across on their trip west), Burlington-Edison, Granite Falls, Centralia, Ephrata, Tonasket, Napavine, Entiat, Thorp, Republic and Prescott. This list excludes the Tigercats of LaCrosse-Washtucna.
No. 2 (tie) — BULLDOGS
If you yelled “Hey Bulldog!” you’d get a lot of barking back from around the state, including from Stevenson. This list does not include the Bullpups of Spokane’s Gonzaga Prep. It does include Mount Vernon, Garfield of Seattle, Pasco, Foster, North Mason of Belfair, Ellensburg, Montesano, Cashmere, Okanogan, Kettle Falls, Colfax and Dayton.
No. 1 — EAGLES
No. 1 and it wasn’t close. And it didn’t even include the Golden Eagles of Ferndale. But it did include 22 other schools like Hudson’s Bay, as well as Arlington, Issaquah, Federal Way, Graham-Kapowsin, Cleveland of Seattle, Lindbergh of Renton, Klahowya of Silverdale, Cedar Park Christian of Bothell, Life Christian of Tacoma, Elma, Connell, Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls, Lind/Ritzville/Sprague, Grace Academy of Marysville, Christian Faith of Federal Way, Pope John Paul II of Lacey, Three Rivers Christian of Kelso, Glenwood, Yakama Tribal of Toppenish, Soap Lake and St. John-Endicott
