Meadowbrook Academy
Mascot: Mustangs
Founded: 1996
Colors: Purple, gold & white
Namesake: Mustangs are known for their grace, strength and independence. The Mustang has become the American metaphor for the passionate pursuit of our dreams.
Fun fact: Did you know that our students host events for special needs schools and our principal once kissed a big, smelly pig to raise money for the students?
School: St. John Lutheran School
Mascot: Saints
Founded: 1963
Colors: Blue, Gold and White
Namesake: When the school was founded, the mascot was the Cougars. Around 1975, the board decided that since the name of the church and school was St. John, the mascot should be the Saints.
Fun Fact: St. John has many traditions, but a fun favorite is the annual Pet Day hosted by Mr. John Westol in the middle school. For one day, cats, dogs and the occasional bird or guinea pig live in peaceful harmony while traveling to classes and then enjoy a variety of competitions in the afternoon. Awards are given at the end of the day to many of the animals, but the memories of this activity are really what this event is all about!
School: Trinity Catholic High School
Mascot: Celtics “Shamrocky,” AKA “Rocky”
Founded: 2000
Colors: Green and gold
Namesake: The Class of 2005 donated Rocky to the school as their class gift, and a contest was held with the student body to name the mascot. Rocky was born during halftime at a 2006 football game.
Fun Fact: After every football game, our players and cheerleaders meet in the middle of the field to pray, inviting the other team to join them. Once done, our athletes come to the sidelines standing shoulder to shoulder, swaying and singing the alma mater.
School: Belleview High School
Mascot: Rattlers “Riley” Rattler
Founded: 1994
Colors: Blue, white and silver
Namesake: The Belleview community entered their ideas, and then the community voted.
School: Vanguard High School
Mascot: Knights
Founded 1970
Colors: Red, white and blue
Namesake: The first principal of Vanguard, Mr. Leon Rogers, combined the start of the space program and one of the rockets being named Vanguard with a logo that he saw on the back of a military truck that included a Knight on a horse. He felt that it related nicely to the main “round” building of the school or the “Knights of the Round Table.”
Fun Fact: The colors of the school were determined by the feeder schools that formed the beginning student body of Vanguard. These included: red for Fort King Middle School, white for Ocala High School, which is now Forest High School (they were running two sessions of school on their campus and half of the students became Vanguard students), and blue for Howard High School, which became a middle school when the zoned schools were divided between Vanguard and Forest.
School: Dunnellon High School
Mascot: Tigers Leon the Tiger
Founded: 1945
Colors: Red, black and white
Namesake: In 2012, students nominated potential mascot names for our tiger. The three that were nominated the most were then voted on by the student body, with Leon being the overwhelming winner.
Fun Fact: Two current NFL players are DHS alumni: Former Gator Lerentee McCray and former Seminole Terrence Brooks.
School: Redeemer Christian School
Mascot: Lions
Founded: 1999
Colors: Navy, burgundy and hunter green
Namesake: Jesus is called “the lion of the tribe of Judah.” (Revelation 5:5) We chose the lion as our mascot not only because he is the king of the beasts but more particularly because it reminds us of our Savior.
Fun Fact: All of our freshman take Physics I, and our sophomores take Chemistry I with Bob Ayton, the 2014 State of Florida Chemistry Teacher of the Year and a certified AP Physics/AP Chemistry teacher.
School: Ocala Christian Academy
Mascot: Crusaders “The Wonker”
Founded: 1972
Colors: Green and White
Fun Fact: The Wonker was found in the national forest about 10 years ago as a cub and has been at OCA ever since. Due to new government regulations, we are no longer able to keep this exotic mascot, so we will be releasing the Wonker back into the wild. Our new mascot will be revealed at the first OCA football game. Don’t miss… Captain Crusader!
School: Forest High School
Mascot: Wildcats “Willie” Wildcat
Founded: 1969
Colors: Green, gold and white
Namesake: We don’t know why the wildcat was chosen as the mascot; however, 20-plus years ago, an OHS alumni came by and told me that in the ‘50s Ocala High School had a contest to name the mascot. The winner was a student named Willard. His nomination was Willie Wildcat. Ocala High School was changed to Forest High School in 1969 upon the opening of Vanguard High School.
Fun Fact: Two former Willie Wildcats now presently teach at FHS.
School: North Marion High School
Mascot: Colts “Norman”
Founded: 1964
Colors: Garnet and gold
Namesake: The name “Norman” was made by condensing North Marion.
Fun Fact: Prior to the addition of “Norman,” a cheerleader used to ride a real horse onto the football field.
School: West Port High School
Mascot: Wolf Pack “Wolfie”
Founded: 2000
Colors: Teal and black
Namesake: Students voted to name him after the Wolf Pack.
Fun Fact: West Port High School is both a high school and a satellite campus of the College of Central Florida.
School: Lake Weir High School
Mascot: Hurricanes
Founded: 1955
Colors: Purple and gold
Namesake: The hurricane warning flags were chosen after realizing the original symbol resembled a tornado. We are now contemplating a mascot called Super Cane that will be similar to the mascot of Tulsa University.
Fun Fact: The first class graduated in 1956. The school was on the middle school campus at that time and served grades 7-12. In 1975, LWHS moved to the current location. We’ve also had some notable athletes come from LWHS: Eddie and Frank Johnson, professional basketball players; Ted Potter, Jr., PGA Tour golfer; and Grace Daley, WNBA player. Also, Pam Stewart, FDOE Commissioner of Education, was a former AP at Lake Weir, and George Tomyn, MCPS Superintendent, was a teacher at Lake Weir.
