Lower Merion High School (PA)
From Hoopedia
Lower Merion High School, is an American public high school in Ardmore, a community on the Pennsylvania Main Line.
It is the larger of the two high schools in Lower Merion School District, which serves both Lower Merion Township and the Borough of Narberth. It was ranked among the top 60 U.S. high schools, public or private, by the Wall Street Journal in 2005.
In 2005, 1,495 students attended the school. Since September 2007, Norton Seaman has been the interim principal for Lower Merion. The athletics teams are known officially as the "Aces," but the football team is called the "Bulldogs."
The Lower Merion High School basketball team has won six Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class (PIAA) Boys State Championships, the most by a AAAA school. In 1930, 1931 and 1939 Lower Merion lost the AAA championship games (then the highest level of competition). They won the AAA championship in 1933, 1941, 1942 and 1943. They won the AAAA championship in 1996 and 2006; they were AAAA runners-up in 2005.
Their most recent championship came in 2006 under Head Coach Gregg Downer (1990-).
In the 2004-05 season, the Aces, despite being the fourth seed out of PIAA District I, won the Western bracket and became the lowest seed to ever reach the State Finals. The team was led by the "Big Three," Dan Capkin, Ryan Brooks, and Garret Williamson.
In 2006, Lower Merion avenged three previous losses against the Chester Clippers in a rematch at the University of Pennsylvania Palestra, and ultimately beating the heavily favored Schenley High School Spartans 60-58 in the championship game. The Aces were led by seniors Ryan Brooks and Garrett Williamson, who went on to Temple University and Saint Joseph's University, respectiveley.
The following year, 2007, having lost six seniors (including Brooks and Williamson), the Aces went on to shock critics by advancing to the AAAA Quarterfinals, losing to Simon Gratz High School. Highlights of that year included finishing with the fewest "points allowed", two blowout wins against Springfield, and Ridley High School (both Central League rivals, to whom the team lost to earlier in the season), a buzzer beater win against Chester in overtime on a shot by captain Adam Ellison, another buzzer beater by team superstar sophomore Greg Robbins against Easton High School in States, and holding Souderton High School to only one point in the third quarter. The Aces' fan section, nicknamed "the Dawg Pound" (c. 1997), is widely considered as the one of the most involved and dedicated in the area.
Notable Alumni
- Kobe Bryant - (1996), Professional NBA player for the Los Angeles Lakers. 10-time NBA All-Star, 10-time All-NBA Selection, 3-time NBA Champion, 2-time NBA Scoring Champion, 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Champion, and NBA MVP of the 2007-08
