Murray High School (Kentucky)


Murray High School is a public high school located in Murray, Kentucky. The school currently lies on the corner of Sycamore Street and Doran Road, but it was previously located on the corner of 8th and Main Streets where it had been from 1872 to 1971. The first school was erected by the community, and it was considered the handsomest school structure west of the Tennessee River, i.e., in what is now called the Jackson Purchase. Until 1953, what is now the Murray Middle School building housed all the students in the Murray district, grades 1-12. Murray State University's first classes met on the first floor in the 1920s, and Kentucky's first Head Start was organized in the building in the 1960s.
Murray High School ranked number 6 overall in ACT scores in the State of Kentucky in 2009.
Murray High School ranked number 11 of 227 in the KY school rankings of 2010–11.

Extracurricular activities

Clubs and organizations

Murray High's chess team has had relatively recent success, claiming the state championship in four out of five years from 2004 to 2008. That was over ten years ago.
The Murray High Lady Tiger Basketball team is currently the most successful sport at the school. During former head coach Rechelle Turner's 21-year tenure from 1997 to 2017, the team had unprecedented success. Perhaps the most notable accomplishments of the Lady Tigers are their two back to back KHSAA Final Four appearances in 2016 and 2017, along with a Class A state championship in 2016 and 2018. Additionally, the Lady Tigers were Region 1 champions in 1997, 2010, 2016, and 2017. Turner is now the head women's basketball coach at NCAA Division I Murray State University.
Murray's football team is well-known across Kentucky to be one of the best in Class AA. Murray High School had undefeated regular seasons in 2009 and 2010. The program has reached the third or fourth round of KHSAA Class AA Playoffs each year from 2009-2014. Prior to moving to Class AA, Murray High School won the Class A state championship in 1961 and 1974.
The Murray girls' track and field team won the KHSAA Class A state championship in 2016 and 2017.
Since its inception nearly 90 years ago, Murray High School's band has arguably been the most successful activity at the school, if not the District. In recent years, the band has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City and at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, and more recently at Walt Disney World in Florida. The Murray Tiger Marching Band is regarded as one of the state's best, and has maintained a tradition of excellence for over 40 years. As a Bands of America Grand National Champion, the Tiger Band has enjoyed more success than most all Kentucky high school marching bands. The band has established itself as a formidable competitor in Kentucky's marching circuit, and is a perennial power in Kentucky's KMEA Class A. In 2017, the band won its first state championship, after contending for the top prize for a number of years. They repeated the feat in 2018, winning their second state championship. The Murray High Tiger Band is currently under the direction of Tim Zeiss and Beth Stribling. An abridged list of notable accomplishments is as follows: