Richland High School (Washington)


Richland High School is a public secondary school in the northwest United States, located in Richland, Washington. The school was founded as Columbia High School in 1910 to serve the educational needs of the small town of Richland. The building was replaced with a much larger structure by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1946 as the development of the neighboring Hanford Engineering Works brought an influx of employees to the region to support the war effort.
The small farming community continued to develop as weapons production climbed during the Cold War, and the town was designated as a first-class city in 1958. The facilities of Columbia High School were extensively renovated in 1964 and remodeled again in stages between 1995 and 2006. Columbia High was renamed Richland High School in 1982. The school is now part of the Richland School District. Until the founding of Hanford Falcons in 1972, Richland High was the only high school in the city.
Richland's mascot is the "Bomber", officially named for the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress built in Seattle, but also in recognition of the city's contributions as an "Atomic City" in World War Two. Hanford was home to the Manhattan Project's B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the nuclear bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. Mushroom cloud logos are proudly displayed throughout the school, and the student body used to shout "nuke 'em" at sporting events.
In 2019, "Archie" a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner was named the first-ever character mascot at Richland High School. The mascot is named after Archie Purcell, a WWII veteran who was a ball turret gunner on the famous B-17 "A Days Pay".
As the region has diversified since its past as a federally owned Atomic City where 90% of the population was either employed by or a dependent of Hanford, the school has since received criticism for its depiction of a mushroom cloud as an unofficial logo for the school, believing that the logo and the mascot to be glorifying the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
WWW richlandbombers.us

Athletics

Richland High School competes in the WIAA Class 4A division, which includes the state's largest schools by enrollment. The school shares its football stadium, located adjacent to the campus, with Hanford High School. The facility was named Fran Rish Stadium in 1986 in honor of former coach Fran Rish. Completes under the team name, the Bombers.
  • Football: The Richland High football team won state championships in 1981, 1999, and 2017.
  • Cross country: The boys' cross country team won five consecutive AAA state titles in the early 1970s. The girls' team won the state championship in 1993.
  • Soccer: Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer programs have won state titles. The girls' team won the state championship in 1999, led by future U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo. In 2003, both the boys' and girls' teams won state championships.
  • Baseball: The baseball team has won six state championships: 1999, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2018, and 2024.
  • Basketball: Richland has three boys’ state basketball championships: 1958, 1972, and 1979. The 1979 team included Brian Kellerman, who later played for the University of Idaho, earning Big Sky Conference's player of the year as a
  • Golf: The boys' golf team won consecutive state titles in 1968 and 1969. It later won three championships between 2000 and 2005.

Alumni