Joseph A. Craig High School is a public high school located in the city of Janesville, Wisconsin. Craig, a part of the School District of Janesville, has a student enrollment of approximately 1,800. Located on the east side of Janesville, it is named after Joseph A. Craig, who was instrumental in attracting the General Motors Janesville Assembly Plant to the city.
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History
The original Janesville High School opened up in 1923 downtown at the corner of Main and Racine Streets. The current building opened in 1955, with the former high school becoming a middle school until 1999, when it was adapted into apartment use. The school was later renamed Joseph A. Craig High School in 1967 with the opening of George S. Parker High School on the west side of Janesville.
Athletics
The school sports teams compete in the Big Eight Conference. State level competition is governed by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
State championships
Baseball: 1983, 1984, 1998, 2015
Cross country (girls): 1991
Cross country (boys): 1950, 1961, 1962
Golf (boys): 1951, 1953, 1963
Swimming & diving (boys): 1955, 1961
Wrestling: 1955 (co-state champion with Madison East)
Conference affiliation history
Big Six Conference (1925–1929)
Big Seven Conference (1929–1930)
Big Eight Conference (1930–present)
Performing arts
Craig has a varsity-level competitive show choirs, the "Spotlighters". The choir also hosts their own competition, the Spotlight Spectacular. Spotlighters have a history of placing well at competitions, even winning some championships.
Notable alumni
Keeanu Benton, NFL nose tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Sue Conley, Wisconsin state legislator
Edward Creutz, physicist
Russ Feingold, United States Senator (1993–2011)
Tucker Fredricks, speed skater
Israel Hanukoglu, biochemist
Tom Klawitter, professional baseball player
Tad Kubler, lead guitarist for rock band The Hold Steady
Pete Lee, stand-up comedian
Kerwin Mathews, actor
Max Maxfield, Wyoming State Auditor (1999–2007) and 20th Secretary of State of Wyoming (2007–2015)
John E. McCoy, Major General, Air National Guard
Erin Murphy, majority Leader of the Minnesota Senate, District 64 Representative
Andrew Poppas, General, Army
Manilla Powers, actress, vaudevillian
Paul Ryan, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (2015–2019) and U.S. Representative (1999–2019)
Bryan Steil, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (2019 to present)
Bob Strampe, professional baseball player