About Us

ABOUT

Crest High School is a public high school in Shelby, North Carolina. It is part of the Cleveland County School District. Crest High School has approximately 1150 students from grades 9–12. As of the 2021–22 school year, there are 79 certified teachers (69 classroom/10 support staff) and the student/certified faculty ratio is 13.71. Our campus is fringe rural. The school was approved in 1965, after Cleveland County residents voted 3,420 to 1,615 to authorize $3,250,000 in construction bonds for two new high schools (Crest and Burns). The word "crest" was originally an acronym for "Cleveland Rural Education Stands Together". We currently use the phrase, "Chargers Rising to Excellence and Success Together" as our motto. The mascot for Crest High School is the Charger and our school colors are green and gold. Crest Chargers compete in the Big South Conference and are classified as 3A in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. The schools in our conference include: Ashbrook, Burns, Forestview, Hunter Huss, Kings Mountain, North Gaston, and Stuart Cramer.

NOTABLE ALUMNI

  • Ron Rash (Class of 1971) — Famous American poet, short story writer, and novelist. His novel, Serena, was adapted into a feature film and starred Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

  • David Thompson (Class of 1972) — NBA player for Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics, won NCAA tournament with NC State Wolfpack

  • John Carter (Class of 1974) — News anchor for WBTV, Retired Politician, and Businessman

  • Dawson Odoms (Class of 1992) — Head football coach for Southern University in Louisiana

  • Erik Wince (Class of 1999) — Head wrestling coach at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, and first Division 1 National Qualifier in the history of Gardner-Webb University. 

  • Manteo Mitchell (Class of 2005) — Football and Track standout - Silver Medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics, World Indoor Champion, and US Champion. Also a motivational speaker, actor/model, and TV personality.

  • Travis Padgett (Class of 2005) — 4th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 4x100m relay

  • Brandon Spikes (Class of 2006) — NFL linebacker, No. 1 linebacker recruit his senior year, currently, a free agent

  • Kevin "PPMD" Nanney (Class of 2009) — Professional Super Smash Bros. Melee player

  • Jonathan Bullard (Class of 2012) — Played college football at Florida. NFL 3rd draft choice by Chicago Bears. NFL Teams: Chicago Bears / Arizona Cardinals & Currently Seattle Seahawks

  • Jalin Moore (Class of 2013) — Standout Running Back for App State

  • Bradley Keller (Class of 2015) — Outfielder for the Rome Braves, a class-A affiliate for the Atlanta Braves.  He played several seasons with them.

  •  If you know of notable alumni who should be added to this list, please fill out this Google Form.