Tumwater High School

Athletics

Tumwater High School offers athletic teams in cross country, golf, football, soccer, dance, swim and dive, tennis, volleyball, basketball, bowling, wrestling, baseball, fastpitch, and track and field. Tumwater also offers a club rifle team, which currently holds two national championships. The dance team also holds a national championship.

Tumwater High School is a 2A-division member of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

The town has supported athletics at Tumwater High School and the recently formed Black Hills High School. The school's teams are known as the T-Birds.

Tumwater is best known for its football program. Most of the success can be credited to long time head football coach Sid Otton, who coached from 1973–2016. In the 2005 season, Otton broke the all-time Washington state wins record of 273 wins. During Otton's tenure, Tumwater won five state titles, was nationally ranked four times, and made the state playoffs more than 23 times. The final state title won under Coach Otton came on Dec. 4, 2010 against Archbishop Murphy High School in the 2A State Football Championship, by a score of 3414. Otton compiled a career record of 394–131 in 49 seasons and retired following the 2016 season after 43 years at Tumwater. He retired as the all-time winningest high school football coach in Washington State history. He was elected to the Washington State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996 For the 2017 season, former Otton player Bill Beattie ('78) took over as head coach and has continued the "Tumwater Winning Football" tradition. The T-birds won their sixth state football title with a 48–34 win over Steilacoom on Dec., 2019. William Garrow took over as head coach ahead of the 2023 season, leading the T-Birds back to the 2A state championship game in his first year, where they lost to Anacortes.

Tumwater's baseball team, coached by MLB veteran Lyle Overbay, won back-to-back state titles in 2022 and 2023, while its fastpitch team won the state title in 2022.

The Tumwater volleyball program has also had a lot of success over the years, including winning the state championship in 2008, 2014, and 2016. Many of the former Tumwater Volleyball players have gone on to play at the collegiate level. They are attending colleges such as Gonzaga University, Northwest University, Eastern Oregon University, Western Oregon University, and many other schools.

The U.S. Department of Education announced a Title IX investigation into Tumwater School District for allowing a transgender athlete in the opposing team against the Girls' basketball team in February 2025.

State championships, 2nd place:

• Girls' basketball - 2007, 2010
• Girls' cross country - 1984
• Fastpitch softball - 1992
• Boys' golf - 1997, 1998
• Boys' tennis - 1986
• Boys' track and field - 1992
• Girls' volleyball - 2007, 2011, 2015
• Baseball - 2013

Tumwater Acting Company

The Theatre program at THS has an outstanding history, including many national and state titles for their multitude of talented students. Past TAC Directors include Amy Ullen, Kristina Cummins, Joann Boswell, Robin Tuckett, and Heidi Fredericks. The current TAC Director is Harrison Fry.

Past Shows Include:

20022003: Nothing but the Truth, Once Upon a Mattress

20032004: The Taming of the Shrew, Grease

20042005: Picnic, Murder on Center Stage, You Can't Take it With You

20052006: Blithe Spirit, My Fair Lady

20062007: Romeo and Juliet, Murder's In The Heir

20072008: The Miracle Worker, Ask Any Girl, Little Shop of Horrors

20082009: The 11 Variations of Friar John, The Crucible, Anything Goes

20092010: Trouble at the Talent Show, Anatomy of Gray, Much Ado About Nothing, Once On This Island

20102011: Little Women, The Ugly Duckling, The Brother's Grimm, The Music Man

20112012: Our Town, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Pirates of Penzance

20122013: Harvey, A winter showcase of 6 one-act plays, Aida

20132014: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Julius Caesar

20142015: The Voice of the Prairie, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Tempest

20152016: Macbeth, Arsenic and Old Lace, Oliver!

20162017: Twelfth Night, Little Shop of Horrors, The Mousetrap

20172018: Frankenstein, Guys And Dolls, The Wind in the Willows

20182019: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Check Please, Once Upon a Mattress

Sources

Notable alumni

• Brooke Feldmeier, 800m runner, Olympian
• Cade Otton, NFL Tight End
• Matt Johnson, NFL Safety
• Brad Otton Former NFL QB
• Barrett Martin Grammy Winner, Percussionist, Writer

References

1. "Tumwater High School". National Center for Education Statistics.
2. "Tumwater Dance Team Captures National Championship".
3. "WIAA Sports Leagues".
4. (10 September 2005). "Banner night in Tumwater as Sid Otton sets state's wins record".
5. "Washington State Football Coaches Association".
6. Manley, Jon. (December 8, 2019). "Tumwater caps off perfect season with 48-34 win over Steilacoom in Class 2A state championship game". [[The News Tribune]].
7. (25 January 2017). "Bill Beattie to take over as Tumwater head football coach".
8. "Tumwater High School Volleyball".
9. https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/03/03/feds-to-investigate-wa-district-that-let-trans-athlete-play-basketball-game/