Cupertino

Mascot: Pioneers.

Location: Cupertino.

Founded: 1958.

Rival school: Monta Vista.

Top teams this year: Girls cross-country, girls volleyball, boys basketball, wrestling, boys tennis.

Top athletes this year: Shameer Erfanian, wrestling; Stephanie Glick, track and field; Katie Kao, volleyball; Matt Provencher, soccer; Sumika Shiokawa, cross-country.

Notable sports moments: Long before Kurt Rambis played on four NBA championship teams during the Los Angeles Lakers’ “Showtime” era, he helped win back-to-back Central Coast Section titles, both over St. Ignatius. Rambis tipped in a missed free throw for the winner in 1975 and scored 27 points in a 50-40 victory in ’76. That was after he scored 50 in a semifinal win over Ravenswood in a game he described as the most memorable of his high school career. Cupertino also claims a strong wrestling tradition, with two state champions: Matt Olejnik (1981) and Aki Yoshikawa (’91).

Famous alumni: John Hencken set a world record (1 minute, 5.68 seconds) in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 1972 Munich Olympics just months after capturing two CCS swimming titles for Cupertino. He would break the record five more times and win two more golds. Azadeh Moaveni covers Iran for Time Magazine and is the author of a memoir titled “Lipstick Jihad.”

Did you know? Rambis developed a cult following of fans who went to games wearing Rambis-like horned-rimmed glasses and carrying signs that read “Rambis Youth.” “The first time I saw those guys, I thought they were mocking me,” Rambis said. “I wanted to tell those guys to knock it off.” He set up a lunch meeting to do just that, but as he arrived, “They looked at me like Jesus Christ was walking in the door. What could I do? I said, ‘I appreciate the support,’ and ‘Thank you very much.’ “