at the New England Regional Qualifier, the team traveled to Orlando, Florida, where they placed third out of thirty-one teams in the most competitive national cheerleading competition in the country: the UCA National Cheerleading Championship. They marked VT Cheerleading history as the first team in the state to compete nationally. The team's most recent state titles were claimed in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2014. The boys' lacrosse team won the state title in 2007, 2008, and 2010. The boys' tennis team won the state title in 1982, 1995, 2011, and 2018. The boys' basketball team won its first state title in 1979, and won again in 1998 and 2010. The boys' rugby team has won four of the last five state championships. The girls' basketball team has won the state title nine times - 1979, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2006. The co-ed bowling team won the state title in the 2014-15 season. Controversies In 2022, an English teacher was placed on indefinite leave after being caught on video repeatedly stating the N-word. In 2021, Essex High School was reprimanded after several students shouted racial slurs against an opposing team during an American football match. In 2017, the Essex High School choir teacher at the time voluntarily "surrendered his teaching license" on grounds that he was "alleged to have engaged in inappropriate conduct with a student." On April 12, 2017, Essex High School received a threat from an individual claiming that he intended to harm EHS students with weapons and explosives. However, the incident turned out to be an incident of a swatting event. Two juveniles, including one 14-year-old Vermont boy, were eventually charged in connection to the incident; controversially, the Vermont boy was allowed to return as an EHS student after a period of time. In 2019, Essex High School faced backlash over their handling of a chalk drawing of Pepe the Frog in front of the school. While the Essex High School administration insisted that the drawing was used in a hate-related context, the drawer insisted that the entire ordeal was a "misunderstanding." Notable faculty Linda K. Myers, member of the Vermont House of Representatives, former cheerleading coach at Essex High School Notable alumni Brian Dubie, 1977, former Lieutenant Governor of Vermont Michael Dubie, 1978, Adjutant General of Vermont Carissa Gump, 2001, Athlete, 2008 Olympian-Weightlifting Shane Lavalette, 2005, photographer, publisher and editor of Lavalette, and