Athletics Westfield has athletic teams in 19 different sports:
baseball,
basketball,
cheerleading,
crew,
cross country/
track and field,
dance team,
field hockey,
football,
golf,
gymnastics,
ice hockey (club),
lacrosse,
soccer,
softball,
swim and
dive,
tennis,
volleyball and
wrestling. The school's athletic program is one of the most successful in the area, having earned numerous titles and championship berths in a wide range of varsity sports since 2000. In fact, Westfield won two state championships in its first year of existence, when both a boy and a girl from the Swim and Dive Team captured individual state swimming honors in Westfield's inaugural winter sports season. Westfield's football program has been recognized as one of the top programs in the state and has earned five state titles, three seasons ending with perfect records. Due to Westfield's large enrollment, the school is categorized 6A-class, as defined by the
Virginia High School League. Beginning with the 2017–18 academic year, it belongs to the
Concorde District within Region D. The football team won their fourth state championship in 2016 with a double overtime victory over Oscar Smith High School 34–28 and finished 13–2. The boys' outdoor track and field team earned its first Virginia AAA state title in 2004. In 2004, the varsity baseball team reached the state championship final. On November 26, 2011, the Bulldogs lost to rival Centreville, which blocked Westfield's field goal with a minute left. The field goal would have sent the game into overtime. This was Centreville's first victory over Westfield since 2001. The basketball team has had a recent string of success and won the Northern Region championship in 2015. The Bulldogs went on to play in the state championship where they fell short to the Colonial Forge Eagles 47–46. The team finished 27–2. In 2016, the team reached the state final yet again and faced the Oscar Smith Tigers for the second time in a state championship game that year as the football team won states against the Tigers back in the fall. Westfield prevailed with a 74–56 victory and captured the first state title for basketball in school history. The 2016 team finished 26–3. The girls' lacrosse team won the 2014 VHSL 6A State championship over rival
Oakton High School 13–11 and captured their first state championship. The game was played at
Lake Braddock Secondary School. The girls' field hockey team captured the 2013 and the 2017 VHSL State title both with a 2–1 upset over 2x defending champion
First Colonial. The games were played at the Virginia Beach sports complex. The 2017 team finished 24–0. One of the most successful athletic programs at Westfield is the wrestling team, having won eight district championships (2004–2009, 2011–2012), five Northern Region titles (2008–2010, 2012, 2020) and placing frequently in the top ten at the State Tournament. Westfield wrestling has had at least one state champion wrestler for 10 consecutive years (2007–2016). Westfield's track Team also won regionals indoor season of 2007 and outdoor season of 2007. On October 11, 2002, a downpour postponed a Westfield varsity football game against rival Centreville for the Concorde District championship. Head coach Tom Verbanic, desperate to keep the game on time, had the field covered with
tarps and hired a
helicopter in an attempt to dry the field. Several thousand dollars later, the game was still postponed until November 17. The match resulted in a win for Westfield, earning the school's first district championship title. The use of the helicopter for drying grass was later criticized heavily.
Varsity football The varsity football team is revered as one of the most successful programs in Fairfax County and in the state of Virginia since it started in 2000. The Bulldogs have made five state championship appearances, winning all, and have appeared in 10 regional championship games since 2003. They have also clinched the Concorde District five times in six years, from 2011 to 2016, with the lone exception in 2013. The Bulldogs completed their first perfect regular season record in 2002. In 2003, the Bulldogs completed a 14–0 season after winning the northern region championship over rival Robinson 28–7, then winning against the defending state champion C.D. Hylton 24–14 in the state semi-finals before beating Landstown 35–14 in the VHSL 6A State Championship game, winning them their first state championship in school history. In 2006, the Bulldogs advanced to the northern region championship game before falling to rival Chantilly 26–21 in the waning moments. Under the guidance of future NFL quarterback
Mike Glennon, Westfield achieved another perfect season, including a 28–16 win over the Chantilly Chargers and a shutout of rival Centreville 33–0 in the regular season finale. In the playoffs, the Bulldogs won three regional playoff games by a combined margin of 139-54 en route to their second region championship, including a 58–34 defeat of the West Springfield Spartans. Once in the state tournament, the Bulldogs faced the heavily favored Oscar Smith Tigers in the state semi-finals. The Bulldogs prevailed 24–21, setting up a matchup against the Woodbridge Vikings. In Scott Stadium at the University of Virginia, the Bulldogs won their second state title in school history. In 2011, longtime football coach Tom Verbanic stepped down, and defensive coordinator Kyle Simmons was brought in to fill in as the third head coach in school history. Under his guidance, the Bulldogs finished the 2011 season with a 10–0 perfect regular season record, winning their first two playoff games before ultimately falling to rival Centreville 27–24 in the regional championship due to a blocked field goal. The Bulldogs ended the season at 12–1. In 2012, the team once again completed a perfect regular season record, including a 40–21 revenge win over Centreville. The Bulldogs won two playoff games before falling to rival Oakton High School in the region title game 23–16, ending their season at 12–1. In 2013, Westfield finished second in the Concorde district behind rival Centreville with an 8–2 record, before rallying to win three playoff games, including a 19–16 upset over previously undefeated Lake Braddock, before reaching their third straight regional final and second in three years against the Centreville Wildcats. However, in the regional final, the Bulldogs were soundly defeated by the eventual state champion Wildcats 35–14, due in large part to the Wildcats' Wing-T offense that included South Carolina tailback AJ Turner, Cincinnati tailback/fullback Taylor Boose, James Madison defensive back Charles Tutt, and Vanderbilt offensive tackle/guard
Justin Skule. The Bulldogs finished the season 11–3. In 2014, Westfield completed a 9–1 regular season. They advanced to the region championship for the fourth straight year, but lost again to Centreville 21–17, ending their season at 12–2. In the 2015 season, Westfield finished with a 9–1 regular season yet again, including a 20–12 win over Centreville and advancing far in the playoffs. After defeating Washington-Lee 44–20, South Lakes 24–13, and Lake Braddock 31–7, Westfield faced South County for the region championship, with the Bulldogs taking the title with a 40–8 win over the Stallions. The win propelled the team to the VHSL 6A State Championship against the Oscar Smith Tigers, marking only the second time in history that the two schools met. That game went into overtime tied at 28, with Westfield winning their third state championship with a 49–42 win in overtime. The season ended 14–1. In 2016, Westfield began the season with a 45–0 win over Washington-Lee High School as the defending state champions. However, over the course of the season, the Bulldogs lost to two 5A powerhouses (Stone Bridge 34–16 and Briar Woods 35–34), further adding to the debate of whether the 5A conference was better than the 6A conference. The Bulldogs finished 8–2 in the regular season. With their 49–21 win over Chantilly in the regular season finale, the Bulldogs clinched their fifth district title in six years. They won their first round playoff game against W.T. Woodson 45–7, and defeated South County 20–3 in round 2. The Bulldogs then defeated James Madison High School in the 6A North Region semi-finals 31–13, and for the 6th consecutive season competed in the 6A North Region Championship/VHSL 6A State semi-finals. The Bulldogs then defeated the South Lakes Seahawks 42–12 to advance to their second straight state title game. At Armstrong Stadium in Hampton, Westfield again outlasted Oscar Smith 34–28 in double overtime to win their fourth straight championship and second straight title. The win finished the season at 13–2. Westfield is the first team to win back-to-back state championships in football since CD Hylton in 1998 and 1999. In 2017, the Bulldogs started the season 3–0, including a 28–27 victory over South County. They finished the regular season 10–0, and won their 5th state title and third in a row over Oscar Smith to finish 15–0 in the season. In 2018, the team again finished the regular season undefeated and won their fourth straight regional championship. The season ended a week later with a loss to Freedom 35–28 in the state semi-finals, ending a long winning streak and denying them their fourth straight championship.
Boys' basketball In 2015, the Bulldogs went on a winning streak, advancing to the state championship for the first time in school history before losing to the Colonial Forge Eagles 47–46, ending their season at 27–2. In 2016, the Bulldogs again advanced to the state title game, where they faced the Oscar Smith Tigers in a rematch of that season's football championship, won by Westfield 49–42 in 3OT. This time, however, it was not close, as Westfield defeated Oscar Smith 74–56 to win its first basketball state championship in school history. The team finished the season 26–3. Ten years later, on March 12, 2026, Westfield won its second boys' basketball state championship, defeating Landstown High School 48-44, finishing the season 30-1.
Theatre Since the showing of its first production, an original creation of
The Glass Menagerie, Westfield's theatre arts department has received numerous distinctions. Productions of
Godspell and
Fiddler on the Roof won Best Musical at the National Capital Area
Cappies awards, and
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead won Best Play. Playwright
Sheila Callaghan's
Star-Crossed Lovers, a one-act rendition of
William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, was conceived by director Scott Pafumi and premiered at Westfield in 2004. In 2007/08, the department's production of
The Wiz was the subject of an
ABC News 20/20 special entitled "Drama High" which aired on December 15, 2008. In 2010/11, Westfield's production of
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat received a record 21
Cappies nominations. The show won 10 Cappies, including Best Musical, Best Song, and Lead Actor in a Musical. Westfield Theatre also been invited to perform its own renditions of
Romeo and Juliet and
The Tempest at the
Folger Shakespeare Library, an internationally renowned stage and research center devoted to the life and works of William Shakespeare. During the spring of 2017, the spring musical
Legally Blonde was nominated for 14 Cappies awards. Two years later, the school put on the high school edition of the Broadway musical
Rock of Ages as their Cappies show, earning a total of 24 nominations, the most nominations earned in all of the Cappies program. At the Cappies Gala that year, they won a total of eight awards, including Best Musical.
Band The band program is composed of ten performance groups including the Wind Symphony, the Symphonic Band, the Concert Band, the Jazz Ensemble, the after school Jazz Band, two Percussion Ensembles, the Color Guard, the Drumline, and the Marching Bulldogs. Participating in the performance groups are over 200 students and three instructors. Westfield's band has been named a
Virginia Honor Band twelve times for both its marching band and concert bands. The Westfield Percussion Ensemble has performed, by invitation, at a national festival. NSO director
Leonard Slatkin visited Westfield in 2007 as a guest conductor. Both jazz bands have received awards at the
Chantilly Invitational Jazz Festival, where several students were named for the All-Star Band, including Chandler Comer on trombone, Nicholas Serbu on trumpet, and Joseph Beddoes on drumset. The Jazz Ensemble has won the Chantilly Jazz Festival in 2014 and 2016. The jazz band recently had the help of
Alan Baylock, Chief Arranger for the United States Air Force jazz band
The Airmen of Note, who composed the piece "Torque" specifically for the Westfield Jazz Band. Both the concert bands and jazz ensembles have traveled to New York City to perform at Carnegie Hall. The bands have received top awards twice at Myrtle Beach, at a Disney competition in Orlando, Florida, and at a competition in Atlanta, Georgia. The marching band was noted by local TV station
WUSA 9 for its exemplary talent. The marching band performs its field show during the halftime of football games, and participates in various competitions throughout the marching season. There are also
color and
winter guards that perform with the marching band and in regional tournaments. In 2013, the marching band was selected as one of 12 high school bands to perform in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade. It became the first Fairfax County public high school to participate, and only the third Virginia public high school to march in the 125 years of the parade. Upon this achievement, the band has appeared on the news programs of ABC, CBS, and NBC. In addition, the band has been reported on by several newspapers including the Washington Post.
Music The Westfield High School Choral Program consists of students in four different choral ensembles, spanning grades 9 through 12. The choirs have performed for the governor of Virginia, and for an audience of hundreds of music educators at the Virginia Music Educators State Conference. They have performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and at Strathmore Hall through a partnership with the Washington Chorus. The orchestra includes beginning, freshman, concert, chamber, and symphony orchestras. The Marching Bulldogs participated in the 2014
Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1, 2014, in
Pasadena, California.
Student publications Westfield's English department is home to three publications.
Calliope not only accepts submissions for its literary and art magazine, but it also hosts
coffeehouses in the fall and spring, where student bands, guitarists, and poets perform live. It also hosts an annual film festival for videos made by Westfield students. The magazine won the Gold Circle award from the
Columbia Scholastic Press Association for its design.
The Guardian yearbook won a Yearbook Pacemaker Award from the
National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), and the Silver Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Between 2002 and 2004, the NSPA considered it one of the Best of Show winners in its annual national journalism conventions.
The Watchdog newspaper has received an All-Southern rating from the
Southern Interscholastic Press Association. It has one of the largest circulations for a high school newspaper in the western Fairfax County area, because the newspaper is mailed home to families of students free of charge. All three publications are noted for their journalistic qualities and their ability to raise a large amount of funding from business advertisements to offset the cost of printing. Workshops on fundraising strategies have been presented by publication advisers at journalism conferences in Virginia.
Clubs and organizations Honor societies at Westfield include
National Honor Society,
National Art Honor Society,
National English Honor Society,
Spanish National Honor Society,
French National Honor Society,
German National Honor Society, Japanese Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society, History Honor Society,
Mathematics Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Marketing Honor Society,
Tri-M,
International Thespian Society, and
Quill and Scroll.
Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA-PBL) and
DECA have their own chapters for business and marketing students. Westfield High School has a TSA (Technology Student Association) chapter that began in 2012. Several academic teams compete in regional tournaments as part of the
Virginia High School League (VHSL). Westfield's
It's Academic team annually competes in tournaments hosted by the VHSL and
NBC 4, as well as tournaments hosted by other area schools. The team won its first television match on NBC 4 in the show's 44th season, after only its third appearance. The Science Club holds after-school experiments that all students can participate in, and the
Science Olympiad team annually competes in the Division C state tournament and has won several medals. The
Fellowship of Christian Athletes annually sponsors
See You at the Pole for students and faculty. The Westfield debate and forensics teams have received numerous awards and distinctions. The debate team has been ranked in the top five teams since 2004, and Forensics placed fourth overall in the 2004 VHSL state tournament. The Forensics team also won second place in the Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking individual event at the 2007 state tournament. In 2007, Westfield and its business partner Northrop Grumman teamed with
NASA to participate in the school's first
FIRST Robotics Competition at
Virginia Commonwealth University for a regional event. In 2019, the Westfield High School Politics Club held its first meeting on October 10. This is a catch-all club for students of all political backgrounds and interests, open for discussion, discovery, and debate. In 2020, the Westfield Politics Club invited guest speakers Delegate
Dan Helmer, Senator
Dick Saslaw, and Congressman
Gerry Connolly to speak about their experiences in working in government and politics. ==Students==