Orville H. Platt High School, commonly called Platt High School, is a public high school located in Meriden, Connecticut.
History
In the late 1950s, Meriden High School suffered from overcrowding. Two high schools were built in Meriden to relieve the overcrowding: Orville H. Platt High School and Francis T. Maloney High School. Platt first opened in September, 1958. The school was expanded in September 1970; additions included more classrooms, a graphics art department, library space, cafeteria space, a second gymnasium, and a swimming pool. Starting in October 2013, the school underwent massive renovation, finishing fall 2017. These renovations included the addition of a new wing containing, among other things, a freshman academy and a vocational technology facility.
Athletics
Platt High School is part of the Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) which features member schools in the Greater Hartford region of Connecticut, United States.
Basketball
Girls
The 1989 girls basketball team won the Class L state crown with a 23-2 record and won the state title game in overtime against Notre Dame - Fairfield. The final score was 61-53, the end of an unforgettable season. The team only gave up 38 points per game. Tom Johnson coached the team made up of Kim Penwell, Kelly Penwell, Michelle Demers, Chrissy Danko, Christine Wanat, Michelle Cooley, Latashia Williams, Heidi Schmidt, Kelly Grady and Sarah Lane. Johnson and Cooley were inducted into the Platt High School Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 2000 Kelly Penwell was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
In 2011 Tina Gonyea took over as head coach having spent 13 years as an assistant coach. Gonyea was the first 1,000-point scorer in Platt girls basketball history. She played for Johnson and graduated from Platt in 1986. She played three sports while at Platt, soccer, basketball and softball, and earned All-State honors in all three. She was the first Platt athlete to earn that distinction. Gonyea went on to Keene State and played basketball, eclipsing 1,000 points and helping the Division II program win ECAC championships in 1988 and 1989. By the time she graduated in 1990, Gonyea was Keene State's all-time career leader in assists and steals. Gonyea is a member of multiple Halls of Fame: Platt, Keene State, the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the New Haven Tap Off Club Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Gonyea resigned in 2023
Boys
Anthony Nimani holds the record for most career points scored. Nimani is a two-time All-Stater and the two-time Record-Journal Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He finished with 1,626 points in his career, which included the COVID-shortened season of 2020-21, which sapped the potential for more points. In the 2022-2023 season Nimani averaged just under 25 points, in which the Panthers went 20-6. He guided the Panthers to their first ever CCC Tournament and state semifinal appearances.