Aquinas High School (La Crosse, Wisconsin)

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Aquinas High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The high school was dedicated on September 2, 1928 in honor of Thomas Aquinas by Bishop Alexander Joseph McGavick of the Diocese of La Crosse. The first graduating class of 1929 consisted of four girls. The high school was originally staffed by diocesan clergy and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

Diocesan Bishop John Joseph Paul, an Aquinas alumnus of the class of 1935, set aside some rooms at Aquinas High School for the Aquinas Middle School in 1992. In 1997, the Bishop Burke Hall addition to Aquinas High School was dedicated in honor of Bishop Raymond Leo Burke, now the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri and a former religion teacher at Aquinas High School.

Aquinas High School is part of the La Crosse Coulee Catholic Schools.

1 Sports
2 Notable people
3 Principals
4 Sources
5 External links

[edit] Sports

The school's most notable recent sports accomplishment is a Division II State Title in boy's basketball in 2003. The girl's soccer team has been Division II state runner-up twice in the past three years, and the boy's soccer team has been quite successful as well with winning many regional and sectional games and being the Runner-Up D3 Boy's Soccer and first team from the La Crosse Area (2003) to not only make it to a state championship game, but also on their first try. The girls tennis team was runner up in 2000 and the boys runner up in 2002. In 2003, the boys alpine ski team took home the state championship. In 2006, Doug Merkitch was crowned WIAA Division 2 champion in the 110 meter hurdles. Zach Wilhelmy also became Division 3 State Champion in Boy's Cross Country in 2006. Now in 2007, the Aquinas Blugolds have advanced to the WIAA Division 3 State Championship, against Racine St. Catherines. Aquinas came up short in that one and came home with a silver ball. Scott Christopherson a player on that 06-07 basketball team has been recuited to go to Marquette University.

[edit] Notable people

Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court, was a religion teacher at Aquinas High School prior to going to law school.
Charles Dierkop, actor, attended Aquinas High School.
George Albert Hammes, was a teacher at Aquinas High School prior to becoming bishop.
Robert E. Kreutz, composer, 1940.

[edit] Principals

Father Hilary Leuther, 1928-1936
Father Joseph Kundinger, 1936-1940, 1946-1951
Father John Prizl, 1940-1946
Father Alfred Hebert, 1951-1952
Father Robert Hansen, 1952-1960
Father Richard Rossiter, 1960-1964
Father James O'Connell, 1964-1972
Father Robert Altmann, 1972-1990
James Vail, 1990-1997
Jeffrey Brengman, 1997-2001
Father John McHugh, 2001-2002
Joan Leonard, 2002-2004
Philip Hahn, 2004-2006
Patrick Burkhart, 2006-present

[edit] Sources

Aquinas High School 2003 Alumni Directory
75th Anniversary 1928-2003
Richard F. Dungar-class of 1969-Aquinas High School-volunteer:archives/alumni Aquinas High School