St. Mary Catholic Central

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St. Mary Catholic Central High School, is a private, coeducational Catholic senior high school in Monroe, Michigan. The school is known colloquially as SMCC. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit.

St. Mary Catholic Central offers college preparatory classes at three levels: honors, college prep and concepts.

The school's colors are green and gold, and the mascots are the Falcon (male) and the Kestrel (female).

1 Mission
2 History
3 Athletics
4 Athletic Hall of Fame
5 Notable alumni
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Mission

The mission is to "strive for excellence in education, nuture the development of the spiritual, moral, intellectual, physical, and social potential of students, and assist them to become compassionate persons committed to living Gospel values."

[edit] History

The name St. Mary Catholic Central comes from the two schools that formed it: St. Mary Academy (SMA) and Monroe Catholic Central High School (MCC). The merger of the two schools took place from 1986-1988.

St. Mary Academy was an all girls school run by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, located at 610 West Elm Avenue in Monroe, Michigan. The school was founded in 1846.^[1]

Monroe Catholic Central was an all boys school run by the Brothers of the Holy Cross, located in the building which now houses St. Mary Catholic Central at 108 West Elm Avenue in Monroe, Michigan.

The merger between the schools began during the 1986-1987 school year, when male and female students began taking classes together in both buildings, which are approximately five blocks apart. During previous years, students were only able to take classes at the other school if a course was not offered at their school. For the 1987-1988 school year, the building of St. Mary Academy was no longer used, with all classes held at Monroe Catholic Central.

Through the end of the 1987-1988 academic year, athletic teams continued to compete under the names of Monroe Catholic Central and St. Mary Academy, with the St. Mary Academy teams wearing the colors of blue and white. By the 1988-1989 academic year, all teams were referred to as St. Mary Catholic Central, wearing the colors of green and gold which had previously been used by Monroe Catholic Central. The boys teams continue to use the nickname Falcons and the girls team use the nickname Ketrels, as they had prior to the merger.

[edit] Athletics

SMCC has long had a solid tradition of both boys and girls athletics. The school has approximately 45 boys and girls sports teams that participate on the varsity, junior varsity and freshman level. SMCC teams are part of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, with most teams competing in the Huron League.

Sports which are currently offered for boys include Baseball, Basketball, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track, Cross Country, Football, Ice Hockey and Wrestling.

Girls sports include Basketball, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Cross Country, Softball and Volleyball.

In March of 2007, the Girls Volleyball team won the Class C State Championship, defeating North Muskegon 25-21, 14-25, 25-10, 22-25, 15-8 in the championship match.^[2]

The Football team also owns a pair of Class B State Championships, winning the title in 1991^[3] and 1969 (as Monroe Catholic Central).

The Monroe Catholic Central wrestling team won a pair of Class B State Championships in 1982 and 1983.^[4]

[edit] Athletic Hall of Fame

In 2006, St. Mary Catholic Central inducted the inaugural class into its new Athletic Hall of Fame. Class of 2006 inductees were:

Br. Gerontius McCarthy, CSC (MCC Athletic Director)
John “Jack” Castignola (MCC Football Coach)
Lisa VanAcker (SMA Class of 1976)
Mary Martin Dobberstein (SMA Class of 1976)
Ronald LaBeau (MCC Class of 1962)
Mary Ann Gonyea Applin (SMA Class of 1969)
Joseph Sandersen (MCC Football Coach)
The 1969 MCC State Champion Football team coached by Tom LaBeau (MCC Class of 1960)