St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Overland Park, Kansas)

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School

Amor Vincit Omnia
Love Conquers All
Address
11411 Pflumm Road
Overland Park, Kansas, (Johnson County), 66215
United States
Coordinates 38°55′20″N 94°44′24″W / 38.92222°N 94.74000°WCoordinates: 38°55′20″N 94°44′24″W / 38.92222°N 94.74000°W
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1988
President Bill Ford
Chaplain Fr. Daniel Schmitz
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 965
Color(s) Navy Blue and Old Gold          
Athletics conference Eastern Kansas League
Nickname Saints
Rival Bishop Miege High School St. James Academy
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Newspaper The Shield
Yearbook The Medallion
Website http://www.stasaints.net

St. Thomas Aquinas High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Overland Park, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The current chaplain is Fr. Daniel Schmitz, the president is Bill Ford, and the principals are Mr. Brian Schenck, Mr. Craig Moss, and Dr. Mike Sullivan. Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of several private high schools located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The school colors are navy blue and old gold. The average annual enrollment is approximately 950 students.

The school was established in 1988 in order to accommodate for the growing Roman Catholic population in south Johnson County. It is the successor to Saint Joseph High School, which was originally located in the present-day Saint Joseph Early Education Center in Shawnee, Kansas.

Saint Thomas Aquinas is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 5A division and are known as the "Saints". The boys' soccer program has experienced considerable successes and has been named National Champions twice.[2][3] Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

History

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School was established in 1988 by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas in order to accommodate for the growing Roman Catholic population in Overland Park. It is successor to Saint Joseph High School, which was originally located in the present-day Saint Joseph Early Education Center in Shawnee, Kansas.

Academics

Academically, Saint Thomas Aquinas ranks in the top 5% of Kansas high schools. In 2012, Aquinas was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in education by the Department of Education. For the 2008-09 and 2009-2010 school years, St. Thomas Aquinas was recognized by the Kansas State Board of Education for achieving excellence in reading, writing and mathematics.[4]

For classes beginning in 2011, 93 credits are required for graduation.[5]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Saints have experienced great success in athletics. Saint Thomas Aquinas is in the Eastern Kansas League and is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout the schools' existence, the Saints have won two National Championships (boys' soccer, 1994 and 2009), 79 KSHSAA state championships, 52 state runner-up championships, and 265 league/district/regional/sub-state championships. That includes a record 10 state championships during the 2006-2007 school year.[6]

Soccer

As a two-time national championship program, soccer is widely considered the most successful sport at Saint Thomas Aquinas. The Saints have won a combined 27 state championships in boys' and girls' soccer, which includes eight straight state titles for boys from 2003-2010. Additionally, the boys' team won the National Championship in 1994 and 2009 according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.[2][3] After winning the National Championship in 2009, head coach Craig Ewing was honored as the NSCAA national boys coach of the year for private and parochial schools by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.[7] Ewing had twice previously been selected as the NSCAA’s girls soccer coach of the year.[7]

The program has been a pipeline to several collegiate programs such as Drake, Marquette University, Rockhurst University and Creighton.[8] In addition, Saint Thomas Aquinas has produced several athletes who have gone on to compete professionally including Michael Thomas and Kyle Miller, formerly of Sporting Kansas City.[9]

Cross country

The girls' cross country team repeated as state champs in 2009.

The cross country program has been a state championship contender since the very first season. The girls team placed second at the 1988 4A championship under head coach Greg Wilson. The girls placed second in 5A in 1991, and Chris Ronan won the individual title for the boys team. Wilson coached for 18 years, winning three state titles and placing second six times.

Wilson’s greater legacy may have been building the first extra-large cross country team in the KC Metro. The Saints routinely had more than 150 runners at the end of Wilson’s career, or about one in every nine Aquinas students. That legacy continues, with 110 runners on the 2013 team from a school with 905 students.

Wilson won a 6A state championship in his second-to-last year as coach in 2004. In 2006, assistant coach Justin Wrigley became head coach and both teams won a state title. The Saints repeated the feat in 2008.

An intense rivalry with Bishop Carroll High School in Wichita began to take shape that year. Since 2008, only the 2008 Kapaun Mt. Carmel girls and the 2009 McPherson boys have broke the Carroll/Aquinas stranglehold on 1st and 2nd at the 5A championships. The Golden Eagles won every boys championship from 2009-2013, with the Saints placing second from 2010-2013. The Aquinas girls won in 2009, 2012 and 2013.

The 2013 Aquinas girls team set an unbreakable record at the championship with a perfect score of 15. Bailee Cofer, Emily Downey, Grace Geiger, Monica Sneed and Abbey Hopfinger finished in the top five spots for Aquinas.

In 2014, the boys and girls teams swept regionals for the 9th year in a row. The girls went on to win state the following week with 19 points. The boys broke Bishop Carroll's streak and won state for the first time since 2008 with 58 points.

Golf

The girls' golf team were the first Saints to win a KSHSAA championship, in the fall of 1992. They won again in 1996 and 1997.

Since Ryan Best took over as golf coach in 2002 until the present, the Saints have had incredible success in 6A and 5A golf. The Saints won in 2002, placed second in 2003 and 2004, then won six consecutive championships from 2007-2012. Gianna Misenhelter won 29 of 35 meets from 2006-2009 and was the Aquinas MVP all four years. She won the state championship her final three seasons. Ali Kruse won the state championship in 2010, followed by Baile Winslow in 2011 and Jordan Chael in 2012. The Saints placed third in 2013.

The boys' golf team placed second seven times from 1995-2006. The Saints finally won in 2007, repeated in 2008, and won again in 2011. Joe Winslow was a freshman on the 2008 championship team and a senior on the 2011 championship team. He won state championships all three years that he competed for Aquinas.

Exchange programs

The school has an exchange program with Yonaga High School in Yonaga, Japan.[10]

State Championships

State Championships
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Soccer, Boys 16 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
Cross Country, Boys 5 1994, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2014
Cross Country, Girls 7 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
Golf, Girls 10 1992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Volleyball, Girls 5 1995, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2014
Tennis, Girls 2 2008, 2009
Winter Wrestling 2 2005, 2007
Basketball, Girls 4 2001, 2004, 2011, 2013
Debate 3 2006, 2008, 2011
Scholars' Bowl 2 1992, 2003
Spring Golf, Boys 3 2007, 2008, 2011
Soccer, Girls 14 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Track & Field, Boys 1 2003
Track & Field, Girls 4 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014
Baseball 2 2007, 2014
Softball 2 1997, 2008
Tennis, Boys 2 2011, 2012
Swim & Dive, Girls 1 2010
Forensics 1 2006
Total 86

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 National Soccer Coaches Association of America June 13, 2006
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "That was one fine '09" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  4. ↑ "2008-09 Standard of Excellence" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  5. ↑ "Graduation Requirements" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  6. ↑ "School Championships" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "St. Thomas Aquinas soccer coach Craig Ewing receives national honor" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  8. ↑ "KC pipeline fuels Drake soccer success" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  9. ↑ "Sun Athlete of the Week: Michael Thomas, San Jose Earthquakes" (ENGLISH). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  10. ↑ Esfeld, Jill Ragard. "The Japanese Connection" (Archive). The Leaven. Retrieved on April 6, 2015.