Bishop Luers High School

Bishop Luers High School is a small Catholic high school located in the southside of Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. Bishop Luers is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.^[2] The school was founded in 1958 by the Franciscan Fathers of the Saint John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati, Ohio, along with the Sisters of Saint Francis Province in Mishawaka, Indiana. The first bishop of the diocese, John Henry Luers, is the namesake of the school.^[2]

Enrollment

As of the 2009–2010 school year, Bishop Luers High School had an enrollment of 540 students; 156 freshmen, 134 sophomores, 137 juniors, and 113 seniors.^[3]

Academics

Bishop Luers' education departments consist of art, business, religion, English, foreign language, mathematics, and social studies.^[4] In 2004 and in 2005, Bishop Luers was placed on the Catholic High School Honor Roll Top 50 Secondary Schools in America.^[5][6]

Extra-curricular activities

Bishop Luers offers an array of activities for students. Activities include Academic Super Bowl, National Honor Society (NHS), Key Club, Student Council, Drama Club, The Bishop Luers Minstrels Show Choir, Pep Band, Speech and Debate, Newspaper, Yearbook, World Culture Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions or S.A.D.D., Future Business Leaders of America, Freshmen Mentoring, and Student Ambassadors.^[7]

Bishop Luers' Minstrels Show Choir holds the distinction as the first show choir to have a competition in America.^[8] In 1975, The Minstrels, directed by Father Fred Link, hosted the first competitive show choir invitational, with seven show choirs competing. The following year more than 15 show choirs competed. From 1979 to 1982 local PBS television network WFWA broadcast the competition, and in 1983, PBS aired the show choir competition nationally. Today, there are over 250 invitations sent out across the country.^[8] The Minstrels have been named Grand Champions at Findlay Fest, Charisma Classique, and Mooresville Spotlighter Show Choir Invitationals in addition to many other notable awards, and they frequently make the trip to Orlando, Florida to compete with other high school show choirs from around the nation.

Athletics

The Bishop Luers Knights field teams in 19 sanctioned sports and 6 non-sanctioned (club) sports. All sanctioned sports are governed by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). The lacrosse team is a member of the Indiana High School Lacrosse Association.^[9]

All sanctioned Bishop Luers teams compete in the Summit Athletic Conference (SAC).

In 2008, Bishop Luers became the first team in Indiana high school athletic history to win and hold the three major male sports titles (football, basketball, baseball) in one year since 1973, the first year all three were recognized by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.^[10]

Programs Offered

Sport	Sanctioned Boys'	Sanctioned Girls'	Non-sanctioned
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Bowling			Y
Cheerleading			Y
Cross Country	Y	Y
Dance			Y
Football	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse			Y
Rifle			Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming and Diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Track and field	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y	Y (Boys')
Wrestling	Y

Luers' main rival is Bishop Dwenger High School, a Catholic school on the north side of Fort Wayne. Luers also has a spirited neighborhood rivalry with South Side High School, which is often termed "The Battle for Calhoun Street."

State Championships

The Knights' athletic program has produced 20 team state champions in their history.

Football

Bishop Luers has been to the Indiana state finals for football fifteen times, including 4 consecutive years 1999–2002. Eleven of those fifteen trips have resulted in football championships, all in Class 2A, including 4 consecutive wins in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.^[11][12] The fifteen championship appearances are the most of any team in Indiana football history, and the eleven championships also tie the state record.^[13] The Knights' roster has included many accomplished players who have gone on to play successfully at the professional and NCAA Division I levels. Among the most notable are Jack Johnston star quarterback who led the Knights to their best regular season record to date. Anthony Spencer of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Jaylon Smith, winner of the 2012 high school Butkus Award and the 2012 Indiana Mr. Football award.

Boys' basketball

Coinciding with the 2004 hiring of head coach James Blackmon, Sr., recent seasons have seen championship success for the boys' basketball team. For the four seasons 2006/07 – 2009/10, the Knights' roster featured Deshaun Thomas, recipient of the 2010 Indiana Mr. Basketball award.^[14] The Knights won two consecutive boys' basketball Class 2A state championships, 2008 and 2009.

On May 21, 2010, in a ceremony at Bishop Luers, Thomas' jersey (#1) was retired by the school. This was the first time in school history a jersey of any of its athletes had been retired.^[15]

Girls' basketball

The girls' basketball team won three consecutive Indiana State Class 2A Championship games, in the 1998/99, 1999/2000, and 2000/01 seasons. The following season the team moved up a class, winning a fourth consecutive state title, in Class 3A, in 2001/02. The Knights also won the 2005/06 Class 3A championship.

The Knights' six state championships currently stand as the most all-time by one school in Indiana girls' basketball history, as do the nine championship game appearances.^[16]

Baseball

In 2008, the boys' baseball team competed for the first time in the state baseball championship winning that 2A title.

The namesake of the school, Bishop John Henry Luers.

Notable alumni

• Angie Akers (Harris), professional beach volleyball player, (Association of Volleyball Professionals) University of Notre Dame^[17]
• Kevin Kiermaier, professional baseball player, Tampa Bay Rays of MLB^[18]
• Zach Klein, co-founder of video social networking site Vimeo^[19]
• Anthony Spencer, American football outside linebacker
• Deshaun Thomas, American basketball player
• Jaylon Smith, American football outside linebacker

See also

• List of high schools in Indiana
• Summit Athletic Conference (IHSAA)
• Fort Wayne, Indiana

References

External links

• Bishop Luers High School
• Bishop Luers Baseball
• Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend Bishops Ordinaries John Henry Luers Joseph Gregory Dwenger Joseph Rademacher Herman Joseph Alerding John F. Noll Leo Aloysius Pursley William Edward McManus John Michael D'Arcy Kevin C. Rhoades Auxiliary bishops Joseph Robert Crowley John Richard Sheets Daniel R. Jenky Churches Cathedrals Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne St. Matthew Cathedral, South Bend Basilica Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame Parishes St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Avilla St. Mary's Catholic Church, Huntington St. Adalbert Church, South Bend St. Casimir Church, South Bend Education Higher education Ancilla Domini College, Donaldson Holy Cross College, Notre Dame Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne High schools Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers High School, Fort Wayne Marian High School, Mishawaka St. Joseph High School, South Bend Priests John George Bennett Andrew Gregory Grutka Catholicism Portal