Loyola Blakefield

Loyola Blakefield
Address
500 Chestnut Avenue, Towson
Baltimore County, Maryland 21204-3704
United States
Coordinates 39°24′13″N 76°37′36″W / 39.40361°N 76.62667°W / 39.40361; -76.62667Coordinates: 39°24′13″N 76°37′36″W / 39.40361°N 76.62667°W / 39.40361; -76.62667
Information
Type Private
Motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam[1]
(For the Greater Glory of God)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
(Jesuit)
Established 1852 (1852)
Founder Rev. John Early, S.J.
CEEB code 211030
President Anthony Day
Principal John Marinacci
Chaplain Joseph Michini, S.J.
Faculty 150
Grades 6–12
Gender Male
Enrollment 1,000
Average class size 18
Campus size 60 acres
Campus type suburban
Color(s) Blue and Gold         
Slogan "Roll Dons, Roll"
Song Loyola Alma Mater
Fight song "Come On You Dons to the Fight"
Athletics conference MIAA
Sports Lacrosse, soccer, football, wrestling, water polo, swimming, squash, tennis, ice-hockey, basketball, volleyball, cross-country, indoor track, track & field, golf, rugby, baseball
Mascot The Loyola Don
Nickname Dons
Rival Calvert Hall
Accreditation AIMS
Average SAT scores 1950
Average ACT scores 28
Publication The Blakefield Magazine
Newspaper The Loyolan
Yearbook The Loyola
Endowment $25,000,000
Tuition $20,500
Affiliation Archdiocese of Baltimore
JSEA
Dean of Students Bob Schlichtig
Athletic Director Brant Hall
Website loyolablakefield

Loyola Blakefield, formerly Loyola High School, is a Catholic, college preparatory school for boys established by the Society of Jesus. It is located in Towson, Maryland, within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Students from Baltimore, Baltimore County, Harford County, Carroll County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Southern Pennsylvania attend the school. It enrolls over nine hundred students in grades six through twelve.

History

Archbishop Francis Kenrick asked the Jesuits to oversee the formation of a school for laymen that would incorporate the Jesuit standards of excellence and build new men conscious of a religious purpose. His request was prompted by the 1852 closure of nearby St. Mary's College. Construction of Loyola High School began on Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland, in early 1852, and on September 15, 1852, the school enrolled its first students.

In the early 1930s the growing and cramped high school began to look toward moving north of the city. In 1933, with the support of the Blake family, Loyola purchased the land known today as Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. In 1941, the students moved to the new campus. Between 1981 and 1988, a Middle School was gradually introduced, and in recognition of the two levels of education, Loyola High School officially became known as Loyola Blakefield.

Physical improvements in recent years have included the construction of Knott Hall which houses the student commons and dining hall, athletic center, and alumni areas, Burk Hall academic wing, renovations to the 60-year-old science laboratories, and construction of an additional section to Wheeler Hall.

Loyola Blakefield has a tradition of honoring alumni from 50 years earlier at its graduation ceremony. "Bring back the men from 50 years before to see a new generation graduate," writes James Maliszewski, whose grandfather died a year before they could have attended together as 1937 and 1987 graduates.[2]

Academics

Among high schools in the Baltimore area, Loyola Blakefield is highest-ranked in terms of its average graduating SAT scores, annual number of National Merit Finalists, passing AP exams taken, and numerous additional metrics of achievement. Loyola's students frequently attend leading universities in the United States including all institutions belonging to the Ivy League as well as Stanford. Past alumni have received prestigious honors such as the Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright Scholarship, and Truman Scholarship.

While the central curriculum emphasizing liberal arts and holistic development is standard for all students, there is increasing flexibility in course selection as students move from the sixth through twelfth grades. Some extremely popular electives include visual arts, classical languages, history of music, and a wide variety of AP courses.

The Loyola Forensics team, led by English instructor Tom Durkin and later by science teacher Charles Donovan, was the champion of the National Catholic Forensic League in 2005 and 2010. It has also been very successful at the state and district levels, capturing most of the state titles for two decades and the Chesapeake District title in 2011.

Athletics

Loyola Blakefield competes in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for all interscholastic sports except for football where they are independent; in addition to the MIAA, the basketball team is also a member of the Baltimore Catholic League.

The Loyola Blakefield football team also plays every Thanksgiving Day in one of the oldest continual national Catholic high school football rivalries, against cross-town rival Calvert Hall College. The game, known as the Turkey Bowl, is held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and broadcast on television and radio by WMAR-TV.

The Loyola lacrosse program is among its most successful. It won eight championships in the 1980s and also won championships in 2001, 2007, 2008, and 2013. In 2007, they defeated Boys' Latin 10-6 in the MIAA championship game. In 2008, they defeated previously undefeated Gilman 12-11 in the championship game at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium before over 8,000 spectators. Loyola has produced numerous players who have continued on to play collegiate lacrosse, including National Lacrosse Hall of Famer John Stewart, and Peter Kimmel.

Loyola's swimming and diving team has also achieved remarkable successes, having recorded a record run of 20 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association state titles in 21 years and six National Catholic Swimming Championships crowns, whilst consistently being ranked within the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association national Top-25 Poll for best high school swimming teams.[3]

The soccer program won the Maryland Championship in 2001, 2012, and 2014 and has produced Division I talent. Coach Lee Tschantret, a former longtime player in the Major Indoor Soccer League, won several championships with the Baltimore Blast.

The Loyola basketball program reached regional prominence in the 1970s when it was led by head coach Jerry Savage, who won over 600 games from 1969 to 2003. He produced several Division I players. Savage also coached the 1997 MIAA Championship team, the last championship of any sort for the Dons basketball program. Loyola has been in the most Baltimore Catholic League finals with 13 total and 6 championships. More recently, the program had several disappointing seasons and experienced a four-year period with four different head coaches. Since then Josh Davalli, an All-Metro player at Cardinal Gibbons in the mid-90's, served as varsity head coach while also teaching in the Middle School.

The Loyola Cross country program has had much success, being the first and only team in the MIAA to complete the "Three-peat", then continuing to win six consecutive individual and team titles at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship meet. Under the coaching of Jose Albornoz, the Dons have won 14 MIAA/MSA championships to bring the program's total championships to 15 since its inception.[4]

Loyola was MIAA champions in rugby for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010, and also in 2013 and 2015.[5]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ "President's Message - Loyola Blakefield". Loyolablakefield.org. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  2. ↑ James Maliszewski (May 11, 2002). "May. 11th, 2002 journal entry". Archived from the original on July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ https://support.loyolablakefield.org/swimming
  4. ↑ "Loyola Blakefield | Team Detail". www.loyolablakefield.org. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
  5. ↑ "Past MIAA Varsity Rugby Champions". Miaasports.net. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Here's the truth: The new American TV villain is the liar". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
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