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

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

Saint 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. Matthew Nagle, the president is Bill Ford, and the principals are Brian Schenck, Craig Moss, and 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 the growing Roman Catholic population in south Johnson County. It is the successor to St. Joseph/Aquinas 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/Aquinas High School, which was originally located in the present-day Saint Joseph Early Education Center in Shawnee, Kansas.

Academics

In 2012, Aquinas was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in education by the Department of Education.[4] 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.[5]

For classes beginning in 2011, 93 credits are required for graduation.[6]

Extracurricular activities

Choir Program

Saint Thomas Aquinas has a total of five choirs. The Swingin' Saints (Mixed Show Choir), Saintsations (Girl's Show Choir), Girls Chorale, Concert Choir, and Chamber Choir. Concert Choir, Chamber, and Chorale have received multiple "One" ratings at the KSHSAA Large Group Contest. The two show choirs compete at competitions in Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska. The Show Choirs are choreographed by Emily Begnaud and Damon Brown.

Athletics

Saint Thomas Aquinas athletic teams are known as the Saints. They compete in the Eastern Kansas League and are members of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. The Saints have won two National Championships (boys' soccer, 1994 and 2009), 102 KSHSAA state championships, 56 state runner-up championships, and 265 league/district/regional/sub-state championships. That includes a record eight KSHSAA championships during the 2006-2007 school year.[7]

Soccer

The Saints have won a combined 32 state championships in boys' and girls' soccer, which includes eight straight state titles for boys from 2003-2010 and seven straight state titles for the girls from 2010 to 2016. 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.[8] Ewing had twice previously been selected as the NSCAA’s girls soccer coach of the year.[8]

The program has been considered a pipeline to several collegiate programs such as Drake, Marquette University, Rockhurst University, and Creighton.[9] In addition, Saint Thomas Aquinas has produced two athletes who have gone on to compete professionally including Michael Thomas and Kyle Miller, formerly of Sporting Kansas City.[10]

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 and second in 5A in 1991.

In 2006, both teams won the state title. The Saints have repeated the state sweep in 2008, 2014, 2015, and 2016

The 2013 Aquinas girls team set an unbreakable record at the championship with a perfect score of 15 as all five Aquinas runners finished in the top five spots.

In 2015 the boys set the state meet record with a score of 22 points Aquinas runners taking the top four spots.

The girls team has finished as high as 3rd place at the Nike Cross Country Heartland Regionals. The boys best finish has been 7th.

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. The Saints won in 2002, placed second in 2003 and 2004, then won six consecutive championships from 2007-2012 and have had multiple individual champions as well. 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, won again in 2011, 2016, 2017 and has also produced individual state champions.[11]

State Championships

State Championships
SeasonSportNumber of ChampionshipsYear
FallFootball0
Soccer, Boys161992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
Cross Country, Boys71994, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016
Cross Country, Girls92004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Golf, Girls111992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017
Volleyball, Girls51995, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2014
Tennis, Girls22008, 2009
WinterWrestling22005, 2007
Basketball, Girls62001, 2004, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017
Debate32006, 2008, 2011
Scholars' Bowl41992, 2003, 2005, 2010
SpringGolf, Boys52007, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017
Soccer, Girls161993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Track & Field, Boys32003, 2016, 2017
Track & Field, Girls42006, 2008, 2012, 2014
Baseball32007, 2014, 2016
Softball21997, 2008
Tennis, Boys22011, 2012
Swim & Dive, Girls12010
Forensics12006
Total102

Exchange programs

The school has an exchange program with Yonaga High School in Yonaga, Japan.[12]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. 1 2 National Soccer Coaches Association of America June 13, 2006
  3. 1 2 "That was one fine '09". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  4. ↑ "2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  5. ↑ "2008-09 Standard of Excellence" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  6. ↑ "Graduation Requirements". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  7. ↑ "School Championships". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  8. 1 2 "St. Thomas Aquinas soccer coach Craig Ewing receives national honor" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  9. ↑ "KC pipeline fuels Drake soccer success". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  10. ↑ "Sun Athlete of the Week: Michael Thomas, San Jose Earthquakes". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  11. ↑ "SM East, St. Thomas Aquinas win boys golf state titles". kansascity. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  12. ↑ Esfeld, Jill Ragard. "The Japanese Connection" (Archive)
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