St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Kansas)

Saint Thomas Aquinas High School
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School
	File:St. Thomas Aquinas logo.png
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
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Motto	Amor Vincit Omnia; (Love Conquers All)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1988
President	Paul Fallon
Principal	Mike Sullivan,; Craig Moss,; Brian Schenck
Chaplain	Daniel Weger
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	965
Color(s)	Navy Blue and Old Gold
Athletics conference	Eastern Kansas League
Nickname	Saints
Rival	St. James Academy, Bishop Miege
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Newspaper	The Shield
Yearbook	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. Daniel Weger, the president is Paul Fallon, 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 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 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.^{[citation needed]}

Academics

In 2012, Aquinas was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for excellence in education by the US Department of Education.^[5] 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.^[6]

For classes beginning in 2011, 27 credits are required for graduation.^[7]

Extracurricular activities

Non-athletic programs

Choir Program

Saint Thomas Aquinas has a total of five choirs. The Swingin' Saints (Mixed Show Choir), Saintsations (Girls 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.

Debate/Forensics

The school offers debate and forensics programs for students. The debate program has won several state championships in its history.^[8]

The debate team won KSHSAA state championships in 2006, 2008 and 2011.^[8]

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), 105 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.^[9]

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.^[10] Ewing had twice previously been selected as the NSCAA’s girls soccer coach of the year.^[10]

Cross country

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, 2016 and 2018.

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.

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 girls golf team won the school's 100th state championship in 2017, then repeated in 2018.

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
Season	Sport	Titles	Years won
Fall	Boys soccer	16	1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014
	Boys cross country	10	1994, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
	Girls cross country	10	2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018
	Girls golf	14	1992, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019
	Girls volleyball	6	1995, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2019
	Football	1	2018
	Girls tennis	2	2008, 2009
Winter	Wrestling	2	2005, 2007
	Girls basketball	8	2001, 2004, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
	Debate	3	2006, 2008, 2011
	Scholars Bowl	4	1992, 2003, 2005, 2010
Spring	Boys golf	5	2007, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2017
	Girls soccer	16	1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
	Boys track and field	3	2003, 2016, 2017
	Girls track and field	4	2006, 2008, 2012, 2014
	Baseball	3	2007, 2014, 2016
	Softball	2	1997, 2008
	Boys tennis	2	2011, 2012
	Girls swimming and diving	1	2010
	Forensics	1	2006
Total		113

Exchange programs

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

Notable alumni

Drake Dunsmore, former professional football player in the National Football League
Lisa Kerney, professional sports broadcaster/anchor for ESPN
Kyle Miller, professional Major League Soccer player
Riley Pint, professional Major League Baseball player
Brian Smith, former NFL player
Michael Thomas, professional Major League Soccer player
Max Chartrand, former National Basketball Association MVP

References

^ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
^ ^a ^b National Soccer Coaches Association of America June 13, 2006
^ ^a ^b "That was one fine '09". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
^ "Blue Ribbon Schools" (English). Retrieved 2019-03-20.
^ "2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
^ "2008-09 Standard of Excellence" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18.
^ "Graduation Requirements". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
^ ^a ^b "State Debate Champions" (English). Retrieved 2019-03-21.
^ "School Championships". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
^ ^a ^b "St. Thomas Aquinas soccer coach Craig Ewing receives national honor" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18. ^{[dead link]}
^ "SM East, St. Thomas Aquinas win boys golf state titles". kansascity. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
^ Esfeld, Jill Ragard. "The Japanese Connection" (Archive)

[NCA-Council_on_Accreditation_and_School_Improvement-1] NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.

[NSCAA-2] National Soccer Coaches Association of America June 13, 2006

[No._1_National-3] "That was one fine '09". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-01-05. Retrieved 2010-02-18.

[Blue_Ribbon_List-4] "Blue Ribbon Schools" (English). Retrieved 2019-03-20.

[5] "2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 2017-03-12.

[Excellence-6] "2008-09 Standard of Excellence" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18.

[Graduation_Requirements-7] "Graduation Requirements". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2009-05-20.

[Debate-8] "State Debate Champions" (English). Retrieved 2019-03-21.

[Championships-9] "School Championships". Archived from the original (English) on 2011-04-17. Retrieved 2010-02-18.

[Craig_Ewing-10] "St. Thomas Aquinas soccer coach Craig Ewing receives national honor" (English). Retrieved 2010-02-18. ^{[dead link]}

[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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v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
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Education	Higher education Benedictine College Donnelly College University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth High schools Bishop Miege High School, Roeland Park Bishop Ward High School, Kansas City Hayden High School, Topeka Immaculata High School, Leavenworth Maur Hill – Mount Academy, Atchison St. James Academy, Lenexa St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Overland Park
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