Aquinas High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The school is part of La Crosse Aquinas Catholic Schools and is operated by the Diocese of La Crosse.
In 2008, Aquinas High School was named a national Blue Ribbon School.
History The high school was dedicated on September 2, 1928, in honor of Thomas Aquinas by Bishop Alexander Joseph McGavick of the Diocese of La Crosse. The first graduating class of 1929 consisted of four girls. The high school was originally staffed by diocesan clergy and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
Diocesan Bishop John Joseph Paul, an Aquinas alumnus of the class of 1935, set aside some rooms at Aquinas High School for the Aquinas Middle School in 1992. In 1997, the Bishop Burke Hall addition to Aquinas High School was dedicated in honor of Bishop Raymond Leo Burke, now the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Vatican City and a former religion teacher at Aquinas High School.
School crest The Aquinas High School crest, designed in 1942, first appeared in the yearbook, the Trumpet, and on the 1943 class rings. It features the cross in a central and prominent position on the crest, reflecting the importance of the faith and redemption it symbolizes; ΧΡ, the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ, signifying that the life of a Christian should be centered around Christ; the fleur-de-lis, the symbol of sanctity and virtue, symbolizing God, man's final end, and the Blessed Virgin, model of virtue; a lamp of learning and books, as symbols of knowledge and learning; a laurel, symbolizing reward; and lilies of the valley, symbolizing humility.
Athletics
WIAA Aquinas competes in the Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) with baseball, basketball, cross country, dance, football (Coulee Conference), golf, gymnastics, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling teams. The school's hockey team, the Avalanche, is a co–op team composed of students from Aquinas, Holmen High School, Luther High School, and Coulee Christian High School. Aquinas has competed in the WIAA since 2000, winning 26 state titles across 10 different sports.
WIAA state champion titles:
Boys Baseball: 2007, 2017, 2024 Boys Basketball: 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2025http://wiaawi.org/index.php?id=65 Boys Track & Field: 2011, 2019, 2021 Boys Cross Country: 2007, 2018, 2019, 2020 Football: 2007,http://wiaawi.org/index.php?id=92 2021, 2022, 2023 Girls Basketball: 2018, 2019 Girls Golf: 2017 Girls Soccer: 2015 Girls Track & Field: 2012, 2019 Wrestling: 2026
WISAA Aquinas competed in the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference from 1964 to 1997 and the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) from 1968 to 2000. The Blugolds won 36 WISAA state titles across 10 different sports.
WISAA state champion titles:
Boys Baseball: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 Boys Cross Country: 1977, 1979 Boys Track & Field: 1980, 1981, 1982 Football: 1993, 1995 Girls Basketball: 1996, 1997 Girls Cross Country: 1986, 1987, 1996 Girls Track & Field: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1997 Golf: 1970, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1995 Volleyball: 1984 Wrestling: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1999
WCIAA Aquinas competed in the Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (WCIAA) from 1957 to 1968. The Blugolds won nine WCIAA state titles across four different sports.
WCIAA state champion titles:
Basketball: 1941, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1950 Golf: 1957 Track & Field: 1964 Wrestling: 1967, 1968
Performing arts
Dance Team The Aquinas dance team competes in the Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches (WACPC) and has won 12 state championships:
2015 (Division 5 Pom) 2016 (Division 5 Pom) 2017 (Division 5 Pom) 2018 (Division 5 Pom) 2019 (Division 5 Pom) 2020 (Division 5 Pom) 2020 (Division 3 Jazz) 2022 (Division 6 Pom) 2023 (Division 3 Jazz) 2024 (Division 6 Pom) 2025 (Division 6 Pom) 2026 (Division 6 Pom)
Affiliation Aquinas Catholic Schools (formerly Coulee Catholic School) National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Greater La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce Mississippi Valley Conference (1997-present) Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (2000-present) Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (1968-2000) Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference (1964-1997) North Central Accrediting Association
Principals Father Hilary Leuther, 1928–1936 Father Joseph Kundinger, 1936–1940, 1946–1951 Father John Prizl, 1940–1946 Father Alfred Hebert, 1951–1952 Father Robert Hansen, 1952–1960 Father Richard Rossiter, 1960–1964 Father James O'Connell, 1964–1972 Father Robert Altmann, 1972–1990 James Vail, 1990–1997 Jeffrey Brengman, 1997–2001 Father John McHugh, 2001–2002 Joan Leonard, 2002–2004 Philip Hahn, 2004–2006 Patrick Burkhart, 2006–2007 Ted Knutson, 2007–2016 Denise Ring, 2016–2022 Andrew Bradley, 2022–2024 Adam Poellinger 2024–Present Notable faculty Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, former religion teacher at Aquinas High School Raymond Leo Burke, teacher of religion at Aquinas High School prior to becoming bishop, archbishop, and cardinal. George Albert Hammes, teacher at Aquinas High School prior to becoming bishop
Notable alumni
Sylvester G. Clements, 1954, former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly Charles Dierkop, actor, attended Aquinas High School Lexi Donarski, 2020, basketball player Steve Doyle, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly Charles E. Knoblauch, former member of the Iowa House of RepresentativesIowa General Assembly-Charles E. Knoblauch Bronson Koenig, basketball player Robert E. Kreutz, composer, 1940 Paul Marcotte, 1945, businessman and former member of Kentucky House of Representatives John Medinger, former mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin, former member of Wisconsin State Assembly, 1966 John Oestreicher, 1954, former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly John Joseph Paul, 1935 graduate of Aquinas High School who served as Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, 1985–1994 John Rusche, 1969, physician and former member of the Idaho House of Representatives Ed Servais, head coach of the Creighton Bluejays baseball team Jim Temp, Green Bay Packers
See also La Crosse Central High School La Crosse Logan High School Onalaska High School Holmen High School West Salem High School Luther High School
References
Aquinas High School 2003 Alumni Directory 75th Anniversary 1928–2003
External links Aquinas High School La Crosse Diocese of La Crosse Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration La Crosse Dan Simmons. "The Archivist: Aquinas alum collects 80 years of school's history in one office," La Crosse Tribune, September 21, 2006.