O'Fallon Township High School

O'Fallon Township High School
Address
600 South Smiley Street O'Fallon , Illinois 62269 United States
Coordinates	38°35′12″N89°54′06″W / 38.5867160°N 89.9017677°W / 38.5867160; -89.9017677 [1]
Information
School type	Public
Motto	"Excellence in Education for Every student Every day"
Founded	1901
School district	203
Superintendent	Beth Shackelford
Principal	Rich Bickel
Staff	155.00 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2,559 (2023–2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	16.51 [2]
Color(s)	Blue   Gold
Athletics conference	Southwestern Conference
Mascot	Panther
Publication	Panther Beat
Newspaper	The Prowler
Yearbook	The Panther
Website	www.oths.us

O'Fallon Township High School is a public secondary school in O'Fallon, Illinois.

As of 2023, it is the second largest public high school in Illinois by enrollment outside of the Chicago area (Belleville High School-East being the largest). ^[3]

History

OTHS Crest

As stated in the 1962 edition of The Panther, the symbology on O'Fallon Township High School's crest reflects the town's history of farming, industry, and coal mining. ^[4] Today, the school's coat of arms/crest can be found in the Smiley Campus's 600 hallway on a bronze plaque gifted by the Class of 1961.

After a short tenure as an assistant principal, longtime teacher Rich Bickel became the principal in 2009, following the retirement of Steve Dirnbeck who served as the school's principal from 2003-2009. ^[5]

Team achievements

• The varsity baseball team earned the first team state trophy in school history by placing third in the IHSA State Tournament in 2006 ^[6] and again in 2009.
• The varsity cheerleading team placed second at AmeriCheer's National Cheerleading Competition and at state in 2007, ^{[7] [8]} fourth at state in 2008, ^[9] and second again in 2009. ^[8]
• The boys' basketball team AA finished second at the 2007 State Basketball Tournament held in Peoria, Illinois at Bradley University, and in 4A it finished fourth in 2010. ^[10]
• The Marching Panthers placed first with Best Visual and General Effect at the 2015 Bands of America Clarksville, TN Regional Championships; and placed 3rd at the 2017 Bands of America St. Louis Super Regional. ^[11]
• The Marching Panthers placed 2nd at the 2023 Bands of America St. Louis Super Regional, winning Class 4A with best Visual Performance and tying best General Effect in their class. They also set their highest ever score at this competition, with a score of 90.075. ^[12]
• The Winter Guard placed third at MCCGA Championships ^[13] and 1st in state in 2009-2010.^{[ citation needed ]}
• The 2010 Boys Cross Country team placed fifth in the 3A State meet, with a team average of 14:59 for 3 miles. ^[14]
• The 2011 Boys Cross Country team placed second in the 3A state meet, ^[15] O'Fallon's first Cross Country trophy. ^[16]
• The 2012 Boys Cross Country team placed second in the 3A state meet. ^[17]
• The 2011 Winter Guard placed first in Class A at the World Championships.^{[ citation needed ]}
• The 2007-08 Scholar Bowl team went 37-4 and went to the IHSA class AA tournament for the first time in the school's history. ^[18]

Notable alumni

• Bob Cryder — NFL ^[19]
• Bernie Fuchs — illustrator ^[20]
• Conner Hicks — USMA Cadet ^[21]
• Roosevelt Jones — NBA ^[22]
• Tucker McCann — NFL ^[23]
• Andrew Sanchez — UFC ^[24]
• Gabby Windey — Denver Broncos cheerleader, winner of the 2021 Pop Warner Humanitarian Award, and reality television personality. ^[25]

References

1. USGS Detail, U.S. Geological Survey
2. "O Fallon High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
3. "2024 Largest Public High Schools In Illinois". Niche. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
4. OTHS Yearbook Club (1962). The Panther.
5. "Outgoing principal helped shaped big changes at OTHS". STLtoday.com. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 8, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
6. "IHSA Boys Baseball All-Time Records". Archived from the original on November 1, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
7. "Illinois HR262". trackbill.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
8. "Records & History". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
9. "IHSA Competitive Cheerleading Results 2008". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
10. "IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament Scores". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
11. "2015-2016 Results and Awards". OTHS Band. OTHS Band Boosters. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
12. "St. Louis, MO 2023". BOA Marching Championships. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
13. "2010 Championships". mccga.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
14. "IHSA Boys Cross Country Class 3A State Final Results 2010". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
15. "IHSA Boys Cross Country Class 3A State Final Results 2011". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
16. "IHSA Team Titles: O". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
17. "IHSA Boys Cross Country Class 3A State Final Results". www.ihsa.org. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
18. Records & History
19. "Bob Cryder visits his "House" at Fulton Jr. High". O'Fallon Weekly. March 20, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019. The famous Bob Cryder, an O'Fallon Township High School graduate ...
20. "O'Fallon Library completes remodel, holds dedication ceremony". O'Fallon Weekly. April 19, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2019. Fuchs, who passed in 2009, was a class of 1950 graduate of O'Fallon Township High School.
21. Bost, Mike (February 16, 2024). "Bost Announces Service Academy Nominations". Mike Bost. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
22. Reynolds, Dave. "O'Fallon has a basketball Jones". Journal Star. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
23. Palmer, Tod (September 5, 2017). "O'Fallon's McCann refocused after hard freshman season at Mizzou". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
24. Eschman, Todd (July 13, 2016). "Shiloh's Sanchez wins TV show finale and contract with UFC". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
25. "O'Fallon Homecoming offered pleasant end of summer celebration". STL Today . August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2022.