St. Catherine's High School (Racine, Wisconsin)

Last updated

Racine St. Catherine's
SCHSShield.jpg
Address
St. Catherine's High School (Racine, Wisconsin)
1200 Park Avenue

, ,
53403

United States
Coordinates 42°43′6″N87°47′11″W / 42.71833°N 87.78639°W / 42.71833; -87.78639
Information
Type Private
Motto"Veritas" – "We Seek the Truth"

“Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare” – to praise, to

bless, and to preach.
Religious affiliation(s) Dominican
Denomination Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)Saint Catherine of Siena
Established1864
FounderSister Maria Benedicta Bauer
School boardSiena Catholic Schools of Racine, Inc.
Grades 912
Gender Coed
Enrollment669 (2019-20)
Average class size21
Education systemUnweighted GPA
Hours in school day7
Color(s)Black, white, gold    
Song"Alma Mater"

Alma Mater hear our singing St. Catherine's High. Loyalty to you we're bringing St. Catherine's High.

Contents

To your loving breast you caught us, To the founts of truth you've brought us, How to live and die you've taught us, St. Catherine's High.

Alma Mater, hear our praising, St. Catherine's High. Loud our voice in chorus raising, St. Catherine's High.

-J. George Fay
Fight song "Black and White"

Everybody up and cheer loud and long -For St. Catherine's High- -Send your voices up in joyous song- -Echoing to the sky! You Rah, Rah!- -What care we whom our rivals may be- -Now they strive and vie- -Black and White will fight, fight, fight, for St. Catherine's High.

-J. George Fay
AthleticsYes
Athletics conference Metro Classic
MascotAndy Angel
Nickname SCHS, St. Cat's
Team nameAngels
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
NewspaperThe Veritas, Angel Insider
YearbookLance
Graduates100%
AffiliationEpsilon Program
Athletic directorDan Miller
Website www.saintcats.org

St. Catherine's High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Racine, Wisconsin. It is a member of Siena Catholic Schools of Racine and the Catholic Schools of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

History

St. Catherine's traces its origins to the fall of 1864 when the Racine Dominican Sisters [2] established an all-girls' day and boarding academy. In the fall of 1864, the Racine Dominican Sisters opened a day and boarding school for girls on property they purchased at Twelfth Street and Park Avenue. The school was named St. Catherine's Academy. In 1874, the Academy was chartered by the State of Wisconsin, with the power to confer academic honors. [3]

In 1907, the facilities of the Park Avenue building were no longer able to accommodate all the young ladies who made application for study there. Accordingly, the Sisters erected a boarding school, known as Holy Rosary Academy at Corliss, (Sturtevant), Wisconsin; day students continued to attend St. Catherine's Academy. Holy Rosary was closed in 1917. [3]

In 1924 St. Catherine's (coed) High School opened and the all-girl academy was closed. [4] A statue of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great Dominican saint and scholar, was enshrined in a niche above the main entrance, for the institution was originally to be named in his honor (to be known as St. Thomas High School.) The academy girls, however, convinced authorities to retain the name of St. Catherine's. [3]

In the fall of 1945, in order to accommodate all the students seeking admission, St. Catherine's inaugurated a double-shift schedule. Excavation for a new wing was begun in March 1947, and Archbishop Kiley of Milwaukee dedicated the building extending 175 feet south on Park Avenue in August 1949. [3]

The lot on the east side of Park Avenue is now used as an athletic field by the school. It was given to the school to use when the Dominican Sisters built their new motherhouse, Siena Center, and had the old convent building which stood on that property demolished. The North Central Association has accredited St. Catherine's High School since 1937. [3]

On August 1, 2018, St. Catherine's became part of the newly-founded Siena Catholic Schools in Racine operated under the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and is no longer a sponsored ministry of the Racine Dominicans. However, a member of the Racine Dominicans will sit on the board of trustees for the indefinite future. [5]

Basketball program

St. Catherine's is well known in the state for the success of the boys' basketball program. 3 of the team's coaches, Bob Letsch, John Mcguire, and Jim Kersten, have been inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (WBCA). [6]

The Angels own a total of 15 state championships, nine from the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) and its predecessor, the Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (WCIAA), and six championships since joining the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) in 2000 (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2021). [7]

Coach John Mcguire, (1951-1962,1965-1979) finished his career with team with a record of 511–112, six WISAA state championships, five runner-up finishes and nine conference titles. His teams went undefeated in 1960, 1968, and 1970. He was inducted as a charter member into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 1979 and into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. [8]

Coach Robert "Bob" Letsch, (1979-2016) finished his career with a record 661–250, as the second-winningest high school basketball coach in Wisconsin's history. During his tenure, his teams compiled eight state championships in 1985, ’92, ’93, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’09 and ’10. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. [9] His 2005-06 team went undefeated and holds the record for the largest victory margin in a state-title game, when the Angels pounded Westby 69–29 in the Division 3 championship game. [10] Letsch was named Associated Press All- State Coach of the Year twice, in 1992 and 2007, and Racine All-County Coach of the Year 5 times: 1985, 1992, 2000, 2003 and 2005. [11]

In 2016, the team named Coach Nick Bennett to replace Letsch. He earned a state title in 2021, [12] [13] and was named Racine All-County, Associated Press All-State, [14] and WBCA Coach of the Year. [15] In July 2021, Bennett announced he was stepping down as coach of the Angels. [16] He finished his career at St. Cat's with a record of 106-20.

On August 7, 2021 Coach Ryan Thompson was chosen to take over the basketball program as head coach. [17]

Athletics

St. Cat's athletics' logo SC-logo.jpg
St. Cat's athletics' logo

St. Catherine's High School is a member of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association(WIAA) and the Metro Classic Conference. The school offers the following sports:

Fall: football, boys' cross country, girls' cross country, boys' soccer, girls' volleyball, girls' swimming, girls' tennis, girls' golf, girls' pom pons

Winter: boys' basketball, girls' basketball, boys' bowling, girls' bowling, boys' swimming, girls' pom pons

Spring: baseball, boys' track & field, girls' track & field, boys' tennis, boys' golf, girls' soccer, girls' softball

Early history

St. Catherine's athletic program began in 1926 with the hiring of Coach and Athletic Director Fred "Bud" Beyer, a law student from Marquette University. [18] The first sports introduced were basketball, football, and coed bowling. [19] The first competitive game played was basketball, versus St. John's Cathedral of Milwaukee on Friday, January 8, 1926, in which St. Cat's lost 24 to 15. [20] Beyer resigned in February 1927 and Eugene “Scrapiron” Young, a law student from the University of Notre Dame, was hired that March to fill the position. [21] Baseball was introduced the same year with the hiring of Coach J. George Fay, a former Wausau Lumberjacks player from Milwaukee. [22] [21] In 1930, former Chicago Bear and Green Bay Packer, Thomas “Red” Hearden, took the reins of the athletic program. That same year St. Cat's joined the Catholic Conference; which originally consisted of Pio Nono, St. Bonaventure, Messmer, Cathedral, and Marquette High Schools. In 1938, Don Bosco was added to the conference, and in 1948, Pius XI and St. Benedict's joined; making a total of 8 teams. [23] In 1957, the school joined the newly formed Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association (WCIAA). [24] At that time, private schools were barred from the WIAA, so the WCIAA was formed to sanction tournaments to determine their own state champions. In 1968, St. Cat's joined the 58 member Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) which combined all private schools. In 1972, the WISAA launched the girls' sports program, which officially sanctioned volleyball, basketball, tennis, and track state tournaments. [25] In 1997, the WIAA members passed a vote which paved the way for St. Cat's (and all private schools in the state) to join in 2000. [26]

Originally nicknamed the "Saints," the school's team nickname was changed to the "Angels" beginning in the fall of 1940 in order to avoid confusion with other local high school teams with the same name. [27]

WIAA State Championships (2000-present)

SportYears
Basketball-BoysD2-2005, D3-2006, D3-2007, D3-2009, D3-2010, D3-2021
Cheerleading2007-Stunt, 2018-Dance
FootballD4-2018, 2024
Soccer-BoysD3-2009, D4-2016
Volleyball-GirlsD3-2010

WISAA State Championships (1968-1999)

SportYears
Baseball1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1989
Basketball-Boys1969, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1992, 1993
Basketball-Girls1975, 1978
Cross County-Boys1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1985, 1996
Golf-Boys1974
Softball1977, 1993
Track-Boys1985, 1995
Volleyball-Girls1978
Wrestling1970

WCIAA State Championships (1958-1967)

SportYears
Baseball1964, 1965, 1966
Basketball-Boys1958, 1959, 1961
Cross County-Boys1964
Golf-Boys1959, 1960, 1961, 1964
Wrestling1957

Milwaukee Archdiocesan High School Athletic "Catholic Conference" Titles (1931-1957)

SportYears
Basketball-Boys1931, 1933, 1935, 1951
Football1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957
Golf-Boys1952, 1954, 1956

Notable alumni (year graduated)

Notable faculty

Notes and references

  1. NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  2. SCHS. "St. Catherine's Viewbook" (PDF). Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Family Handbook". saintcats.org. Saint Catherine's High School. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  4. "Archival Resources in Wisconsin: Descriptive Finding Aids: Biography/History". digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  5. "History and Events". June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  6. "Inductees | History | WBCA". www.wisbca.org. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  7. Miller, Mark (March 5, 2018). "WSN15: Boys Basketball Top Moments #6 -- 2006 Racine St. Catherine's". www.wissports.net. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  8. Jackel, Peter (October 22, 2012). "RACINE COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME: McGuire first-rate at second option". Journal Times. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  9. JACKEL, PETER (June 21, 2016). "St. Catherine's legendary coach Bob Letsch retires". Journal Times. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  10. Miller, Mark (March 5, 2018). "WSN15: Boys Basketball Top Moments #6 -- 2006 Racine St. Catherine's". Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  11. JACKEL, PETER. "St. Catherine's Bob Letsch named Wisconsin Coach of the Year". Journal Times. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  12. Jackel, Peter (March 28, 2020). "All-County boys basketball: St. Catherine's Bennett named Coach of Year". journaltimes.com/. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  13. Knapinski, Dick (March 6, 2021). "Kamari McGee leads Racine St. Catherine's over Lake Country Lutheran for WIAA Division 3 state title". Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  14. JACKEL, PETER (March 28, 2020). "All-County boys basketball: St. Catherine's Bennett named Coach of Year". Journal Times. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  15. MASSON, JON (April 27, 2021). "WBCA selects Badgers' Greg Gard, UW-Milwaukee's Kyle Rechlicz, Lake Mills' Brandon Siska for state coaching honors". Kenosha News. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  16. JACKEL, PETER (July 7, 2021). "St. Catherine's boys basketball coach Nick Bennett stepping down four months after state championship". Journal Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  17. JACKEL, PETER (August 7, 2021). "Watch Now: Boys basketball: New St. Catherine's coach Thompson born to lead a team". Journal Times. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  18. Cain, Wash (February 12, 1927). "School Authorities Accept Resignation of First Athletic Director". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  19. Staff, Sports (September 23, 1926). "Saints Have Pin Session, Bowling in Favor at St. Catherine's High School This Year". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  20. Dilday, Chuck. "Boys Play Great Cage Contest". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  21. 1 2 Wheary, Shine (March 7, 1927). "St. Catherine's to Inaugurate Spring Athletics". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  22. "1905 Wausau Lumberjacks minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  23. Brehm, Keith (September 14, 1948). "Sports, It's this way..." The Journal Times. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  24. Brehm, Keith (February 24, 1957). "WCIAA Holds First Sanctioned State Meet, Catholic Regional At St. Catherine's". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  25. Pickett, Jim (August 17, 1972). "WISAA Girls' Sports". LaCrosse Tribune. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  26. Luehr, Robb (August 10, 1999). "Private School athletics to join with public schools". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  27. Staff, Sports (November 19, 1940). "Evil Days Fall Upon Angels". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  28. "Dexter Baker". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  29. "Christopher Barker". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  30. Jones, Stephanie (March 1, 2012). "Chiapete named new Racine County DA". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  31. news staff. "Those who served(judges in racine)". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  32. "Fervoy". The Journal Times. December 9, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  33. Laehr Tenuta, Marci (December 17, 2001). ""Judges judge" Flynn retiring with fine legacy". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  34. 1 2 3 4 "EVOLUTION OF RACINE COUNTY'S JUSTICE SYSTEM" (PDF). racinelawyers.com. Racine County Bar Association. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  35. "Robert J Goebel". americanairmuseum.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  36. "LTC Grant" . Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  37. "James Herzog". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  38. news staff (October 10, 1998). "10 join St. Catherine's Hall of Fame". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  39. "RADM Donald Grote Iselin Obituary". wrhsb.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  40. "Dick Jackson". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  41. "William Letsch". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  42. Art Johnson (ed.), San Francisco 49ers: 1964 Press, Radio, and TV Guide. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco 49ers Football Club, 1964; p. 23.
  43. "Biography". imdb.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  44. Rogan, Adam (January 5, 2020). "One of the first members of the Blue Man Group is a St. Cat's grad; now he's in Hollywood". The Racine Journal Times . Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  45. "Hall of Fame Bio". teamusa.org. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  46. "Michael Pettit". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  47. "John "Jack" Francis Rogan obituary". Maresh-Meredith & Acklam Funeral Home. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  48. "City of Littleton website". littletongov.org. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  49. "mary-triggiano". marquette.edu. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  50. "Jagler: ASQ's CEO William Troy applies military disciplines in corporate setting". JSONLINE.COM.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  51. "Waukesha County Obituaries". gmtodayobitarchives.com. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  52. Jackel, Peter (May 23, 1993). "High School football doesn't get much better than Racine". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  53. Schaaf, Mark (May 19, 2016). "Harbor Park renamed after late county executive who led charge for marina". The Journal Times. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  54. UPI (December 28, 1964). "Tom Hearden, 60, Former Badger, Packer Aide, Dies". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2021.