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.
Contents
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, 2025
Boys Track & Field: 2011, 2019, 2021
Boys Cross Country: 2007, 2018, 2019, 2020
Football: 2007, 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