O'Gorman Catholic High School

O'Gorman High School is a Catholic high school in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school was founded in 1961 by Lambert Hoch and named after Thomas O'Gorman.

O'Gorman is located in the Diocese of Sioux Falls. It has been named a Catholic High School Catholic Honor Roll top 50 Catholic high school in the nation every year since the recognition was created in 2004. O’Gorman has been named a No Child Left Behind “Blue Ribbon School” by the U.S. Dept. of Education three times, once under the original criteria, and twice under the more stringent guidelines established in 2005.

In 2015 O’Gorman ACT scores were an average of 3 points higher than both state and national scores with 99% of students testing. The average composite ACT Score at O'Gorman in 2015 was 25.4. The average national score was 21.1.

The O'Gorman Knights fall sports teams play at McEneaney Field. The O'Gorman football team has captured ten state titles (the most 11AA state football titles in the state), including consecutive titles in 2004 and 2005. O'Gorman holds the record for the longest winning streak in South Dakota high school football history with 38 consecutive victories 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons). The school also captured back-to-back boys basketball titles in 2006 and 2007, along with a run of three straight state titles in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons. Longtime head football coach Steve Kueter broke a state record for most wins ever by a high school football coach in South Dakota in 2015. O'Gorman is the only AA high school to win three consecutive state basketball titles.

O'Gorman hosts the "Bob Burns Dakota Bowl" or "Dakota Bowl," an annual football game that brings in an average of 9,000 fans to raise well over $100,000 each year for teachers' salaries and benefits. The Dakota Bowl was one of the first of its kind in the nation, and to date has raised millions of dollars for Sioux Falls Catholic Schools.

Athletics

O'Gorman is a member of the South Dakota High School Activities Association. They have won the following SDHSAA State Championships:^[2]

• Boys Football - 1968, 1978, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2004, 2005
• Boys Basketball - 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012
• Boys Cross Country - 1994
• Boys Tennis - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Boys Golf - 1976, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2010
• Girls Basketball - 1995
• Girls Cross Country - 1986, 1988
• Girls Gymnastics - 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• Girls Tennis - 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
• Girls Golf - 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2010, 2011
• Girls Volleyball - 1987, 1988, 1989, 2002
• Baseball - 2010, 2012

Building project

Starting in the fall of 2008, O'Gorman tore down O-Wing and G-Wing and built a new building to replace them. The building has three multilevel wings (O-Wing, G-Wing, and K-Wing) to replace the old single-story wings. A new multilevel 1,000-seat Performing Arts Center. Construction was completed in the Fall of 2011.

The old building was constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s and opened its doors to students in the fall of 1961. Prior to that, the Catholic high school in Sioux Falls was Cathedral High School, but that school didn't have enough room to accommodate all of the Catholic high school students in the city, which is why Bishop Lambert Hoch decided to build O'Gorman High School.

The football field McEneaney Field received a $2.5 million facelift. The removal of the 6 lane track and the installation of a new 8 lane track was the first step. The old scoreboard was replaced with a brand new Daktronics scoreboard with video replay. The grass was replaced with field turf. Steps completed prior to the 2009 football season include the building of a bathroom/ concession stand across the track behind the west end zone and the installation of more bleachers on the home and visiting sides of the field.

Notable alumni

• Thomas Vanek - currently of the NHL's Minnesota Wild,^[3] 1st round draft pick by the Buffalo Sabres
• Andreas Nödl - currently of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes
• Larry Jacobson - class of 1968 - Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman, winner of the 1971 Outland Trophy; selected in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the New York Giants
• Kevin Truckenmiller - lead Singer of rock band Quietdrive

References

1. ↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
2. ↑ SDHSAA. "South Dakota High School Activities Association Web site". Retrieved 2007-05-10. 
3. ↑ http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Wild_sign_Thomas_Vanek_to_a_threeyear_deal070114

External links

• School's Main Page

Diocese of Sioux Falls
Bishops	Martin Marty Thomas O'Gorman Bernard Joseph Mahoney William O. Brady Lambert Anthony Hoch Paul Vincent Dudley Robert James Carlson Paul J. Swain
Churches	Cathedral St. Joseph Cathedral Parishes St. Anthony's Church, Hoven St. Peter's Church, Jefferson Holy Rosary Church, Kranzburg Holy Family Church, Mitchell St. Mary's Church, Salem St. Wenceslaus Church, Tabor St. Agnes Church, Vermillion Former St. Ann's Church, Badus St. Placidus Church, Gann Valley Holy Trinity Church, Kimball St. Scholastica Church, Letcher St. Agnes Church, Utica St. John the Baptist, Yankton County St. Mary's Church, Zell
Education	High Schools O'Gorman Catholic High School, Sioux Falls Roncalli High School, Aberdeen St. Mary High School, Dell Rapids
Priests	Thomas Gullickson Donald Joseph Kettler
Other	Old St. Wenceslaus Catholic Parish House
Catholicism portal