St. Xavier High School (Louisville)
Saint Xavier High School | |
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Location | |
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Information | |
Type | Private, All-male |
Motto | Numen Lumen (“Let God be our light.”) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic Xaverian Brothers |
Established | 1864 |
President | Dr. Perry E. Sangalli |
Faculty | 122 |
Enrollment | 1407 |
Average class size | 24 |
Student to teacher ratio | 12:1 |
Campus | Urban, 72 acres, 6 buildings |
Color(s) | Green █ and Gold █ |
Athletics | 10 KHSAA Sports 4 Club Sports Intramurals |
Athletics conference | Kentucky High School Athletic Association |
Mascot | Tigers |
Website | www.saintx.com |
St. Xavier High School is a Xaverian Brothers sponsored school in Louisville, Kentucky. St. Xavier, also known as St. X, was founded in 1864. The school currently resides on Poplar Level Road and is known for its excellence in both academics and athletics. St. Xavier has received the Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award three times. St. Xavier is currently renovating the school grounds with Project X, an initiative to raise $28 million for new academic and athletic facilities.
Athletics
St. Xavier is the only school in Kentucky to have won a state championship in every Kentucky High School Athletic Association sanctioned sport for males. St. X has the most successful athletic program in Kentucky, having won 133 men's state championships. In 2005, St. Xavier was ranked #14 in "Sports Illustrated" Best High School Athletic Programs. The swim team, The Tiger Sharks, have won eighteen consecutive state swimming championships, their 42nd swimming title overall which is a national record. The annual football game with rival Trinity at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium is the largest game in the state, typically drawing over 35,000 or more fans. The St. X powerlifting team has won four straight National Titles at the USA Powerlifting Teenage National Championships.
Project X has already completed a new tennis facility, complete with concessions and seating for 300 spectators. Currently, a new baseball stadium is under construction. In the near future, Project X will provide for a 6,800 seat football stadium, complete with two private suites, an 8-lane rubberized track, new space for offices and lockerrooms and a 2,000 seat basketball arena. Upon completition, St. X will have some of the best high school athletic facilities in the nation.
Academics
In 2006, St. Xavier had 18 National Merit Finalists, second most in the state of Kentucky. The Academics are broken up into three different groups: EXCEL, Academics, and finally Honors. St. X graduates often matriculate to top colleges and universities including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Tulane, Northwestern and Xavier University. 18 different AP courses are available to students. In 2006, 90% of students taking AP courses earned qualifying scores for college credit. The class of 2006 had 38 students honored by the National Merit Scholarship Program and earned $14.5 million in scholarships.
Theater
The theatre troupe is known as The Saint Xavier Players, or simply the St. X Players. The Players sponsor four shows which include the fall straight show, eXpress (an improv troupe), a spring musical, and a student-faculty show.
Young women from nearby Catholic girls' schools also serve in the female roles and in the tech crew.
The St. X Players include a chapter of the International Thespian Society. However, there are also two special ranks specific to the St. X Players. Player Kings are those students who have dedicated a set amount of hours to drama, with a lower number of hours in specifically acting roles. The tech crew equivalent is the status of Rude Mechanical. An honorary Player Queen is chosen at the conclusion of every school year from among the young women who are seniors and have taken part in St. Xavier productions during the year.
In the 2005-6 school year, the St. X Players put on A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare in October and Damn Yankees in March. In October of the 2006-7 school year, the St. X Players performed The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Currently the players are working on the production of "Beauty and the Beast" set to be preformed in March.
eXpress, the improv troupe, performs for grade schools during the winter. This troupe consists of sophomores, juniors, and seniors from St. X, as well as juniors and seniors from nearby Catholic girls' schools.
"The Groundlings" is the newest edition to the Theater program at St. X, starting in 2005-2006. Unlike eXpress, "The Groundlings" consists only of St. Xavier freshmen. These freshmen take a crash course in improv acting and also perform a small skit in each eXpress performance.
The St. X Players also run a summer drama camp called Acting Up, introducing middle schoolers to theater and drama.
Notable alumni
- Matt Anderson MLB pitcher
- Frank Beard former PGA golfer
- Thomas Borders founder of Borders Group
- Chris Burke MLB player for Houston Astros
- Frank W. Burke former member of US House of Representatives and Mayor of Louisville
- Ray Burse MLS goalkeeper for FC Dallas
- Paul Byrd MLB pitcher for Cleveland Indians
- Paul Charron who is Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer of Liz Claiborne.
- Bob Edwards former Morning Edition host
- Jim James lead singer in the band My Morning Jacket
- Boland Jones founder, chairman and CEO of Premiere Global Services, Inc.
- John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D. President & COO of Eli Lilly
- William Mapother actor and cousin of Tom Cruise
- Romano Mazzoli former congressman
- Mo Moorman former NFL player
- Bobby Nichols won PGA Championship in 1964
- John Newton Jr. master craftsman
- Scott Padgett NBA basketball player
- Lee Reherman former American Gladiator
- Rudy Rucker, computer scientist, mathematician, and author
- Dallas (Rick) Schoo Guitar Technician, Rock Band U2
- Robert L. Shircliff President and CEO, Jewish Hospital
- Jim Stuckert former CEO of Hilliard Lyons
- Bob Talamini former NFL player 2nd Team All-Time All-AFL
- Paul Varga who is President and Chief Executive of Brown-Forman
- W. Kip Viscusi leading scholar in Law and Economics
- Joe Viviano who was the former President, Vice Chairman, and CEO of Hershey Foods
- Will Wolford former NFL player