Loyola Blakefield

Encyclopedia : L : LO : LOY : Loyola Blakefield

Loyola Blakefield is a college preparatory school in Towson, a community in Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States. The school is a single-sexual institution serving boys from grades 6-12.

History

Upon reaching Maryland in 1634, the Jesuits carried out the objectives of their forefathers. They wanted to build new men, men who were conscious of a religious purpose. The Jesuits accomplished this in the way they knew best – through education. In 1851, Archbishop Francis Kenric asked the Jesuits to oversee the formation of a school for laymen that would incorporate the Jesuit standards of excellence and build new men conscious of a religious purpose. The construction of Loyola High School began on Calvert Street in Baltimore City, Maryland in early 1852, and on September 15, 1852, the doors opened.

In the early 1930s the growing and cramped high school began to look toward moving north of the city. In 1933, with the support of the Blake family, Loyola purchased the land known today as Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. In 1941, the students moved to the new campus. Between 1981 and 1988, a Middle School was gradually introduced, and in recognition of the two levels of education, Loyola High School officially became known as Loyola Blakefield.

Loyola Blakefield has seen many changes and enhancements these past few years, some of them striking, such as the construction of Knott Hall which houses the student commons and dining hall, athletic center, and alumni areas, the Burk Hall academic wing, and the renovations to the 60-year-old science laboratories in Wheeler Hall. The physical improvements at Blakefield are always incurred in order to provide facilities that are commensurate with academic and co-curricular opportunities for growth and an outstanding educational experience for each student.

The mission and philosophy remain the hallmarks of the Jesuit education at Blakefield, the benchmarks by which true educational success can be measured. There are nearly 1,000 students today at Loyola Blakefield in grades six through twelve who exemplify the principles of academic excellence, building faith and serving others.

The athletics at Loyola Blakefield have also been historically very successful, most notable in Football, Swimming, and Lacrosse. The Football and Lacrosse program has produced many national class athletes, most recently Bucknell University Midfielder Patrick Keeney '04, University of Virginia Attackman Ben Rubeor '04, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Defenseman Tim Kaiser '04, Johns Hopkins University Defenseman Matt Pinto '02, and former Lehigh University standout QB Brant Hall '98. The Swimming and Diving team, led by legendary coach Keith Schertle, completed it's 13 straight MIAA Championship season and top 25 national ranking in 2006. The program has produced multiple Olympians and hundreds NCAA division 1 competitors, most notable are Patrick Kennedy of the 1984 US Olympic team and former University of Southern California captain and current Army Ranger Joe Curreri. Loyola recently won the soccer championship and finished #1 in the state. Loyola Blakefield participates in the MIAA (Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association). The rest of the athletic program has earned many championships in recent years as well. In 2001 the impressive sport of Rugby was introduced to Loyola Blakefield. Despite voiced complaints from several concerned parents that the sport was too "violent" and "dangerous" it was ultimatley decided that rugby would become a staple sport at Loyola. The inagural team was founded by Coach Bill Schlictig and headed up by the first ever captain Luke Mann. Mann went on to play rugby at Mount St. Mary's University and establish himself as a standout player. He brought with him the lessons he learned both on and off the field at Loyola. The rugby program at Loyola today is stronger than ever and the Dons continue to put together an impressive squad.

Loyola Blakefield squares off every Thanksgiving Day, in the oldest continual national Catholic high school football rivalry against cross-town rival Calvert Hall College. The event is held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Loyola Dons have won the last three years, and 14 of the last 16 games.

Notable alumni

Noted author Tom Clancy
Sportscaster Jim McKay
Author Nathaniel Fick
Attorney General of Maryland J. Joseph Curran, Jr.

External link

[Loyola Blakefield Homepage]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.