St. Francis High School is a private

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

, Roman Catholic high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City, Michigan

Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...

. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Northern Michigan region of the United States. It comprises the twenty-one most northern counties of the lower peninsula of the state, and includes the cities of Traverse City,...

.

Background

St. Francis School was established in 1877 by the Dominican Sisters.

In the Spring of 2003, Saint Francis chartered a Key Club, which is a service organization supported by the Kiwanis Club. The club has 30 members. Gladmeals, as a part of Key Club, holds a Soup Kitchen each month in the school cafeteria. In the Fall of 2008, St. Francis High School was named a Top 50 Catholic High School in the United States.

Sports options exist for boys and girls, freshman through varsity levels. At least 80% of students participate in athletics as well as other extracurricular opportunities including drama, debate, forensics, pom squad, band, Key Club, choir and much more.

College choices of recent graduates include Boston College, Northwestern Michigan College, Central Michigan University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Aquinas College, Alma, Albion, Hope, Notre Dame, Loyola, DePauw University, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Grand Valley State University, St. John's St. Benedicts University, Carnegie-Mellon, Dartmouth, the Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Athletics

Fall sports include:

-Boys' Football

-Boys' Tennis

-Boys' Soccer

-Boys'/Girls' Cross Country

-Girls' Volleyball

-Girls' Equestrian

-Girls' Cheerleading

-Girls' Golf

Winter sports include:

-Boys'/Girls' Basketball

-Boys' Wrestling

-Boys'/Girls' Indoor Track

-Boys'/Girls' Bowling

-Boys'/Girls' Skiing

-Boys' Ice Hockey
-Girls' Ice Skating
- Girls' Pom and Dance
Spring sports include:

-Boys'/Girls' Outdoor Track

-Boys' Baseball

-Boys' Golf

-Girls' Softball

-Girls' Tennis

-Girls' Soccer

Football

The St. Francis Football team has won state titles in 1992, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009. Other trips to the State Finals include 1983, 1998, 2007, and 2008. Since the playoff system was established in Michigan, TCSF has qualified for the playoffs 23 times. This includes the current streak of 19 years which is an MHSAA record. The Gladiators have an all-time winning percentage of .757 (418-133-4). Their regular season winning percentage is .763 (375-115-4) and their playoff winning percentage is .705 (43-18). The Gladiators are members of the Lake Michigan Conference, which they have won for 6 consecutive seasons. During this streak they have not lost a single conference game. Other members of the Lake Michigan Conference include: Boyne City Ramblers, Charlevoix Red Raiders, East Jordan Red Devils, Elk Rapids Elks, Grayling Vikings, Harbor Springs Rams, and Kalkaska Blue Blazers. Other teams that St. Francis considers its rivals are the Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders, the Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central Panthers, and the Kingsley Stags. Although the Benzie Central Huskies have been considered a rival of St. Francis, The record between the teams stands at 32-0 for St. Franics. St. Francis's top five most played opponents are the Manistee Chippewas (33 games), Benzonia Benzie Central Huskies (32 games), Boyne City Ramblers (29 games), Kalkaska Blue Blazers (28 games), and the St. Ignace LaSalle Saints (28 games). Many Gladiators have gone on to play football at the collegiate level. The most recent Division I recruit is ILB Max Bullough (6'3 225) be a member of the Michigan State Spartans.

Boy's Tennis

The tennis program has become one of the top Division 4 programs in the state. The team has qualified for states each of the last six seasons. In 2009 the team finished 5th in the state while winning a flight for the first time in school history, Josh Kurtz (Sr.) and Patrick Wilson (Jr.) won a state title at #3 Doubles. That title was followed up in 2010 by Keith Gingras (Sr.) and Stephen Siddall (Jr.) who also won at #3 doubles to go along with another 5th place finish at States. St. Francis boasts two strong JV teams that have recently been able to defeat numerous varsity teams during their seasons.