Marist High School is a private

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

preparatory high school located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, operated by the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

on behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Founded in 1963 as an all-male institution, the school became co-ed in 2002 and today educates over 1,700 young students each year.

History

In the early 1960s, the Christian Brothers of Ireland were asked by Cardinal Albert Gregory Meyer to operate an all-male high school on the far southwest side of Chicago, on land surrounded by St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery at the corner of 115th Street and Pulaski Road. With three area schools already under their purview ( Leo Catholic High School, Brother Rice High School, and St. Laurence High School) the Christian Brothers declined, and shortly thereafter the

were asked to operate the school instead. Marist opened on September 9, 1963, with 323 young men enrolled in the charter class. In the mid-1990s, the Marist community decided to begin a transition from the school's original mascot and nickname, ''Redskins'', to a less controversial one. ''RedHawks'' was chosen as the new mascot and nickname before the start the 1997–98 school year. This also caused several minor changes in student life, for example renaming the yearbook from ''Plainsman'' to ''The Lantern''. The school remained an all-male institution until the 2002–03 school year, when girls were admitted for the first time. Starting in 2003, the school launched a multi-year fundraising campaign to advance needed upgrades to the school's physical structure, as well as to provide for the school's financial foundation, technology upgrades, and to continue financial assistance to students.

Academics

Like many Catholic high schools, students are required to take four years of coursework in religious studies. In their fourth year, students may opt out of traditional coursework and fulfill their graduation requirement through work in community service or in peer leadership. In community service, students are assigned to travel off campus to work at a hospital, a work community for adults with developmental disabilities, a grammar school, or other such environment. Peer leadership offers seniors the opportunity to work within a classroom aiding teachers and other students. Seventeen different AP classes are offered in: English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition,

Calculus Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...

(both AB and BC),

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

(C), U.S. History, European History, U.S. Government and Politics,

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

(A),

Art History Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, Studio Art,

French Language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

and

Spanish Language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

Athletics

Marist sponsors the following sports for both boys and girls, all of which are governed by the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...

(IHSA):

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

. Boys compete in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. Girls compete in poms,

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and swimming Marist also sponsors

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, though these teams do not compete in state series sponsored by the IHSA. Marist competes in the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC). Marist also competes in the largest school classes of the state series sponsored by the IHSA. Known more for academics than athletics, Marist has won the following IHSA sponsored state championship series: * Baseball: 1977–78 * Competitive Cheerleading: 2023-24, 2024-25 * Softball: 2011–12, 2014–15, 2020–21, 2022-23 * Volleyball (boys): 2001–02, 2009–10, 2018–19, 2023-24, 2024-25 * Volleyball (girls): 2017–18, 2018–19, 2024–25 * Wrestling: 1982–83, 1986–87 The varsity wrestling team won twenty-seven consecutive varsity conference titles dating from the 1980–81 season through the 2006–07 season. The school claims this to be an American high school record. While not sanctioned by the IHSA, Marist won the Kennedy Cup, the oldest hockey prize in Illinois high school hockey, as a part of their Chicago Catholic Hockey League Championships in 1991, 1994 and 1995.

Rivalries

Since its foundation Marist has enjoyed a natural rivalry with neighboring school Brother Rice. Games between the two schools are often referred to as the "Battle of Pulaski”. When Marist became a coeducational school, the local all-girls high school in the neighborhood Mother McAuley became a natural rival. The rivalry between Mother McAuley and Marist have heated up with the use of social media.

Activities

The Marist band is somewhat unusual in that it is not only an extracurricular activity, but also an Honors academic class. The band functions as a marching band generally in the autumn (performing pregame, halftime, and postgame shows at home

games), and as a

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

for the remainder of the year (highlighted by Christmas and Spring Concerts). The general exceptions are their annual performances in the Chicago

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

Parade, the Chicago

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

Day Parade, and the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parades. The band is generally not a competition band, but has been successful enough to perform on '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' and to be the featured marching band to open the new Comiskey Park in 1991. The Marist band has won numerous honors and awards, and has traveled across the country to perform in parades and shows such as the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade and many other events. The Marist marching band were grand national field show champions out of 10 bands at the 2011 Chick-fil-A bowl competition, with a score of 93 and a gold rating.

Notable alumni

* Sydney Affolter - college basketball player, class of 2021 * Robert A. Clifford - trial attorney, class of 1969 * Pat Coogan – college football player, class of 2021 * Christopher Denham - actor ('' Argo'', '' Shutter Island''), class of 1998 * Dan Donegan - Disturbed guitarist, class of 1986 *

Tom Gorzelanny Thomas Stephen Gorzelanny (born July 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who is currently the pitching coach for the minor league Amarillo Sod Poodles. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, ...

- New York Mets pitcher, class of 2000 * Dave Gust - NHL player for

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

class of 2012 * Mike Hagerty - actor * Bob Janecyk - NHL goalie,

and

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

, class of 1975 * Patrick O'Malley - former

Illinois State Senator The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

and gubernatorial candidate 2002 * Michael Peña - actor ('' The Martian'', '' Ant-Man'') * Tim Pyznarski -

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player (

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

) * Bill Risley -

pitcher (

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

), class of 1985 * Jesse Ruiz - lawyer and politician, Deputy Governor of Illinois, former chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, President of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools * Marty Sammon -

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

keyboardist for Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and others, class of 1995 * Carnell Tate - football player, attended 2019-2020 * James Tyree - CEO and chairman at Mesirow Financial, class of 1975

References

External links

Marist High School Website
{{authority control Catholic schools in Chicago Catholic secondary schools in Illinois Marist Brothers schools Private high schools in Chicago Educational institutions established in 1963 1963 establishments in Illinois