Dowling Catholic High School

Dowling Catholic High School
Dowling Catholic High School
Address
	1400 Buffalo Road; West Des Moines, Iowa 50265; United States
Coordinates	41°35′49″N 93°43′23″W / 41.597°N 93.723°W
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Motto	Veritas ∙ Fides ∙ Sapientia; (Truth ∙ Faith ∙ Wisdom)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1884
Oversight	Diocese of Des Moines
President	Dan Ryan
Principal	Matt Meendering
Faculty	94.6 (on an FTE basis)
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,431 (2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio	15.1
Color(s)	Maroon and White
Athletics conference	Central Iowa Metro League
Nickname	Maroons
Rivals	Valley High School
Website	www.dowlingcatholic.org

Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in West Des Moines, Iowa, within the Diocese of Des Moines.

As of the 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,431 students and 94.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.1:1. The school's enrollment was 81.2% White, 4.1% Black, 10.2% Hispanic, 4.4% Asian and 0.1% American Indian / Alaska Native.

History

It was created in 1972 by the merger of St. Joseph Academy for girls (established in 1884) and Dowling High School for boys (established in 1918 as the Des Moines College boarding school for boys).^{[citation needed]}

Academics

During the 2003-04 school year, Dowling Catholic High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Tuition

Total tuition cost for 2018-2019 is $11,176 plus fees. Tuition for students belonging to a Catholic Parish is $7,986 plus fees. Tuition for international students is $12,076 plus fees.

Extracurricular activities

Baseball

The Maroons hold the record for most team home runs during a championship game with 5 in 2001.

Baseball State Championships
Year	Record	Opponent	Score
1988	39-2	Ames	9-8
1989	38-5	Fort Dodge	8-5
1999	33-13	Ankeny	6-1
2001	42-3	Marshaltown	13-2
2011	36-7	Mason City	6-1

Boys' basketball

State Boys' Basketball Championships
Year	Score	Opponent
1957	69-66	Waterloo, West
1979	60-57	Davenport Central

Bobby Hansen who later played at the University of Iowa and nine years in the NBA, was on the 1979 state championship team.

Cross country

Girls

State Cross Country Team Championships
Year	Finishes	Score
2007	1-2-6-8-15	32
2008	1-2-9-24-33	69
2009	1-2-11-15-28	57
2010	3-4-14-19-20	60
2011	1-6-14-20-22	63

2007 Girls' Heartland Regional Champions

Boys

State Cross Country Team Championship Wins
Year	Finishes	Score
1974	4-9-10-16	39
1985	3-8-15-36	62
2011	3-6-12-18-31	70
2012	1-6-8-18-27	60
2015	1-9-13-17-29	69
2016	3-8-13-23-53	100
2018	4-7-15-17-29	72

Debate

Dowling is the home of the Dowling Catholic Paradigm, one of the largest debate tournaments held by a school. In 2015, Dowling Catholic won 2 state titles for Congressional Debate, 1 for Public Forum debate, and 1 for Lincoln Douglas Debate.

Football

Home games are played at the 9,500 seat Valley Stadium in West Des Moines, Williams Stadium, or at Drake Stadium in Des Moines. In 2019, they became the first school in Iowa history to win seven straight Class 4A state championships.

Dowling made the playoffs 17 years in a row beginning in 1985 and ending in 2002 when Dowling missed the playoffs. The school won 36 consecutive games in the 1967 through 1971 graduating class seasons. Dowling won 64 consecutive Metro conference games, a streak lasting from 1968 to 1977. In addition to the 64 metro games Dowling also won 57 consecutive conference games lasting from 1993 to 2002. WDM, Valley is Dowling's primary rival since 1968 when the schools joined the Des Moines Metro Conference.

State 4-A Football Championships
2000 (13-0)	35-28	Bettendorf High (11-2)
2001 (13-0)	35-15	Iowa City High (12-1)
2010 (14-0)	38-31(OT)	Iowa City High (13-1)
2013 (14-0)	44-13	Cedar Rapids Xavier (12-2)
2014 (13-1)	49-14	Washington High School (13-1)
2015 (13-0)	41-10	C. R. Kennedy (13-1)
2016 (12-1)	23-10	Iowa City West (10-3)
2017 (12-1)	35-21	Iowa City West (12-1)
2018 (11-2)	22-16	Cedar Falls (12-1)
2019 (12-1)^{[citation needed]}	21-16	West Des Moines Valley (12-1)

Swimming

The boys' swimming team won four championships, consecutively from 2001 to 2003. The girls' swim team won their first state title during the 2019 season.^{[citation needed]}

Boys' tennis


Boys-2A State of Iowa High School Tennis Championships
Year	Team Titles/Player Titles	Opponent	Score
1992	2A-Team Title	Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School	5-3
2001	2A-Team Title	Dubuque Senior High School	5-3

Wrestling

Dowling has won State Dual Wrestling Championships in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992
Dowling has won the State Traditional Wrestling Championship in 1975, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1990, and 1991

State Wrestling Team Championships
Year	Score
1975	46.5
1978	94.5
1984	115
1988	124.5
1990	109.5
1991	91

^{[citation needed]}

Dowling has the state record for most consecutive dual wins with 136 set from January 1986 to January 1992

Notable alumni

Michael Annett, professional NASCAR driver
Jennie Baranczyk, head coach of women's basketball at University of Oklahoma
Chris Broussard, sports journalist
Caitlin Clark (class of 2020), professional basketball player for Indiana Fever (WNBA); played college basketball 2020-2024 University of Iowa
Shawn Crahan, Slipknot percussionist
Amara Darboh, former NFL wide receiver
Jerry Groom, College Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman
Matt Haack, NFL punter
Bobby Hansen, NBA basketball player
Tom Harkin, United States Senator (Iowa)
Bob Harlan, former president of the Green Bay Packers
George Kinley, businessman and Iowa state legislator
Matt Macri, MLB third baseman
Mike Mahoney, MLB catcher
Karen Maine, director and screenwriter of Yes, God, Yes
Matt McCoy, Iowa State Senator
Scott Pose, Major League Baseball player
Karissa Schweitzer, professional distance runner
Tyson Smith, NFL linebacker
Fred L. Turner, former CEO of McDonald's
Ross Verba, NFL lineman