Student Life
All School Awards
Academic & Service Awards 2025-26
Each academic department is asked to identify those students who have excelled in that particular field of study. Criteria for individual and department awards are determined by the department chairs in consultation with the faculty members of each discipline.
See the list of recipients below.
Fine & Performing Arts
See the list of recipients below.
Fine & Performing Arts
| National School Choral Award | Will Fanning & Rory Lewellen |
| Rockhurst Choral Spirit Award | Cooper Clifft, Henry Dold, & Henry Scheiderer |
| Ignatian Pastoral Music Award | Tyson Nguyen |
| John Phillip Sousa Band Award | Alex Manis |
| Rockhurst Theatre Award | Landon Hochstein |
| Rockhurst Dramatics Arts Award | Sam Robinson |
| Theatre Tech Award | Jack Bosco |
| Stagecraft | Michael Hogan |
| Visual Arts Award | Pierce Williams |
| Ceramic Arts Award | Bobby Buckley |
Communication Arts
| Broadcasting | Ivan Burns |
| Photography | Dominic Margherio, Brevin Ferguson, Skyler Tyson, & Carter Scott |
| Graphic Arts | Brendan Ortbals |
| Public Speaking | Jack Fadler |
| Movie Making | Brendan Ortbals |
| Entrepreneurship | Henry Walker |
| Newspaper I | Jack Grisolano |
| Newspaper II | Jake Bond & Ivan Burns |
| The Michael and Ilene Drape Journalism Award | Jake Bond & Ivan Burns |
Computer Science, Robotics, and Engineering
| Object-Oriented Programming | Grayson Hunt |
| AP Computer Science Principles | Joshua Barney |
| AP Computer Science A | Ben Caisley |
| Robotic Engineering II | Antonio McGill |
| John McEniry Innovation Award | Jeremy Smith |
| Bernie Kreikemeier and Buddy Worth Award | Owen DeConink |
English
| English I | Fisher Best |
| Advanced English I | Dominic Cara |
| English II | Brevin Ferguson |
| Advanced English II | Thomas Brackett |
| English III | Peter Messerli |
| AP English III | Cole Cress |
| English IV | Campbell Luzar & Aidan Poynter |
| Honors English IV | Aidan Comeau |
| AP English IV | Cooper Clifft |
Mathematics
| Algebra I | Johnny Hills |
| Advanced Algebra I | Mitchell Earnest |
| Geometry/Algebra II | Steven Earl |
| Advanced Geometry/Algebra II | Kipton Clifft |
| Intermediate Algebra | Richard Galvan |
| Intro to College Algebra | Vincent Hill-Tyler |
| Algebra II/Trig | Kyle Maher |
| Precalculus | Caleb McNamara |
| Honors Precalculus | Cole Cress |
| AP Statistics | Cooper Clifft |
| AP Calculus AB | George Meysenburg |
| AP Calculus BC | Sudipto Bhowmik |
| Multivariable Calculus | Daniel Colombo |
Modern and Classical Languages
| Mandarin Chinese I | Teddy Nolan & Sam Fulton |
| Mandarin Chinese II | Ethan Wohletz & Kieran Teasdale |
| Honors Mandarin Chinese III | John Kierspel & Donnie Evangelidis |
| Honors Mandarin Chinese IV | Will Hunter |
| French I | Nate Brackett & Brendan Cowan |
| French II | John Henggeler & Caden Kelly |
| Honors French III | Graham Jones |
| AP French IV | Ben Bautista & Nicholas Bautista |
| Honors Greek II | Robby Evangelidis |
| Latin I | Fisher Best |
| Latin II | Thomas Brackett |
| Honors Latin III | Jack Neely |
| AP Latin IV | Trip Kratofil |
| Spanish I | Finn Dean |
| Advanced Spanish I | Lawson Muller & Kipton Clifft |
| Spanish II | Robby Teasdale & Lucas Francois |
| Advanced Spanish II | George Gates & Archer Hughes |
| Spanish III | Andrew Hoolehan |
| Honors Spanish III | Cole Cress & Van Altendorf |
| Honors Spanish IV | Cooper Clifft & Andrew Hayes |
| AP Spanish IV | Daniel Sandoval |
Physical Education
| Freshman | Evan Coffin |
| Sophomore | Charlie Homsey |
| Junior | Luke Bolch |
| Senior | Vincent Hill-Tyler |
Science
| Biology | Fisher Best & Nate Brackett |
| Honors Biology | Lawson Muller |
| AP Biology | Cooper Clifft |
| Chemistry | Roman Walker |
| Honors Chemistry | Thomas Brackett |
| College Chemistry | Carson Cress |
| AP Chemistry | Cole Cress |
| Astronomy | Rory Lewellen |
| AP Environmental Science | Connor Clune |
| Human Physiology | Jude Bailey |
| Meteorology | Robby Evangelidis |
| Physics | Carter Scott |
| Honors Physics | Cole Cress |
| AP Physics | Shiv Patel |
Social Studies
| Human Geography | Van Altendorf |
| AP Human Geography | Dominic Cara |
| Modern World History | Steven Earl |
| AP Modern World History | Finn Darby |
| The Dr. Jerry Goben U.S. History Award | Joshua Barney |
| AP U.S. History | Cole Cress |
| U.S. Government | Collin Leary |
| Honors U.S. Government | Landon Christopher |
| AP U.S. Government | Shiv Patel |
| Comparative Government & Politics | Joshua Hunt |
| AP Comparative Government & Politics | Andrew Hayes |
| Personal Finance | Skyler Tyson |
| Business Law | Trip Kratofil |
| Economics | George Besch |
| Kansas City History | Will Moore |
| Latin American Studies | Xavier Aleman |
| Psychology | Aidan Poynter |
Theology
| Reverend Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Award | Lawson Muller |
| Saint Robert Cardinal Bellarmine, S.J., Award | Thomas Brackett |
| Servant of God Matteo Ricci, S.J., Award | Cole Cress |
| Saint Augustine of Hippo Award | Tyson Nguyen |
| Saint Paul the Apostle Award | Jack Neely |
| Saint Óscar Romero, Bishop and Martyr, Award | Caden Flores |
Advanced Placement Scholars
| George Besch | Henry Dold | Jack McShane |
| Jacob Bond | Nolan Fellows | George Meysenburg |
| Joshua Brown Hays | Caden Flores | Brendan Ortbals |
| Ivan Burns | William Griffiths | David Prier |
| Atticus Carlson | Theodore Henning | Henry Scheiderer |
| Aidan Comeau | Michael Hogan | Gehrig Sicoli |
| Liam Dean | George Kennedy | Roberts Vickers |
| William Dennis | Bennett Lembke | Julian Weber |
Advanced Placement Scholars with Honor
| Daniel Anderst | Gregory Kratofil | William Robertson |
| Michael Arico | Roderick Lewellen | Flavio Rubio Espinosa |
| Joshua Battison | Carson Lucido | Eli Short |
| Charlie Bernstein | Xavier Ritchie | Riley Teeven |
Advanced Placement Scholars with Distinction
| Ben Caisley | Robert Evangelidis | Nicholas Metzner |
| Landon Christopher | William Fanning | Micah Moncrieffe |
| Cooper Clifft | Ethan Guenther | Shiv Patel |
| Daniel Colombo | Andrew Hayes | Jeremy Smith |
| Reilly Eagan | Johan Ignatius |
National Merit Commended Students
| Daniel Anderst | Will Fanning | Bennett Lembke |
| Jake Bond | Johan Fritz Ignatius | Carson Lucido |
| Reilly Eagan | Trip Kratofil | Mannix Palan |
National Merit Semifinalists & Finalists
| Landon Christopher | Nolan Fellows | Shiv Patel |
| Cooper Clifft | Tom Fimmen | |
| Daniel Colombo | Andrew Hayes |
Book Awards
| Joshua Barney | Donnie Evangelidis | Tyson Nguyen |
| Sudipto Bhowmik | Henry Hahn | Ben Olschki |
| Cole Cress | John Kierspel |
R Awards
Nominated by faculty, staff, and administration, and conferred by the Awards Selection Committee, this award is given to students of all grades who exemplify generosity of spirit and the willingness to put in extra time and effort—far beyond expectations—to help create and support the RHS community.
Seniors
| Mo Abdalla | Tom Fimmen | Alex Manis | Jackson Price |
| Ryan Adamson | Pierce Fisher | Jack McShane | David Prier |
| Xavier Aleman | Caden Flores | George Meysenburg | Max Ramirez |
| George Besch | Andrew Hayes | Micah Moncrieffe | Will Robertson |
| Jake Bond | Ezequiel Hernandez-Sandoval | Max Moylan | Flavio Rubio Espinosa |
| Joshua Brown-Hays | Langston Humphrey | Zach Novotny | Gideon Sheets |
| Ivan Burns | Luke Johnson | Brendan Ortbals | Jeremy Smith |
| Landon Christopher | Lukus Lamming | Shiv Patel | Luke Strueby |
| Henry Coppinger | Michael LaSala | Joe Pitzl | Skyler Tyson |
| Robby Evangelidis | Stratton Leahy | Nicholas Pizzichino | Brad Winans |
Juniors
| Sudipto Bhowmik | Charlie Klumpp | Ben Olschki |
| Jack Bosco | Cooper McFadden | Kemper Roberts |
| Alex Collinsworth | Matthew Monroe | Blake Thomas |
| Jack Grisolano | Donatello Morales | |
| Henry Hahn | Tyson Nguyen |
Sophomores
| Julian Bailey | Anderson Hawley | Brady Ortbals |
| Abram Bland | Grayson Hunt | Quinton Page |
| Luke Brewster | Tom Koetting | Ronan Ursick |
| Maximus Canale | Tristan Johnson | Ben Walsh |
| Finn Darby | Jack McGovern | John Winkeler |
| Henry Hagenhoff | Thomas Nickson |
Freshmen
| Lucca Abreu | Aaron Hernandez Sandoval | Andrew Schoenfeld |
| Davis Foster | Cruz Lewandowski | Sam Schwaller |
| Will Francis | Jonathan Molina | Justus Woods |
| Nick Hoban | Teddy Noland |
Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Service Award
| Juniors | Caleb Doyle & Hayes Konicek |
| Seniors | Tom Fimmen & Conner Vickers |
The Jesuit Schools Network Award
The Jesuit Schools Network (or JSN) annually recognizes a member of the graduating class in each of the 60 Jesuit Secondary member schools in the United States and Central America. Nominations for this award are solicited from the faculty, and the Graduation Awards Committee confers the faculty recommendation. The JSN Award is presented to a deserving senior who best represents the ideals of the graduate of a Jesuit High School at the time of graduation. The recipient of the award shall be a young man who is generous with his talents, dedicated to the Gospel message, and devoted to the Christian ideals as enunciated by the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius Loyola.
The Class of 2026 recipient: Joseph L. Pitzl
The Class of 2026 recipient: Shiv Patel
The Class of 2026 recipient: Joseph L. Pitzl
The Rockhurst Senior Class Award of Excellence and Achievement
Each year, the senior class chooses one of its own as the recipient of the Senior Class Award of Excellence and Achievement. The citation for this award reads:
“recognizing the possession of qualities we hope that others find in us, and having experienced and benefited from his extraordinary devotion to our class and to our school, we, the members of the graduating class proudly award the Rockhurst High School Senior Class Award of Excellence and Achievement.”
The Class of 2026 recipient: Shiv Patel
The Carl G. Kloster, SJ, “Special R” Award
The Carl G. Kloster, SJ, Award was originally known as the “Special R Award”. It was renamed in 1975 to honor Rev. Carl G. Kloster, SJ, who served as principal of Rockhurst High School from 1954 to 1972. Father Kloster also served as president from 1968 until 1975. The Kloster Award recipient is nominated by the faculty and confirmed by the Graduation Awards Committee and is given to a member of the senior class who is also an “R Award” winner. The Kloster Award is conferred upon a graduating senior who embodies the spirit and tradition of Rockhurst High school and is a young man who consistently puts the welfare of his fellow students above his own interests. This award honors a student who is distinguished by his work ethic, excellence in conduct, and outstanding devotion to the school through service to classmates.
The Class of 2026 recipient: Brendan P. Ortbals
The Class of 2026 recipient: Brendan P. Ortbals
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