O'Fallon Township High School

History

The first high school was founded in 1901 as a two-year school by William R. Dorris, who became the first principal, according to Brian Keller of the O’Fallon Historical Society.

In 1900, the city had built a new building to serve as the elementary school. Room 10 was set aside for the high school studies.

The first graduating class in 1903 had only five members.

In 1920, O’Fallon’s high school officially became OTHS of District 203, and the original school song, “Blue and Old Gold”, was first sung at graduation in 1925. The school's mascot is the Panther, for which the 1934 basketball team takes credit for choosing. The basketball team visited a sports store in 1934 and was impressed by the large picture of a panther in the store’s display window, according to Mr. George Bender, class of 1937. The team, not having a mascot of their own yet, liked the idea of using the panther. By November 1934, the team was nicknamed the Panthers, a name which would eventually represent the entire school.

Campuses

The current main campus (Smiley), which houses grades 10-12 (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) was built and opened in 1958. Also, the district expanded the main campus by extending the street-side hallway, thus adding another hallway stretching the length of the school along with multiple new classrooms.

The district completed construction on the strictly 9th grade or freshman campus (Milburn) in the summer of 2009. The two campuses are about 10–15 minutes apart. The first class to attend the Milburn campus was the class of 2013.

Sports

The Panthers compete in the Southwestern Conference.

Team achievements

JV Golden Girls won first place in both Lyrical and Jazz in 2015 at the TDI State Championship.

O'Fallon Winter Guard 2011 claimed the national title at Winter Guard International World Championships.

The varsity baseball team earned the first team state trophy in school history by placing third in the IHSA State Tournament in 2006 and 2009. The Junior ROTC Drill Team placed first overall at the Gateway International Drill Competition held at Alton High School, Illinois.

The varsity cheerleading team placed second at state in 2007, fourth at state in 2008, and second again in 2009.

The boys' basketball team finished second at the 2007 State Basketball Tournament held in Peoria, Illinois at Bradley University, and finished fourth in 2010.

The Golden Girls dance team placed first in state competition in March 2008.

The O'Fallon Hockey Panthers won the MVCHA league 2A championship in the 1998-99 season 2016-17, and also the 2A south division in '98-'99, '99-2000, and 2001-'02 and 15-16 seasons.

The JV Hockey Panthers won the south division in 03-04 and the JV 2A championship in '96-'97, '97-'98, 2002-'03, and 2010–'11.

The Marching Panthers have won the veiled Prophet Parade for 17 consecutive years; they placed 20th at the 2014 Bands of America Grand National Championships.

The Marching Panthers placed first with Best Visual and General Effect at the 2015 Bands of America Clarksville, TN Regional Championships.

The Winter Guard placed third at MCCGA Championships and 1st in state in 2009-2010.

The Competitive Journalism team placed second in the IHSA State competition in April

The 2009 Girls' Volleyball team won regionals for the first time in 17 years and advanced to the sectional finals.

The 2010 Boys Cross Country team placed fifth in the 3A State meet, with a team average of 14:59 for 3 miles.

The 2011 Boys Cross Country team placed second in the 3A state meet, O'fallon's first Cross Country trophy.

The 2012 Boys Cross Country team placed second in the 3A state meet.

The 2013 Boys Cross Country team placed third in the State Meet, while Patrick Perrier Claimed the 3A individual state title.

The 2011 Winter Guard placed first in Class A at the World Championships.

The '07-'08 Scholar Bowl team went 37-4 and went to the IHSA class AA tournament for the first time in the school's history.