Beyond the Books - April 2024

April 9, 2024

At Cretin-Derham Hall, students have important opportunities to grow, learn and thrive both in the classroom and 'beyond the books!' In fact, 98% of students participate in one or more sports or activities. 

Beyond the Books is our brag book on all of your favorite co-curriculars at CDH: athletics, activities, JROTC, Campus Ministry, and the Arts. This can also be a place for occasional school-wide athletic department updates and current news on some of our activities.

ATHLETICS | ACTIVITIES | CAMPUS MINISTRY | BAND | CHOIR | THEATER | JROTC

Activities and Athletics Winter Recap

By Matt Funk, CDH Athletic Director

It was a great winter to be a Raider! We had a lot to celebrate and below are a few of our highlights:

Athletics:

We had 3 teams win their section and qualify for the State Tournament. Gymnastics won their first section title since 2010. At the State Tournament, they finished 2nd, which is the best team finish in school history in Gymnastics. The Boys Hockey team won the Section title for the 3rd consecutive year and won 2 of 3 games at the X to win 3rd place which is the second best finish in school history since joining the MSHSL. Finally, the Boys Basketball team won the section championship and finished 4th at State.

We also had some great individual performances. Else Wermager ’24 qualified for state in Alpine Ski. Matt Baumberger ’24 qualified for state in Swimming in the 200 IM and 100 Fly, finishing 8th in the 100 Fly and earning All State Honors. Mickey Piazza ’25 finished in 2nd place in his weight class in the section and qualified for state in Wrestling.

Activities:

We had some solid results in the world of Activities as well. Robotics attended an event in Grand Forks. After winning all 6 of their day one matches, the team went 1W-2L day two. They finished ranked 10th out of 54, and the top 8 teams selected their teammates for playoffs. They lost both of their double elimination playoff matches, one being against the team that ended up winning, but they played better throughout the weekend and came away in good spirits. The team won the Imagery Award, for "attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance," an award they've never received before, bringing their post-COVID record to 4 awards in 5 competitions.

The Math team has 24 team members who have competed in 5 meets with over 160 schools across the state of Minnesota. CDH competes in section 4AA in the St Paul City division. CDH has had a very strong season which our students should be very proud of. CDH finished 3rd in our division and placed 5th overall in our section. Xinyue (Luna) Cui '25 qualified for the State meet for the second year in a row.

A special thanks to our Band and Choir for performing at multiple events. Skylar McLeod '25 sang the anthem at the State Gymnastics tournament, the Band performed at the Boys Hockey and Boys Basketball tournament, and the Choir sang the anthem at the Boys Basketball State Semifinal game.

Congratulations to all of our Raiders, Coaches, and Moderators for an awesome winter. We couldn’t be prouder of all of you and the way you represent our community. #CultureCreatesChampions

Athletics 

Baseball

By Buzz Hannahan ’94, Head Coach

Raider Baseball opener is April 10 @ home vs. Forest Lake. The defending Suburban East Conference Champion Raiders are heading into the season optimistic with P/OF Captain PJ Jones ’24 and OF Captain Jake Quinn ’24 returning. 

Other returning Raiders are Lucas Ackland ’24 OF, Zander Coy ’25 INF and Brady Stoeklen ’25 INF. We really like our sophomore class, and they will play a big role in the season if the Raiders are able to defend their title. Find out more about Raider Baseball.

Boys Golf

By Bob Kinne ’11, Head Coach

Boys Golf is off to a slow start with the weather bringing snow just after we finished tryouts. We only added 2 new players to our program. Last spring our varsity won the conference championship. All of our players are returning this year and so are our top 3 players that went to the state tournament; Sam Udovich ‘25, Joe Honsa ‘25 and Miles Bollinger ‘24. All three of them had a scoring average of under 72. We look forward to building off last season’s success.  

Girls Golf

Megan Fee Smith '00, Head Varsity Coach

The CDH Girls Golf Team started the spring season on Monday, March 18 with a tryout process for 18 golfers on the following rosters: Varsity (6 golfers), JV Purple (6 golfers), JV Gold (6 golfers). Team captains are returning Varsity golfers: Lauren Bengtson '24, Lily Vincelli '24, Else Wermager '24. 

The golf team has been practicing their drives, chips, and putts with coaches to prepare for the conference matches. The first JV conference 9-hole match was Wednesday, April 10 at River Oaks golf course. The opening Varsity conference 9-hole match will be on Tuesday, April 16 at Tanners Brook golf course in Forest Lake, followed by an 18-hole conference match at Prestwick in Woodbury on Thursday, April 18. The girls will play conference matches at North Oaks, Troy Burne, White Bear Yacht Club, Midland Hills, Stillwater CC, and Oak Glen. CDH will host their Varsity and JV match on Monday, April 22 at Highland National golf course with a 3 pm shotgun start.  All are welcome to come to the course and cheer for the Raider golf team! The Varsity and JV conference schedules are posted on the CDH Girls Golf website.

Megan Fee Smith '00 is returning as the Varsity Head Coach.  Megan Namowicz is returning as the JV Coach and Molly Ploetz '17 is returning as the Assistant Coach.  Go Raider Golf!

Track and Field

By Chris Babcock, Head Coach

Track and Field has been at it for a month now. The snow had melted and returned and melted and the other shoe is still in the air. Hopefully it is just a change into our spikes and throwing shoes as we prepare for the outdoor competition season. The girls had their first meet Tuesday, April 9 at Benilde-St. Margret's. This meet was a good opportunity for the girls to get out and show what they have been doing since the start of the season on March 11. Captains Katie Chectovich '24, Becca Gutzman '24, Leah Iverson '24, and Ava Yets '24 will be leading a much bigger team than the one they started on. This season the team has grown almost 25%. All of the girls have been working hard to be ready for the competition. Clare Lasure '25 and Abby Chestovich '26 are also returning and ready to go hard to the finish line. Classmate Lilia Hazza '25 is excited to be getting back on the long jump runway this season as well. Their second meet will be on Thursday, April 18 at Totino Grace.

Working alongside the girls, the boys, led by captains Mason Kuchenmeister '24, Liam McLay '24, and Isaac Nesset '24, will be seeing their first competition on Thursday, April 11 at White Bear Lake for a relay meet with the other teams from the Suburban East Conference.  Michael Seifu '25 will be seeking his second state meet qualification this season as he hopes to improve his state standing from last season. While Fox Galioto '26 has been building up a good head of steam coming off a solid winter season of training, and is ready to show off his hard work in the 800m. The boys have also seen a great influx of new athletes from all grades who have jumped, run, and thrown their way onto the team with a great work ethic and consistent efforts that will take them far this spring. The boys will be joining the girls at Totino Grace for their second meet of the season on Thursday, April 18.

Activities 

History Day

By Jenn Androsky, Moderator

For Minnesota History Day, research papers are judged separately from the regional competition. All High School papers submitted to the competition are judged remotely and the top 12 of all submitted are chosen to advance to the State Competition on April 20 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. CDH chose to submit one paper to the regional paper competition. Xinyu (Alice) Su paper titled, "The Developing Labor Movement and Changing Confrontation Between Labor and Capital in Different Periods of Society: Watching the Labor Movement: How to Adapt and Impact Development of Society" was chosen as one of the top 12 to advance to the State Competition. Read more about our students heading to the upcoming state competition.

Sustainability Club

By Jessie Botello, Moderator

The Sustainability Club will be doing an Earth Day scavenger hunt to win a prize. There will also be Daily Earth facts on instagram, and Earth Week bingo for a chance to win a prize. We have a meeting on Monday with special earth day treats while we plan our Earth Day trash pickup also!

Boys Volleyball

By Dan Willaert, Coach

The Raiders Boys Volleyball Club has started practices this April! There are about 15 student-athletes who are participating and working hard to prepare for the first games. The first match is on Thursday, April 11, at DeLaSalle. Most matches are on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout April and May. and All matches will be away this season due to construction on the CDH facilities.

Campus Ministry

By Peter Gleich, Campus Minister

Easter Mass April 2024

Upcoming Events

Grandparents Mass, April 16, 8:15 am. At this mass grandparents are invited to join their student for mass and refreshments. A few students will share their reflections on the importance of grandparents in our lives. All our welcome. If grandparents are unable to attend, students may choose to invite another significant senior citizen in their life. All CDH students are encouraged to attend. More Information

Junior Class Retreats - On April 17 the juniors will go on retreat. The women of the junior class, under the direction of Ms. Lou Anne Tighe, Dr. Claire Bischoff and other women of the staff, will gather at Augustana Lutheran Church in W. St. Paul. The men of the junior class, under the direction of Mr. Mark McGuire, Mr. Peter Gleich and other men of the staff, will gather at St. Peter's Church in Mendota. Each retreat will be a time for the students to begin looking at their role as the soon to be leaders/Senior Class of CDH. In particular, their role as "servant leaders" will be explored and the profound impact they can have on our CDH community by helping model and live out the prayer invocations of the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Christian Brothers, that we do feel and see that we are always in the Holy Presence of God by loving the Dear Neighbor without Distinction.

Baccalaureate Mass is May 29.  We honor our graduates and their parents/guardians as we celebrate the Eucharist. It is the kickoff of a great day for our seniors, and what a wonderful way to start graduation day. We highlight many of our senior musicians and speakers as we send our graduates off in a meaningful, thoughtful way.

Service Opportunities

Wilder Foundation "Leap Forward for Children" - Our last day at the Child Development Center this school year will be on Monday, April 15. All students all grades, especially our 9th graders, are encouraged to consider being part of this amazing day of service! Interested students should see Mr. Gleich in Campus Ministry if you have any questions.

Habitat for Humanity - Our final Habitat building day of the year will be on Friday, April 26. All students age 16 and older are encouraged to consider being part of this amazing day of service! Interested students should see Mr. Gleich in Campus Ministry if you have any questions.

Band 

By Nick Zahler, Band Director

The CDH band has officially wrapped up its busiest time of year. The last two months have played host to the SEC Music Festival, a band/choir tour of San Diego, a Midwinter Concert, plenty of basketball and hockey games, and many champions parades. Now the band breathes and prepares to finish out the rest of the year! Please join the CDH Symphonic and Jazz Bands on May 14 at 7 pm in the Lillian Theater for the 2024 Band Pops Concert. It will feature plenty of recognizable music, senior award and recognition, a reception, plenty of smiles and laughs, and just a few tears! The performance is free and open to the public. 

Choir

Theater

JROTC

By SGM David Berrisford '91, MSG Ken Peloski, COL Scrocca, and SFC Thingvold

The Raider Brigade conducted its annual Formal Inspection on March 21. The inspection was conducted by Soldiers and cadets from the University of Minnesota ROTC Department. In addition to the formal in-ranks inspection of the Corps of Cadets, the evaluation included a regulation drill presentation, a color guard presentation, and cadet presentations on their Service Learning and Continuous Improvement Projects. The cadets did a fantastic job preparing for this year’s inspection, which will help ensure they are ready for their graded formal Inspection next year. During the graded inspection, conducted every three years, the Army evaluates JROTC unit for the Honor Unit of Distinction designation, which the Brigade has maintained for more than 95 years!

Now that the brigade has completed its annual inspection, the cadets will start working hard on their Drill and Ceremony as they prepare for the Best Company Competition ahead of the upcoming 106th Twilight Parade and Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, May 9, at 6 pm on Wingerd Field. All are invited!

The Spring Orienteering season kicked off last week with a competition at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. Upcoming spring competitions will be held on weekends at William O’Brien and Interstate State Parks, and Clearly Lake Regional Park. All cadets, students, parents, and siblings are welcome to join us.  Contact jscrocca@c-dh.org for more information. 

This is the last call for permission slips for the final event of the school year – the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge at Camp Wilderness in Park Rapids from 28 May-1 June. In this CDH-led event, 12 Raider Brigade cadets will join approximately 50 other Army JROTC cadets from other Army JROTC programs throughout the region to participate in a host of individual leadership and team-building activities to include: rock wall climbing, rappelling, a high ropes course, archery, kayaking, and orienteering.