Beyond the Books - April 2025
April 9, 2025
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 | JROTC | THEATER
Letter from the Director of Activities and Athletics
As our winter weather extends into April, our Winter Sports season went as long as possible as well. It was another fun winter at CDH with Gymnastics, 4 Wrestling Individuals, Girls Basketball, and Boys Basketball all going to the State Tournament. Gymnastics, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys Hockey, and Girls Hockey all won the Conference Championships. Girls and Boys Hockey both experienced heartbreaking 2OT losses with girls losing in the Section Semifinals and Boys in the Section Final. Our competition Dance team narrowly missed the State Tournament finishing 4th with the top 3 advancing to the State Tournament.
Gymnastics had another banner year coming off their State Runner-Up performance in 2023-24. Coach Claire Gutknecht’s squad returned some fire power from last year’s team and is a co-op with Mounds Park Academy and Minnehaha Academy. The team hosted our first Raider Invite in quite a long time that hosted some of the state’s best and finished first. The team went undefeated in the conference, but suffered a setback when Anna Lentz '25 broke her ankle. The rest of the team stepped up and had their season best performance in the State Tournament to finish 3rd behind Owatonna and New Prague. It was an outstanding season and so fun for our school.
Next up, we had our Boys Wrestling team have the most individual qualifiers for the State Tournament since our 1965 State Championship team. Congratulations to Coach Joe Piazza and athletes Mickey Piazza ’25, Isaac Henry ’26, Jaziel Enriquez Olvera ’26 and Henry Prestegaard ’28! It was fun to see them at the X, and even more fun to see their success in front of our home crowd in sections as we hosted the Individual Section Tournament for the 2nd year in a row.
The Championship parades continued with our Girls Basketball team winning the Section 3AAA title at home versus Two Rivers High School. Coach Tara Gunderson led the team to their first State tournament in 8 years led by a team that combined experience and youth to create a perfect storm on the court. In the state quarterfinal game, the Raiders faced the #2 team from Monticello who was previously undefeated. The Raiders came in with a balanced attack and were able to pull off the upset of the tournament in route to their 4th place finish in state. The future is bright for a program that won less than 10 games two years ago to over 20 this year. Coach Gunderson received the Section 3AAA Coach of the Year.
Finally, our Boys basketball team had a legendary run as well. Coach Jerry Kline Jr’s team won the Suburban East with a 17-1 record and won the Section 4AAAA title with a tremendous second half comeback where they found themselves down by 13 at half. The boys went into the State Tournament as the 1 seed and beat Rochester John Marshall and Maple Grove on the way to the State Title game against #2 Wayzata. The Trojans shot the lights out in the title game ending the Raiders run as the State Runner-Up with a record of 29-2. Tommy Ahneman '25, Monteff Dixon '25, and Joe Mitchell '26 made the All-Tournament team for the Raiders. Coach Kline was recognized as the Section 4AAAA coach of the year and assistant coach Erig Bronaugh received the State Assistant coach of the year honors.
Activities also had a strong winter. Our Math Team, led by coaches Maureen Modl and Chad Loeffler, qualified for the State Tournament and finished tied for 5th in the AA tournament.
Robotics had a strong winter as well. At the end of March, our Robotics Team—Wind Chill (FRC Team 2450)—competed at the 10,000 Lakes Regional against 50 other teams. We proudly finished 5th (in an alliance with two other teams) and went head-to-head in intense high-level matches with a robot completely built by our students from the ground up.
It truly has been a great winter to be a Raider! We are ready for a strong Spring to end what has been a banner year!
Coach Funk
Athletics
Boys Baseball
By Buzz Hannahan ’94, Head Coach
CDH Baseball returns 14 players including seven starters from their second place finish in 2024 in the Suburban East Conference, a conference that sent three teams to the final four in the state championship. Pitching is the deepest it has been in the decade that Buzz Hannahan has been coaching here at CDH. The staff is anchored by John Henry Korhurst ’25, four letter winner and Captain. Ike Crouser ’27 and Davon Castro ’25 will round off the three game rotation to start in '25. This is a big reason CDH baseball is ranked pre-season #2.
The biggest excitement around the experience and passion of this group is our team defense. From behind the plate, around the infield, and throughout the outfield this team can play defense and make plays. Captain Zander Coy ’25 and Joe Fenlon ’26 will lead this team and be up the middle of the infield. In addition, Captain Brady Stoeklen ’25 returns after leading the team in hitting in 2024.
CDH Will open up @ Forest Lake 4/9. Opening home game will be against pre-season #4 Mounds View.
Boys Golf
By Bob Kinne '11, Head Coach
As we gear up for another exciting season of Boys Golf, we wanted to take a moment to update you on our team’s progress and share what’s ahead.
Our players have been working hard in the offseason, honing their skills and preparing for a competitive year with a strong mix of returning talent, including 7 seniors, 5 Juniors, 2 sophomores and 4 freshmen. We’re confident this season will be one to remember. We’ve been focusing on physical fitness due to our short compacted season to stay healthy. Once we get outside we will be focusing on putting and creating confidence in all-around short game and course management. We go through our routines to create confidence, and the energy around the team is electric.
Our schedule is shaping up to be a great test, with matchups against some of the top programs in the area. We’re especially looking forward to our invites this season with two 36 hole events and a few 18 hole invites with top teams around the State.
Girls Golf
By Megan Fee Smith ‘00, Varsity Head Coach
The CDH Girls Golf Team started the spring season on Tuesday, March 18 with indoor practices at the golf dome and workouts in the CDH Fitness Center. Due to weather conditions, golf courses and driving ranges have been closed during March. However, the team was able to play at Phalen golf course on Friday, March 28. Derham Hall alum, LPGA professional, and Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame inductee Nora McGuire ‘73 presented a USGA rules clinic to the team. Additionally, the team went to Top Golf for an indoor practice with the CDH Boys Golf Team.
The team will practice their drives, chips, and putts with coaches to prepare for the conference matches. The CDH Girls Golf Team has 18 spots for the following team rosters: Varsity (6 golfers), JV Purple (6 golfers), JV Gold (6 golfers).
The first Varsity conference 18-hole match is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15 at Tanners Brook golf course in Forest Lake. The opening JV conference 9-hole match will be on Wednesday, April 16 at River Oaks golf course. The girls will play conference matches at Eagle Valley, North Oaks, Troy Burne, Gross National, Midland Hills, Stillwater CC, and Oak Glen. CDH will host the JV match on Monday, April 21 at Highland 9 golf course with a 3pm 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.
Golf team captains are senior golfers Leah Neil ‘25, Ava Perry ‘25, and Delaney Schwab ‘25. New this year: team managers! Seniors Noelle Akins ‘25 and Lucy Bartels ‘25 are working with the team.
Megan Fee Smith ‘00 is returning as the Varsity Head Coach, along with Molly Ploetz ‘17 - she is returning as the Varsity Assistant Coach. Callie Dahl is the JV Coach. Go Raiders!
Softball
By Carolyn Osdoba, Head Coach
We are excited to kick off our 2025 softball season. We return 8 of 9 starters from last year's team that placed 2nd in the state, so our expectations are high. We expect to contend for both a section title and conference title as well as a state title. Pitcher Brooke Nesdahl '25 is back on the mound. We are excited to also have a crop of young talent that will look to contribute. Come catch a game!
Track and Field
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
Girls track and field is underway. We are looking forward to an outstanding season with many new faces in all the events as well as veterans like Grace McSherry '25 in the horizontal jumps, Clare Lasure '25 in the hurdles, and Eliana Meyer '25 and Lilia Hozza '25 in sprints and jumps. Abby Chestovich '26 also returns after a solid cross country season. She is moving up to focus more on the 3200m. The girls' first outdoor meet will be held at Benilde-St. Margaret's on Thursday, April 10. Events start at 3:45 pm.
Boys track and field has picked up the baton for another season. School record holder Michael Seifu '25 looks to add the 110m hurdles to his record holding performances as well as improving on his 300m hurdle school record from last year. Seifu is also making a run for a third State Meet in a row, a feat that has not been accomplished by a Cretin-Derham Hall track and field athlete in the last ten years. Seifu is leading a growing squad of athletes out to establish themselves on the track and in the field. Their first outdoor meet with be held at White Bear Lake on Thursday, April 10 with the teams of the Suburban East Conference.
Boys Volleyball
By Dan Willaert, Head Coach
The inaugural season of MSHSL Boys Volleyball is upon us! After competing as a club team last spring, the Raiders are excited about stepping up their game to the next level.
Andrew Green ’25 and Gino Krejce ’25 will serve as the first team captains in program history. They chose “Make Your Mark” as the theme for this historic season. This theme acknowledges the unique opportunity in front of them where any outstanding performances automatically create all-time school records! Whichever player makes his mark and gets the most aces, assists, kills, or blocks in the first match becomes the new career leader in that category. As seniors, Green and Krejce only have one official season to make their marks, but they hope to set a positive tone of growth and improvement that future squads will build upon.
Several other players are returning from last year’s club team and one newcomer form the core of this momentous first campaign.
- Asger Smestad ’26 will likely pair up with Krejce to anchor the defense as middle blockers. In club play last year, Krejce had 28 blocks and Smestad added another15.
- Nick Ahrendt ’27 hopes to pace the offensive attack playing as an outside hitter along with Green. Ahrendt tallied 40 kills last season and added a team leading 32 aces from behind the service line. Green will look to improve upon his team leading 62 kills from last season.
- Ben Noha ’27, Dawit Chimedesa ’26, and Walter Qian ’25 hope to keep the offense firing on all cylinders as setters. The main statistic for setters (assists) was not tracked last season, but Noha added 22 aces and 25 digs while Chimedesa totaled 13 aces and 10 digs. This pivotal role will be featured even more prominently this season as the Raiders plan to switch to 5-1 offense.
- Joseph Bartels ’27 and Archie La Bonty ’28 will round out the defense as liberos. La Bonty scooped out 39 digs last season to go with 15 service aces while Bartels added 13 digs and 11 aces. Bartels could also be a threat at outside hitter.
- Joey Erlenbusch ’27, Ryan Johnson '28 and Danny Ahneman (8th grader at Highland Catholic) round out the rotation at rightside hitter. Erlenbusch had 3 blocks last season and newcomers Johnson and Ahneman will add depth and versatility at several positions. Some of the setters will also see some reps at rightside.
There are still lots of opportunities for newcomers to make their mark as well! Especially for underclassmen, the chances to have multiple seasons to compile career records will go down as the program gains momentum in future years.
Additionally, the Raiders excitedly welcome three new coaches to the staff! These coaches add a variety of experiences that will contribute greatly to the development of each player and the program overall.
- Jan Jensen joins the Raiders coaching staff after volunteer stints at Holy Spirit and Visitation. She played competitively at Forest Lake Area High School and is excited to work with the setters and liberos this season.
- Cade Slattengren is a recent graduate of University of Saint Thomas. He was a player/coach of their Men’s Volleyball Club team that competes at a national level. Cade also graduated from Hermantown High School and helped start the club team there as a student. He was named conference player of the year his senior year as he led his team to the state tournament. He is very excited that UST has been announced by the MSHSL as the inaugural venue for the Boys Volleyball State Tournament this June! He will work with our outside hitters and serving this season.
- Michael Urdahl is a recent graduate of University of California – San Diego where he competed at the NCAA Division 1 level as a middle blocker. He attended St. John’s School in Houston, Texas, a state- and regional-powerhouse in boys’ volleyball. He will work with the middle blockers and right side hitters.
Follow our progress on Instagram throughout the season @cdhboysvolleyball. The first home match is on Thursday, April 10!
Activities
Sustainability Club
By Jesse Botello, Moderator
Sustainability Club has adopted a drain in the parking lot outside of the Albert Street doors. We also helped create the CASA agenda for the last CASA on 4/2 dealing with Earth day. We are also working on some activities to do for Earth day/week on 4/22!
Girls Ultimate Frisbee
By Charlie Enders, Coach
The Girls Ultimate team is starting practices! We practice at the fields by Expo from 3:15-5 pm on Mondays and Thursdays. We'd love some new people!
Girls Golf Development Team
By Aaron Hoiland, Moderator
Development Golf Team members are anxiously awaiting warmer weather!
Clay Target Team
By Jason Nabor, Coach
For the Clay Target Team Spring Season, we have 11 athletes participating in Trap and 9 athletes participating in Skeet. We will have a very strong team this spring!
Art Club
By Suzanne Cranston, Moderator
Spring has sprung in Art Club!
Students have been watercolor painting and creating digital designs for our latest CDH hoodie/t-shirt design!
Campus Ministry
By Mark McGuire and Peter Gleich
Lent
This Lent, our community is engaging in several meaningful activities:
- Dr. Bischoff shares daily reflections.
- In the Chapel, prayer boards are available for students and community members to post petitions or prayer intentions.
- Lenten Reconciliation services took place on March 31 and April 1.
- Archbishop will join us on April 23 to celebrate our Easter Mass.
Our Lenten theme this year is inspired by Micah 6:8:
"God has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Band
By Teddy Williams, Band Director
The CDH Band had a busy month of March, culminating in earning an Excellent rating at Large Group Contest on March 20. The band traveled to White Bear Lake Area High School where they performed for a panel of judges and got feedback on their performance. It was a fantastic performance that displayed the dedication of each band member!
The Band is also hard at work preparing for the end of the school year. Over the next two months, the band will be preparing for their spring concert, the spring musical, as well as appearing at three boys volleyball games. We hope to see you at any and all of these events to support the band, the performing arts, and CDH athletics!
CDH Band Volleyball Appearances:
Thursday, April 10
Wednesday, April 23
Tuesday, May 6
Addams Family Musical
Pit orchestra will be performing with the cast for The Addams Family musical. Performance dates are:
Friday, May 2- 7pm
Saturday, May 3- 7pm
Sunday, May 4- 2pm
Friday, May 9- 7pm
Saturday, May 10- 7pm
Sunday, May 11- 2pm
Spring Band Concert
And come see the band in their last performance of the year!
Wednesday, May 21, 7pm in the Lillian Theater.
Choir
By Delilah Schuster, Choir Director
Concert Choir, Tenor/Bass Choir, and Purple Reign A Cappella have been in full swing preparing for our spring concert. The theme of this concert will be 'Dreams' - please join us on Thursday, May 22 at 7pm to hear the music they are preparing and to send off our seniors!
Also, several choir students will be attending a Vocal Jazz Academy in Champlin Park on April 5 (this weekend), which is a day-long workshop and concert experience that focuses on honing vocal skills for singing jazz and a cappella styles. Shout out to these Raiders for pushing themselves to improve their musical talents!
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford '81, MSG Ken Peloski, COL Scrocca, and SFC Thingvold
The annual Raider Brigade Army Cadet Command Inspection was rescheduled and will take place on Thursday, April 30. The formal Army inspection and evaluation is conducted by representatives of the Army Cadet Command 3rd Brigade from Chicago and active duty Soldiers and cadets from the University of Minnesota ROTC Department. In addition to the formal inspection of the Corps of Cadets, the evaluation includes meetings with the school administration, an evaluation of JROTC and school facilities, a drill presentation, color guard presentation, knowledge examinations and cadet presentations on their Service Learning and Continuous Improvement Projects.
Following the inspection, we will say farewell to our seniors during the 107th Twilight Parade and Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday, May 7, 6 pm on Wingerd Field. The intent is to turn this event into an annual JROTC reunion and we will push it back one week next year so more of our recent grads in college may attend. If you are a JROTC Raider Brigade alumni and wish to attend please RSVP to so you can be recognized during the ceremony.
After 17 years of instruction and mentorship to our JROTC cadets, the Twilight Parade will also be the final farewell to MSG Ken Peloski, who will be retiring from teaching this summer. His dedication and enthusiasm will be dearly missed by all, but the lessons he taught will remain with our cadets and shape their lives for years to come.
The Spring Orienteering season has kicked off and the team will be competing at Beaver Creek, Afton, and Lake Maria this season. All cadets, students, parents, and siblings are welcome to join us for a fun time.
Finally, 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 May 27-31. 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.
Theater
By Cullen Wiley '16, Theater Director
The next show will be our spring musical, The Addams Family.
Friday, May 2, 7pm
Saturday, May 3, 7pm
Sunday, May 4, 2pm
Friday, May 9, 7pm
Saturday, May 10, 7pm
Sunday, May 11, 2pm
New! Dinner Theater May 10
Cretin-Derham Hall Performing Arts will be offering a dinner theater ticket option on May 10 as fundraising for a trip of a lifetime to New York City in April 2026! Students will be exploring all the city has to offer in their 4 day, 3 night trip. While in NYC, students will have the opportunity to learn and perform for Broadway professionals, see Broadway and jazz shows, tour museums, and so much more! This trip will be open to all students involved in Band, Choir, and/or Theater in the 2025-2026 school year!
Tickets are $50 per person for dinner and a show! This event is open to all ages. The dinner will take place in the Commons at 5:30 pm before the 7 pm show on May 10.