Beyond the Books - May 2024
May 7, 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 | BAND | CHOIR | CAMPUS MINISTRY | JROTC
Athletics
Baseball
By Toby Anderson, Assistant Coach
The Raiders are currently 5-4 on the year and have been making strides with a youthful roster. Pitching and defense has led the charge this spring and is the strength of this team. The Raiders have demonstrated a potential of a high power and exciting offense that looks to continue to develop. A big second half of the season is coming up and we are looking forward to going on a run towards post season play.
On May 11, the Raiders are taking part in the Inaugural Baseball Day Minnesota that will be played at Minnetonka High School. This event showcases the top 6 programs in the state. This will be an exciting event in which the Raiders will take on East Ridge in the prime time game at 7 pm.
On May 21, the Raiders will take on the Cadets of STA at Siebert Field (U of M Campus). This cross-town rivalry always brings a good crowd and a great atmosphere!
Find out more about the CDH Raider team and our schedule.
Boys Golf
By Bob Kinne '11, Head Coach
CDH Boys Golf has continued to excel this year. We continue to be one of the top teams in the conference. Our players have been achieving personal best scores this season throughout our line up. Sam Udovich '25 shot a school record - 7 under par - for a final score of 65 at Stillwater CC. Joe Honsa '25 shot a round of -3 under for a final score of 69 at Edinburgh and Miles Bollinger '24 and Michael Markley '26 shot rounds of 68 and 70 respectively at Stoneridge and Stillwater CC.
We've won 3 of the 5 tournaments we have participated in to date, winning all of them by 9 or more shots. We have the lowest rounds in the school's history for the team at -9 in a recent match. We are looking to keep the good play going as we travel to Detroit Lakes on May 10 and 11 for an invitational that will feature the state's best teams and individual golfers.
CDH Girls Golf
Megan Fee Smith ‘00, Head Varsity Coach
The CDH Girls Golf Team competed in the Mid-Conference match at Troy Burne Golf Club last week. Despite difficulties with wind and rain, the girls focused on their short game and represented CDH at the course!
Lily Vincelli '24 placed first at the conference matches at North Oaks (36) and Troy Burne (75). She tied for second place at the White Bear Lake Invitational at Keller Golf Club (75). Currently, Lily is first in the Suburban East Conference as an individual golfer.
The Varsity and JV teams competed at White Bear Lake Yacht Club on May 6. Lauren Bengtson '24 led the Raiders with a 48 and Alayna Peterson '27 posted a 49. Last week, the JV team competed at Tanners Brook golf course in Forest Lake and they will play at Eagle Valley in Woodbury on Thursday, May 8. The Varsity and JV conference matches will be at Midland Hills (May 13), Stillwater CC (May 19), and Oak Glen (May 23). 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. Go Raider Golf!
Girls Lacrosse
By Jeff Rosga '89, Head Coach
The excitement continues to build around the CDH Girls Lacrosse program. A culture of champions is taking root and we recently cracked the top 10 in the state rankings with a 5-1 start to the ’24 season. The strong start and excellent leadership has been provided by our three captains, Sofia Watts '24, Marin Miroslavich ’24, and Jane Stangler ’25.
Our wins have come as a collective team effort with players contributing in a multitude of ways. Sofia Watts ’24, Jane Stangler ’25, and Jordin Rosga ’28 lead the offense, contributing 77 goals and 42 assists collectively. Other players contributing to the scoring column have been Abby O’Brien ’24, Charlotte Stewart ’24, Elena Kronschnabel ’24, Paloma Kronschnabel ’27 and Emma Kennefick ’26. All said, CDH is averaging almost 15 goals per game, allowing only 7. In addition to the offensive firepower, the defense has been stout with contributions from Marin Miroslavich ’24, Channing Haycraft ’28, Paige Johnson ’25 and goaltender Caroline LeClair ’29.
With each game, we're poised to continue to elevate our play and compete fiercely against some of the best, including previous state participants; Stillwater, Chanhassen, and East Ridge are coming up on the schedule. With that, we invite you all out to a game! Find out more about CDH Girls Lacrosse.
Boys Lacrosse
By Matt Hourigan, Head Coach
The boys lacrosse team is off to a great start for the 2024 season. On the heels of the program's first State Tournament appearance in 2023, a record 94 boys are participating in boys lacrosse at CDH this spring. The program is fielding four teams for the first time ever - Varsity, JV, B Squad, and Middle School.
Through six games (a/o 5/1), captain Luke Chorlton '24 leads the team in scoring with 20 goals and captain Beck Lewis '25 leads the defensive effort with a 65% save percentage in net. Captain Aidan Siegfried '24 also paces the team with 20 caused turnovers and the stellar faceoff duo of Nate Chorlton '26 and Leif Skally '24 have secured over 55% of possessions for the Raiders to date.
The 3-3 Raiders finish out their Suburban East Conference play over the next two weeks, followed by a "must see" matchup with rival St. Thomas Academy on Tuesday, May 21 at CDH. Face Off is at 7 pm!
Softball
By Carolyn Osdoba, Head Coach
CDH Softball is ranked #1 in Class AAA. We have a 10-1 record. We started off the season very strong beating Stillwater, Park Cottage Grove, and 10 running Forest Lake. The Raiders also beat #4 Mankato East 1-0 in 9 innings in a rematch of the 2023 state semifinal game. The Raiders are led by Brooke Nesdahl ’25 on the mound. Offensively the Raiders are tough throughout the lineup. We are currently being led by Hannah Yaeger ’25, Sammy Haider ’24, Camille Castro ’26 and Allie Castro ’26.
Boys Tennis
By Randy Muetzel, Head Coach
The tennis team has been working hard and getting better. Luke Paar '25, the number one singles player, has won seven of his last eight matches. One of his better wins in that streak was against Park's number one singles player, which Luke won 6-4, 6-4. The tennis team sections start on May 13 and the Individual sections start on May 21 at Two Rivers high school.
Track and Field
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
Boys track and field continues to show their competitive drive. In recent meets Oscar Bailey '26 and Jack Morrissey '27, have been leading the team in the 400m. Tyson Miller '27, is not far behind. Fox Galioto '26, has been racing well in the 800m. Mason Kuchenmeister '24 continues to lead the 100m and 200m sprints. He is being closely chased by Amari Muhammad '27. In the field, the Raiders have seen excellent progress in the jumps and throws. Isaac Nessett '24 broke the 40' mark in the shot put recently. Luke Hilger '26 is pushing the horizontal jumps with 18' plus long jump and 38' plus marks in the triple jump. In the 110m and 300m hurdles, Mike Seifu '25 has been working his way back after an early setback.
For the girls, Eliana Meyer '25 is leading the sprints with top performances in the 100, 200, and as an anchor to the 4 x 100m relay. She is also the team's top performer in the high jump. Mid-distance runner Katie Chestovich '24 won a hard fought 800m race at Eden Prairie during the Booster Invitational. Abby Chestovich '26 continues to push her pace in the 1600m. Anika Kachmerik '27 and Sonia Pocernich '26 have been showing great progress in the throws area along with Julia Cooper '27. Vaulters Leah Iverson '24 and Becca Gutzman '24 have been moving up. Each has cleared the 7' 6" height now with the aspiration of going even higher.
The teams have seen significant growth in how they approach their competition and continue to compete throughout their events. They are going to be starting conference and sectional meets the week before and after Memorial day respectively. Go Raiders!
Activities
History Day
By Jenn Androsky, Moderator
State History Day was on Saturday April 20. CDH competed well with three projects advancing to the final round and earning an honorable mention.
- Emily Boss '25 and Grace Nickel's '25 group website on Dorthea Lang
- Holly Johnson's '26 Individual documentary on Women in the Military the WACCS and the WAVES
- Alice Su's '26 Individual Research Paper on Labor Day and May Day
Next year's theme is Rights and Responsibilities in History - Anyone who would like to compete in History Day next year outside of the College Prep United States History class should contact Jenn Androsky.
Robotics
By Jeff Winsor ’09, Moderator
The robotics team finished our competitions on April 6 at the University of Minnesota. The team built a more complex robot than we've ever built before, with more motors and sensors than any previous years.
We captained a playoff alliance at our first competition in Grand Forks, and filled in for another playoff alliance at the University of Minnesota, winning the match. We just missed qualifying for the state tournament, placing 38th out of 188 teams, with the top 36 teams making it to state.
Due to the incredibly hard work everyone did throughout the season at both competitions, we won the Imagery Award for "attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance."
We will greatly miss our graduating seniors, and wish them the best in their future endeavors.
Boys Volleyball
By Dan Willaert, Co-Head Coach
The Boys Volleyball team has started their first club competition season. Junior Varsity has won two matches, highlighted by a win over DeLaSalle to open the season and also a 2-0 sweep of St. Paul Central last week! The Varsity continues to improve every practice and match! Several matches have been very competitive, even against schools that have started clubs prior to this season!
Band
The band is preparing 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
Campus Ministry
By Peter Gleich, Campus Minister
Baccalaureate Mass is May 29. We honor our 2024 graduates and their parents/guardians as we celebrate the Eucharist. It is the kickoff of a great graduation day for our seniors, and what a wonderful way to start the day. We highlight many of our senior musicians and speakers as we send our graduates off in a meaningful, thoughtful way.
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford '91, MSG Ken Peloski, COL Scrocca, and SFC Thingvold
The Raider Brigade just completed its annual “Best Company” Competition and the Corps of Cadets is working hard on their Drill and Ceremony as they prepare for the 106th Twilight Parade and Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday, May 9, 6 pm on Wingerd Field. All are invited!
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 28 - June 1. 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.