Beyond the Books - September 2024
September 13, 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 | BAND | CHOIR | JROTC | THEATER
Athletics
A Letter from Matt Funk, CDH Athletic Director
The 2024-25 School Year for Activities and Athletics started on Aug 12 with the kickoff of Fall Sports. We had 9 fall sports teams (Boys and Girls Soccer, Girls Volleyball, Boys and Girls Cross Country, Girls Tennis, Girls Swimming and Diving, Performance Dance, and Football) all start their year with excitement and anticipation. We also celebrated the soft opening of our new spaces (Boys and Girls Locker Rooms, Meeting Rooms, Dance Studio, and Wrestling Room.) These rooms are currently being used on a daily basis and we love the new spaces.
We are also getting a jump on Activities with our Activities fair scheduled for 9/25 in the Griep Family Gym during flex. We will have our 70+ Activities represented to show all CDH has to offer after school. We hope to see everyone there during Homecoming week!
Finally, September will be a great month with a lot of action and special events, ending with a revamped Homecoming week with plenty of new events planned. Here is a sneak peak at the schedule:
9/26: Hall of Fame 2024 Ceremony
9/27: Homecoming Pep Fest & Football Game vs Hastings
9/28: Raider Family Day
- Boys and Girls Soccer Host East Ridge
- Family games for all ages
- Food trucks & Dunk Tank
It’s a Great Day to be a Raider!
Coach Funk
Cross Country
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
Cross country boys' and girls' teams are picking up steam as they head for the middle of the season. In our first two meets we have seen familiar faces like Abby Chestovich ’26 leading the Raider pack. In our latest meet at St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park our JV girls placed second, just one point behind the first place team. Nativity eighth graders Kate Waud and Lorelie Kessel lead the JV squad followed by Alexis Boland ‘28, Elisa Nobrega ’28, and Katie Nobrega ’27 rounded out the top 5 Raiders. All of them started running with the Raiders over the summer with our open group runs and joined the team officially this Fall.
For the boys, Connor Sondag ’25 has been leading the way with more summer miles behind him than in seasons past. He is finding his stride and advancing through the pack. Ninth grader Caleb Fanning '28 has teamed up with Sondag and together they ran very strong races at St. Croix Bluffs.
With eight weeks left in the season there is still time to improve, and if the courage we have been showing is any indication we should be seeing some big things at the end of the season.
If you are looking for an opportunity to participate in a Fall sport please contact Mr. Babcock to learn more about Cross Country
Football
By Steve Walsh '85, Head Coach
The Varsity football team opened up the season with an impressive 34-6 victory over Tartan at the University of St. Thomas. The game started with an inspirational moment as Alum and current parent of a CDH student, John Faison '93 was the Honorary Captain. John suffered a severe head injury over a year ago and has battled his way back to better health. The former Raider football player made the walk to mid-field as part of the coin toss and was cheered on by the crowd including some of his former teammates.
The game was highlighted by three TD passes from Izaak Johnson ’26 to Monteff Dixon ’25, Owen Prestegaard ’25 and a spectacular over the shoulder catch by Sam Heath ’26. 2 TD runs from JaDale Thompson ’26 and over 100 yards from Tommy Sticha ’25 added to the offensive production. All led by the senior offensive line of Geno Bieter ’25, Jeremiah Thom ’25, Henry Malloy ’26, James Summers ’25, Noah Hayes ’25 and Will Cunningham ’25.
Defensively, the unit pitched the first half shutout which included 11 tackles by Jaydn Harris ’25. Keyon Archer ’25 and Merritt Flynn ’25 accounted for 7 tackles each.
The team returns home to take on St. Thomas Academy at TCO Stadium in Eagan on September 13. This rivalry game will be the annual Tackle Cancer fundraising game to help cancer research through the Randy Shaver Foundation. We will also honor our 25th Anniversary of our 1999 State Football Championship team!
Performance Dance
By Alison Svendsen, Head Coach
The Cretin-Derham Hall Fall Performance Dance Team has had a great start to the 2024 season. New this year, the team is taking on sideline mini routines to help boost school spirit and energy at home Football games. However, they have also been learning a ton of choreography to debut their first halftime routine at TCO Stadium and get ready for Homecoming. It is sure to be a fantastic season!
Boys Soccer
By Ryan Burke, Assistant Coach
2024 started off with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to powerhouse Minnetonka. Since then, the boys are on an undefeated streak of 4 in a row coming off strong wins against Forest Lake and Hill Murray, both 3-1 victories. The Raider boys have been led by Zander Coy ’25 with 5 goals in as many games. The defense has been improving under the leadership of Patrick Flashing ’25, allowing only 3 goals the last three games. Come cheer on the soccer program on September 28 as part of Family Fun Day when we host East Ridge for Homecoming. In addition to the boys and girls games we will have food trucks, games, face painting and a dunk tank for all to enjoy. The fun starts at 10am.
Girls Soccer
By Phil Walczak, Head Coach
The Girls Soccer Program is excited to kick off their 2024 Season. We have had a lot of great competition in our first 5 games and have a 2-2-1 record heading into our weekend game vs the defending 1A State Champs at St Paul Academy. Our most recent game brought tons of excitement with a buzzer beater goal against Forest Lake. The girls are working extremely hard and are playing with a ton of grit and energy. They are earning the respect and admiration of all of their opponents. We are looking forward to our tough SEC conference play and playoffs.
Girls Swim and Dive
By Lisa Thomas, Head Coach
Girls Swim and Dive has started off the season 1-1 with a win against White Bear Lake and a loss against Woodbury. This year's team is led by captains MJ Doughterty ’25, Lauren Jennrich ’25, Maeve Johnston ’25 and seniors Eden Kelly ’25, Ameilia Olin ’25, Sara Lindner ’25, Jackie Lauer ’25, Ruby Omann ’25, Anna Sewich ’25, Cassidy Taylor ’25, and Diver Emma Donnelly ’25. With strong leadership, the team has worked to build skill, camaraderie, sportsmanship and strong work ethic in the first 4 weeks of the season. We are looking ahead to two away meets against Park Sept 12th and Sept. 19th we head to Mounds View to take on the Mounds View Mustangs! Go Raiders! Proud to be your coach!
Girls Tennis
By Tim Spika, Head Coach
The tennis season is already well underway by the time school begins. This season 70 girls decided to give tennis a try, and that means we have four teams: varsity, Junior Varsity, Purple B team and Gold B team. Early-season tournaments for all teams got everyone off to a fast start. Once school begins the tournaments slow down, but the pace really doesn't. Teams play conference matches every Tuesday and Thursday, with an occasional non-conference match on a Wednesday or Saturday. We're lucky at CDH to work with an amazing group of young women who are fun, funny and who work hard. Who wouldn't want to work with groups like that? This year's coaches are Tim Spika (varsity), Jesse Cusick (JV), Carolyn Osdoba and Mark Grelson (B teams). The varsity and JV teams travel to La Crosse, WI on September 7 for their annual Team Trip, while the B teams play White Bear Lake in a rare home match. The regular seasons conclude on September 28, with the varsity continuing on for postseason play for both teams and individuals.
Band
By Teddy Williams, Band Director
The jazz band will also be getting into the swing of things the week of September 11. All students who want to learn an instrument/already play are welcome and encouraged to join. Rehearsals will be held one day a week before school and on Thursday during flex time.
Choir
By Delilah Schuster, Choir Director
Happy Fall! The CDH Choir is so excited to welcome 9 new members this year, including students from every grade. We have begun rehearsals in preparation of our first few performances of the year: singing the National Anthem at the Homecoming Game on Sept. 27 at 7pm at the UST field, and our fall concert on November 6 at 7pm at CDH. Mark your calendars and join us then!
Music Ministry, which is the group of students who serve as musicians for school Masses, have already performed 1-2 times this year for beginning-of-the-year services. MM is a non-auditioned club that rehearses during Flex 2 on Wednesdays - any student is welcome and encouraged to join us for these rehearsals.
Coming soon: auditions for Purple Reign, the a cappella group that debuted last spring, will be coming soon this September! Audition dates are TBD, but interested students should attend our Intro & Info meeting on Tuesday, 9/10 during both Flex 1 & 2 to learn more.
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford '91, MSG Ken Peloski, COL Scrocca, and SFC Thingvold
Following three years of sustained growth, the CDH Raider Brigade started its 108th school year with one of the largest Cadet Corps we’ve seen since the merger, this includes a 9th grade class of nearly 80 new cadets.
A Schaller JROTC Scholarship cadet meeting will be held on September 9 at 7:30 am in the Commons to discuss scholarship expectations and requirements for the year. All cadets on a Schaller JROTC Scholarship are required to attend. Parents need not attend.
All of the JROTC co-curricular activities are getting ready to kick off in the next week or so giving our cadets plenty of options to get involved, including Archery, Air Rifle, Color Guard, Crack Drill, Robotics, Orienteering, Honor Guard, Regulation Drill, and a new competitive aerial drone team.
The JROTC Diamond Promotion Ceremony will take place during an all-school assembly on Friday, September 13 at 2 pm in the Joe Mauer Field House. During this annual ceremony 16 of our top senior cadets will be promoted to senior leadership positions in the Raider Brigade, along with our 109th Cadet Colonel. We’ve invited all past Raider Brigade Cadet Colonels back to CDH to help pass on the torch, or in this case - the Martel Saber, from the past generation of leaders to the new leadership.
The JROTC Fall Review will be held on Wednesday, October 2 at 2 pm on Wingerd Field. This annual event welcomes the new 9th graders to the Raider Brigade Corps of Cadets, and recognizes some of our top performers. All are invited to attend.
The annual JROTC adventure training trip to Camp Ripley will be held the weekend of September 20-22. While at Camp Ripley cadets will take part in land navigation course, leadership reaction course, and other activities to build their leadership skills as they enter into more challenging positions leading their peers in the Raider Brigade and at CDH. Permission slips will be going home in the next few days. Space is limited, so paperwork should be returned as soon as possible.
On October 7, the JROTC Flight Club plans to visit MN Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility #1 in St. Paul. While there, cadets will receive a tour of the facilities to include the flight tower, flight operations, the maintenance section, and be able to try out some night-vision goggles before receiving a flight briefing and going up for flights on UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters around St. Paul.
Theater
By Cullen Wiley '16, Theater Director
Hello, I am Mr. Cullen Wiley '16 and I am excited to be the new Theater Teacher and Director at CDH! I graduated from CDH in 2016, and was heavily involved in theatre, choir, and band. I went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where I received my B.A. in Theater Performance. Since graduating, I have been performing and directing professionally. I am so excited to return to CDH and help nurture the next generation of CDH talent! Come by the theater office located behind the house seats to say hi!
I am announcing the 2024-2025 theater season this Friday after school from 3-3:15 pm! This year we will be doing three shows. We will be doing the Children's Show in December, Winter Play in February, and the Spring Musical in April/May!