Heard in the Halls - December 2022

December 13, 2022

We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.

ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | CHOIR | BAND | THEATER | JROTC

Athletics

Boys Swimming and Diving

By Mike Steineman '92, Head Coach

The Boys Swimming and Diving season is underway!  The team is in its third week of the season and competed in their first meet last week when they traveled to Oltman Middle School (home of the Raptors of East Ridge) for the SEC Conference Relay Meet. Teams from East Ridge, Mounds View, Forest Lake, Woodbury, and CDH competed in eight relays at the meet.  Scores are not kept at the meet but there were a few great swims!

Returning for the Raiders and leading the charge are Junior Captains Matt Baumberger '24 and Finn Dougherty '24.  Baumberger was a part of the 2021-2022 team that went to the Class AA State Swimming & Diving Meet where he swam in the 200 Medley Relay (Butterfly), the 200 Individual Medley (IM), the 100 Fly, and the 400 Freestyle Relay.  

The next meet for the Raiders is the Home Opening Dual Meet as the Raiders host the Mustangs of Mounds View.  Home dual meets will be held at the Butler Center Pool at St. Catherine University and will start at 6 pm. You can follow all of the action by following the team on Twitter, the MeetMobile app (Android & iOS), or by going to our website. On the website, you will find links to order your CDH Swimming and Diving swag, our schedule, and ticket information.

Boys Basketball 

By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach

Boys Basketball opened its season with a 55-42 victory over Minneapolis South. Adam Tauer ’23 led all scorers with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Miles Bollinger ’24 recorded a double/double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

We were also proud to have Jack Huntley ’54 serve as our honorary captain for our game with South. Jack was one of the all time great Raiders.

On December 3, members of the Boys Basketball Team gathered at Mauer Chevrolet to help assemble 500 bicycles that were donated to Twin Cities Toys for Tots for the holiday season.

Our annual game with St. Thomas Academy will take place on December 20 at STA; tip-off is 7 pm.

Upcoming games:

12/13 - @ East Ridge - 7 pm

12/16 - Park Cottage Grove - 7 pm

12/17 - Robbinsdale Armstrong (Osseo HS) - 3:45  pm

12/20 - @ St. Thomas Academy - 7 pm

12/28 - Wayzata (East Ridge HS) 2:30 pm

12/29 - Eastview (East Ridge HS) 4:15 pm

01/03 - @ Woodbury - 7 pm

01/06 - @ Irondale - 7 pm

Alpine Ski

By Carrie Freitag, Head Coach

The Girls and Boys Alpine Ski Teams have been carving turns on the slopes at Afton Alps in preparation for races that begin in January!

The Girls Team is lead by strong veteran racers and captains: Marin Miroslavich '24, and Else Wermager '24. New to the team are: Stella Bauer '24, Yifei (Evelyn) Ian '24, Ana Loftsgaarden '24, Lara Witzany '26, Maeve Zilka '26, and Lauren Fairbain '27. We have a great mix of veterans and fresh team members.

Returning to the Boys Team this season are veteran racers: Hugh Burda '23 (captain), Daniel Weber '23 (captain), Anders Engstrom '23, and the team is rounded out by Gabe Zilka '24, Alex Gagnon '25, Jacob Haider '25, Finn Wermager '25 and David Spartz '26. They are strong and ready to take on the competition in the conference!

This impressive group of athletes has a lot of enthusiasm, a high level of fitness, and they work very well together. Come to a race and cheer them on! It is sure to be an exciting and rewarding season! Their first race is January 10, 2023.

Boys Hockey
By Matt Funk, Head Coach

CDH lost a tough one in our season opener against St. Thomas Academy 4-2. Ten Raiders made their CDH varsity debut in front of a sold-out crowd at Bloomington Ice Gardens. The teams skated to a 0-0 tie after period one. The Cadets scored two goals in the second period and a goal early in the third period to take a 3-0 lead. The Raiders battled back with goals from Attila Lippai '23 and Jake Fisher '23 to make it 3-2 with under five minutes to play. The Raiders had plenty of chances to tie it late, but the Cadets were able to add an empty netter to seal the victory. Junior net-minder Leo Miller '24 saved 20 of 23 shots in his first start in the net for the Raiders.

The next weekend, CDH went 1-1 with a tough 6-3 loss to the defending state champion Hermantown Hawks and a 2-1 overtime win against the Eden Prairie Eagles in the Champions Cup. The Raiders started off strong on Friday night against Hermantown as Jake Fisher scored on his first shift of the game. After the Hawks tied it later in the period, sophomores Max Bennett '25 and Veszi Lippai '25 scored their first career varsity goals. The Hawks added a PP goal late in the period to close to 3-2 Raiders at the end of period one. The second period was a struggle and the Hawks scored 4 goals to take a 6-3 lead and then held off a tough third period from the Raiders to hold on to the 6-3 win. The Raiders bounced back with a total team effort on Saturday in all phases against Eden Prairie. Freshman Nate Chorlton '26 scored his first two varsity goals including the game winner in OT and Leo Miller stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn his first varsity win.

Finally, the Raiders beat Woodbury in their conference opener 5-2. The Raiders had a balance attack with five different goal scorers. Junior Easton Swift '24 scored his first varsity goal towards the end of the first period cutting the Woodbury lead to 2-1. Simon Houge '23 and Attila Lippai scored in the second period to take the lead 3-2. Max Anderson '26 and Colin Scanlan '23 added their first varsity goals in the third period to make the score 5-2. Leo Miller stopped 13 of 15 shots in the win.

Upcoming Games:

12/10 - East Ridge 3 pm

12/15 - @ Benilde-St Margaret’s 7 pm

12/17 - Park 3 pm

12/20 - Lakeville North 7:15 pm

12/22 - St Thomas Academy 7 pm

12/23 - Alumni Game – Highland Arena

• Class of 2009 and below: 4:30-5:30 pm
• Class of 2010-2022: 5:30-6:30 pm

Girls Hockey

By Tony Scheid, Head Coach

The Raiders Girls Hockey team is looking for their second win of the young season as they head to Blaine on Saturday night to play Mounds View/Irondale. The Raiders are led by Senior Captains Lily Anderson '23 and Meredith Anfang '23. Anderson leads the team in scoring with four goals and Anfang leads in assists with three. McKinley Haycraft '25 leads the defense in scoring with three points. Grace Kemp has made 200 saves in her first seven games as a freshman Varsity goalie.

The team is very young and talented. Ten of the Raider skaters played their first high school hockey game three weeks ago. The team is gaining positive momentum as they continue to improve every day. I believe in this team and we are optimistic about our goal to skate in the State Tournament this season.

Wrestling

By Dan Wilaert, Head Coach

The Raiders Wrestling team has started off the season on a great note! The squad is young, but working hard to improve quickly! 

Seniors Justice Linton '23 and Mike Bougie '23 and sophomore Mickey Piazza '25 are leading the way on Varsity so far! At the Paul Bunyan Invitational last weekend, Linton and Bougie made their way through some tough brackets to lose out one round before the medal matches, and Piazza notched a takedown against an opponent who qualified for the State Tournament last March!

The Junior Varsity features a large group of 9th and 10th graders that are getting their first action in high school wrestling and really loving it! Sophomores Ike Andrzejek '25 and Evan Stoltz '25 both placed 2nd in their JV brackets at the Paul Bunyan Invitational! Andrzejek posted a 4-1 record with 4 falls on the weekend while Stoltz went 3-2 with 3 falls. 

Girls Basketball

By Crystal Flint, Head Coach

Girls Basketball is off to a good start. We have four teams: Varsity, Junior Varsity, B Squad and ninth-grade. The team chose Tri-captains this year which includes senior Dana Lynch and juniors Lilly Hahs and Suraya Hodges (a transfer from Champlain Park). The Varsity team is currently .500 with wins over Roosevelt and Roseville high schools. The Raiders opened up the Suburban East Conference with a win over Roseville for the first time in four years. The SEC schedule continues with conference leaders in Stillwater and East Ridge, followed by Park (Cottage Grove) and a home game against Concordia Academy to conclude the year.  

Junior Lauren Bengtson '24 leads the young team in scoring 10 ppg and assists. Hodges leads the team in rebounding with 9 per game. Hahs and Tank Edwards '25 lead the team in steals. This year's team has one senior, three juniors, four sophomores, four freshmen and a very talented eighth grader.  This is the most athletic and deepest roster (player for player) we have had in my five years as head coach here at CDH. Our upperclassmen are doing a fantastic job of teaching the younger players the culture of the team and what it takes to be successful. It began with last year's Seniors who bought in. Expect great things from this group.

In addition to the 17 freshmen in the program, the staff also has two new additions, Troy Buckley and Tianna Iserman, who are co-coaches for the Junior Varsity this year.

Gymnastics

By Nicole Lawver, Head Coach

The Cretin-Derham Hall Gymnastics Team is off to an outstanding start this season in their first conference meet against Woodbury High School. Varsity team home its first conference win in over seven years!  More importantly, the ladies had a phenomenal time showing off the skills and routines they have been polishing for the last three weeks, and showed up in spades to support each other during the meet. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the CDH Gymnastics Team, Head Coach Nicole Lawver has worked to cultivate a robust program for the last six years and we are now in our third season of having a full roster of gymnasts. These girls are tremendous athletes, empowered women, and loyal teammates. We are always seeking new additions to the team, even if you have no gymnastics experience. 

We are looking forward to our dual meet next week on Thursday against the Stillwater Ponies, go Raiders!

College Counseling

By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Attention Seniors …

College Application Deadlines
A reminder to seniors that if you have not already done so and if you have any January 1
college deadlines, you must submit your CDH College Application Contract to us as soon
as possible. The Counseling staff will also be on Christmas break so we must have your
requests for your supporting materials soon in order for us to meet a January 1 deadline. Here is a link to the form: CDH College Application Contract Class of 2023

“Mid- Year” Reports
Colleges often require you to send a “mid-year” report of senior year grades. For CDH,
our mid-year report is your first trimester senior year grades. If your colleges require
this, you must email Mrs. Mansur in the Counseling Office and let her know that you
want your first trimester grades sent to your colleges. In general, if you have already
been admitted to the college you do not need to send a mid-year report. Also, if you used
the Common Application and need to send your first trimester grades, your grades are
automatically reported to all your Common Application schools. The University of MN
Twin Cities has specific instructions on how they accept first trimester grades which are
outlined below. UMNTC will not take your midyear grades any other way. We will
process mid-year reports in the order they are received. Remember that your admissions
to a college is subject to the successful completion of your senior year and any college
you plan to attend will require an official final transcript from CDH, so keep up your good
work!

PLEASE NOTE! The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities requires you, the student,
to update your senior grades in your application tracker as follows:
If you want or need to report your first trimester grades to them, the ONLY way to do it is
to go into your UMNTC application tracker and follow the directions below:
1. Log into your Application Tracker
2. Click on Self Reported Academic Record (SRAR) - This will take you to a new page
3. Click on Update SRAR
4. You should see your 9-11 grades, and will just need to add senior year information.
It does not matter if you have used the Gopher application or the Common Application. 
The University of Minnesota will not take first trimester grades sent from Cretin-Derham Hall
... you have to "self report" them.  

Private Scholarships for College
Many private organizations offer scholarships to students intending to go to college.
CDH seniors can find private scholarship information on their Naviance accounts. Just
log in, click on “colleges”, then “scholarships & money”, then “scholarship list” to find
the most updated list. All of the private scholarships that we have been made aware of
will appear here and students can get all the information they need to apply in one spot.
You can also do a search of a national scholarship database by clicking on “national
scholarship search”. Please remember to check these resources throughout the winter and
spring as they are continually updated.

Attention Juniors…

Junior College Planning Meetings
An email has been sent to parents/guardians of juniors in the Class of 2024 inviting you
to schedule a family meeting for post-high planning with your CDH College Counselor.
Included in the email is a link to your college counselor’s appointment schedule on
Calendly. Please check your email (spam folder too) for this message and schedule your
appointment if you have not already done so. Gather your questions and we will look
forward to seeing you! Please contact your college counselor if you have any questions
or can’t find the email. Joan O’Connell (Last Names A – K) or Laura
Nelson, (Last Names L-Z).

Choir

By Tyler Berg, Choir Director

Greetings from the CDH Choral Department! We are thrilled to say that the 29th Annual Christmas Dinners were a huge success! The students sang beautifully, and all of our Silent Auction Items sold! Thank you to everyone who joined us for the evening, and for your continued support of the Cretin-Derham Hall Choirs!

We've stayed busy since the Dinners preparing for the Band and Choir combined Christmas Concert, which is on Wednesday, Dec 14th at 7:30 pm in the Greip Family Gymnasium at Cretin-Derham Hall. We've got some fantastic music prepared for you and will even be debuting a new ensemble, "The Chamber Singers."

Finally, I am excited to announce that I will be informing the choir today of the Spring 2024 Choir/Band Tour Location! More details on that and fundraising opportunities, if you would like to support our students this way, coming soon!!!

Band

By Nick Zahler, Band Director

Hello CDH Band community!

We've had a busy couple weeks, and are very much looking forward to a restful winter break. Last week the CDH Concert Band performed a joint concert with the University of St. Thomas Symphonic Band at Woulfe Alumni Hall at UST. The students had an excellent time working with Dr. Doug Orzolek both at UST and CDH the week before. The students rehearsed with Dr. Orzolek, had a college dinner at the student dining hall, and then performed a wonderful concert. It was a great time, and the students left talking about how much they enjoyed it (and the dining hall lemonade)!

Tomorrow evening, please feel encouraged to join us for the annual Band/Choir Christmas concert. In addition to the concert band, the jazz band will also perform. Details are below.

Finally, we will be announcing the 2024 Spring Band/Choir tour destination during class today! Stay tuned for more details and fundraising opportunities.

Theater

By Penelope Parsons-Lord, Theater Director

The Theater Department has just finished its delightful production of A Christmas Carol. After Christmas, we are looking forward to rehearsing and performing Sense and Sensibility by Kate Hamil and then Mamma Mia for the spring musical! We hope to see you all in the theater! 

JROTC

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