Heard in the Halls - February 2021

February 10, 2021

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


ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | BAND | THEATER | JROTC 

Athletics

While spectators are limited for winter sports, you can cheer on the Raiders from home by watching the live stream of many events! Learn more.

Boys’ Basketball

By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach

The boys’ basketball team had a great win on the road at Forest Lake. Guard Tre Holloman '22 had a career-high 30 points along with 13 assists and 8 steals in the Raiders' 87-74 victory. Daniel Montalbano '21 also scored a career-high12 points converting on all six of his shot attempts. The Raiders will host Park Cottage Grove on Feb. 16 and travel to White Bear Lake on Feb. 19. 

Holloman’s effort earned him being named the Minnesota Basketball Hub Athlete of the Week. Congratulations, Tre!

Girls’ Basketball

By Crystal Flint, Head Coach

The girls' basketball team is currently .500 (3-3) and listed 5th in the conference. The team opened with two wins against Mounds View and Irondale, however hit a rough patch against three of the top teams in the conference, dropping games to East Ridge, Stillwater, and Forest Lake. The Raiders were able to get back on track winning in convincing fashion against a young Woodbury squad.   

The team has great balance with multiple players scoring at least six points per game. A different player has been the leading scorer in every game this season. We are out rebounding our opponents by an average of 10 rebounds per game, and Audrey Martinez Stewart '21 leads the team in every statistical category, including rebounds, as a 5'5 point guard. 

All thirteen Varsity players have gotten valuable playing time early in the season (a new person was added to the starting lineup every game). Every game, a new person has emerged in one of the big three statistical categories. As we are approaching the final third of the conference, we are hopeful that a solid group has emerged to get us off to a better start in games and are optimistic about putting two halves together.  

Dance Competition

By Ali Pendergrass, Head Coach

The dance team has had a busy, yet successful, start to their season as we have been adapting to the new competition format. The girls have been working hard to perfect their routines over the past few weeks, striving to increase their scores at each competition. We have been competing at conference meets every Thursday with some local, non-conference meets on Saturdays. Their hard work and determination have earned them top two placements for both jazz and high kick at the past three conference meets. For the first time in the program's history, CDH placed first in the jazz division! We are excited to keep pushing toward our goals and to see what the rest of the season could hold for us. 

Boys’ Hockey

By Matt Funk, Head Coach

The team suffered its first loss of the season at Stillwater 2-3. The team has battled all year and looks to rebound against Roseville. We are currently 6-1 and ranked #7 in Class AA.  We will look to avenge our loss to Stillwater when we host them on February 27 and then gear up for sectional playoffs in March. Go Raiders!

Girls’ Hockey

By Tony Scheid, Head Coach

The Girls Hockey team recently accomplished their goal of going undefeated in the month of January with convincing victories over Irondale-St. Anthony (10-0), White Bear Lake (4-2), Woodbury (3-1), and East Ridge (6-2).

The East Ridge game featured six different Raiders scoring goals in what turned out to be their best performance as a team to date, moving their record to 4-0. Goal scorers included Ryan Sherry '22, Erin Anfang '21, Maggie Dolan '22, Ella Klein '21, Lexi Bonfe '21, and Lily Anderson '23. The blue-line core of defense is led by Lily Barrett '21 and Dolan. Ari Evans '22 and Sherry have continued to play strong defensively, while quarterbacking the Raiders' offensive attack with great skating, vision, and quick transitional first passes on the offensive attack.

Currently ranked 14th in Minnesota’s Let's Play Hockey Poll, the Raiders dropped a tough and hard-fought game 2-0 to 6th ranked Stillwater at Charles M. Schulz Arena. This game was highlighted by the standout play of goalkeeper Hannah Fritz '22, who made 51 saves on 53 shots and improved her save percentage to .953 with a 1.5 GAA, putting her statistically in the top 10 goalies in Minnesota High School Hockey. Bonfe continues to lead the Raiders up front with her tenacious and fierce efforts, winning races and battles all night at both ends of the rink. Bonfe had the Raiders within inches of tying the Stillwater game in the 3rd period on numerous occasions. Offensively, the Raiders have had a very balanced attack with 3 players currently at the top of the scoring: Lily Geist '21 (leading the team with 5 goals and 5 assists), followed closely by Anderson (5 goals and 4 assists), and Bonfe (5 goals and 3 assists).

The Senior leadership group of Anfang, Barrett, Bonfe, Klein, and Frances Staples '21 have set the bar very high for their positive attitudes and all-out effort in games and practices. With a culture rooted in creating a positive learning environment and built around selflessness, compassion and always giving their very best effort, this team continues to improve every day! As a group, the focus is on prioritizing school first and then bringing that same optimistic and positive attitude to the locker room and the ice. The Raiders are locked in on their goal of winning the Suburban East Conference. 

Boys’ Swimming and Diving

By Mike Steineman ‘92, Head Coach

The Boys Swimming and Diving is coming off a couple of great meets. Our dual meet record is now 1-3 in the SEC. After a loss in the first meet to the Mustangs of Mounds View, the Raiders won their first meet against the Knights of Irondale. Then they traveled to Forest Lake for a close meet with the Rangers. On February 4, the Raiders traveled to Stillwater to take on a tough Ponies team. You can watch (or rewatch) all of the meets by going to our team website. There you can also see the results for each meet as well. 

During the next few weeks, the Raiders will travel to Roseville, White Bear Lake, Woodbury, Park, and East Ridge to close out their dual meet season. Class AA Section Meets will follow in early March and the MSHSL just released plans for the State Meet to be held at the U of MN Aquatic Center on March 19 or 20. Please stay tuned for more information about the postseason as we approach those dates.

Go Raiders!

Alpine Ski

By Carrie Freitag, Head Coach

The CDH Alpine Teams are making their mark in competition. They have completed 2 conference races to date.  The results from the race at Wild Mountain on February 2 show strong potential for good standings in the conference.

Daniel Weber '23 led CDH boys with a 22nd-place finish, followed by Anders Engstrom '23 in 27th, Daniel Honsa '22 in 31st, and Gabe Zilka '24 in 32nd place. 

The girl's team set fire to the slopes with everyone completing two solid runs. Lolo Goddard '22 led the pack by capturing 10th place, followed closely by Serena Jacobson '21 in 12th, Else Wermanger '24 in 16th, Marin Miroslavich '24 in 18th, Jane Zirnhelt '22 in 20th, and Laura Evenson '22 in 30th place.  

The girl's team triumphed over Forest Lake and tied with White Bear Lake. This girl's team is a force to be reckoned with! This week's weather will be a challenge in endurance, but CDH Alpine takes it in stride!

Wrestling

By Dan Willaert, Head Coach

The Wrestling Team is about halfway through the regular season. The squad is coming together nicely, with a 3-2 record so far. Leading the way for Varsity with 4-1 individual records are Langston Butler '21, Cage Linton '21, Ryan Gainer '21, and Liam McLay '24. Linton and Zach Steigauf '21 each have three pins on the season. In Junior Varsity, Jeffery Cragg '23 is 3-0 with three pins in his first year of wrestling and Michael Bougie '23, Joe Piazza '24, and 8th grader Mickey Piazza each have two wins by pin. 

The first two student-athletes to win the Wrestler-of-the-Week Belt were Jack Welsch '22 and McLay. 

Counseling

By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

Junior College Planning Meetings

If you have not already done so, please schedule a family Zoom appointment for post-high planning with your student and his or her college counselor. An email message was sent to parents with a link to your college counselor’s appointment schedule on Calendly. Gather your questions and we will look forward to seeing you on Zoom soon!

Ms. O’Connell, Last names A-L. Joan O'Connell Junior Meeting Sign Up

Mrs. Connelly, Last names M-Z. Leslie Connelly Junior Meeting Sign Up

CDH Education Fair

As with most events this year, our annual CDH Education Fair has had to take on a new format for this spring. In cooperation with the other Catholic high schools in the Twin Cities, we will be offering a series of college-related programming in the evenings the week of April 19. More information for these “Signature Events” will be coming soon including how to register and connect. Please watch for updates!

April ACT for Juniors

Juniors will be taking the ACT (no writing) on Tuesday, April 13. Students do not need to sign up for the test, as all juniors will be signed up by CDH. The cost of the test is $46 and will be billed to the student's tuition account. If you have any questions, please contact Emily Kurmis at ekurmis@c-dh.org 

Band

By Nick Zahler, Band Director

The Cretin-Derham Hall Band Program wants you. Yes, you!

Theater

By Katie Kreitzer, Theater Director, and Chris Hill, Theater Assistant

The Winter Show, "She Kills Monsters," is the first-ever CDH Theater Movie! It is available for streaming until February 19 - get your tickets and enjoy!

JROTC

Greetings from the JROTC Team! February is here and the future looks bright! The JROTC instructors are finalizing the scores for the recent Cadet Challenge that was conducted with the Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors to determine who is the physical fitness leader in the program.

The team is also in the process of going through the Schaller Raider Brigade Scholarships essay submissions and narrowing down the final applicants.  As we read through the essays, we are very excited to have these new cadets be a part of the JROTC program in the near future and continue with the fine traditions at CDH.

Students that are interested in attending any of the academies, ROTC or military service should be completing the necessary applications and forms to move forward for the future. Let any of the instructors know if you need additional help!

Finally, as we move forward in an encouraging direction during these taxing times, the JROTC Raider Brigade continuously works hard to instill in our students the values of citizenship, service to the community and the United States, personal responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment.

Thank you for the continued support. Stay healthy and stay positive!