Heard in the Halls - June 2018
June 13, 2018
Welcome to Heard in the Halls!
We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.
ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | BAND | JROTC | THEATER
Athletics
Boys Lacrosse
by Matt Hourigan, Head Boys Lacrosse Coach
Boys Lacrosse finished their 2018 season with a loss in the Section 3AA quarterfinals against East Ridge. The youthful squad finished 5th in the Suburban East Conference and returns several all-conference players for the 2019 campaign - Ted Muetzel (defense), Steven Budka (long stick midfield), Max Hiestand (midfield), and Carter Steele (attack). Ian Obert (attack) and Muetzel were voted to the 3AA Boys Lacrosse All-Section Team.
There are several off-season training and league opportunities for boys lacrosse players this summer and beyond. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, please reach out directly to Head Coach Matt Hourigan at mhourigan@c-dh.org.
Boys Tennis
by Randy Muetzel, Head Boys Tennis Coach
Boys Tennis won their first-round section match 6-1 against Sibley but were beaten in the quarterfinals by Eastview 7-0. As a team, they received the highest academic award possible with a 4.0 GPA average for their top ten players. Individually, Michael Montalbano was chosen as All-Conference and Academic All-State.
Softball
by Patrick Bowlin, Head Softball Coach
The softball team capped off a successful season with a strong finish, going 9-6 in our last 15 games. The Raiders collected conference wins over Woodbury, Stillwater Area, Mounds View, Roseville, White Bear Lake, and East Ridge and finished the regular season with a 9-11 record. In the last week of the regular season, CDH shut out East Ridge 3-0 and Holy Angels 11-0 (State Class 3A participant) and collected victories over Class 4A #1 ranked Prior Lake and Winona Cotter (State Class 2A participant).
In the first round of the Section 4AAAA tournament, the Raiders defeated Stillwater Area 4-1 before falling to the #1 seed North St. Paul, 4-3 in 10 innings. Our team was playing our best softball at the end of the year and picked up a second playoff win over White Bear Lake in an elimination game. In the next elimination game, CDH fell to a familiar opponent in Stillwater Area, who went on the win the Class AAAA state championship.
The team made saw major growth and took its win total from 4 to 11 in just one season. The team was led by a strong group of 11 seniors. Three of those seniors, Anna Klein, Kennedy Spiering, and Mady Morrison, were named to the All-Suburban East Conference team. Fellow senior Abby Sticha and sophomore Stella Dolan received honorable mention All-Conference. Our 11 seniors will be difficult to replace, but the program has a number of strong underclassmen ready to compete to take on varsity roles next season.
Girls Lacrosse
by Joe Moss, Head Girls Lacrosse Coach
Girls Lacrosse finished the regular season 9-2 with its first-ever solo SEC title. The team was seeded #1 in the section and won two great games before being stopped in the section finals. I am very proud of our great season. It didn’t finish as we hoped but each player worked extremely hard and I am proud of each and every one of them. Seven student-athletes were named All-Conference and a number were named All-Conference Honorable Mention. Elise Hitchcock was named an All-American and earned first-team All-State honors. She was a finalist for the Pioneer Press East Metro Lacrosse Player of the Year. Alexis Parker was named an Academic All-American and earned second-team All-State honors. She was named to the Star Tribune All-Metro First Team.
Boys Ultimate Frisbee
by Nick Giles, Head Ultimate Frisbee Coach
Boys Ultimate Frisbee, the Raging Safari, ended the season on a high note at the State Tournament June 2-3, breaking seed and taking 20th in the State out of the 61 teams that competed. The team won their pool going 3-0 on Saturday and won their first game Sunday morning. They dropped a close game against Como and played a fun game against Edina to finish their season.
The beginning of the season started slowly as many new and second-year players comprised the majority of the team. The team dropped eight of their first ten games because of the inexperience. But, after getting to know how each other plays, and learning the game, the team ended the season winning 12 of their last 14 games to finish strong.
The team will graduate four seniors and bring back most of its core players. Raging Safari bids farewell to senior Jack Kimlinger, who finished his career as a top handler to play for this team, as well as winning Conference Rookie of the Year as a 9th grader, then three straight All-Conference nods. He was a three-year captain for this team.
Congrats to the team this year and we will see you next winter as we prepare for next spring.
Clay Target Shooting
by Dave Becker, Head Clay Target Shooting Coach
Our CDH Trap Shooting Team finished first in Conference 1 of the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League. Based on our first place finish and our average scores, we were invited to shoot in the National Tournament in Michigan. But, because we are unable to field a squad of five due to scheduling conflicts, we will not be taking advantage of this accomplishment.
Our team competed very well in the Minnesota Youth Education of the Shooting Sports. MNYESS facilitates the disciplines of Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays. There is also the Tri-Combo event for the students that shoot all three disciplines. Dylan Jacobson placed first in all four disciplines. Stanley Lukas, Lucas Jandrich, and Jack Rymanowski all had top three finishes.
Dance Team
by Ali Pendergrass, Co-Head Dance Coach
The summer season kicked off June 11 and runs Monday-Thursday evenings through July 26. The dance team will also travel to Brainerd, MN, for Just for Kix Dance Camp, July 15-18. Contact Coach Pendergrass at apendergrass@c-dh.org if you are interested in joining the Dance Team.
Boys Track and Field Team
by Chris Babcock, Co-Head Track and Field Coach
Shawn Brodie, Jr. came out for track and field for the first time as a junior. His events are not the 'glory' events that get showcased in the middle of the stadium. Shawn throws the shot and discus. He learned quickly and set goals for his performance. By the end of his senior year, his second season, he had become one of the better throwers in the conference, earning a place on the podium in both the conference and section meets. Shawn was the best thrower that we have seen in many years. Had the lightning stayed away just 30 minutes longer, Shawn may have extended his season by another week.
He was in the lead going into the finals with a put of 48' 10", a season and career best. However, lightning struck. The completion was put on hold and his rivals got a chance to regroup and prepare for another round. In the end, Shawn's preliminary mark stood as his best throw, but two other throwers got past him by 2" and 5" respectively. Brodie didn't start as a ninth grader, but he listened to his coaches, worked on what he needed to improve and succeeded. He has graduated now. Will you fill his shoes? Track and Field is looking for students who are looking for opportunities to grow and succeed, like Brodie. Contact Coach Macken at gmacken@c-dh.org or coach Babcock at cbabcock@c-dh.org for more information.
Girls Track and Field Team
by Chris Babcock, Co-Head Track and Field Coach
On the track, Sydney Jackson ’20 is a quarter-miler to watch. She has a style of racing that makes it hard for her to be beaten. Last year she ran in the State Meet. This year she worked very hard to get back there and improve on what she had accomplished. However, in the last strides down the home stretch in a “top two move on to State heat” at Stillwater, it was just not going to be her day to go as an individual. Her teammates helped her through the disappointment and refocused her and themselves on the 4x400m relay that would cap the day's events. Martha Enesvdt ’21, Chan'el Anderson Manning ’18, Lucia Frias Wackman ’18, and Jackson would be our team.
The race started off fast and left us in fourth place behind some very tough teams. Anderson Manning raced a tough second leg and closed the gap on the third place team. Frias Wackman kept the team moving forward and gave Jackson the baton to close it out. She did run a great leg. She moved the team closer, but in the end, they could not overcome the competition this year. In years past, Frias Wackman and Anderson Manning were on teams that placed at State. Enesvdt and Jackson will be on teams at State in the future. They are looking for teammates that want to join them. Are you ready to carry the baton? Talk to coach Macken at gmacken@c-dh.org or coach Babcock at cbabcock@c-dh.org if you are.
Fall: Cross Country Team
by Chris Babcock, Cross Country Coach
Boys and Girls Cross Country starts with summer running. Group runs will happen twice a week throughout the summer. Sign up for their text notifications through Remind.com by texting @cdhsumrun to 81010. If you haven't run since you were a little kid chasing after your parents or your pets or your siblings, this summer is the time to remember what it felt like to love running. All are welcome. Contact Coach Babcock at cbabcock@c-dh.org for more information or show up to a group run or check out this video about the team. We are a growing program looking for more new faces to join.
Counseling
by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor
CDH Class of 2018
Where are they now?
89% Four-year colleges & universities
8% Two-year & technical colleges
3% Other plans or Still Deciding
Of the students in the Class of 2018 continuing their educations:
- 49% are attending 22 different post-secondary institutions in MN
- 72% of our students are attending post-secondary institutions in the five-state area including Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- 27% are attending colleges and universities in 22 other states and in Canada
The Class of 2018 submitted 1,141 applications last year. The average number of applications per student was six.
Of the 1,141 applications submitted:
81% resulted in offers of admissions
12% resulted in denials
and 7% resulted in offers to be on the wait-list
67% of seniors attending four-year schools received at least one merit scholarship.
BAND
by Donna Novey, Band Director
The final concert of the year was on May 23 in the Lillian Theater. The special evening honored our senior members and many senior awards were presented. It featured soloists Katelyn Jaksha on xylophone and Mikey Jay on flute. Pre-concert entertainment was a slideshow from the CDH band trip to Orlando in March. The finale also included an awards ceremony for the seniors and a senior tribute video. Students in grades 9 to 11 also received a number of end-of-the-season awards.
Band Camp begins in August! See the up-to-date information on the school website.
JROTC
by LTC Jamie Fischer, SGM David Berrisford, and MSG Ken Peloski
A grand success! This is the best descriptor for the 2017-18 school year for the CDH JROTC Brigade. What they have done this year is simply amazing. Again, our most important accomplishment was our students working hard to again deliver the Brigade’s 91st consecutive rating of JROTC Program of Excellence. This consecutive string of earning the highest rating is probably unmatched by any other school in the country! Brigade team members participated in a number of drill, color guard, and rifle competitions gaining their share of recognition with many firsts, seconds, and thirds in these competitions.
We are also very excited to announce that the 2018-19 JROTC opening enrollment will be around 235 students!
Of the 235, we are really excited to see 82 incoming 9th graders electing to become a part of the Raider Brigade. The upcoming year will see, for the fifth consecutive year, an enrollment over 215 or more. We attribute our sustained strength to the fine students we have in JROTC, and to their spreading the word that we are a great program to be associated with at CDH.
Our Color Guard, led by Ted Hoover has remained busy and already has several events scheduled for the summer. A five-person team presented the flags and a bugler played Taps for the annual Memorial Day Observance at Elmhurst Cemetery. We have requests to perform on August 11 and August 19. We keep looking for more members to represent our school in the many opportunities that come to us.
The Orienteering Team was unable to participate in the last meet because of low numbers, job conflicts, ACT testing, and other responsibilities that kept cadets away. Team Captain Andrew Bussen is building plans to improve our standings next year and have at least 15 cadets compete per meet.
After a successful year, the Flight Club, led by Matteo Marchio and Ian Weninger, is already planning a number of activities for 2018-19.
Our Armed Precision Drill Team, led by John Koop, performed their final performance of the year at our Twilight Parade. Members of the team did a great job entertaining the crowd and we are confident they will dazzle groups again throughout the next school year.
SGM Berrisford and MSG Peloski took a group of students to the annual JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge with four other high schools during the last week of May. The camp consisted of team building, high ropes course, drill and ceremony, leadership, archery, physical fitness, and was capped off by an eight-mile canoe trip. Zach Steigauf was the recipient of the platoon leadership award.
One of our honor guard leaders is leaving us: Joseph Seifert. Joseph did a great job working with our junior leader, Rory King. The Honor Guard has lived up to its name. This group not only performs honor functions for alumni and our community, they bring honor to the CDH community. In their final school functions of the year, they were present at the Baccalaureate Mass and the Graduation Ceremony. Their presence adds to already beautiful ceremonies by their willingness to greet guests and be ready to assist in any way asked.
The Air Rifle Team is now on summer hiatus. We thank outgoing team members John Koop, Bryce Vevey, and Jack Rymanowski. Their leadership helped improve the performance of the team. Over the summer, range maintenance will be performed. Air rifles will be repaired if needed, the range will be painted, and some new equipment will be purchased. Members of the team are excited to start back in the fall and we look forward to welcoming new members from the 9th grade to be a part of the team.
This year, two members of the Corps earned military scholarships to complete their educations and serve our country. Johnathan Koop is headed to the University of Minnesota on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, and Peyton Yurek on an Army ROTC scholarship. Alexis Feist and Jack Rymanowski have enlisted.
We are proud to announce our leaders for next year’s co-curriculars:
Color Guard – Theodore Hoover
Orienteering – Andrew Bussen
Flight Club – Matteo Marchio and Ian Weninger
Air Rifle Team – Isaac Yahn and Ethan Overland
Honor Guard – Rory King, Monica Calkins, and Jack Patwell
Armed Precision Drill – Margaret Musolf and Edmundo Villalva-Lijo
Regulation Drill Team – Mary Andrzejek
Members of the Class of 2019 who are considering military scholarships should be working over the summer to complete their applications online. ROTC scholarships pay for tuition, fees, books, and up to $16,000 in allowances over four years. Institutions such as St. Thomas, St. John’s, and Marquette add room and board to these scholarships to make them “full-rides.” The Academies all provide free tuition, room, board, uniforms, and a generous stipend. Early application means earlier consideration and notification of results. Please understand that there is a military service obligation as a commissioned officer following graduation from college ROTC or an Academy. Websites with information, including the applications, are easy to find via a keyword search. All the service academies and ROTC have clear checklists on their websites. Follow those and you will succeed. If you have questions, please email LTC Fischer at jfischer@c-dh.org.
Theater
by Katie Kreitzer, Theater Director
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and pit orchestra of the spring musical, "42nd Street" for an outstanding 11 Spotlight Awards! Cast members performed in the Spotlight Showcase at the State Theatre on June 12.
Will Dusek was one of the actors to receive an individual award from the Spotlight Program for his portrayal of Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street. It was announced on June 11 that he is one of only four students in the state to receive the prestigious Triple Threat Award for excellence in acting, singing, and dancing.