Heard in the Halls - June 2019

June 12, 2019

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 | JROTC

Athletics

Boys Basketball

By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach

Congratulations to Tre Holloman '22, Curtis Jones '20 and Amari Carter '20 on being selected to the inaugural MBCA (Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association) Top 100 Camp June 21-22 at Anoka Ramsey CC. This is the first time that a camp has been open to Division 1 college coaches in June. 100 players were selected from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota covering 9th-11th graders. Congratulation to these three Raiders on this outstanding achievement.

Boys Golf

By Charlie Lallas, Head Coach

A cold spring and a delayed start to the golf season did not keep the CDH boys golf team from showing improvement throughout the season. A mixed roster of young and experienced golfers made for a solid team, which culminated in a strong showing at the section finals. The boys golf team advanced to the final day of team play by finishing in fourth place at sections, which showcased the successful season. Aiden Dooley '19 tied for fourth place individually during the section tournament which advanced him to the state tournament. The state tournament is held at Bunker Hills on June 11 and 12.

Girls Golf

By Megan Fee Smith, Head Coach

Boys Lacrosse

By Matt Hourigan, Head Coach

The Boys Lacrosse team finished their 2019 spring season with a final record of 8-7. This year's squad made program history by progressing to the Section 3 Semifinal for the first time ever since CDH adopted boys lacrosse in 2013! Highlights for the season included a (program first) win over White Bear Lake and a convincing playoff win versus Conference and Section rival Woodbury on May 31. 

Softball

By Patrick Bowlin, Head Coach

The Cretin-Derham Hall softball team capped off a successful spring season with a runner-up finish in the Section 4AAAA playoffs. CDH finished the season strong with playoff wins over Woodbury (8-3), top-seeded Stillwater Area (6-5) and Roseville Area (4-3) to open up section play. The team was led by Maria Bedford '19, Auni Kruse '19, Megan Meyers '19, and Allie Reding '19 who all played important roles for us throughout the season. The Raiders finished the season with an 8-16 record in the tough Suburban East Conference, which sent three teams to the Class 4A State tournament. Second baseman Bedford and pitcher Stella Dolan '20 were selected to the All-Conference team, while Dolan, Emily McQuillan '20 and Cece Ziegler '20, and Frances Staples '21 were awarded All-Section. Kenna Lexau '20 led the team in batting average at .375, while Ziegler and McQuillan tied for the team lead in RBIs. Dolan finished the season with six wins on the mound.

Boys Tennis

The CDH tennis team beat St. Thomas Academy in the first round of sections but then lost to a very good Eastview team. As a team, they achieved the Gold Standard academically with an average GPA of 3.78. Individually, Theo Paar '21 and Nico Paredes-Sepulveda '19 earned Academic All-State.

Girls Tennis

By Tim Spika, Head Coach

Summer tennis camps hit the ground running on Monday, June 10. Those with varsity experience or skills will meet daily from 8:00-9:30. The Junior Varsity group will meet daily from 9:30-10:30. The Middle School group will meet on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10:30-11:30. Sessions meet the weeks of June 10, 17 and 24, as well as the weeks of July 8, 15 and 22. There will be no tennis during the week of the 4th of July. All information can be found on the CDH website, under Summer Camps.

Boys Ultimate Frisbee

The boys Ultimate Frisbee team, Raging Safari, competed in the Minnesota State High School Tournament over the weekend of June 1 and 2. The team won their bracket on Saturday and won out on Sunday winning the Division 3 State Championship. 

 

Counseling

by Joan O'Connell, College Counselor

CDH Class of 2019

Where are they headed?

• 89% four-year colleges & universities
• 6% two year & technical colleges
• 5% other plans or still deciding

Of the students in the Class of 2019 continuing their educations:

• 43% are attending 22 different post-secondary institutions in MN
• 64% of our students are attending post-secondary institutions in the five-state area including Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
• 36% are attending colleges and universities in 24 other states, Washington DC, Canada, and Germany

The Class of 2019 submitted 1,141 applications last year.  The average number of applications per student was six.

Of the 1,172 applications submitted:

• 79% resulted in offers of admissions
• 16% resulted in denials
• 5% resulted in offers to be on the wait-list

87% of seniors attending four-year schools received at least one merit scholarship.

JROTC

by LTC Jamie Fischer, SGM David Berrisford, and MSG Ken Peloski

A grand success! This is the best descriptor for the 2018-2019 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 90th consecutive rating of JROTC Program of Excellence, a consecutive string of the highest rating 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 2019-2020 opening enrollment will be around 270 students! Of the 270, we are really excited to see 70 incoming ninth graders electing to become a part of the Raider Brigade. The upcoming year will see for the sixth consecutive year an enrollment over 215 or more. We attribute our sustained strength to the fine students we have in JROTC and their leadership.

Our Color Guard, led by Will Domler '20, Will Burke '20, and Max Karas '20 has remained busy and already has several events scheduled for the summer. A five-person team presented the flags, a rifle squad fired a 21 gun salute, and a bugler played Taps for the annual Memorial Day Observance at Elmhurst Cemetery. We keep looking for more members to represent our school in the many opportunities that come to us.

The Orienteering team was successful this year thanks to the many 9th graders taking on the challenge. Team Captain Tom Zastrow '20 will work with this core to improve our standings next year and have at least 15 cadets compete per meet.  

After a successful year, the Flight Club, led by Darby Anderson '20 and Eli Brotman '20 is already planning a number of activities for 2019-20.  

Our Armed Precision Drill Team will be led by Johnathan Anderson '20. The team is much larger and plans to perform at Homecoming and Fall Review.

LTC Fischer and MSG Peloski took a group of students to the annual JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge with three 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. Morgan Machtemes '22 was the recipient of the platoon leadership award.

One of our honor guard leaders is leaving us: Rory King '19. Rory did a great job working with our junior leaders, Monica Calkins '20 and Jack Patwell '20. The Honor Guard has lived up to its name. This group not only performs honor functions for alumni and our community, but they also 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, Isaac Yahn '19, Ethan Overland '19, Michael Hannon '19, and Nick Ball '19. 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 class to be a part of the team. 

Edmundo Villalva-Lijo '19 has accepted an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Also, Seamus Foley '19, Michael Hannon '19, and Rory King '19 earned military scholarships to complete their educations and serve our country. Daniel Vrtis '19 and Mary Andrzejek '19 have enlisted.  

Members of the class of 2020 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 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. jfischer@c-dh.org.