Heard in the Halls - June 2023
June 14, 2023
We encourage you to read all the current blogs, or click below to quickly go to a section.
ATHLETICS | COUNSELING | JROTC | BAND | CHOIR
Athletics
Boys Baseball
By Buzz Hannahan ’94, Head Coach
The baseball team finished their season last week in a 7-6 section final loss to East Ridge. On the season, CDH was 20-6. The Raiders spent the majority of the season ranked #1 in the state. CDH had six all-conference players in Trey Gnetz ‘23, Colin Scanlan ‘23, Jack Taxdahl ’23, PJ Jones ’24, Lucas Ackland ’24 and Jake Quinn ’24. Honorable mention went to Justin Benjamin, Jr. ’23, David Verdeja ’23 and John Henry Kohorst ’25. Taxdahl was also named to the All-Metro 1st team and Jones to the 2nd team.
Softball
By Carolyn Osdoba, Head Coach
The Raider softball team has had a tremendous end to the season. CDH has qualified for the State Tournament after breezing through the section beating Harding 20-2, Hill-Murray 7-1, and St. Anthony 5-1 and 12-1. The championship game included 5 home runs for CDH. They were hit by Brooke Nesdahl ’25, Sophie Black ’23 (x2), Camille Castro ’26 and Hannah Yaeger ’25. The Raiders played in the MSHSL Class AAA State Tournament and placed 3rd with wins over Becker and Delano. Both Nesdahl and Black were named to the All-Tournament Team. The Raiders finished the season with an 18-9 record.
Girls Golf
By Megan Fee Smith ‘00, Head Coach
The CDH Girls Golf Team had an amazing season! The Development Team ended with a final practice at Highland National golf course on May 17, while the JV and Varsity teams competed in the conference final tournament at Oak Glen on May 18. Lily Vincelli ‘24 received the individual first place medal as the Suburban East Conference Champion! The team celebrated the season with a banquet held at Southview Country Club on May 23, and the following Varsity and JV golfers were recognized for their accomplishments:
● Most Valuable Player: Lily Vincelli ‘24 (V); Daisy Franzen ‘24 (JV)
● Rookie of the Year: Ava Redpath ‘23 (V); Hope Hadac ‘25 (JV)
● Raider Spirit: Else Wermager '24 (V); Jackie Reardon ‘23 & Helena Hannahan ‘23 (JV)
● Best Teammate: Katie Votel ‘23
● Senior Leaders: Lily Anderson '23, Helena Hannhan '23, Jackie Reardon '23, Ava Redpath '23, Katie Votel '23
The Varsity team finished their season with round one of the MSHSL 4AAA Section Tournament on June 1 at Goodrich Golf Course. Lily Vincelli ‘24 advanced to round two on June 2 and she received the individual first place medal as the 4AAA Section Champion. Congratulations, Lily!
Lily Vincelli ‘24 will compete for the Raiders in the State Tournament at Bunker Hills golf course on June 13 and June 14. She will receive recognition as an “All-State” student-athlete (top 20 golfers) at the State Banquet. Go Raiders!
Boys Golf
By Bob Kinne ‘11, Head Coach
The regular season has ended with our team winning the SEC Conference and I was honored to be named SEC Conference Coach of the Year. This season our team won 5 of the 6 conference events including the conference finals. Our team competed in section play this past week where we came up short as a team to qualify. We however have three players advancing to the State Tournament this year. Sam Udovich ’25, Miles Bollinger ’24, and Joe Honsa '25 will start the State Tournament June 13 & 14. Come out and support the Raiders.
Girls Lacrosse
By Jeff Rosga '89, Head Coach
The girls lacrosse team finished up a successful season with a new coaching staff. The Raiders made it all the way to the Section 3 semifinals and have plenty to look forward to in the future, Several players received post-season recognition. Anna Stangler ’23 was named USA Lacrosse Academic All-American, Sofia Watts ’24 was named to the 2nd team all-state. Stangler, Watts and Jordin Rosga ’28 were named all sections. Those three along with Jane Stangler ’25 were named All Conference as well. All-Conference Honorable Mention went to Josie Nei ’23, Maggie Plante ’23, Marg Lucio ’23 and Marin Miroslavich ’24. A special thank you to our three captains Anna Stangler '23, Maggie Plante '23 and Josie Nei '23 who showed tremendous leadership throughout the season.
Boys Lacrosse
By Matt Hourigan, Head Coach
The CDH Boys Lacrosse team made history by defeating Eagan 9-8 in 4 OT to win the Section 3 Championship and secure the program’s first ever state tournament berth. The winning goal came from Joey Henningsgard ’24 90 seconds into the 4th overtime. The Raiders will compete in the MSHSL State Boys Lacrosse Tournament this week and will take on Lakeville North at 1 pm on Tuesday at Stillwater HS.
Track and Field
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
Raiders Track and Field had an improved end of the season with four all-conference performances for the boys' and the girls' teams. Katherine Chestovich '24 in the 800m; Michael Seifu '25 in the 110m Hurdles; Mason Kuchenmeister '24 in the 100m; and Stephen Flashing '23 in the 200m. From sections the Raiders advanced Seifu in the 300m hurdles and had some close third and fourth place finishes from Chestovich in the 800m; Seifu in the 110m Hurdles; Kuchenmeister in the 100m; The boys' 4x100m relay team of Alim Kamara '23, Flashing, Isaac Koemptgen '23, and Kuchenmeister finished third; Piper Lee '23 in the 400m in fourth; Grace McSherry '25 in the triple jump; and the 4x400m team of Chestovich, Clare Lasure '25, Ava Yets '24, and Lee.
The program as a whole saw good growth in the number of student athletes who came out for the team and continued to compete through the end of the season. Student athletes saw improvement in their performances as they learned more about themselves and the events in which they were competing.
If you'd like to know more about Raider Track and Field check out our webpage.
Summer Running and pre-season for Cross Country
Summer is a great time to get outside and explore. The cross country team will begin group runs Thursday, June 29, 2023 at 7 pm from the Monument on Summit Avenue and River Road near the University of St. Thomas. Runners of all ability and experience are welcome. We will start out together and run at our own pace and for a distance you can choose. We will run an out and back course and finish together.
The season starts on August 14, 2023 with an 8 am run from the Hamline Doors. For more information visit our website or contact coach Chris Babcock.
Boys Ultimate Frisbee
By Carl Koepke, Head Coach
Raging Safari came into the state tournament weekend ranked 16th in the State and qualifying as the last seed in the Division 1 tournament. With a big upset win over White Bear Lake and a close loss to a strong Wayzata team we qualified for the Quarterfinals of the tournament on Sunday. After a hard fought loss to eventual champions Edina in the quarterfinals, Raging Safari closed out the season with a big win over perennial powerhouse Hopkins. The strong showing secured a fifth place finish, the boys team's best State Tournament placement since the State Championship win in 2010. The team not only exceeded expectations with their play, but also with their display of sportsmanship on the field. We finished second in the Spirit Rankings as voted on by the other teams in the tournament.
The team was lead this season by the strong play of a core group of juniors playing in their third season together. Aided by the excellent play of the sophomores and freshmen on the team who stepped into key roles this year round out the squad. Raging Safari is primed for another great season next year, as we look to continue growing and building off of this years success!
Our season is wrapping up with the Alumni Game June 28, hosted on the turf field at 5:30 pm.
College Counseling
By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor, from the College Counselors
CDH will be starting a Peer Tutor program next fall. We will have opportunities for one on one student tutoring before school, after school and during FLEX. More information will be available next school year.
Class of 2023 Future Plans
86% Four-year colleges & universities
2% Two year & technical colleges
12% Other plans or Still Deciding
Of the students in the Class of 2023 who will continue their educations:
- 40% are attending 18 different post-secondary institutions in MN
- 61% of our students are attending post-secondary institutions in the five-state area including Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin
- 39% are attending colleges and universities in 25 other states and Brazil
80% of seniors attending four-year schools received at least one merit scholarship.
Please see our Class of 2023 Outcome List and check to see if we have correctly recorded
your post-secondary plans. The college that is listed is where your final transcript will be sent in
mid-June when all tri three grades have been recorded and posted. No other forms or requests
are necessary. If you need to make a correction, please contact Mrs. Mansur.
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford '91, MSG Ken Peloski, COL Scrocca, and SFC Thingvold
Congratulations to our graduating senior cadets! The work they put in this year as leaders and mentors, especially the Diamond Officers, was truly outstanding and will undoubtedly have a lasting and measurable impact on the Raider Brigade for years to come. This is clearly evident by the number of incoming 9th graders already pre-registered for JROTC next year – 98! The largest CDH JROTC class in more than a quarter century!
JROTC closed out the 2022-2023 school year in style with 12 cadets participating in the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge at Camp Wilderness in Park Rapids, MN, from May 30 - June 3. In this CDH-led event, Raider Brigade cadets joined approximately 50 other Army JROTC cadets from Powell 
Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, Lower Brule Sioux Reservation High School in South Dakota, as well as Devils Lake and Grand Forks High Schools in North Dakota.
While there, the cadets participated in a host of individual leadership and team-building activities that challenged each cadet in different ways. The activities included daily Army physical training, rock wall climbing, rappelling, a high ropes course, archery, kayaking, and orienteering.
Cadet MJ Daugherty, '25 was recognized for her outstanding leadership and teamwork during the week and awarded the Army JROTC Award for Leadership Excellence.
The Junior Officer Exam will be offered on Thursday June 22 at 9 am or on Monday, August 14 at 9 am for those rising seniors who would like to be promoted to the officer ranks and take on increased leadership responsibilities during their senior year.
We wish all the cadets and families a safe and enjoyable summer. The JROTC office will be open most days during the summer should anyone need anything.
BAND
By Nick Zahler, Band Director
The band wrapped up an amazing year with the annual pops concert. End of year awards were distributed, and some excellent seniors received recognition:
Owen Loftus Memorial Sophomore Award: Fazil Kidane ‘25
Br. Martel Service Award: Paulina Hackett-Medina ‘23
Gilmore Award: Riley Klaus ‘23, Anders Engstrom ‘23
Arion Award: Ream Hashel ‘23
Directors Award: Cypher Mazzitello ‘23
John Philip Sousa Award: Sophie Moeller ‘23
CHOIR
By Tyler Berg, Choir Director
The CDH Choir sang a variety of music on their final concert of the year, ranging from Adele & Bob Dylan to contemporary American choral composers. Students were recognized for their achievements throughout the year, and Mr. Berg, at his final concert at CDH, was celebrated by his students for his last 4 years with the choir.