Heard in the Halls - November 2022
November 9, 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 Basketball
By Tony Yazbeck, Assistant Coach
The boys basketball team will kick off its season on November 21 and will host its annual pre-season jamboree on November 26. Teams competing will include CDH, Hopkins, Eagan, Armstrong, Minneapolis South, DeLaSalle, Benilde St. Margaret’s, Columbia Heights, Minnetonka, Osseo, Waconia and Totino Grace. Tickets are $5 at the door. Our first regular season game will take place on December 8 when we host Minneapolis South at 7pm.
We would like to wish the following alums good luck on their upcoming college and pro seasons:
Raijon Kelly ’11 - Israel
Daniel Oturu ’18 - Chicago Bulls
Ryan Larson ’18 - College of Charleston
Sy Chatman ‘18 - University of Buffalo
Jaeden King ’19 - St. Xavier
J’Vonne Hadley ’20 - University of Colorado
Curtis Jones ’20 - University of Buffalo
Jack Tauer ’21 - St. Norbert’s College
Tre Holloman ’22 - Michigan State University
Brandon Melchior ’22 - Bethel College
Donavhan Cain ’22 - Linc Prep
Alpine Ski
By Carrie Freitag, Head Coach
While the recent weather has not brought winter wonderlands to mind for most people, the CDH Girls and Boys Alpine Ski Teams have members preparing for ski race season. We all know that winter will get here! If you're looking for a winter season sport that truly embraces what a Minnesota winter has to offer, come join the CDH Alpine Ski Team!
The team has a mix of athletes with varied skill levels. There are athletes who are veterans of ski racing, those new to high school alpine slalom racing, and those who have never raced. We have also had members who have very little skiing experience at the start of the season. We welcome all! There are opportunities to race Varsity or JV.
Athletes need skis, boots, poles, helmet, goggles, and a season pass for the Afton Alps. There are some local options to rent equipment for the season.
This is a unique sport, but not an elite sport. Each season we are amazed at how quickly even novice skiers progress in this lifetime sport. If you would like more information about CDH Alpine Ski Team, please contact Head Coach Carrie Freitag or team captains Danny Weber '23, Else Wermager '24, Marin Miroslavich '24 or Finn Wermager '25.
CDH Dance Competition
By Sarah Rosicki, Head Coach
The Cretin-Derham Hall Dance Team had a fast-paced finish to their Fall Performance season, ending it by celebrating their seniors and hosting over 60 K-8 graders in the return of their annual Kid Clinic performance.
A very quick shift took place as dancers moved directly into their Winter Competition season. The end of October tryouts helped set up their Varsity and JV teams, moving immediately into choreography and practices to prepare for their first set of competitions coming up mid-November.
The Raider Dance Team will be heading to Roseville on Saturday, November 12 for the Roseville Raider Invitational. The first Suburban East Conference competition of the season is Friday, November 18 at Forest Lake with our dancers going up against the entire group of SEC teams. In the excitement of coming into their competition season, the CDHDT also welcomed in new JV coach, Hannah Heitzman. It is sure to be a fantastic and eventful winter for the CDHDT!
Girls Lacrosse
By Jeff Rosga ’89, Head Coach
Anyone who is part of or would like to be part of the Girls Lacrosse program is encouraged to attend the Meet and Greet with Coach Rosga and his staff on Thursday, November 10, at 3 pm in the CDH Commons. Also, all current and prospective players are encouraged to fill out this current player/new player interest form. This will be very helpful to the coaching staff as they prepare for the upcoming season.
If you have any questions, please contact Coach Rosga.
Congratulations to Margarita Lucio ’23 on your commitment to Concordia University in Saint Paul!
Boys Hockey
By Matt Funk, Head Coach
It has been an exciting off-season for the Raider Boys Hockey Team. We had 6 players represent CDH in the elite league this fall. Seniors Jake Fisher '23, Simon Houge '23, Colton Jamieson '23, Attila Lippai '23, Lucas Cernohous '23, and Junior Chuck Owens '24 all played in the Elite League. Fisher led the league in scoring with 23 goals and 29 assists. Fisher’s 52 points were the most ever by a Raider and trails only Demetrios Koumontzis of Edina in 2017 and Kyle Kukkonen of Maple Grove in 2020. Fisher, Jamieson, Lippai, and Houge were all selected to play in the IIT tournament.
Central Scouting also released their preseason watch list for the upcoming NHL draft and Fisher and Jamieson were both listed as C-grade draft prospects. This is a high honor for the Raiders and the first CDH student-athlete since Matthew Gleason to be mentioned by Central Scouting. Both are looking to become the first Raiders drafted in the NHL since Ryan McDonagh was drafted first overall by Montreal in 2007.
Attila Lippai became the third current Raider to commit to a Division 1 school for hockey. He committed to the University of St. Thomas on 10/27. Colton Jamieson also committed to the University of St. Thomas. Jake Fisher has signed with Northern Michigan.
The season gets underway with tryouts on November 14 and the season opener on November 25 at 7 pm against St. Thomas Academy at Bloomington Ice Gardens.
Alumni, be on the lookout for more details on our Alumni Game on December 23 at 4:30 at Highland Arena.
Wrestling
By Dan Wilaert, Head Coach
The Raiders Wrestling Team is getting excited to kick off their 2022-2023 winter campaign! The captains for this season are seniors Justice Linton '23 and Nick Wood '23 along with sophomore Mickey Piazza '24. They will be leading a team that will be increased in size from the last couple of years and will have a nice blend of experienced wrestlers and new-to-the-sport student-athletes.
Some highlights of the early season schedule include a trip to Brainerd for the Paul Bunyan Invitational in early December and returning to North St. Paul for the Polar Duals between Christmas and New Years.
Girls Basketball
By Crystal Flint, Head Coach
We are expecting great things as a collective group this year. Although we are young on paper (just one senior returning) we have several girls that have played significant minutes at the Varsity and JV levels. Our team has worked very hard this summer and we are expecting great return on their hard work. We are developing a culture of excellence, hard work and accountability. With experience comes confidence as we are excited to see this team come together. We open our season at home on November 30 vs. Minneapolis Roosevelt.
Boys and Girls Cross Country
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
Congratulations Raiders Cross Country. Almost all of you were new to cross country this year, and what a year you had. At the onset, we were racing in scorching heat and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into, but we hung in there. Every day we executed our plan to the best of our ability. We saw runners come into their own as the regular season came to an end and then shine in the championship season.
At the conference championships, from our first to our last run, every one of us ran a better 5K time than ever before. Ninth-grader Abby Chestovich earned her first All-Conference Award placing 14th. We held onto that momentum as we went to sections and really raced hard. The course was a bit more challenging than at conference but our effort showed that we were there to compete. Chestovich finished 12th overall and 5th individual runner and earned her second state meet appearance.
The lead up to the State Meet attention was focused on staying as healthy as we could be while continuing to perform at a high level. Although we sweltered in the heat in August and September, the heat had left us just in time for the State Meet. Chestovich toed the line ready to go. She did a great job navigating the pack and moved up 16 places throughout the race. She finished 121st place overall in a time that was faster than last year's State Meet performance.
College Counseling
By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor
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 search" 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.
Be vigilant about college scholarship scams. Beware of any scholarship organization that
asks you to pay a fee, promises scholarship money or touts money-back guarantees.
Don’t be fooled by official sounding names that include words such as “National,”
“Federal” or “Administration.” Never supply your credit card information to a
scholarship site.
College Application Deadlines
A reminder to seniors that your CDH College Application is due to the Counseling Office
no later than Monday, December 5 in order for your CDH supporting materials to be
sent prior to the Christmas break. Remember that the Counseling staff will also be on
break, so we must have your requests early for any January 1 deadlines. We realize this can
be a stressful time for seniors, so please see your counselor if you need assistance. Here
is the link to the CDH College Application Contract Class of 2023.
College Planning for the Class of 2024
Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 6 for our program for juniors and
parents. More detailed information to follow.
Choir
By Tyler Berg, Choir Director
Greetings CDH Choir families! We just had our Fall Concert in the Lillian Theater. I'm so proud of the work the students have put in on this music. It is the most difficult set of repertoire we have started the year with in my time as director here, and they have done a great job learning it.
I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that CDH choir members Josh Ojo, Calla Massari, and Luna McLeod have all been invited to perform as members of the American Choral Directors Association National Honor Choirs in Cincinnati, Ohio in February 2023. This is a very rigorous audition process and I'm incredibly proud of the hard work they put into it.
Band
By Nick Zahler, Band Director
Please join the CDH Music Department as we kick off the 2022-2023 season with our first formal band performance. The Fall Band Concert is on November 10, 7pm in the CDH Lilian Theater. The performance is free and open to the public. From patriotic to spooky and everything in between, this concert has something for everyone!
Theater
By Penelope Parsons-Lord, Theater Director
The CDH theater department has just closed a very successful production of Much Ado About Nothing. We have had amazing feedback about our production from staff, students and parents. Terence Sinclair-Wood summed it up by saying "I was really impressed with the way the kids found the musicality and rhythm of the language and displayed such exuberance that would have made the Bard's eyes twinkle."
All those involved with this production should be extremely proud of themselves. A special shoutout to everyone involved in the wedding scene. This amazing and pivotal scene was the result of at least 30 hours of work, and everyone on stage gave it their all every night! Thank you to everyone who came out to support the first Shakespeare to be performed on the Lillian Theater Stage for almost a decade!
We held auditions for A Christmas Carol this week – we are all excited to share this production with the rest of the CDH community. It will be an exciting and touching reimagining of the traditional play. There will be snow, singing, bells, decorations, ghosts, joy and laughter. Come and join us for this production opening on December 2.
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford, MSG Ken Peloski and COL Scrocca
Nineteen members of the JROTC Corp of Cadets competed in the First Annual JROTC Viking Challenge hosted by North Branch High School on October 28. Seven Minnesota JROTC schools were in the competition. Varsity Color Guard members Grace McSherry '25, James Summers '25, Noah Machtemes '25, and Mike Nobrega '25 took home a second place trophy. The JV Color Guard, consisting of Brooklyn Johnson '25, Naomi Solomon '25, Hamelat Zerihun '25, and Bud Brondum '25 also took home a second place trophy. Will Ek '23, Emma Butler '24, Jackie Lauer '25, and Grace McSherry '25 narrowly missed a first place finish in the Knowledge Bowl event. The day was capped off by the Individual Drill Down competition with over a hundred competitors. Grace McSherry '25, Noah Machtemes '25, and Jackie Lauer '25 received medals for finishing in the Top Ten. It was a great effort by each and every member from Cretin-Derham Hall, even though none of them had competed in a JROTC Drill Meet prior to this event.
The Raider Brigade Cadet of the Month for October was Bridget Bower ’26, who was recognized with a JROTC Commendation Ribbon and one of the new CDH JROTC Challenge Coins.
The Orienteering Team successfully participated in two competitions last month at Afton State Park and a fun one at Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee. Events results have not been posted yet but we expect several Top 10 finishers on each course. In honor of Veteran's Day, the team will compete in its final competition of the Fall season on Friday, November 11 at Whitetail Woods Regional Park in Farmington. This week, the Archery Team began holding practices on Monday mornings in place of the orienteering team until the Spring orienteering season starts up again in April.
The Rifle Team continues to meet virtually everyday. They have many new participants and their shooting skills are growing at a phenomenal rate. The team will be participating in many postal competitions this year and we are preparing to shoot its qualifying round for regionals held in late November.
The Honor Guard has been very busy. They continue to represent the CDH community at many alumni funerals and events, as well as a couple of events to support the greater Twin Cities community.
The Color Guard continued to support the CDH Football and Soccer teams last month, and was invited to present the colors at the National Council of Catholic Women's Annual Convention this month in Minneapolis. In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Color Guard was also invited to present the colors at a Minnesota Whitecaps (Women’s Professional Hockey League).
After Thanksgiving, the Raider Brigade will start preparing for Junior Achievement, its annual Service Learning Project, which will take place on December 7. Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed. All cadets will participate by going out in teams to teach in three local elementary schools. The inspiration piece comes from the cadets who not only deliver lessons, but share their experience and serve as role models helping to positively impact young people’s perceptions about the importance of education.