Heard in the Halls - October 2022
October 12, 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
Girls Tennis
By Tim Spika, Head Coach
The team portion of the tennis season ended on October 4, when the Raiders lost a section playoff match at Rosemount by the score of 1-6. Leading up to that match, the team endured lingering illnesses to some key players which made it difficult to generate any positive momentum during those final weeks.
The day after the loss, the team gathered for one final team practice, which reflects the amazing bond and positive feeling the girls created for each other this season. This group of young women has been positive, team-oriented, inclusive and fun-loving, resulting in one of the most special tennis experiences in recent memory. While illness forced the team's day trip in early October to be canceled, the girls are determined to have a “reunion” trip in the spring.
The team now turns its attention to the section individual tournament, to be held at Baseline Tennis Center on Friday, October 14 and Monday, October 17. Competing for the Raiders will be senior Piper Lee ’23 and junior Ava Wieland ’24 in doubles, seniors Dayna Lynch ’23 and captain Norah Barrett ’23 in doubles, and senior singles players Tavary Un ’23 and captain Morgan Redden ’23.
In between those two section dates, the team banquet will be held on Sunday, October 16, which will certainly be an evening to celebrate an outstanding group of young women, especially the eight seniors: Lynch, Barrett, Un, Maggie Roberto ’23, Leah Stoltz ’23, Lee, Redden and Helena Hannahan ’23. The returning players, juniors Wieland, Sam Wells ’24, Caroline Sullivan ’24 and Claire Rom ’24, along with 9th grader Izzy Mattaini ’26 and 8th grader Lauren Fairbairn ’27, are already looking forward to the 2023 tennis season.
Girls Swim & Dive
By Lisa Thomas, Head Coach
The CDH Girls Swim & Dive team continue to power their way into a strong standing in their conference. With fantastic team swimming and diving this week, the Raiders hold a record of 4-2 in the conference. The Raiders host Forest Lake at St. Kate’s next Thursday for teacher appreciation night and head to true team sections next Saturday. With the season pushing well into November, captains Natalie Seng ’23, Sophia Thomas ’23 and Molly Magnuson ’24 are keeping spirits high with bonding and fun! Stand out swims this week come from Izzy Macheel ’24 in sprint freestyle races! She closed out the meet against East Ridge with an amazing race for a 4x100 relay win! Keep up the good work, Raiders!
Dance Performance
By Alison Svendsen, Head Coach
Recently the Cretin-Derham Hall Fall Performance Dance Team took on Homecoming with two performances! They made a strong comeback, after a week of many illnesses, to perform both choreographed routines learned this season at the South St. Paul Dance Show.
The team gave great performances as well as having individual dancers taking on the skills competition, with our very own Rezza Sevenich '23 being named the winner of the "Turns" contest.
The team will close out a very eventful season by bringing back their annual Kids Clinic. This is taking place on October 15 at the CDH Joe Mauer Field House. The 50 -plus "Future Raiders" will be performing with the CDH Dance Team at the October 19 CDH home football game at UST. The team will honor their senior dancers that night!
It has been one fantastic season, and we have loved having all the support from our CDH community!
Football
By Steve Walsh ’85, Head Coach
The CDH Varsity Football Team elected five captains this season: Michael Bougie ’23, Sam Koopmeiners ’23, Isaac Koemptgen ’23, Josh Ojo ’23 and Will Ek ’23.
We will honor our 20 seniors at Senior Night Wednesday, October 19 before our game against Hastings. Game time is 7:30 pm at the University of St. Thomas. Come out to support the team and this special night for the seniors.
The Raiders will start their sectional playoffs on Tuesday, October 25. The opponent, time and place will be determined after the final game so look for announcements on the school athletic website.
Go Raiders!
Boys Soccer
By Carter Albrecht, Head Coach
The Boy Soccer Team just completed a tremendous regular season finishing with a 13-3 regular season record.
We open sectional playoffs as the #3 seed and will host White Bear Lake on Wednesday night at 7 pm. Diego Giles Quiroz ’23 led the team with 22 points (20G, 2A) followed by Liam Hafenbrack ’24 with 15 points (3G 12A) and Luke Maddon ’24 with 10 points (8G, 2A).
Girls Soccer
By Rachel Wilson-King, Assistant Coach
The Girls Soccer Team just wrapped up a very competitive regular season and has earned the #5 seed in the sectional playoffs. We will travel to East Ridge on Wednesday night for a 5pm game against the Raptors.
The team was led in scoring by Annie Mulcahy ’24 who has verbally committed to play Division 1 soccer at Illinois State.
Boys and Girls Cross Country
By Chris Babcock, Head Coach
With our invitational at Simley on October 8 came the end of the "regular" season of cross country invitationals and meets. The team started in August as mostly initiate runners with no experience running cross country at the high school varsity level. They are not a well-seasoned group with many different racing experiences to carry them into the championship season, which starts with on Tuesday, October 18 at Tanners Brook Golf Course.
Ninth grader Sam Larson '26 continues to lead the Raider boys' charge and is followed closely by teammate Fox Galioto '26 and junior captain Liam McLay '24.
The girls are lead by Abby Chestovich '26, who has run for the Raiders since she was a seventh grader at Holy Spirit. Her teammates have been working hard to catch up with her and have made great progress. Jill Wohlever '26 and Renata Hernandez, eighth grader from Holy Spirit, have been leading this chase group recently. Junior captain Bella Brondum '24 and Lucy Keating '26 will round out our top 5 this season. With a week to train and much improvement over the course of the last 8 weeks, the teams are set to race their best in conference and sections. Chestovich is also focused on qualifying for a second state meet.
College Counseling
By Joan O'Connell, College Counselor
College Financial Aid
The FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is available for families to file for
college financial aid beginning October 1 for the 2022-2023 school year. Tax information from
2021 tax returns will be used for the income section of the FAFSA for both students and parents.
Specific questions can be directed to any college financial aid officer. To file use this link.
College Application Deadlines
The November 1 priority deadlines for admissions and scholarships are coming up fast. Seniors
must pay careful attention to deadlines and be sure to have CDH Application Contracts to the
counseling office at least two weeks prior to your earliest deadline. This contract is how you
request to have your CDH transcript and other supporting materials sent to your schools. If you
have a November 1 deadline you must have your CDH Application Contract to the counseling
office by Monday, October 17 to assure that your CDH materials can be sent by the November 1 deadline. Questions or need help? Contact the counseling office at 651-696-3312.
October 12 College Application Help
Seniors have the day off today and it is a good time to be working on your college
applications. Reach out to your CDH College Counselors with your questions.
Choir
Band
By Nick Zahler, Band Director
Hello CDH Band community!
We're in the thick of it now, with football and volleyball games, JROTC Diamond Promotions and Fall Review, ONE Alumni Event, and pep fest performances already done. And it's barely October!
Band students are working hard to prepare for their first concert, which is scheduled for November 10. The concert is free and open to the public, so come on by and hear our students' first performance of the year!The Jazz Band is starting up once again and is looking just as full as last year, which is a very good thing.
Students in the CDH Beginning Band class are gaining a strong grasp on their instruments of choice, and are preparing to join the Concert Band proper in the coming trimesters.
You may also see the band sporting its new "informal" uniform (CDH Band jerseys) at sporting events and other performances. They look fantastic, and we've heard only great things about them so far!
For more information on the band and plans for the year, please refer to the October CDH Band Newsletter. If you are interested in supporting the CDH Band, your student is interested in music at CDH, or you have any questions, please reach out to me at nzahler@c-dh.org!
Theater
Much Ado about Nothing
Opening night is Thursday, October 27, 7pm!
Other Performances:
Friday, October 28, 7pm
Saturday, October 28, 2pm and 7pm
Sunday, October 29, 2pm
Look for online ticket sales soon!
JROTC
By SGM David Berrisford, MSG Ken Peloski and COL Scrocca
The weather was outstanding for the 104th JROTC Fall Review on October 5 on Wingerd Field. This annual event welcomes the new ninth graders to the Raider Brigade Corps of Cadets and recognizes some of the top performers in the new class. This year’s award recipients from the Class of 2026 were Ananya Alfveby '26, Bridget Bower '26, Lucy Keating '26, Connor Macke '26, Timothy Mohrland '26, Kay Lee Perla '26 and Mackenzie Steineman '26. The full article on the Fall Review and photos can be found here.
The Raider Brigade Cadet of the Month for September was Maya Bowman ‘25 who was recognized with a JROTC commendation ribbon and one of the new CDH JROTC Challenge Coins. Additionally, two other cadets were recognized with coins for their superb efforts in support of the Raider Brigade this month, Annabel Fulton, ’25 and Andrew Maclean, ’23.
Approximately 70 Raider Brigade cadets from all four classes went up to Camp Ripley October 7-9 to get to know one another, bond as a unit, and have some fun together away from school. The cadets participated in the land navigation course, leadership reaction course, and other activities to build their leadership skills as they enter into more challenging positions leading their peers in the Raider Brigade and at CDH. A great time was had by all!
This past month, the JROTC Department hosted admission officer assistance visits from the US Military Academy at West Point and the US Air Force Academy. Representatives from the US Naval Academy will visit on October 13 and the Coast Guard representatives will be here on October 24. If cadets require additional information on military academy opportunities or the admission process they should see one of their instructors.
All of our co-curriculars are gearing up for their first competitions this month as well. The Rifle Team will participate in multiple shoot-outs while the Orienteering Team heads out to the woods on October 16 and 23, and the Drill and Color Guard teams participate in the Viking Challenge, a regional multi-service JROTC competition in North Branch on October 28.