Athletic and Activities Update January 29th Posted on January 29, 2018 in Activities, Press Releases Girls’ Varsity Basketball Coach Bryan Backes & Henry Smith, Jr. The Johnnies celebrated ‘Senior Night’ on January 18 to honor Senior Captain A’ishah Smith’s 4-year basketball career with Saint John’s Prep. The school spirit was evident with an enthusiastic fan section and the team responded delivering its best game of the year-a thrilling back and forth game against Cambridge Christian School. It was a thrilling game! The Johnnies fell behind early, but battled back to take a 4 -point halftime lead. The second half was back and forth with several lead changes. Leading late in the game the Johnnies were close to cementing the game away, however, a 3 pointer by Cambridge tied the game. The Warriors took the lead a possession later. The Johnnies got a potential game tying shot off at the buzzer but it fell short and the Warriors prevailed 48-46. Game statistics: Justine Meyer ’20-22 points/12 rebounds Reid Nydeen ’19 10 points/12 rebounds A’ishah Smith ’18 7 points/7 rebounds Valeriya Woodard ’21 5 points/3 rebounds; 2 steals Jaedyn Nydeen ’22 2 points/2 steals Hana May ’21 2 points Sydnee Wick ’21 3 rebounds Irene Jiang ’21 2 rebounds Boys’ Basketball Coach Michael Moen The boys’ basketball team was very busy last week facing off with three different opponents. Monday had the boys at Kimball in a match against the highly rated Cubs. Much of the first half was neck and neck before the Kimball shooters heated up. That, combined with another cold night from the floor for the Johnnies, proved to be too much to overcome. The Johnnies were led in scoring by Andrew Moen ’18 with 12 points and Derek Steichen ’19 with 11. On Tuesday, the boys hosted the Paynesville Bulldogs in a tense back and forth game. The boys put together a strong effort near the end of the game to pull within 2 points, but the Bulldogs hit some critical free throws down the stretch to seal the game by 5 points. The Johnnies were led by an incredible performance by Nick Foss ’18 who led all scorers with 27 points while grabbing 12 rebounds. Kevin Stark-Haws ’18 also added 7 points and some great defense. On Friday, the Johnnies hosted the Upsala Cardinals in an important section and conference game. The Johnnies jumped out to a 15-point lead at half, but the Cardinal shooters heated up in the second half making 8 three-point baskets to cut the lead to 4 late in the game. Clutch free throws down the stretch were the difference for the Johnnies, who were able to secure a 61-53 point victory. Eight different players scored for the Johnnies who were again led by Nick Foss ’18 with 18 points and Kevin Stark-Haws ’18 with 10. The Johnnies are busy again this week with match ups against Holdingford, Browerville and Long Prairie. Special thanks to the SJP Prep Band, fans and parents who attended the game. The officials said it was the most fans and school spirit they’ve seen at any school, at any game, all season! Nordic Skiing Coach Bob Ellenbecker The skiers traveled to Brainerd this weekend. There were both classic and skate races for boys and girls with each event divided into separate grades 5 – 9. Competition was tough against several traditionally very strong Nordic skiing schools including Brainerd, Little Falls, Bemidji, Moorhead, Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, Treknorth and Ottertail Central. Here are the results from the Brainerd race: Girls classic: Catie Sikes ’21 and Beca Muntifering ’21 continue to ski well with Catie placing 4th and Beca placing 8th in the 9th grade girls classic race, despite only a week of practice! Boys classic: Sam Hoover ’22 won the boys grade 8 classic race, Will Taft ’22 finished 16th, Sam Meyer ’23 finished 19th and Luke Pittelko ’22 finished 24th. Cameron Thompson’23 placed 24th in the 7th grade boys classic race. Girls skate: Sabella Akre ’21 placed 11th, Beca Muntifering ’21 13th and Margeaux Wenner ’21 placed 15th in the 9th grade girls race. In the grade 8 race Clare Duffy ’21 placed 22nd and Holly Hansen ’22 placed 25th. Boys skate: Will Taft ’22 was our top finisher in the boys’ grade 8 skate race, placing 15th and just a few seconds ahead of Sam Hoover ’22 who finished in 16th. Sam Meyer ’23 was close behind finishing 21st and Luke Pittelko ’22 finished 29th. In the 7th grade boys race Oscar Cheeley ’23 was the top finisher in 21st place followed closely by Kane Bauman ’23 in 23rd, George Vedder ’23 in 28th and Cameron Thompson ’23 in 29th. Nick Hansen ’24 was able to get on the podium in the 6th grade boys skate race, finishing 10th. Knowledge Bowl Coaches Charles Miller and Jen Daiker On January 27, the Knowledge Bowl team was back in action after a rare Saturday off, traveling to Elk River to take on a field of 99 teams. Our squad was closest to full strength yet this season, with 35 of our 41 team members competing, and it showed in the results. It was a wild day, with multiple technical glitches, but in the end, the team played well when it counted most and got 3 teams in the top 5. In Varsity, Team Two (Christian Brenny ’18, Cullin Egge ’18, Jack Rogers ’18 and Tina Chen ’19) finished in 3rd place overall with a strong finish to jump at the end. In JV, Team A (Carlos Borgert ’20, Miranda Curnutt ’20, Will Pittelko ’20, Sami Severnak ’20, and Henry Chen ’21) led from start to finish, beating the teams in room 1 in all four rounds, and took the 1st place trophy by almost 20 points. JV Team C (Claire Kissela ’20, Joshua-Taylor Stroeing ’20, Luc Westling ’20, and Liam Rogers ’21) put up a strong performance as well, finishing in 5th. Up next for the team is a perennial favorite: a trip this Saturday to North Branch for 4 rounds of themed questions. In the past, subjects such as Harry Potter, Presidents, Rodents, and Economics have all made appearances. This week? Who’s to say! Math Team Coach Mary Rueter The upper school math team traveled to Albany for the 4th division meet of the year. Saint John’s Prep finished in 2nd place, just behind St. Cloud Tech High School, in the varsity competition. The top scores were earned by Zander Haws ’18, and Emily Huang ’20. Our Junior Varsity 3 team had the same score on the same test as the top Varsity team at the meet! After 4 math meets, Saint John’s Prep and St. Cloud Tech are nearly tied for first place in the Central Gopher Division. Whoever wins Meet 5 will claim the championship trophy and earn a state tournament invitation. The Math Team Meet 5 takes place on Monday, February 12, 2018. Girls’ Hockey Coach Amanda Monkman The River Lakes Stars hosted a cosponsored team ‘Minneapolis’ on Saturday at the Richmond Arena. It was senior day-and SJP senior goalie Jordyn Tomaszewski ’18 was between the pipes for the game. As she has throughout her career, Jordyn was solid in goal. The Stars, celebrating ‘Senior Day’, defeated Minneapolis 4-3. Congratulations Jordyn! Robotics Coach Glenn Holt The Robotics Team B is heading to the Minnesota VEX Robotics State Championship tournament! Team B includes: Lucy Cheeley ’21 Sam Craft ’22 Tori Grandy ’23 Sophia Kapoor ’24 Kai Martinson ’22 Martin Nelson ’21 The competitions start Friday and run through Saturday at the St. Cloud Convention Center. Wish our Johnnies luck at this tough competition! Catholic Schools Week January 29-February 2, 2018 This is Catholic Schools Week! All are welcome! Among our special events is an all-school Mass on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in the Saint John’s Abbey Church. Parents, grandparents and siblings are welcome to join us for this special Mass with Fr. Robert Rolfes, Vicar General of the Diocese of Saint Cloud and Headmaster Fr. Jonathan Licari, OSB. We are also excited to welcome the following elementary schools for the Mass: St. Mary’s School, Melrose Holy Family School, Albany Sacred Heart School, Freeport St. John’s-St. Andrew’s, Greenwald-Meire Grove There are many special events on campus for students next week. A lunchtime movie will be shown in the Weber Center each day. A crazy game student assembly is also in the works. In addition, Student Council has scheduled these dress-up days for students: Monday, Jan. 29, Pajama Day Tuesday, Jan. 30 Wacky Day! Wear crazy combinations! Wednesday, Jan. 31 School Spirit Day! Wear red and blue! Thursday, Feb. 1 Beach Day Friday, Feb 2. Flag and Nations Day Friday, Feb. 2 Drive-by Doughnuts for Parents (Grab a coffee and doughnut in front of the school when you drop off your student between 7:30-8:00 a.m.)
