Category Archives: Sports

MLBaseball is right around the corner

With spring training starting up mid-way though February we know baseball season is right around the corner. The 2016 Major League Baseball season is tentatively set to begin on April 3, 2016. The season is going to start with a Sunday night World Series rematch between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The regular season is scheduled to end on Sunday, October 2, 2016. The schedule was released in September 2015.

At the start of spring training, there’s been movement in the World Series futures as the Toronto Blue Jays now have the best odds of any American League team to win the World Series. Slow down though before placing a wager on the Jays, as history isn’t on their side. Over the last 20 years, only two teams who’ve lost in the ALCS or NLCS went on to win the World Series the following year. That’s only two of 40 teams, giving the Jays a whopping 5% chance based on the results since the Wild Card era began in 1995.

Basketball season coming to an end

The basketball season here at Highland is coming to an end for both girls and boys.  The boys last game was on February 19th at home against Washington, and the girls last game was a non-conference game on February 26th against Mounds Park Academy at Mounds Park Academy.

After the regular season is their section games, both teams play until they lose. The boys basketball team’s section games started on Wednesday, the 24th at home against Bloomington Kennedy, they got 1st seed in their 3AAA section. The boys won their first game is sections, however, they lost their next game on Saturday, the 27th against St.Thomas Academy. Unfortunately, this means their season is now over. The girls team however, is still alive and their first section game is on March 2nd, against Bloomington Kennedy at Bloomington Kennedy.

~b763118Overall, the boy’s varsity record was 15 wins-11 loses, conference record was 8 wins-4 loses. The boys were very close to winning conference this year, if they would’ve won their last game against Central, which was a very close game that went into overtime, they would’ve had a very high chance of being 1st in conference. Highland Park’s boys basketball was ranked 3rd in conference following Central, ranked 1st, and Johnson, ranked 2nd. The fan sections at the Johnson, Central, and Como games had great turnouts!

I asked some of the players a couple questions about their season.

“What was your best memory from this season?” I asked Khari Dennis (12):

“When we played Washington at home, it was senior night/parent night. All the senior’s started, I had a really good game that night and we won,” was his response.

My second question I asked was “What was your most proud moment from this season?” I asked Dreem Kelly (11):

“When I dunked at the Southwest game and we won,” was his answer.

“When I had a 4 point play in overtime against Johnson and I had the winning points. That was the first time in 7 years they lost in their home gym,” Michael Cornelious (12) responded.

~b345372The girl’s varsity overall record was 7 wins-17 loses, conference record was 4 wins-7 loses. The girls first home game against Central had a great turnout! Highland Park’s girls basketball was ranked 5th in conference, with Como ranked 1st and Harding at 2nd.

I asked some of the players the same questions I asked the boys.

Olyvia Mason (11) said her best memory from this season was “When I scored 17 points in the Johnson game.”

I asked Micheala Newman (11) “What was your most proud moment from this season and some of your best memories?”

“When our players worked as a team and with intensity during the SPA game, during which our youngest player played her best game,” she answered.

Both teams had a great season! Good luck at sections to both teams!

For more information, updated stats and games check out:

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/highland-park-scots-(st-paul,mn)/girls-basketball/home.htm

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/highland-park-scots-(st-paul,mn)/basketball/home.htm

https://sports.spps.org/sport/hs/boys/varsity/basketball/2015-2016

https://sports.spps.org/sport/hs/girls/varsity/basketball/2015-2016

Go Scots!

 

 

 

Nordic Skiing

This year at Highland Park, the girls Nordic Skiing team along with some individual qualifiers have been sent to state. Before the state tournament, some of the Nordic Skiers, along with their coach Mr. Moening had been interviewed.

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photo courtesy of Mr. Moening

Mr. Moening was asked, “In what ways had he seen his Nordic Skiers improve from the previous year?” The main focus of Mr. Moening’s answers was commitment. He had mentioned how he had seen more determination among his skiers, not only when it came to preparing for a meet, but as well as exercising in the off season.

Nordic Skiers are recommended to continue cardio exercises in the off season, and Mr. Moening mentions a noticeable improvement in skiers who continue their workouts throughout the summer.

Coach Moening is not the only one who recommends regular exercise. His daughter, Erin Moening, who earned a place among the top ten individuals at the state tournament, would also recommend committing to exercise in off season.

The times earned by the Highland Park participants in the state tournament are available to the public at:

Boys: http://sports.spps.org/Team/highlandpark/HS/boys/varsity/nordic_skiing/2015-2016

Girls: http://sports.spps.org/sport/hs/girls/varsity/nordic_skiing/2015-2016

Basketball games

Every week there are either boy’s or girl’s home and away games for basketball. During home games for both teams cheerleaders cheer to support their peers and the school sport. Even though both teams have cheer support, there are still many differences between boys and girls basketball teams. We want to look at how we can make them equal.

Some of differences between the boys and girls are that more people go to the boy’s games than the girl’s games. A way we can change this is by promoting the girls basketball games more by making signs around the school, and getting people to talk about it on social media.

Another difference between the games is how the concession stands are only open at the boy’s games and not girl’s games. An easy way we can solve this is by opening the concession stand up for both girl’s and boy’s games.

Also, when the boys go against rivals like Central, the cheerleaders decorate boy’s varsity team lockers, so to make this fair when girls play against Central they should get the same treatment of getting their lockers decorated too.

Overall, we just want for both the teams to be treated equal and to be taken as seriously as the other.

varsity_girls_basketball_2014-2015

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Winter sports update

Here’s an update on some of the winter sports at Highland Park, for the past couple of weeks:

Congratulations to the boys hockey team on an exciting 6-5 win against Legacy Christian on Friday, the 8th! They now hold 3rd in conference. Their next home game is Saturday, the 16th, against LaCrescent at Highland Arena. Keep up the good work boys!

The boys basketball played Central, at Central, last Tuesday, the 5th. The boys put up a hard fight but lost 80-76. On the bright side, they won their next three games. They won against Harding 71-60 on Friday, the 8th, against Humboldt 66-54 on Tuesday, the 12th, and a very close game against Johnson 78-77. They have one conference game this week against Como on Wednesday, the 20th. Good luck and keep making Highland Park proud!

The women’s gymnastics team participated in the Roseville Invitational Meet, and hit a score of 121.575. On Tuesday, the 12th, they pulled out the win against Cretin Derham Hall! It was a close meet, and Highland won by 1.25. Congratulations to freshman Lia Wallace for being the All-Around Winner at 4 out of their 5 meets. Keep up the good work girls!

The boys and girls Nordic ski team took first place at their last meet in the 5K Race Classic with a score of 471! Congratulations to Gabriel Pfeiffer, who was an individual winner, in the Freestyle, with a time of 10:27, at last month’s Maplelag Invitational.

The boys swimming/diving team has been undefeated so far this season! On Tuesday, the 5th, they won against Hopkins 104-83. This past Thursday, the 14th, they won against Como 100-71. Their next meet will be on Thursday, the 21st, against Johnson at Humboldt. Keep up the good work boys!

Last but not least, congratulations to Amitri Collins who competed against some of the nation’s top talent at the US Army National Combine in San Antonio, Texas. He is one of the 600 athletes invited from all around America. Way to represent Highland Park, we’re proud of you!

Boys basketball

The Highland Park Scots boys basketball team got off to a good start, winning their first game against Hill-Murray 78-71. The win came in front of a nice crowd, which included many returning alumni. The boys were able to get off to a hot start, and led the game early. The Scots were led by Senior Mike Cornelious who set the tone early, and led the team in scoring. Hill-Murray was able to close in on the lead however, and the Pilots pulled in within 2 points at the half, where the score was 34-32.

The second half opened up similarly to the first half, and the scots were able to once again add to their lead. From the bench you could hear Coach Deperry calling plays and rallying his players together, which only added more chemistry and teamwork for the Scots. Hill-Murray was able to keep it close until the end, but the Scots prevailed, with some clutch shooting from Junior Amitri Collins. The boys were able to come away with an impressive win over their out of conference foe, with a final score of 78-71.

Boys hockey update

The Highland Park boys hockey team lost their first game of the season, Saturday, November 21st, against Simley 1 to 4. With the devastating loss still fresh in their minds, I decided to go interview some of the players on the team.

The first player I interviewed was Lee Froelich. I asked Lee what he thought about the unfortunate defeat out in the ice. He replied, “I felt bad about me and my team losing but I feel like our loss was a great learning experience.”  

One other player I interviewed was Jacob Boje. I asked him what could he have done better, and he said, “There could have been better communication between the team and we need to work on it at our practice more often.”

Upcoming opponents include:

Minnetonka

Grand Rapids

Park of Cottage Grove

Apple Valley

Benilde-St. Margaret’s

Duluth Marshall

Please come out and support the team!

Highland Park Cross Country Season Highlights

The Highland Park Cross Country team had an overall very successful season this year including: sending the top seven girls and seven boys of the team to city conference, being conference champions for both girls and boys, and winning against our rival Central!

Girls conference had a great outcome with Erin Moening coming in third place. Boys conference also had a good outcome with Michah Mather coming in second and Abram Donovan getting 5th. Michah Mather also won second during the sections race! The girls team unfortunately did not get into the top three but had three girls in the top thirty, Elizabeth Pearson, Erin Moening, and Anna Schmidt.

Micah at state meet
photo courtesy of Nancy Galligan
Abram, Coach Moening, Coach Johnson and Micah at State Meet
photo courtesy of Nancy Galligan

This year, the Highland Park Cross Country team sent two boys to state, Michah Mather and Abram Donovan, which has not happened in years, according to their coach Brad Moening. Michah Mather came back with amazing results coming in second place overall. Coach Brad Moening said, “This is one of the best performances we’ve had, we’ve only sent 4 people to state in the past 15 years so this was a big deal. I’m very proud of them.”

Another great mention, and thanks, to the cross country coach, Brad Moening, who was voted “Coach of the Year”. He said, “Being voted coach of the year really reflects how the kids have done and it’s really fun for them to be recognized as well.”

Congratulations Scots! We’re all very proud!

Girls Varsity Soccer Sections Game

The Highland Park Girls Varsity soccer team had an overall very successful season. With five wins and one loss they came in second in the Saint Paul Public Schools conference.

Audrey Dombro, one of the soccer captains this year, said, “I’m really pleased with the dynamic of our group”.

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The girls soccer team made it to sections and played Trinity on October 13th and played a very close game, making the first goal. The team played this team earlier in the year also playing a close game and tied 2-2. They sadly lost the sections game 2-3.

Audrey also commented on their game performance, “We hoped to advance in sections and perform against more competitive teams. While we didn’t win our game, our season was a testament to the fact that we definitely have played at a level that was high enough to have gone further.”

Get ‘em next year girls!

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The Musket Game

The annual Musket Game went off without a hitch, packing the stands with passionate fans for both schools. The first two quarters Central and Highland were competing in a close game, but towards the end the intensity affected everyone who attended, including players. Highland slipped behind but never gave up, however, ultimately, Central took the win.

We interviewed Jenna Cook, Katie Darwitz, and Gaby Masiello about the game from a fan perspective. They all agreed that the game was exciting, but the loss affected the vibe overall.

There are still complaints that we do not give enough school spirit for our team during the games and that the mascot is slacking on energy, with one person even asking “Who even is the mascot?”.

Requests have also been made for better themed games as well as the themes being better announced. Few people followed the Musket Game theme of underclassmen wearing white and upperclassmen wearing red.

However, that is just off the field. We interviewed players off the varsity team including Mason Ferguson, Rasjus Jackson, Tre Hollamon and Amitri Collins. We asked how it felt to be out there that evening, on the bench or field, and it was unanimous that the word to describe it was “intense.”

Some of the players felt that Central had bad sportsmanship, while others felt it was reasonable because of the known tension at rivalry games. Many players felt that their personal game was on point but the plays and overall teamwork could have been better.

Disappointed, but never despairing – We’ll get ‘em next year.