Athletics update

Athletics updates

Men’s Basketball

The Holy Cross College 2019-2020 men’s basketball program had a year of many fi rsts. The team fi nished their season with a school best 27-6 overall record. With a 20-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) record, the Saints were crowned 2019-2020 CCAC Regular Season Co-Champions.

Holy Cross College received their fi rst-ever automatic bid to the 2020 NAIA National Tournament. The Saints defeated Indiana Tech 60-56 in the opening round, before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19. On the year, men’s basketball ranked fi rst in the nation in scoring defense allowed (63.7 points per game), fi fth in total rebounds per game (30.7), and ninth in defensive FG percentage (40.8%). Men’s basketball ended the season ranked No.10 in the fi nal NAIA national poll. Individually, the men’s basketball members were honored for their accomplishments on the court. Larenzo Moore ‘21 was named NAIA Div. 2 Third Team All-American, as well as being selected to the CCAC All-Conference First Team. Recent graduate Robby Jimenez‘20 leaves the program as the all-time scoring leader with 1,498 career points, while also being awarded to the CCAC All-Conference Second Team. Parker Sims ‘20 garnered CCAC All-Academic recognition and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court. The 2020 graduate also earned the NAIA Champions of Character Individual Student Award. Head coach Mike McBride was awarded CCAC Coach of the Year, and despite their season being cut short, was also tabbed NABC NAIA National Coach of the Year.

ATHLETICS UPDATES by Tyler Braidic, Sports Information Director/ Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

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Women’s Basketball

The Holy Cross College women’s basketball team fi nished their 2019-2020 season with a 9-21 overall record under fi rst year head coach Tom Robbins. The Saints had an 8-14 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) mark and were one conference win away from earning a bid to the post-season conference tournament.

Women’s basketball began their CCAC play with a thrilling 62-58 overtime win at Calumet College of St. Joseph on November 6. Holy Cross ended their season with a win on senior night. The Saints defeated conference-foe Cardinal Stritch University 67-59 on February 22 in McKenna Arena. Before the game, Kaelyn Barlow ‘20, Taylor Nittler ‘20, Brooke Sterkowitz ‘20, and Cameron Schultheis ‘20 were honored for their achievements on the court. Kaelyn Barlow averaged 8.8 points per game per game and a team-best 9.9 rebounds on the year. e year. She was awarded to the CCAC All-Conference nference Honorable Mention team. Returning junior junior Arielle Thatcher ‘22 lead the team last season ast season with an 11.8 points per game average, while e, while returning sophomore Jayda Miller ‘23 23 came in at 11.3 points per game. The Saints Saints had fi ve players earn CCAC All-Academic mic team, including Sidney Taylor ‘22, Brooke rooke Sterkowitz, Cameron Schultheis, Taylor Nittler, and Kaelyn Barlow. Taylor, Taylor, Schultheis, Nittler, and Barlow were also e also honored with being named 2020 Daktronics ktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

In his fi rst recruiting class, Tom Robbins ns brings in fi ve freshmen and one junior college or college transfer to begin the 2020-2021 season. The son. The Saints also return six players who all gained gained valuable experience last year.

About my experience on a global immersion trip

by Slade Gorski ‘19

I have never been on board a plane before. I had never been out of the United States before, let alone 3,000 miles away. My global immersion trip to Peru had me leap out of my comfort zone into the unknown.

I traveled with a group of friends and other students, developing a deeper connection and appreciation for each whom I travelled with. Peru was, and is life changing. Not only was I in a country where English was not common, but I was surrounded by a people that lived far diff erently than I did.

During the fi rst of two weeks of the trip, we stayed at the Peyton Center in Lima, Peru. The Center is in one of the poor districts in Lima where the impoverished are physically separated by a mountain from the wealthy. Here we assisted children at a Holy Cross school, helped build a house up on a hill, and shared many authentic Peruvian meals together. The cuisine was fl avorful and fi lling; the cooks never let us go without having our fi ll. We also visited several historic locales in Lima, like the Cathedral of Lima. The second week was a week of travel and wonder. We boarded a plane set for Cusco, Peru that sits at an elevation about 11,000 feet. To say that I got altitude sickness is an understatement, but that was only remedied by time and coca leaf tea.

When we arrived in Cusco, we were picked up by our amazing tour guide who made us feel right at home. He showed us through many parts of Cusco and was our guide when we ascended Huayna Picchu. The climb was stunning but terrifying at the same time as any mistake would mean a short cut on the way back down. Honestly, the trip to Cusco and Macchu Picchu was the highlight to this adventure.

We observed many Incan ruins, tried a variety of cuisine and pineapple beverages, and gained a profound understanding of Peruvian culture and their livelihoods. The immersion experience had its positives and negatives, but overall it is an experience that will shape the rest of my life. The parts of this trip that most deeply aff ected me were the gatherings we had, not only with our Holy Cross group, but our associations with the group from our sister school in Texas. Hearing thoughts from our own community as well as ones from a diff erent location helped me improve my understanding of diff erent ways of life.

One memorable quote from a Priest on the trip was “You scratch a Peruvian, you will fi nd an artist” and this was evident when we went out into the community to a variety of shops, markets, and other businesses. In the United States there is always a hurry/rush but in Peru, they take their time and have patience even with the most mundane of tasks. It is a way life I have grown to appreciate that encourages me to slow down in life and appreciate the simple.

Finding a deeper connection with my faith

by Stephanie White, Director of Academic Advising

Through the Holy Cross College Global Immersion opportunities, I feel blessed to have led the India Global Immersion to India. Not only was the experience formative for students, it strengthened my world-view as well. I learned something about myself, my faith, and humanity. I developed a deeper understanding of the culture. During the fall semester 2019, I was the instructor for the Global Immersion course on India prior to leading the group of students over the winter break. Engaging the students in the course and the anticipation of experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells alongside the students was enriching. As they learned for the fi rst time, I learned more deeply.

The resilience of the human spirit abounds from every place you look in India, from the extreme poverty to those who just have enough to get by. In Whitefi eld, Bangalore, we stayed with the Brothers of Holy Cross and were able to spend time getting to know the boys of Abhayadhama. The boys are orphaned or have family that cannot care for them very well so they come to stay at Abhayadhama. The boys are housed, do chores, go to school, and participate in religious activities with the Brothers. These 16 boys do not have much and range in age from 8-15. The boys do not ask for much. Their laughs still are as clear as day in my mind. They laugh. They dance. They sing, and boy do they play sports! I was not able to participate in sports with the boys, but this provided an opportunity to observe and soak in not only how the students and the boys were interacting with high fi ves, laughter, and friendly sportsmanship banter, but the simplicity of it. Yesterday, the boys didn’t know us and today we’re playing as friends.

We had brought Matchbox cars as a gift for the boys along with toothbrushes and paste. In previous years the gift was small necessities and something fun. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how the boys would react to this year’s gift as was a bit nervous to present them with it. A Matchbox car? What would the older boys think? A small tube of toothpaste and toothbrush? I realized I was presuming a reaction, when in all actuality the boy’s reaction was nothing but excitement, smiles, and thank you’s like it was Christmas morning. They played for hours with the Matchbox cars- the older boys racing the younger boys and so on. Conversations went from how they want to be a car mechanic to asking if I drive a car and what kind of car I drive.

I refl ected each day in the chapel on what I was experiencing and my life. I developed a deeper connection with my faith by having a quiet moment each day to pray for the boys, the Brothers, and the people we were becoming close friends with every day. I learned I need to slow down and look around me, spend time in the quiet laughing and learning with the human spirit however small. As I was leaving and giving hugs, the boys cried. The house staff cried. There might have been a tear in a couple of the Brother’s eyes too. Sharing meals, playing, laughing, and learning from each other in the purest form is the happy life journey we are on, rooted in our faith. I am reminded by a sign I saw at the train station which read, “Happy Journey.” Was the journey happy? Yes, yes it was.

I DEVELOPED A DEEPER CONNECTION WITH MY FAITH BY HAVING A QUIET MOMENT EACH DAY TO PRAY FOR THE BOYS, THE BROTHERS, AND THE PEOPLE WE WERE BECOMING CLOSE FRIENDS WITH EVERY DAY. I LEARNED I NEED TO SLOW DOWN AND LOOK AROUND ME, SPEND TIME IN THE QUIET LAUGHING AND LEARNING WITH THE HUMAN SPIRIT HOWEVER SMALL.