SLUH welcomes international exchange students from Rambouillet, France
BY Andrew Hunt and Alex Skillman News Editor, reporter
Agroup of ten international exchange students arrived in St.
Electrifying! Energy Team takes data for better efficiency
BY Madhavan Anbukumar Staff
The St. Louis U. High EnergyBills
have been hard at work, recently bringing the school’s electrical and gas meter up to date in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM). With rising costs of fossil fuels impacting budgets at home and at school, the team’s efforts are enhancing SLUH’s energy efficiency and sustainability.
On Oct. 12, members of the Energy Team gathered from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to tackle the tremendous task of logging energy data. The team for the day—senior and Student Leader Luke Schall, junior Griffin Grabowski, freshman Peter McGroarty, former Chevron Petroleum Engineer and Energy Team Mentor John Hohenberger ’70, and Energy Team Mentor Ross Watson—dove into an extensive data collection, sifting through energy consumption data records dating back to 2019.
“Luke Schall and Griffin Grabowski were both genuinely amazing to work with,” said McGroarty. “They put in the longest time of continued on page 4
Louis from Rambouillet, France on Saturday for a two week experience of SLUH.
The French students are being hosted by SLUH French language students who stayed with their
Band,
families in France on a trip over the summer, along with a few other upper-level SLUH French students. When they flew in on Saturday after a layover in Atlanta, many of them went and ate with their host families
Orchestra kick off year with annual fall concert
BY Lincoln Shorley and Henry Fitzpatrick Core Staff, reporter
Music rang throughout the Si Commons on Thursday, Oct. 10 as the St. Louis U. High Band and Orchestra groups took the stage for the annual fall concert. Surrounded by friends and family enjoying picnic-style dinners, the bands, led by band directors Jeff Pottinger and Thomas Curdt, played songs that ranged from classical to hip-hop.
Over 90 students in five different classes performed: Concert
Band, Symphonic Band, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz 1 and Jazz 2. Several Combo groups, made up of musicians from different classes who work closely together, also performed.
“I thought it went wonderfully. It was a lot of fun. I thought the music was a good variety of music, and the people seemed to really enjoy it,” said Pottinger. “I felt like the kids, in a lot of ways, exceeded my expectations which is always a pleasant thing to happen.”
Chamber Orchestra kicked off the night playing “Atlantic Crossing” continued on page 2
to get to know each other.
“Some people went to Dewey’s, some went to another restaurant in South County,” said senior Jakob White, who is hosting Marceau Koning. “Some people were just too tired and went home.”
The two-week trip falls into the category of short-form exchange programs run by SLUH Global Education through its director, Rob Chura. The students do not take official classes at SLUH, but have begun to engage in a variety of academic and cultural activities, and will continue to do so for their two weeks here.
This exchange program with Institution de Sainte Thérèse, the Catholic school in Rambouillet from which these students hail, is a relatively new addition to this system of exchange programs: it is the second time that SLUH has hosted students from the school.
Unlike the students from Colegio Irabia-Izaga in Pamplona, Spain who visited for two weeks in September, the Rambouillet students did not
First quarter
travel here with a faculty advisor from their school. The point of contact with whom Chura organized the event—an English teacher at Institution de Sainte Thérèse, originating from the United States—was unable to make the trip.
Global Ed also hosts quarterlong programs, as they did in the first quarter for students from Jesuit partner schools in Colombia, Chile, and Poland.
On Monday, the French students experienced their first day at SLUH. They took a tour around the school, and played some basketball during Activity Period. After that they visited the Science Center as well as the IMAX theater and the Planetarium.
“We saw the Planetarium,” said Edouard Couillet-Breton, who is staying with senior Joss Thenhaus. “That was pretty nice, with the view of the galaxy.”
On Tuesday, they visited the St. Louis Arch. They visited the top, but did not get to go into the museum.
continued on page 4
ends with a blast at annual Fall Ball
and buzz.
Nearly 700 St. Louis U. High students, alongside many more guests, gathered for the annual Fall Ball to wrap up a big first quarter. The freshman class had the largest turnout. There was dancing, socializing, moderate moshing, and an overall great atmosphere.
For more than a month before the Fall Ball, SLUH had been promoting the event. Emails, announcements, and reminders during Advisory were dished out to build up the excitement
“These events require a lot of preparation,” said Assistant Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson. “A lot of credit goes to StuCo, Mr. Corley, Mrs. Menne, the EVS staff and the chaperones for organizing such a large event.”
“Dances are actually planned pretty far in advance, sometimes as far as nine months to a year. The dates for the dances were set in February the previous year. The DJs and photographers are planned and booked over the summer, and the chaperones are determined at the beginning of the year,” said Director of Student
continued on page 4
entertainment Crossword Clues await up and down this week’s puzzle. Compete for a shoutout in next week’s edition.
Page 8
the
dominates at St. Mary’s; win streak stretches to 3 games.
Page 6
photo | Interstate Studios
Juniors at the dance.
BY Lucas Hayden, Jack Williamson, and Owen Williams News Editor, reporters
photo | Kathy Chott
Senior Ryan McKinney playing the saxophone.
photo | Courtesy of SLUH Instagram French students with the Jr. Billiken.
Knoesel slides into role as Jr. Bill Store Manager and head varsity golf coach
BY Aiden Erard, Gavin Simon, and Nick Ahlheim Sports Editor, Staff, reporter
St. Louis University High School welcomes new head varsity golf coach and Jr. Bills store manager Jim Knoesel.
After the school decided to head in a different direction with the golf program, a spot opened at the top of the golf program. With thorough golf experience and love for SLUH, Knoesel seemed to fit the job description and is now an exciting new addition to the community.
Knoesel grew up in St. Louis and attended Mehlville high school, where he played on the high school golf team. Following a successful high school career, Knoesel played golf at the University of Missouri –Columbia where he was a three-time Academic All-American as well as captain of the team.
After college, Knoesel turned pro, earning distinction as Gateway PGA Professional of the Year. Knoesel competed in PGA Qualifying School a few times with the goal of earning his tour card before deciding to serve as the assistant coach and
head golf professional at Mizzou.
Knoesel has a very impressive resume that includes high status awards and difficult victories. Junior-wise, he was a quarterfinalist in the United States Junior and won the Missouri State Junior two times. He also played in the US Amateur, the highest level amateur golf tournament in the country, two times. Knoesel competed in US Open qualifiers along with various Gateway PGA events around eastern Missouri.
“My favorite tournaments, and probably the largest I played in, were the Nike tour events, now called the Korn Ferry Tour. I competed in five of those, which was a really fun experience,” said Knoesel.
With the golf team Knoesel has high, yet achievable, goals as the new head coach. Similar to years past, success is important, but experience and progress are the true motivation.
“Right now I’m making plans on how I am going to set up the golf team this year—how many guys are on the roster and how we will spend our time before competing, things like that,” said Knoesel. “As far as goals go, I just want every player to have a good experience and get bet-
ter. I want kids to learn and compete more effectively. The goal is to get better every day and then see how far we can go when the time comes.”
Along with his extremely impressive golf resume, Knoesel also wants to be a core part of the SLUH culture as he finds community here. So far, he has had only great experiences with those around him and looks forward to even more.
“I heard about the job opening earlier in the summer, and once I was done at Mizzou, I thought coaching would be something I would want to keep doing,” said Knoesel. “This seemed like a great place to pursue that. The people here are incredible and the campus is amazing. It has been really good so far.”
Knoesel’s excitement to be at the center of the community shines through his involvement in the Jr. Bill Store where he is learning from those above him. Volunteers Jake Jacobs ’81 and Kevin Komos ’81, have taken the bookstore under their wing and are teaching Knoesel the ins and outs of merchandise at SLUH.
“His role in the store is really the operation of the physical store itself,
because up until now it’s really been kind of a two-person show,” said Jacobs. “Between myself and Kevin Komos, who’s my classmate and partner here, we just needed someone to do all the operational things so we can run the online side of it.”
As the managerial position of the SLUH bookstore opened up, Knoesel seemed a perfect candidate for the job, tying in years of previous experience along with his new training.
“It worked out great,” said Athletic Director Chris Muskopf. “It turned out that one of our candidates for hire had spent his professional life working at a golf course, but also operating the pro shop at that course. We felt that was a great opportunity for the golf side of things.”
The spot for the varsity golf coach opened up after then-head coach Dan Reardon announced his departure at the end of the season last year. Then, the SLUH Athletics Department began the process of hiring a replacement.
“We began formulating a plan to find a new coach after last spring’s season,” said Muskopf. “We began to
look at interviews, who had applied, and how we wanted to move forward. Any opening we post at SLUH is going to get interest and that was true of this golf process as well, but one of our candidates was able to be active in a co-curricular on campus for a full time experience and so we thought he was the right guy.”
In the meantime, Choir Director Brian Reeves stepped up as the interim golf coach, serving in crucial roles such as managing the golf table at the Open House.
“We wanted somebody who was the point person while we were over here figuring out who was going to be the head coach. Reeves was more than willing to do that,” said Muskopf. “He really helped in serving as that bridge to get us from Reardon last year to Knoesel this year.”
After the transition from Reardon to a brief spell under Reeves, the golf program is extremely excited to get to work under Knoesel.
“When you bring in somebody with new ideas and new approaches, that creates a new energy surrounding the program,” said Muskopf. “We’re excited with where we’re at right now.”
Alumni raises funds by competing in annual Scholarship Golf Classic
BY Logan Schimweg and Xavier Heithaus reporters
St. Louis U. High hosted the annual Scholarship Golf Classic last Monday, Oct. 14, for the 13th year in a row. The Scholarship Golf Classic is a fundraising event hosted every year to help raise money for student scholarships. It took place this year at the Bogey Golf Club in Ladue.
This tournament has become an annual tradition for alumni. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fundraiser was still held virtually. Ninety to 100 people participate in the Golf Classic annually with the hopes of winning the grand prize of a car.
The Classic is open to anyone, but primarily attended by alumni, friends of alumni, and parents of current students and alumni. There is a $950 entry fee for each player in the tournament. SLUH’s fundraising goal for the event is about $200,000 each year, which helps to fund student scholarships and give more young men an opportunity to attend SLUH. The Classic has raised over $2 million for financial aid since its inception in 2011.
Participants played in groups
of five, and competed in a closestto-the-pin competition on eight of the Bogey Club’s par-three holes. The winner at each individual hole qualifies for the final shootout, and each qualifier gets one shot. Whichever qualifier hits it closest to the hole in the shootout wins a two-year lease on a car from one of the sponsors.
This year, the grand prize car was a Toyota Camry XLE, presented by Newbold Toyota and Newbold BMW. The Newbold family sponsored the Golf Classic for the first time this year. Ken Newbold, whose three sons attended SLUH, was present at the event. The winner of this year’s Golf Classic was Dave Rich, parent to sophomores Cameron and Parker Rich.
“We are really grateful for the support of the Newbold family. They had a bunch of cars on site to kind of promote those and obviously the shootout winning car was there too,” said Senior Director of Community Engagement John Penilla.
Penilla and other members of the Advancement team at SLUH organized the event. A planning committee mostly composed of alumni also contributed their time to the planning of the Classic, made up of Tom Berra ’85, Steve
Broun ’79, Mike Buttice ’89, Tom Fagan ’85, Tim Fogerty, Rob Funke ’92, Jim Hill ’84, Joe Jedlicka ’80, Jim Luzecky ’03, Dan Millman ’87, Jeff Rombach ’98, Kevin Sullivan ’83, Bob Wacker ’98, Tim Wells ’99, and Mark Wilhelm ’72.
The Scholarship Golf Classic is a way for alumni, families and friends to have fun while supporting SLUH and the students. The event is more than just a competition: it is an interactive way for people to give back to the school and have a good time reconnecting with friends or meeting new members of the SLUH community.
“The food’s good, the golf is good. It’s a great group of guys, so it makes for a really fun day,” said Penilla.
Band, Orchestra fill Si Commons with music at Fall Concert
(continued from page 1)
by Alan Lee Silva, “River Flows in You” by Yiruma, and “Green Onions” by Al Jackson, with styles ranging from classical to jazzy.
“I think the entire orchestra has really improved since the start of the year, and especially in the last week before the show,” said junior violinist Klaus Jostlein, who is also a member of the St. Louis Youth Symphony. “Mr. Pottinger really emphasized listening and adjusting to each other, and I think that really stuck with us during the show.”
In less than half a semester’s worth of classes and practices, the chamber orchestra came together and performed its best, setting a great standard for the rest of the show.
“The Chamber Orchestra lost a lot of seniors last year, really strong seniors. It’s been hard this year to really create the same sound they had last year, but they achieved it, which was really exciting,” said Pottinger. “I was very proud, in some ways distracted, because it was so good.”
Concert Band continued the standard set by Chamber Orchestra, opening their set with “Kings & Queens” by Ava Max and finishing with “25 to 6 to 4” by Robert Lamm.
Made up largely of underclassmen, the Concert Band, though not as experienced or as refined as the other bands, played beautifully, and exceeded expectations.
“They played exceptionally well, especially considering their youth,”
said Pottinger. “And overall, their artistry seemed to come through, which is great.”
Jazz 2 came in with a fresh new look, as they were diminished from so much talent graduating the class and advancing into Jazz 1. This group, made up largely of first-time jazzers, proved to be very comfortable in this setting, playing high-level songs including “Strutting with Some Barbecue” by Louis Armstrong, and “Boom Boom” by John Lee Hooker.
“I was personally worried about them, just because so many players left Jazz 2,” said Pottinger. “But, they did a wonderful job, especially considering that many of them haven’t played in a jazz band before.”
Jazz 1 played pieces that included “Pick up the Pieces” by James Stuart, “Shiny Stockings” by Frank Foster, and “Land of Make Believe” by Chuck Mangione. Junior Gideon Taylor and seniors Luke Jarboe, Evan Mullins, and Ryan McKinney were featured soloists.
”There’s times when those guys sound like professionals,” said Pottinger. “It’s like watching the World Cup, where everything just moves, you know. It’s just a beautiful thing, and these guys are doing it.”
Rounding out the end of the concert, Symphonic Band performed, playing recognizable pop songs such as “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and “Something” by the Beatles.
“Bohemian Rhapsody was the
hardest song we’ve ever done with Symphonic Band since I’ve been here,” said Pottinger.
“I really enjoyed hearing the Bohemian Rhapsody arrangement. I think it’s just a beautiful, clever arrangement for the band. I think it’s really, really hard,” said Curdt. “And I think Symphonic Band knocked it out of the park.”
To wrap up the night, the entire band and orchestra gathered on stage and played one final song as a group. They all took the stage and played “Stronger” by Greg Kurstein, ending the concert with a bang.
”I really liked Stronger,” said Taylor. “The combined ensemble had such a full, powerful sound, and I really enjoyed the heavier clean feel of it.”
Alumni gathered with Penilla (far right) at the event.
photo | Courtesy of SLUH Instagram
Jacobs continues production of SLUH Pumas, more shoes to come
BY Thomas Juergens and Liam Farroll Core Staff, reporter
As part of the festivities cele -
brating SLUH’s 100th year on Oakland Ave., the Jr. Bill store offered limited edition SLUH Pumas. Jake Jacobs ’81 has been working tirelessly to produce the shoes ever since they were opened for pre-or-
der the morning of the Centennial Celebration.
“We presold them, and it was our first foray in doing a presale online for the Junior Bill store,” said Jacobs. “So we actually released the shoe and the presale started on the day of the centennial, right at 10:00 in the morning, and we sold all 100 pairs in five minutes.”
Drive-in
The Puma Clyde sneakers are customized with a gold foil Jr. Billiken and blue and reflective laces. Jacobs has done the work to modify the Pumas to fill all 100 orders. “It’s not a huge process, because I know where to get all of the laces, and I know how to do a little bit of customization work on the shoes. It’s somewhat time consuming, but I enjoy doing it,” said Jacobs.
The preorder business model worked well for the sale of the SLUH Pumas to help gauge how many shoes they would need. By using the preorder method, it not only provided upfront cash to purchase the shoes, but also eliminated the possibility of being stuck with shoes in a specific size that would not be sold.
“So the presale works really great, and it’s kind of the only way to do it because it keeps us from having to guess on what inventory by size we need. So with the presale, the customer goes in, puts in their information, puts in the size of the shoe they wear, and they pay for the shoe up front. This is great for us because it provides cash flow for us, and then we’re able to go to Puma and get the shoes. It tells us the exact demand for it and the exact sizes that we need to order,” said Jacobs. “Because we can see how many hits we had online when
movie is postponed until spring
BY Lincoln Shorley and McCoy Amann Core Staff, reporter
The StuCo drive-in movie event, slated to take place last Saturday, Oct. 19, was rescheduled to next spring due to an unfortuitous coinciding of events at St. Louis U. High and the Science Center.
StuCo first ran into a scheduling problem when they learned that the SLUH faculty parking lot on Oakland Ave., where they originally planned to hold the event, was going to be occupied that night because of a KEEN event being held in the Si Commons. StuCo tried to coordinate with the Science Center to host the event in their parking lot, but the Science Center had an event planned so that lot was also unavailable for use.
Without any location to use in which students could drive in with cars, the night ultimately did not work out, despite a lot of preparation by
weeks, and had even processed the rental for a large movie screen worth around $2,000 from a man in Florida.
The event will now likely take place in the spring.
“The weather’s gonna get too cold,” said Student Body President Noah Butler. “There’s just not a good date for it, so it’s getting pushed to the spring.”
StuCo plans to use the same movie screen for the rescheduled event in the spring by simply delaying the rental, and to establish the occasion as an annual tradition. Be on the lookout after Christmas break for an email for another attempt to host an old school drive-in movie.
Letter To The Editors
To the Editors:
I have been enjoying Mr. Baudendistel’s crossword puzzles that the Prep News publishes for a number of years. I even have an archive of some I missed doing that I’ll take on trips with me for something to do when I’m sitting around waiting somewhere. It’s always satisfying to figure out the theme of each week’s edition. Sometimes I can do a PN crossword in one sitting; other times require taking a break to ponder. I usually do them at home, where they become a collaborative effort with my wife and kids. Typically I
the shoe was released, we know the demand was greater than one hundred pairs. But for this first foray, we wanted to keep it at 100 pairs to tie back to the centennial.”
The Jr. Bill store has always carried the classic high school merchandise: hats, hoodies, and shirts. However with the Centennial Celebration, the store looked to widen their range of products.
“So we really wanted to start to branch out into different categories of business through the shop, and we’ve always just carried apparel, accessories, headwear, and those types of things. One of these ways to start to generate more revenue for the shop is to start to expand out some of the categories, and footwear, obviously, is a key piece.” said Jacobs.
Jacobs made contact with Puma to purchase the shoes and get permission to customize them. He was able to make this connection, being the former CEO of Footlocker.
“So we reached out to Puma, and now we are a Puma wholesale account, and we’re also an authorized internet retailer for them,” said Jacobs. “So we ended up getting this product. And I really wanted to start with some of the most classic shoes in the business.”
In the future, the store will sell other shoe brands with SLUH cus -
tomizations. Additionally, regular shoes from these brands will also be available, as a way of attracting more customers outside the SLUH community.
“So the thinking is to actually get several releases a year, maybe once every other month or one a quarter. Maybe we’ll have shoe releases wrapped around events like the centennial or a special occasion. So that’s going to be coming down the pipe once we start to get other vendors involved in this,” said Jacobs. “We’ll have releases around Nike, New Balance, Adidas, maybe a couple of the other vendors. We probably won’t get super involved in it because it does take a lot of time and effort to produce all these shoes. But I think the bigger thing that’s going to help us is we’ll be able to sell Puma products, or any of the athletic vendors’ products through our online store that isn’t necessarily branded with a SLUH logo. But if you want to buy just a pair of white Puma Clyde sneakers through Puma, you’ll be able to do that eventually through shop.sluh. org. And we may carry just classics like the white Air Force One, or the Puma Clydes, or the Adidas Samba in the shop. It won’t necessarily have SLUH branding on it, but our kids will have access to it.”
Freshmen participate in WashU research study
BY Finn Rose reporter
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are partnering with St. Louis U. High freshmen to conduct a study about reading. The findings will hopefully help young students who are learning to read.
The study, spearheaded by principal investigator Dr. Rebecca Treiman, looks specifically at how students read complicated words and their reading habits. Because of inconsistency in the English language, reading complex words can take time to master.
“This study wants to explore how students learn to handle these inconsistencies in longer, more complex words and if there are ways to make it easier to read them,” said project director Lydia Greenwood.
Researchers came to SLUH during Activity Periods and Studiums on Oct. 14, 15, 21, and 23 to record the responses of students when asked to pronounce a variety of real and made up words.
Participants were also asked about their reading habits in a short questionnaire.
“I was presented with an iPad with a word on it, and then I would pronounce that word and then go to the next word,”
said freshman Clarence Nowak. “Then I was given another page with words of greatly varying degrees of difficulty, and I was supposed to read down the list until I couldn’t.”
Greenwood and the research team selected SLUH as the student source of their research because they had a positive experience working with the SLUH community on a different research study last year.
In addition to freshmen at SLUH, researchers are also studying students in the second and fifth grades. Researchers will compare results from students in different grades to see how reading skills develop over time. They are expecting about 180 total participants.
“We hope that our results will provide useful information to improve future reading instruction,” said Greenwood.
Participants were rewarded with a $10 Amazon gift card for their participation.
“It was pretty quiet, and the environment was friendly,” said Nowak. They are still looking for more participants and may come back for more sessions. The link to sign up is redcap.link/hippo.
Please make the crossword fun again
get about halfway through before I get stuck and then my wife fills in a bunch of gaps and together we finish it off.
But the joy of doing a relaxed crossword is gone. I grew up in a large family and we played a ton of board games, which usually got quite competitive. You had to bring your A-game or one of my older sisters would win—and even then, she’d still often win. Still does to this day! So I naturally took up the challenge of the weekly crossword competition.
The problem is that the competition is unfair, or at least unbalanced. With SLUH’s rotating class
schedule, each week favors whomever happens to have—or can arrange—a block of free time first thing that day, not necessarily their skill. As a staff member, I could certainly ignore my job every Prep News morning to rush through the crossword, but that’s neither good work ethic, very sporting, or even very fun. Yes, I could just ignore the competition and do it on my own time, but that feels sour, like I’m turning away from a challenge. I also have to give up part of the paper, which, if I’m rushing, means I miss out on reading some of the hard work of the Prep News staff. Ignoring my particular situation,
anyone who takes time and ultimately triumphs over the clues and has the satisfaction of completing a puzzle has no chance of being recognized. I don’t see a way to keep the competition competitive in a way that gives everyone an equal chance and as well as an opportunity to savor the puzzle.
So my suggestion is to change it from a competition to a recognition. Still accept completed, correct puzzles, but make it a weekly drawing. Set a deadline for submissions and choose one (or more) at random. Give people the time to enjoy the process or work collaboratively, and recognize those
who are successful at completing the puzzle—not just those who can make the time to do it quickly that week. You could even open it up to alumni readers if you so chose to encourage community participation.
And if you don’t like this particular idea, that’s fine, come up with your own. But please consider moving away from the current model.
Thank you for your consideration!
Jonathan Dickmann
’96
Director of Information Technology
photo | Courtesy of Doug Valentine
The custom SLUH Puma shoes.
StuCo. The team had been advertising the drive-in movie for
SLUH says bonjour to French international exchange students
(continued from page 1)
“The view in the arch is very incredible,” said Koning. “And it’s
a very good experience.”
They have also begun to take a class about American culture with
Energy Team takes new electrical and gas data to improve efficiency at SLUH
(continued from page 1)
pure number crunching and data logging. Along with knowing the right questions to ask, they tended to connect the smaller details that helped to bring a bigger picture to light.”
Their goal was to analyze the data with the help of the ESPM.
The ESPM is a vital tool for tracking and managing energy and water consumption in buildings. It lets users input data from various sources, such as electricity and gas bills, and visualize usage trends over time. Developed and run by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, ESPM is used by big corporations such as the Target Corporation and Staples Inc.
“Energy Star allows us to gather all of our energy needs in one place, making it easier to analyze and identify trends,” said Schall. “By having all of our data organized we can see if (SLUH’s) becoming more energy efficient or if there are areas where we need to improve.”
One of the major breakthroughs came when the team successfully found the right meter readings among the bills for SLUH’s many properties.
“We took all the bills that haven’t been entered yet for energy electricity usage from Ameren,” said Schall. “We had to manually enter each monthly bill into Energy Star and it would give us warnings saying ‘There’s a gap in data here.’ Or ‘There’s an overlap here.’ So we have to, kind of like, find where those gaps are and search for those bills after we enter all of them.”
“We were given these huge folders about the energy consumption per meter per month, however SLUH owns a lot of property, thus a lot of meters,” said McGroarty. “The moment when we found the first applicable meter reading it was extremely relieving. From then we found a pattern of what the main meter readings looked like so we were able to speed things along.”
With their data now current with the help of the ESPM, the Energy Team is now looking at the data against external factors such as the outside air temperature. Their analysis aims to identify inconsistencies in energy usage and potential areas for improvement.
Chura, a similar but condensed version of the class Chura offered to the recently departed international exchange students who were here for a quarter.
“We talked about what they have noticed in the first day and a half (on Monday),” said Chura. “(On Tuesday), we did more of a planned activity, where we gauged their knowledge of all things American.”
The class has been an opportunity to respond to the sometimes shocking differences they have begun to experience in American culture as opposed to French.
“The cars are bigger than French cars,” said Koning. “The food is very different.”
“When Americans are at restaurants, you take a box home,” said Couillet-Breton. “We don’t
have that in France.”
Finally, they are visiting French classes to help Jr. Bills studying French to engage more deeply in the subject by talking to native speakers, and have the chance to sit in on a few different core curriculum classes.
“They get an opportunity to sit in on a math class and a theology class just to see what these disciplines look like in English and in our school community,” said Chura.
The students have spent almost all of their evenings and free time with their host families and host students, who they have become closer with.
“The next day after he got here, we were all settled,” said senior Nate Lepak, who is hosting Hugues Riche. “It’s just like having
a brother now. It fills the empty space since both of my brothers have moved out.”
Much like Jr. Bills who immerse themselves abroad, the French students decided to come on the trip to seek to improve their language skills and experience a new culture.
“My English level was very bad, so I want to have a better English level,” said Koning. “And I also want to discover American culture.”
They have a lot to look forward to in the rest of their (albeit short) time in St. Louis. For example, they will be going to the St. Louis Art Museum and the St. Louis Zoo soon.
“I’m excited for Halloween,” said Koning.
Students close out first quarter with dancing at annual SLUH fall ball
(continued from page
1)
“Now that our data is up to date, we can identify trends and make informed recommendations to the administration,” said Schall.
This data-driven approach helps the team hypothesize about energy-saving measures that could help SLUH, SLUH faculty, staff, and students at home. One of these measures is to look at how our homes are heated.
“As temperatures change, what we want to do is look at how we’re heating our homes, or to what level we’re heating our homes,” said student leader Alex Keuss. “Sometimes that can just be lowering the temperature down to not as high as it was before. So in really nice weather, like fall, you might just turn off the AC or heating and then open your windows, because it’s really nice out. A lot of decreasing your impact with, like heating and cooling in your home, is infrastructure. Having good insulation in your house, not opening your windows if you have your heat or air conditioning running, etc. are important to being sustainable.”
The Energy Team invites all students and faculty and staff to join them in their mission to make SLUH a greener place, whether that means making small steps on your own or joining the Energy Team meetings on Mondays during Activity Period. By working together, the school can significantly reduce its energy footprint and positively impact the broader community and environment.
“I’m hoping that people can learn what we were trying to accomplish,” said Schall. “By reducing our energy footprint, conserving money, and reducing energy usage, we benefit the school and the environment. We want to continue to work with maintenance, with the administration, and hopefully move forward with this in the sustainable goal of the future, of being a more sustainable school while still having amazing student comfort and student health. I think that’s our goal in the future, and to be able to achieve that, we need full support from all the students who may not know much about what we’re doing with sustainability, with the Energy Team, Farm to Table Team, and Waste Team. I think by understanding the story better allows us to have more motivation behind what we’re doing, and have a bigger impact.”
Activities Megan Menne. “So leading into the dance, the main thing is the registration and payment and then double-checking on everything else.”
SLUH students were also allowed and encouraged to bring a guest, and over half of the attendees did. Those in attendance came from a variety of schools, with a third of the girls coming from St. Joe and roughly a fourth coming from Cor Jesu. Other schools that had a significant presence included Nerinx, Ursuline, and Visitation.
The event ran smoothly, with check-in running much more efficiently than at the BTSM, where many students waited for long periods of time to be admitted.
“Fall Ball is more efficient because essentially you register and check in both yourself and your guest at the same time, which cuts down the time,” said Kesterson.
“We also have fewer people and two venues, which also makes the check-in process quicker.”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Fall Ball was strictly for upperclassmen, but in the fall of 2020, the decision was made to include
classmen. It gives the underclassmen something to look forward to,” said Kesterson.
Logistically, however, having two areas does complicate things during the dance.
“Any dance that’s not a class dance, I’ll be at, and (Mrs. Menne) will be at,” said StuCo Moderator Frank Corley. “So for this one in particular, we coordinated, ‘OK, you take the Commons with the upperclassmen, and I’ll take the Field House with the freshmen and sophomores,’ and about an hour into it, we flipped. So yeah,
all students. As a result, there were significantly more people who began to attend the event, so it was divided into separate spaces for the upperclassmen and underclassmen.
Dividing into two areas gives the students more space to socialize, but it also makes it harder to plan the event, as double of everything is needed, including DJs, photographers, and chaperones. However, many believe the extra work is worth it.
“We feel the Commons is a little classier space for a dance and therefore provide it to the upper-
we were coordinating a lot, texting back and forth. ‘Hey, we need some people down on this floor. Hey they’re moshing, what should we do?’ Just overseeing and stuff like that.”
“I always worry a little bit, but that’s the job,” said Kesterson. “The hardest part is what you cannot control. Any time you have that many people on campus you have to prepare for all possibilities. The hope is that the expectations are clear and the students live up to the expectation. When expectations are met or exceeded then I have a much better time.”
“You hope that you have created a culture within the school where students respect each other and their school (in order) to have a fun night at the dance, but also in whatever they do after the dance,” added Kesterson. “When all was said and done, I had a good time this year.”
Although the event was a great success, with over 1000 people attending in total and over $16,500 brought in, the SLUH administration is considering making some minor adjustments to improve Fall Ball even more, including listening to the student-made suggestion that the event take place on the Saturday following SLUH Spirit Week as the culmination of the week-long celebration. The school has also contemplated changing the name of the event.
“Although there is no difference between the two names, we have discussed the possibility of changing the name to Homecoming in the future,” said Kesterson.
Students were pleased with the overall song choices curated by the DJs.
“I really enjoyed the environment created by the DJ,” said senior Henry Birkmeier.
Overall, the event was a resounding hit among faculty, staff, and students, setting the tone for more formal dances throughout this school year.
“It’s the quintessential SLUH dance. I think that’s part of what makes it feel so timeless. You know what you’re going into, (and) you know you’re going to have a good time,” said Student Body President Noah Butler.
“It was pretty fun,” said sophomore Will Kalinowsky. “A lot of people I knew were there and it was fun to listen to the songs. It was a great time.”
(Left to right) Stephen Niklawski, Marceau Koning, Will Hasman, and Jakob White at the Blues game. photo | Courtesy of Jakob White
art | Jesse Heater
photo | Interstate Studios
Members of the PrepNews staff at the ball.
SPORTS
Spanning Generations
A legacy older than us: Cross Country takes MCC title for 21st year in a row
BY Otto Reitenbach and Tristan Kujawa Core Staff, Staff
The St. Louis U. High Cross Country team continued its historic domination of the Metro Catholic Conference with its 21st straight MCC championship, as well as an overwhelming victory at the Hancock Invitational.
MCC
For the 21st straight year, the SLUH Jr. Bills are varsity champions of the MCC. In a display of utter dominance, SLUH took seven of the top eight varsity places, broken only by a strong race from De Smet senior runner William Poelker.
From the starting gun, the result was clear. The entire SLUH squad opened with a 5:10 first mile or faster, with the top pack of sophomore Jackson Miller, senior Alex Bendaña, and Poelker coming through at 5:06. The top trio continued to fly, as Poelker refused to drop off. After two miles, the lone SLUH competitor was mere seconds from the Jr. Bills leaders. However, despite his best efforts, the strength of Miller and Bendaña was too much, as they attacked the final mile to pull away. In the end, Miller became the in-
dividual champion of the MCC, flying with a time of 16:24. Bendaña was right behind, snagging second in 16:26. After losing to the top two, Poelker took third in 16:41, the lone spot of resistance amongst a sea of SLUH dominance.
“The race played out exactly as we had planned,” said head coach Joe Porter. “Poelker injected a little more pace than what I thought, which was good for our guys to put up a battle.”
Senior Gus Talleur (16:48) finished fourth, along with junior Nick Ahlheim (16:51) in fifth and sophomore Ben Yoffie (16:52) in sixth to round out the scoring for the Bills.
The top five SLUH runners and sophomore Michael Luna (17:02) earned All MCC 1st Team honors for their efforts, giving SLUH six of the top seven runners in the conference. Junior Hendrix Fyvie (17:31) followed as the top All MCC 2nd Team runner, with all SLUH runners earning medals on the day. Overall, the varsity squad dominated en route to SLUH’s 30th MCC win in the 33-year history of the conference, another monumental achievement for the team.
“It was what we were hoping for,” said Porter. “I think Jackson and Alex did a great job responding to those moves and the rest of our pack was
close to him and that’s what we were hoping for.”
The JV MCC meet went no differently. The first 18 JV finishers were Jr. Bills, giving SLUH a complete sweep of the medals, as well as all All MCC JV 1st and 2nd teams containing SLUH runners. Junior Jake Fitzpatrick (17.17.1) held off a kicking senior George Donahue (17:17.4) by 0.3 seconds for the individual win.
“It was good to know the course so well,” said Fitzpatrick. “My game plan from the beginning was to not look back and then I capitalized on those downhills. I was really excited to get the win and most happy that my teammates completed the JV sweep.”
Sophomore Joe Talleur grabbed third in 17:48, and junior Preston Eash (17:58.2) and senior Patrick Jones (17:58.5) rounded out the Jr. Bills scoring five, finishing with a perfect team score of 15. Those five were joined by sophomores Nathan Khouri (18:06) and Edmund Reske (18:12) as the All MCC JV 1st team. With the Jr. Bills taking the next 11 places as well, the JV races was nothing short of cross country perfection.
“I was really happy with guys making moves and trying to be aggressive and how the race unfolded,” said Porter.
Concluding the dominant day was the freshmen race. Freshman Warnicke Beatty took control of the race early and never looked back, winning in 18:23, an over 30-second lead on second place freshman Gibby Fyvie (18:56).
“I felt good,” said Fyvie. “I knew Warnicke would take it out fast, so I just stuck to my own game plan and it worked out in the end.”
Rounding out the scoring five were freshmen Owen Williams (18:59), Jonah Ebenhoh (19:04) and Phineas Gilbert (19:09). Much like the JV, this squad brought home a perfect score, winning the race easily and grabbing 11 of the 14 available medals.
Hancock
The Jr. Bills built off the momentum from MCC as they traveled back to Jefferson Barracks Park this past Saturday for the Hancock Invitational. High expectations were made for the Jr. Bills as last year they were champions both in the varsity and JV divisions.
In the varsity race, junior Jake Fitzpatrick took home his second win in a row winning with a time of 16:45. Following behind Fitzpatrick was sophomore Luke Hartweger (16:50, 2nd), senior George Donahue (17:04, 3rd), junior Preston Eash (17:14, 5th), and
Fantasy Football Week 8: Starts and Sits
BY Matteo Abbate and Neil O’Connor Staff, reporter
Whether you’re 1-6 fighting for survival or cruising at 6-1, it’s never too late to turn your season around—or at least dodge the dreaded last-place punishment. With injuries piling up across the league, every decision counts more than ever. The right pick can make all the difference between a win and a loss. This week, we’re bringing you 10 start/sit calls that could tip the scales in your favor. Time to lock in and make the right moves for Week 8. Good luck!
(7.4% start) Russell Wilson, Steelers, QB: START. Russell Wilson just came off his debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday night. The veteran QB threw for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ran in a touchdown. Even at the age of 35, Wilson has proved that he still has some gas left in the tank. This upcoming week on Monday Night Football, Wilson is expected to thrive against the New York Giants.
(87.2% start) Brock Bowers, Raiders, TE: SIT. Bowers has been great all year, but the Kansas City Chiefs have been unbreakable when it comes to limiting opposing teams’ top offensive options. With Bowers getting the ball a lot, Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie, S Justin Reid, and LB Drue Tranquill will be on his tail. A lockdown Chiefs defense makes him a strong sit.
(30.7% start) Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins, WR: START. With the return of QB Tua Tagovailoa, it is finally time for Waddle to get back on the fantasy map. This season Waddle has a 100% completion percentage on 9 targets for 150 yards with Tua under center. Now, against a Cardinals defense that gives 8.3 yards per reception, he’ll have a chance to go off.
(21.3% start) Nick Chubb, Browns, RB: SIT. Despite the hype around Chubb’s return, Week 8 is not the time to eagerly insert him into your starting lineup. Chubb averaged 2 yards per carry last week against the Cincinnati Bengals with just 11 attempts for 22 yards. Chubb is still recovering from
his knee injury, so expect a lighter workload similar to last week. The Baltimore Ravens will look to force QB Jameis Winston to beat them and likely pack the box.
(27.0% start) Romeo Doubs, Packers, WR: START. Doubs has emerged as a consistent target for Jordan Love. This past week, Doubs caught 8 out of his 10 targets for 94 yards. Doubs didn’t even get a touchdown and still put up 17.4 fantasy points. Now against the Jaguars this week, who are 31st against wide receivers, Doubs should have a field day against the Jacksonville secondary.
(86.6% start) Malik Nabers, Giants, WR: SIT. Even with a concussion, Malik Nabers has solidified himself as arguably the best WR of his class. The young WR averages 20 fantasy points a game, and was ranked No. 1 among wide receivers prior to his concussion. However, most success among receivers relies heavily on their QB, and Daniel Jones is not getting the job done. As a result, the Giants will struggle against a tough Steelers de-
fense and Nabers will underperform for a second week in a row.
(16.8% start) Hunter Henry, Patriots, TE: START. Hunter Henry has definitely had his ups and downs this year. With Drake Maye emerging as the QB1, my confidence in Henry’s performance has increased greatly. The Patriots face what most describe as a tough Jets defense, but without Robert Saleh, this defense is beginning to fall apart. Hunter Henry just came off of a 92 yards receiving game, catching 8 out of his 9 targets. With Maye finding a solid option to throw to, expect Henry to have a consecutive productive week.
sophomore Joe Talleur (17:24, 7th) rounded out a strong scoring five. These Jr. Bills handily won the team race scoring 16 points, an almost perfect score.
“It is always nice to win a race like this,” said Porter. “Both Jake and Luke did great, and it was really nice to see Jake pull away with not only the win but a faster time than Conference.”
After the excitement of the varsity race, the JV squad was ready to show even more dominance. Junior Jaden Elgin led early and held on to his lead to win in 17:17, an impressive performance after coming back from injury only two weeks ago.
After Elgin, it was all SLUH runners with sophomore Edmund Reske (17:27), senior Gavin Smith (17:28), senior Patrick Jones (17:50), and junior Tristan Kujawa (17:57), making the scoring five. They also were the top 5 in the race as the JV won with a perfect score of 15. The Jr. Bills overall took home 14 of the 15 medals available, overwhelming the competition.
The program now ventures out to Buder Park for the fast and flat Big River Invitational, the final race before the postseason. A strong V2 squad will aim to close out the season strong, and the JV looks forward to once again displaying dominance.
(94.6% start) Alvin Kamara, Saints, RB: SIT. The 2017 third-round pick is coming off a season low 10 rushing yards on 7 attempts. With Spencer Rattler under center, the offense has been plagued by three and outs. With not many opportunities for the Saints to drive down the field, Kamara’s touches have been greatly limited. Expect a tough matchup against the Chargers defense who rank No. 3 against all running.
(10.3% start) DeAndre Hopkins, Chiefs, WR: START. With the huge trade coming in on Wednesday morning, DeAndre Hopkins will finally have a chance to find some success after a rough stretch of Will Levis’ generational memes. Although Mahomes has struggled thus far, that can be widely attributed to his lack of receiver options. Rashee Rice, Marquise Brown, and now Juju Smith-Schuster are all dealing with injuries, so D-hop gives Mahomes a great target moving forward.
(72.9% start) Terry McLaurin, Commanders, WR: SIT. After a rib injury suffered by QB Jayden Daniels, it is unclear whether or not the Commanders will have their main distributor. McLaurin’s production relies heavily on Daniels, so it will be a surprise if he is able to put up similar numbers without him. Additionally, Bears CB Jaylon Johnson has been a lockdown corner since he came in the league and he will shadow McLaurin all game.
Varsity XC posing with the MCC trophy after their victory.
photo | Courtesy of SLUH XC
Football builds on Vianney victory with wins against Chaminade, St. Mary’s
BY Jake Fitzpatrick and Daniel Neuner Core Staff
Over the past two weeks, the St. Louis U. High football team (5-3) has soared to two victories, vanquishing Chaminade 31-21 and trouncing St. Mary’s 31-3 through their explosive run game and smothering defensive line.
Chaminade
Coming off a down-to-the-wire win against the Vianney Griffins, the Jr. Billikens traveled to Lindbergh Ave. on Oct. 11 to face the 3-3 Chaminade Red Devils.
Led by their star senior running back Madden Irving, Chaminade swiftly barreled their way down the field, coming out hot on their first drive of the game with a wildcat formation. The opening score came when Irving charged in for a one-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Red Devils up 7-0.
On SLUH’s first offensive possession of the game, the Jr. Bills offense pummeled the Red Devils on the ground with short runs from junior running back Jordan Taylor. With the SLUH offense on the doorstep of its first score, they showed their audacity on fourth and 6 when Eleby fired a bullet up the middle to Pace, who refused to go down on his way to the Chaminade 5-yard line. Capping off a 75-yard drive that chewed up nearly seven minutes, Taylor galloped in for an untouched two-yard touchdown, his sixth of the year.
“The O-Line has been carrying me all season,” said Taylor. “They are prob ably the biggest reason why I’ve been able to do what I’ve done.”
The Jr. Bills looked to catch the Red Devils off guard with an onside kick after making it 7-7, but were unsuc cessful, giving Chaminade the ball at their own 48-yard line. On third and 3, a wall of SLUH defensive lineman, led by senior defensive tackles Sam Esswein and Michael Sise, hammered Irving in the backfield for a loss of one to make it fourth and 4.
After the Red Devils were unable to convert, the Jr. Bills followed suit on their next possession, going for it on fourth down, but coming up emptyhanded after a failed deep ball to Pace.
With the ball back in Chaminade’s hands, SLUH committed a costly pass interference penalty, giving way to a walk-in touchdown from Irving, mak ing it 14-7 Chaminade.
Thanks to a 25-yard kickoff return from junior pass catcher Zach Allen and a late hit from the Red Devils, SLUH was all of a sudden catapulted into Chami nade territory with less than five min utes to go in the half. After incomple tions to Moore and Allen on second and third down, the Jr. Bills were forced to go for it once again on fourth and 6. Eleby dropped back in the pocket and found Pace across the middle on a quick slant, and he dusted multiple defenders on his way to the end zone, making it 14-14.
“Everyone has been saying that it’s a mindset change,” said Eleby. “And hon estly, I would have to agree. We have so many weapons that if we come out with the right attitude and don’t worry what people have to say about us … we know what we can do.”
“We know that we are one of the top five defenses in Missouri when we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Pace. “We just need to come out with the mindset of dominating every play.”
However, the SLUH offense faltered and was forced to send senior placekicker Christian Ziegler out to kick the 25-yard field goal with the clock expiring at the end of the first half, making it 17-14 SLUH.
Tensions only rose at halftime as the Blue Crew faced off against the Chaminade student section in a milk chug, with senior Declan Duffie dominating the meek Chaminade student and setting the tone for the second half of play.
To start the half, the Jr. Bills slowly ate at the Red Devil defense with short runs from sophomore running back Ty Lige and a third and 8 crossing route to Pace. However, after a false start on fourth and 3, the Jr. Bills couldn’t convert, giving the ball back to Chaminade at their own 40-yard line.
After junior linebacker Kendall McNutt thrashed the Chaminade quarterback in the backfield for a loss of three, the Red Devils were forced to punt, the first punt of the entire game from either team.
With 5:07 left to play in the third quarter and the Jr. Bills in Chaminade territory, the tide shifted as Taylor, following blocks from junior offensive linemen Albert Reinberg and sophomore Kaiden Eleby, bounced it to the sideline and took it 42 yards to the
Despite scoring a touchdown through the air to Weaver with 5:38 left to go in the game, it was too little too late for the Red Devils as the Jr. Bills were able to cruise to a 31-21 win.
“Defensively, we held the number two rusher in the St. Louis area (Madden Irving) to 78 yards. Offensively, our offensive line played really well and Kyren took care of the football. He made smart throws that put our team in a really good spot going forward. And then I can’t speak highly enough about Landon Pace. He was 4 for 4 on conversions and that touchdown he had was
St. Mary’s route and picked up his third interception of the season.
“Ben is the only sophomore that we start that wasn’t on varsity as a freshman, but Ben has really stepped into that role at the safety position,” said Cruz.
This time, SLUH had a nose for the end zone on their third possession. A striding Allen, escaping the coverage of three defenders, caught the ball on a 42yard touchdown reception.
On their next drive, St. Mary’s advanced to their 47-yard line before the conclusion of the first quarter, with the scoreboard reading a 10-0 lead for SLUH. But on their first play of the second quarter, Landon Pace made a stinging tackle for loss to force a punt
Less than five minutes later, the momentum carried over to the defensive side of the ball where, on third and 15, the Swiss army knife of Pace met the Chaminade quarterback in the backfield, stripping the ball loose and recovering it at the Chaminade 20. Baby powder and Blue Crew chants exploded in the air as Pace came up big for SLUH once again. Pace shined on both sides of the ball with 7 receptions and 97 receiving yards to go with his sack, tackle, and recovered fumble on the defensive side of the ball.
ary these last stretch of games,” said defensive end Sebastian Tate. “He’s been a ball magnet and a big reason why our defense has been able to click.”
Putting the exclamation point on a stellar offensive performance from the Jr. Bills, Ty Lige weaved his way up the middle for a 14-yard rushing touchdown, his second of the year to make it 31-14 SLUH.
“You’re only as good as the depth that you have at the position, so Ty is crucial for us,” said head coach Adam Cruz. “He’s a power runner and has found his stride in our offense.”
On the Dragons’ first play of the game, quarterback J’mareon Smith broke free on a run all the way to SLUH’s 34-yard line. But as he went down, Moore stripped the ball loose and sophomore Jaxon Bennet recovered it to send the Jr. Bills offense right back out on the field.
On the following drive, the Jr. Bills were pinned back by a bad snap and with an incompletion on third and 23, they had to punt the ball to St. Mary’s. SLUH’s aggressive defense made St. Mary’s pay for any errors. With a great read of the play, Yust jumped the
On offense, SLUH looked to move the chains into St Mary’s side of the field. This was in doubt on fourth and 1, but Eleby made a powerful rush for the first down. However, he fumbled the ball on a scramble two plays later and St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s then went three and out and punted to the Jr. Bills, who picked up a first down with an explosive run up the middle by Taylor. On third and 13 Eleby looked to Harris down the sideline but the ball was just out of reach for
On a St. Mary’s third down, Tate made a crucial tackle on the line to force another three and out for St. Mary’s, giving SLUH one more offensive drive be-
A pass interference call gave SLUH a beneficial 15-yard nudge upfield with 15 seconds left. With less than 3 seconds remaining, Eleby aired it out to the end zone, where Harris, surrounded by multiple St. Mary’s defensive backs, made a leaping catch for the ball to stretch SLUH’s lead to 17 points going into
“It was getting close to the end of the half. I just went up and got the ball, and it gave us momentum and a lot more energy to keep our feet on their necks
A stellar second half kickoff by senior Jose Rincon set St. Mary’s back at their 17-yard line. Despite the unfavorable field position, a monstrous 78-yard reception by Malahn Green catapulted the Dragons to SLUH’s 10-yard line.
St. Mary’s took a reluctant timeout due to the noise emanating from the rallying SLUH sideline. On third and goal on the 10, Tate sacked Barnes in a big stand by the U. High defense. Nevertheless, with a field goal St. Mary’s finally put points on the scoreboard.
A shifty 26-yard run by Taylor and a first down pickup by senior Levi Miller put SLUH eight yards from the end zone. From there, Taylor forcefully carried the ball up the middle for a touchdown, putting SLUH up by three touchdowns.
“Jordan has been starting to get healthy over these two games. He’s
showing us who he really is, and he’s our bell cow,” said Cruz.
The Jr. Billiken defense again stood in the way of first downs for St. Mary’s, forcing them to come up with inventive play calls. On fourth down, the Dragons attempted a fake punt but Harris wrapped up the ball carrier and stopped St. Mary’s short of the first down.
Following the turnover, junior Will Schulte hauled in a touchdown reception that was called back due to offensive pass interference. Set back even further by illegal procedure and holding penalties, the Bills were unable to move to a first down on third and 30, despite a 20yard gain by Taylor, who was continuing his spectacular rushing performance.
A crucial fourth and 2 play faced St. Mary’s to begin the fourth quarter. Deciding to keep their offense on the field and take the risk, the Dragons were swarmed by the SLUH defense in the backfield and trampled by a 15-yard sack from seniors Dominic Sansone and Caleb Treadwell.
Back on offense, SLUH pushed upfield with Taylor on the ground. But a St. Mary’s fumble recovery turned a first down pickup deep in Dragons territory into a turnover.
Although they weren’t blessed with much rest, the Jr. Bills’ defensive unit didn’t show their fatigue on the following drive. McNutt and Harris teamed up for a tackle for loss, and St. Mary’s ended up punting the ball to Moore, who turned an initial fumble on the play into a great 25-yard return.
“This year, teams are starting to game-plan against Keenan. So the fact that he’s still getting 10, 12 tackles a game speaks to the type of player he is. He’s finding a way to make a difference defensively,” Cruz said.
Picking up where Moore left off, Taylor rushed for a red zone first down to the 1-yard line, capping off his night at an impressive 281 rushing yards. On first and goal, Eleby walked the ball in for a short rushing touchdown, running the scoreboard up to 31-3.
Putting their best foot forward on each snap of Senior Night, Treadwell, Sise, and senior Michael Hohl crushed the Dragons’ diminished spirit with three sacks in a row. Their defensive excellence returned the ball to Eleby, who in victory formation ended the game with a knee.
With a commanding 31-3 victory in recent memory, the Jr. Bills will approach the postseason with confidence and momentum. But first, the Bills will defend their house once more in a final regular season contest against their Kansas City Jesuit counterparts, the Rockhurst Hawklets, on Friday night.
“In the last few games it’s all about winning to get our first round bye. Everybody wants to be well-rested,” said Taylor. “Getting a win really means a lot moving forward as a team and gives a lot to our morale.”
Junior Jordan Taylor weaves through St. Mary’s defenders.
photo | Clark Davis
Undefeated Swim and Dive tramples Vianney at Senior Night
BY Brendan Hunt and Henry Hassenstab reporters
This past Tuesday night, the seniors of Swim and Dive celebrated their four years of swimming for St. Louis U. High’s varsity squad—a journey consisting of grueling practices, great victories, and some defeats—with a dominant win against Vianney. The team is still undefeated as they press on closer and closer to MCC and state championships.
With the senior swimmers’ final season coming to an end in just a few weeks, Senior Night was a great way for the boys to celebrate their accomplishments on the team. The seniors—Jaden Yarborough, Luke Gill, Evan Zimmerman, Derek Nester, Charlie Hill, Ben Chumley, and Greyson Mueller—received flowers, took photos with their parents, and were cheered on by the team.
“My favorite part of the night is the slip and slide that the seniors run through,” said varsity coach Lindsey Ehret. “It’s just that the joy of childhood comes back into their faces after weeks and years of hard swim practices, and they just get, you know, that two seconds of joy at the end of senior day.”
The meet kicked off with the 200 medley relay, which had the seniors, juniors, and sophomores on separate relay teams against each other, as well as the Vianney relay. In a surprising turn of events, the junior relay edged out the seniors by a little over a second, securing a comfortable win
due to a blazing final leg of the race by junior Ethan Hill.
The meet continued, and the Jr. Bills continued to dominate Vianney, taking first, second and third in every single race up until the dive break, where freshman Brahm Malkus took third in diving with a score of 112.55.
The 500 freestyle was also an important race, as sprinters like freshman Alex Wiggins and senior Derek Nester, as well as IM swim -
swim whatever stroke you want as long as you enter the water on your stomach. There were only SLUH swimmers in the race, for a total of three relays. In the end, the A relay took first, the B relay took second, and the C relay took third, finishing the meet.
“My favorite part of the meet was definitely the 400 free turned IM’s, because it’s fun to race with all of the other seniors on our special day,” said Nester.
ebration before the hard work to win a state title really kicked in. Food and drinks were served to the seniors and the rest of the team after the meet, and the seniors reflected on the time spent on a very loyal and deeply bonded team.
“As a freshman, I really looked up to the seniors,” said senior Greyson Mueller. “They were really cool, and now I finally get to embody that role for the rest of the team. I’m trying my best to live up
mer junior Max Boevingloh competed in the event, with Wiggins taking first, Nester taking second, and Boevingloh taking third.
The last race of great importance was the 400 free relay, which was turned into the 4x100 IM by the swimmers. Due to a loophole in the rules for freestyle, you can
“My favorite part of the meet was giving my mom a rose, because all throughout my swim and water polo career, she’s supported me, and that was a great way to say thank you.” said senior captain Luke Gill.
Following this successful meet, the seniors were excited for a cel -
to the expectations and lead the team.”
As the boys now are choosing what colleges they want to attend, if they want to swim in college, and simply what their journey will be like in their future as adults, their experiences on an incredible team will always stay with them.
“From the distance practices, long hours and long sets, I’ve really learned determination and resilience, and especially how to set goals and achieve them,” said Mueller. “And that’ll definitely help me in and out of the pool.”
Above all, the parental bonds that are so strongly encouraged and held by the seniors were on full display, as assistant coach Jason Chumley watched his son Ben be recognized at the end of the meet, and it was an emotional moment for him.
“I think that watching Ben as well as the other seniors mature and grow has been a highlight of my coaching career, and I’m excited for what’s to come for Ben, both in swimming and in life,” said Chumley.
Additionally, Ehret, after coaching, mentoring, and pushing these boys to do more than what they thought they could achieve in four years, will soon have to say goodbye to a tight-knit group of swimmers.
“They understand me, I understand them, and we’ve got a connection that is very rare, I think, in high school sports because lots of times you’re a junior or senior before you make the varsity team,” said Ehret. “I trust the seniors so much because they know what they’re doing, and you can’t replace that kind of experience that they brought into the team and that they’ve continued on with the last three years. They’re timeless, like they’ve always been a part of the team.”
Soccer takes out Triad, loses to Vianney and De Smet
BY Theo Agniel and Andrew Chalmers Sports Editor, reporter
After a landslide victory against Triad, the St. Louis U. High soccer team (11-5-3) dropped two games to MCC opponents. Miscommunication in the backfield and lack of capitalizing on scoring chances throughout the two losses offered the Jr. Bill side an opportunity to learn from their mistakes as they have two games left in the season before Districts.
Triad
Two Saturdays ago, the St. Louis U. High Soccer team trekked across the Mississippi River into Troy, Illinois to take on the Triad Knights. With no games in the week prior,
the team was ready for action.
“The schedule is a little different this year. We ‘re not as heavy in terms of games in October and we were talking as a group that it might be a great advantage allowing us to practice more. I thought we had a great week of practice beforehand,” said O’Connell.
The game started with a jolt of energy from the Knights but that quickly was put to rest when sophomore Javi Vigil scored in the top left of the goal off a cross from senior captain John Hasemeier. The Jr. Bills kept the energy high when, less than five minutes later, Vigil struck another one into the top of the goal, this time on the right side.
The Triad coach attempted to rally his team but this was quickly shut down as junior James Barry won a
penalty and scored it in the bottom left with composure.
As the Jr. Bills scored more throughout the game, the Triad energy dipped lower and lower. This pace continued after Vigil’s goal when junior captain Henry Sanders scored a one time finish off of another cross by Hasemeier, shortly before halftime. With a score of 4-0 at half, the Jr.Bills were happy that they had finally found a scoring rhythm.
“Triad was a good opportunity for us to find the back of the net which has been a challenge for us all season,” said junior Will Unger.
After the half, the Knights came out with a spark of energy, but this was quickly put down by a free kick goal from junior Andrew Wolf. Six minutes later, senior Max Tieber tracked down a Triad defender and
stole the ball, creating a breakaway chance that he tucked low past the keeper. With a few minutes left in the game, junior Andrew Angeli found the ball on a cross which he tapped in gently for the Jr. Bills final goal. The game ended with a final score of 7-1.
Vianney
Last Saturday, the Jr. Bill soccer team found great success in controlling the ball against Vianney, however, a spectacular goal and tight defense led the Griffins to a 1-0 win over SLUH. The game was held in honor of a Vianney senior Jack Higgins who has been fighting cancer, with donations going to support his medical journey.
The Jr. Bills established a strong presence on the field the whole game, controlling possession and creating various attacking chances. However, it was Vianney who struck first, scoring a volley off a corner kick with 23:25 left in the first half.
Coming out of half down by one, SLUH felt the heat to level the scoreline. Late in the half, sophomore Gabe Khazen leaped into the air and just missed scoring the tying goal. Junior James Barry had the last chance for the Jr. Bills, as he managed to get a breakaway, yet he missed a shot on goal.
Despite Vianney walking away with a 1-0 win, the Jr. Bills’ side was able to generate scoring opportunities, something they had been struggling with throughout the season.
“The chances were certainly there if you watched,” said O’Connell. “We hope to learn from that (Vianney) game. I’d rather have that game now than in a couple of weeks.”
De Smet
Last Tuesday night, the Jr. Bills
played at De Smet Jesuit High School, where they lost 4-0. After losing to Chaminade, St. Dominic’s, and Vianney, the Spartans were hoping to capture their first win in a while against SLUH.
De Smet started off hot, taking the lead within two minutes of the game. Some miscommunication in the box led to the Spartans repossessing a missed shot, playing it to a wide open player, and flicking it into the net for the first goal of the game.
After scoring one, the Spartans never looked back. Ten minutes into the game, the Spartans scored another with a shot inside the box that trickled past sophomore goalkeeper Cole Chambers.
Down two goals, the Jr. Bills were able to stop the bleeding for a few minutes, as they started to create chances on the other end of the field. However, De Smet’s strong backline stifled any opportunities the Jr. Bills had. A De Smet goal in the last two minutes of the first half and another goal 90 seconds into the second half didn’t help either, and the Jr. Bills lost 4-0.
Looking Ahead
Tonight, the Jr. Bills square off against CBC at home at 6:30, where they hope to avenge the loss they had earlier in the season to the Cadets. On Saturday, the Jr. Bills celebrate their seniors against MICDS at 2 p.m. at SLUH in their last game of the regular season.
“There’s a sense of urgency. We keep harping on the same things, but at some point there is a final exam—a moment where we need to be at our best,” said O’Connell. “We’ve told them all year that we believe in their quality and we just need to see it in these games here at the end.”
Junior Max Boevingloh competing in the 100 yard butterfly.
photo | Andrew Hunt
Senior John Hasemeier preparing to take a free kick.
photo | Clark Davis
1. Dog’s warning 5.
Something with a small focal
19. “Don’t _____ surprised.”
20. Team game played in the dark
21. They end with F or G at SLUH
22. Propeller of air
The X-Word X-pert Jack Courington finally dethrones Matty “The Mallet” Kleinberg. Keep an eye out for this section next week; some rules may be subject to change.
Editor in Chief
Micah “Mr. Humberfloob” Doherty
News Editors
Andrew “Leonardo” Hunt
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44. Common sports stat (but not baseball)
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50. At rest, formally 55. Brain sections
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FOOD MENU
Monday, October 28
Activity Period: Toasted Ravoli Homestyle Fresh Lunch: Chicken LoMein
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Activity Period: Pretzels and Cheese Homestyle Fresh Lunch: Cajun Chicken Pasta
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Activity Period: Boneless Chicken Homestyle Fresh Lunch: Beef Barbocoa
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Activity Period: CornDogs
Homestyle Fresh Lunch: Sausage Peppers and Onions
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Activity Period: Funnel Cake
Homestyle Fresh Lunch: Papa John’s
Core Staff Jens “Kirkwood Call” Istvan
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8. Metric units of mass
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52. “Hold _____ your hat!”
53. Hearty soup
54. Channel known by its acronym since
1985
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Monday, October 28
Augustana College Univeristy of Missouri Columbia Santa Clara University Univeristy of St Thomas
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Madhavan “Loch Ness” Anbukumar
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