A Catholic, college-preparatory school, grades 7-12
Red Knight Highlights

Please submit suggestions for Red Knight Highlights to Caren Hansen.

Posted May 22

A total of 97 BSM students were honored with President’s Service Awards. See the listing on our website.

Ten seniors were recognized for having perfect attendance all four years of high school: Valentina Benito-Correa, Killian Commers, Reilly Dillon, Glynnis Forsberg, Andrew Helms, Taylor Kenyon, Matthew Monahan, Joseph Pettinger, Ben Rosengren and Karen Valde.

Two boys’ lacrosse players are in the running for major awards. Senior Thomas Gilligan is one of two finalists for Minnesota’s Mr. Goalie. Senior Simon Gondeck is one of seven finalists for Mr. Lacrosse. Winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony on June 3.

National Honor Society officers have been elected for next year. Current juniors Dan Letscher, Katie Sisk and Stephen Jacobs will serve as president, vice president and secretary, respectively.

Student Council class officers have been elected for the 2011-2012 school year. For the seniors, Jake Szarzynski will be president; Luke Musech, vice president; Connor Gallaher, secretary; and Maddie Carras, treasurer. For the juniors, Grace Coughlin will be president, Jack Johnson vice president; Kathy Marinelli, secretary; and Carter Burn, treasurer. For the sophomores, Maddie Karlen, will be president; Blake Castaneda, vice president; Sofie Scott, secretary;and Mary Pat Ross, treasurer.

Posted May 15

Seniors Myles Anderson and Andy Wolf earned their Boy Scouts Eagle Scout Award. Myles led teams of volunteers in designing and building mobile display cases for Feed My Starving Children for his final project. These large cabinets on wheels house merchandise made by people in developing countries and are sturdy enough so that the mobile packing crews can transport them on semi-trucks through the country. Andy’s project involved replacing the landscaping timbers around a large playground at Immaculate Heart of Mary. In doing so, Andy talked to local companies and individuals, securing time and discounted materials for completing the project.

Seniors Stephanie Hertzenberg and Amy Pannek both qualified for the USA Gymnastics Western National Meet, held in Idaho. At the Region IV competition, Stephanie was 4th on vault, 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor and 4th all-around. Amy finished 5th for the floor routine at regionals. At nationals, Stephanie went on to place 9th on floor.

Posted May 8

Seniors Dan Lundberg and Jack McGinn have been named National Merit Scholars and will each receive a $2,500 Merit Scholarship. They are two of 22 west-metro students to achieve this honor.

On May 5, senior Stephen Bauer received his Eagle Scout Award, the highest award to earn in Boy Scouts. Stephen completed his Eagle project to benefit the BSM community in the fall of 2009, when he organized a project he called "Goodbye Red Brick Road," in order to clear the path for the construction of the new BSM football field. He planned, organized and led the removal of 22,000 paver bricks, resulting in 83 stacked pallets of bricks to be reused by BSM in the future. This project entailed over 350 volunteer hours.

Junior Haley Jerabek set a new school record in the 1600-meter run at the May 4 track meet. Haley’s time was 5:15.52, 4 seconds faster than the previous record.

Senior Ashley Valentine received a “best in state” honor at a vocal soloists contest. Superior ratings were awarded to juniors Gavin McLain and Christine Silikowski, sophomore Lexi Johnson and freshmen Stephanie Galvin and Luke Guidinger.

Eighth grader Alec Lawrenz scored in the top 20 percent on the National French Exam. He will be honored at a breakfast on May 18 at the University of Minnesota.

Posted May 1

Several BSM world language students attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2012 National Spanish Examinations. Three Red Knights earned silver medals, nine, bronze and 28 received honorable mention. Silver medalists included freshmen Patrick Hunter and Mikela Wolf and seventh grader Holly Caboti-Jones. Bronze medalists were juniors Anne Arnason, Madeline Carras, Catherine Cole and Makoto Noda, sophomores Sage Fulco and Samantha Letscher, freshmen Zach Smith and Jacqueline Theisen and eighth grader Emma Bird.

On March 15, 56 BSM high school Latin students (Latin I through Latin V) took the National Latin Exam. Eleven won commendation for their scores.  All the commended students receive a certificate; the two highest levels of commendation also receive medals (this year, we had two gold medalists and one silver). Honorees were recognized in the following categories: Summa Cum Laude (gold medal): sophomore Michelle Sauer (Latin II) and freshman Hugo Lindsay (Latin III); Maxima Cum Laude (silver medal): sophomore Helen Lindsay (Latin III); Magna Cum Laude: junior Jackie Scherer (Latin IV-prose); sophomores Alex Barnett (Latin III); Jeremy Pastir (Latin II) and Katie Wolf (Latin I); and freshmen Jon Cadle (Latin I) and Jack Pupel (Latin I); Cum Laude: sophomore Andrew Birkeland (Latin III) and freshman Glenna Greer (Latin II).

Freshman Danny Fritsche was promoted to the rank of third degree black belt through National Karate on Saturday, April 28, successfully completing curriculum in self defense, classical basics and form, sparring and target/pad strikes. Danny continues as an assistant instructor in several National Karate schools and competes at the local and national level in traditional and creative individual/team form.

Posted April 24

Senior Jimmy Heck was selected as a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week. This baseball player was described as “economical in a five-hit, complete-game shutout of St. Francis, needing only 89 pitches and striking out 10. He followed that by hitting a game-winning three-run homer in a 10-8 victory over Wayzata.”

Senior Mikayla Coulombe was crowned Prom Princess at an April 30 coronation. Other candidates included Juliet Beckstrand, Sarah Ehlen, Lizzie Geiwitz, Stephanie Hertzenberg, and Ashley Sanger. Emcees were Anna Landis and Ashley Ward. Mr. BSM, Kale Walch, crowned Princess Mikayla.

Student Council executive officers have been elected for the 2012-2013 school year. Senior Spencer Shaver will serve as president; junior Matt Adamson, vice president; senior Mikey Koller, secretary; senior Emily Egge, Commissioner of Publicity, and senior Joe Pauly, Commissioner of Student Activities.

Posted April 17

BSM has selected senior high student Lizzy Wolfe (a senior), and junior high student Gunnar Lundberg (an 8th grader) for the St. Louis Park Caring Youth Award. Also receiving this award is junior Liza Magill, who was chosen by Perspectives, Inc. for the volunteer work she has done for this organization.

Seniors Amy Pannek (TwinCity Twisters) and Stephanie Hertzenberg (North Shore Gymnastics Association) qualified to compete in the USA Gymnastics Level 9 Regional Championships to be held April 20-22 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The Region meet will have gymnasts from Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri. The top finishers will qualify to compete at the Western National meet the beginning of May in Bosie, Idaho.

The National Scholastic Press Association has named the Knight Errant website a winner of the national Pacemaker Award, the organization’s highest honor. This is the group's fouth consecutive win.

Senior Josie Dillon was an honorable mention on the Minnesota Girls’ Basketball Coaches Association’s Class AAA All-state team.

Senior Casey Nightingale was awarded All-American Academic for her scholastic and diving accomplishments this year. Only 2% of high school aquatics participants are given this honor.

Junior Grant Besse is currently a Pioneer Press Athlete of the Week for baseball. One of the highlights mentioned was that he was “5 for 12 with seven runs batted in, including a career-high 3-for5 performance with 5 RBIs in a 16-6 victory over Fridley.”

Posted April 10

Seniors Christian Horn and Will Hoesley were listed in the Star Tribune “10 Boys to Watch” for the boys’ lacrosse season. Our boys’ varsity lacrosse team—state champion for the past two years—was also listed number one for the top five boys’ teams.

Freshman Gunnar Bowman will be attending the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine in Boston this summer, from June 24-July 3.

Posted April 3

At the recent section meet, the BSM speech team claimed first place. Senior Anna Landis nabbed the top spot in the category of Serious Interpretation of Poetry, and freshman Jacqui Theisen was named a champion for her informative speech. These two will be joined by 10 other Red Knights at the state competition, being held Saturday, April 21, at Chanhassen High School. Other qualifiers include seniors Juilet Beckstrand (Great Speeches), Emily Herrmann (Discussion), Sian Last (Discussion), Elizabeth Patton (Original Oratory), and Jen Vogl (Creative Expression); juniors Rachel Hogen (Storytelling) and Liza Magill (Extemporaneous Speaking); sophomores Brandon Easter (Dramatic Interpretation) and Matt Brinza (Serious Interpretation of Prose) and freshman Sarah Karels (Extemporaneous Reading).

Posted March 21

Seniors Teddy Brown, Levi Caffes, Sam Conley, Patrick Freese, Alex Herbst, Emily Hermann, Carter McNew, Nicole Sauer, Paul Sonsalla, and Brian Tobelmann have been selected to represent BSM’s ACS team by participating in the RoboCup World Championship in Mexico this June.

Eighth-grader Aeryuana Powell was recently honored with the Launa Q. Newman Young Leadership Award. On March 8, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Minnesota Black Pages and the LTL International Leadership Institute hosted the first annual Launa Q. Newman Community Services Awards. The luncheon at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis was in recognition of Women’s History Month. Aeryana has participated in several volunteer activities over the past four years, such as helping to stuff over 500 backpacks with school supplies, clipping and counting box-tops for her school’s fundraiser, and reading one-on-one with students with literacy challenges.

Seniors Sanjay Lumpkin and Isaiah Zierden were two of the five players selected to the Star Tribune All-Metro boys’ basketball team. Sanjay is said to have “the athleticism to bounce between forward and guard.” Isaiah “is a very good shooter who can bury shots deep”…and “handles the ball well and can get to the rim.” These two also made the Pioneer Press All-Tournament Team and are two of the five finalists for Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball title.

Junior Grant Besse was featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd feature. The magazine recounted that Grant “scored all five goals, three of them shorthanded, in a 5-1 victory over Hill-Murray for the 2A title to set a state tournament championship game scoring record” and that he “had 52 goals this season to set the school career record (115).”

Freshman Mari Larsen entered a radio contest, submitting a question to be asked of Hunger Games cast members during their Mall of America visit. Her question was one of two chosen, allowing her special access at the event.

Posted March 13

The boys’ hockey team earned their first Class AA state championship title, defeating Hill-Murray, 5-1. Red Knights named to the All-Tournament Team included senior Christian Horn and juniors Grant Besse, Dan Labosky and Justin Quale. Coach Ken Pauly was selected as the Class AA Coach of the Year.

Season awards for the Dance Team included two for JV Jazz: Most Improved - Megan Benson and Rookie of the Year - Kendal Malcolm and several for varsity jazz and kick: Coaches' Award - Alex Bonvino, Sarah Ehlen, Liz Goulet, Taylor Kenyon, Emily Kruse, Emily Parsons and Natalie Walsh; Rookie of the Year - Margaux Brink; Academic All Conference - Sarah Ehlen, Taylor Kenyon, Emily Kruse, Emily Parsons and Natalie Walsh; Sportsmanship Award - Sara Ehlen; All Conference - Sarah Ehlen, Liz Goulet, Emily Parsons and Katie Segner; All Conference Honorable Mention - Jacqueline Beiter, Alex Bonvino, Megan Johnson and Emily Kruse; All-Tournament Team - Taylor Kenyon and Natalie Walsh; and MADT All-State Team - Alex Bonvino, Taylor Kenyon, Emily Kruse and Natalie Walsh.

Posted March 6

During the weekend of February 26, sophomore Blaze Best competed in three different motocross classes for the National Arenacross Series at the Target Center. He earned second, third, and fourth in the main event finals. With these results and other recent strong finishes, Blaze completed the North Region Arenacross Series as the champion of the 105cc Sr. class with the highest combined points and finished third overall in his other two race classes. These series standings qualify Blaze as one of the top twenty in the nation for the Amateur National Arenacross Championships to be held in Las Vegas in May. Blaze is the only Minnesota motocross competitor to qualify for the National Championships in his race classes.

Junior Jarred Oftedahl earned a fifth-place finish at the state wrestling meet, competing at 113 pounds.

Results from the state boys’ swimming meet are as follows:
200 Free - Jack McGinn/7th Place (new school record)
200 IM - Jack Swanson/16th Place (new school record)
50 Free - Alex Roe/14th Place & Scott Quinby/15th Place (new school record)
100 Fly - Jack McGinn/12th Place
200 Free Relay - 7th Place (new school record)
100 Backstroke - Parker Johnson/15th Place
400 Free Relay - 11th Place (new school record)

Seven speech students are all-conference champions: seniors Emily Herrmann (Discussion), Anna Landis (Serious Interpretation of Poetry), Elizabeth Patton (Original Oratory) and Liz Tyhacz (Creative Expression); sophomores Yemi Benyame (Serious Interpretation of Prose) and Sam Letscher (Great Speeches); and freshman Jacqui Theisen (Informative). The team won the Academic All-Conference Title, and coach Maura Brew was named the Conference Coach of the Year.

The boys’ hockey team has qualified for the state tournament. Their first game will be Thursday, March 8, at 8 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center.

Posted February 28

Senior Kelsie Lanz has been selected to receive a Violet Richardson Award, which recognizes young women who make the community and world a better place through volunteer efforts. Kelsie is a volunteer with the American Humane Society. She will receive her award at a ceremony in May.

Three Red Knight wrestlers have qualified for the State AA Meet, which will be held Friday, March 2, at the Xcel Energy Center. Seventh grader Jake Allar will wrestle at 106 pounds, junior Jarred Oftedahl, at 111 pounds, and freshman Logan Kass at 126 pounds.

Five boys will represent the varsity boys’ swim team at state. The varsity team finished fourth at the Section 2A meet. State will be held Thursday, March 1, at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. The following Red Knights will compete at state:
Senior Jack McGinn  – 200-yard freestyle
Freshman Jack Swanson – 200-yard individual medley (school record set at section meet)
Senior Scott Quinby – 50-yard freestyle
Jack McGinn – 100-yard butterfly (school record set at section meet)
Scott Quinby – 100-yard freestyle
Team of junior Alexander Roe, Quinby, Johnson & McGinn – 200-yard freestyle relay (school record set at section meet)
Senior Parker Johnson – 100-yard backstroke
Team of Roe, Quinby, Johnson & McGinn – 400-yard freestyle relay (school record set at section meet)

The valedictorians for the Class of 2012 are John (Jack) McGinn and Nicole Sauer. Salutatorians are Emily Herrmann and Jack Lee.

BSM’s athletic trainer Kristin Gilbertson (also a teacher in the junior high) received a Pinnacle Award from Fairview Clinic (which contracts with BSM for Kristen’s services). Earning a Pinnacle Award means that Kristen’s peers place her performance “at the top” of her profession. Comments related to this award include, “Her drive for a positive patient experience is clearly shown through her compassion and dedication to each athlete,” and “She goes the extra mile to make sure all student athletes are informed and educated in their treatment plan and directs those patients to the best possible care available.”

Girls’ hockey forward Kelly Pannek, a sophomore, was named to the Star Tribune’s All-Metro second team. The paper noted that she is “strong, physical and hard to stop around the net.” Junior Liv Halvorson was named to the third team.

Posted February 21

Eighth graders Rachel Lyons, Peter Valerius and Charlie Wolfe are each being awarded a $2,000 Parent Association Scholarship for having some of the highest scores on the ACT Explore test, which they took at BSM in January. They will each receive $1,000 for both freshman and sophomore years.

The Knightettes finished as the state runner-up this past weekend. Seniors Natalie Walsh and Taylor Kenyon were chosen as members of the Wells Fargo All-State Tournament Team. Seniors Alex Bonvino and Emily Kruse will perform with them on Saturday, March 17, as part of the MADT All-State Tournament Team.

Posted February 14

The senior high Math League finished their regular season Monday, February 13, claiming the Metro Alliance Division championship. They will now be going to state on Monday, March 12. BSM had six of the top 10 individuals in the section:  seniors Jack Lee, Maxim Lu and Brian Tobelmann, juniors Jack Munkeby and Elizabeth Vertina and sophomore Erin Choi. In addition to these six, three other students will represent the Red Knights at state: seniors Stephen Bauer and Michael Gerten, and sophomore Callaghan Commers.

Seniors Mikayla Coulombe and Tara Fan won the Minnesota High School Team State Table Tennis Tournament on Sunday, February 12.

Two girls and one boy on the Alpine ski team are headed to state. Senior Jordan Dritz and juniors Mary Grace Arndt and Archie Boyle will compete at Giant’s Ridge on February 15.

The Knightettes dance team will try to repeat as state champions in jazz funk at the meet being held February 17.

Posted February 7

BSM junior Grant Besse has set a new boys’ hockey school record for career goals. During a January 31 game against Bloomington Jefferson, Besse’s first goal of five that evening put him at 88, breaking the previous record. Since then, he has increased his total to 96. He also has 13 hat tricks to his credit. Besse plans to play for Wisconsin.

Senior Breion Creer signed to play football for Northern Iowa.

Faculty member Kathy Green was nominated for the Minnesota Council of the Social Studies Teacher of the Year. She has also been selected to serve as a table leader for the 2012 reading in AP European History.

Posted January 31

Twelve students were given All-Conference honors for choir: seniors Anna Landis, Carter McNew, Josh Paquette, Peggy Renier, Shannon Stroh and Ben Zeman, juniors Peter Best, Adam Bilski and Gavin McLain, and Christine Silikowski, and sophomores Avery Bather and Sierra Twesten.

Posted January 24

Several Red Knight students were honored for the artwork their teachers submitted to Minnesota Scholastic Arts Awards. MSAA is the most competitive arts program in the state. Art teachers from across Minnesota submit up to ten of the best artworks produced by their students within the last year. Silver Key recipients were seniors Emma Buss, Glynnis Forsberg, David Jarvis and Elena Lyon and junior Maddy Olson. Honorable Mention went to seniors Allie Ison and Amanda Johnson, juniors Morgan Larson, Maddy Olson, Franny Peck and Thomas Shellhorn, and sophomores Jacklyn Cooney (2 Honorable Mentions), Jacqueline Hays, Gibson Reine and Micah Vandersteen. The 2011-2012 Minnesota Scholastic Art Exhibition is open to the public daily from January 30 to February 26 in the Minnesota College of Art and Design’s Concourse Gallery. The awards ceremony for the Silver Key winners will be held on February 26.

All-Conference Award recipients for the One-Act play were seniors Brenton Jayasuriya and Ned Meeker, junior Emily Kline, and sophomore Brandon Easter. Freshman Mary Pat Ross earned Honorable Mention.

At BSM’s annual film festival, the Grand Jury Prize, as well as the Audience Award went to seniors Jimmy Heck, Johnny Mulvahill, Joe Pettinger and Joe Sutton for “A Man’s Decision.” Seniors Annie Coleman, Sam Mogensen, Catherine Ruekert and Connor Welch earned the Directing Award for “The General vs. the Aristocat.” The Screenwriting Award was awarded for “Three,” made by seniors David Jarvis, Anders Jecha, Scott Quinby and Dillon Smith. Seniors Reilly Dillon, Ryan Lawyer and Simon Gondeck took home the Cinematography Award for “Operation Niner-niner.”

Posted January 17

Sophomore girls’ hockey player Kelly Pannek scored a hat trick not just during Tuesday night’s game or during one period, but in one shift. Within 22 seconds of playing time, Kelly had scored three goals, besting the previous state record of 54 seconds. She finished the game with a total of four goals and one assist, helping the Red Knights to a 9-2 victory over Totino-Grace.

Senior Sam Conley was crowned Grand Knight. He and his escort, Leila Aboussir, will reign over Holiday Ball this weekend.

Posted January 10

Grand Knight candidates include seniors Sam Conley, Joe Gill, Sevy Gondeck, Simon Gondeck, Johnny Mulvahill, and Joe Pettinger.  Emcees for coronation will be Breion Creer and Paul Kretsch. 

Senior Sanjay Lumpkin was named to the Timberwolves Shootout All-Tournament Team for his 29 points and 10 rebounds during the competition, held last weekend.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s School has nominated Emily Egge and Spencer Shaver for the ExCEL (Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership) Award. Sponsored by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and Minnesota’s Private Colleges, ExCEL is a unique recognition program designed exclusively for Minnesota high school juniors. Students who are active in fine arts and/or athletic activities, who show leadership qualities and who are model citizens in their community are eligible for the award.

Posted January 3

Junior Catherine Cole received a top score on her PSAT test. According to the College Board website, "The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a program cosponsored by the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). It's a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT®. It also gives you a chance to enter NMSC scholarship programs and gain access to college and career planning tools."

Posted December 21

Senior boys’ basketball player Isaiah Gray was featured as a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week. As indicated, his “all-around game was crucial to the Red Knights’ 76-71 victory Friday over Class 4A-s top-ranked Hopkins. He scored 13 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had eight assists.”

The Knightettes, our girls’ varsity Dance Team, have been invited to perform at the University of Minnesota Performing Show, traditionally known as “The Best of the Best.” It is an invite-only show of elite high school and dance teams from the area, being held Friday, January 6, at Williams Arena. 

Posted December 13

BSM had two 7th grade squads participating in the First Lego League tournament this year (representing our school for the first time in several years). The Knight Ops, led by Chris Kasic, included T.J. Baker, Nick Kasic, Chaz Linder, Liam Long, Juliana Ondrey, Drew Ormsby, and Cole Ries. This group received an award at the regional tournament on December 4 for the top robot programming in the 7th-9th grade division. The Tiki Punches, led by Christopher Jones and including Jack Boase, Christopher Jones, Sean Lynch, Daniel McMenamy, and Emily Quealy, also performed well. The teams created Lego robots and completed research centered around food contamination and safety—“Food Factor.” The students interviewed food scientists from General Mills and Ecolab, and did research to present innovative solutions to keeping contaminants out of the food supply, from farm to dinner table. The teams had considerable help along the way from several BSM teachers and parent and alumni assistant coaches. Next year, teams will tackle “Senior Solutions.”

The Star Tribune listed junior Mary Grace Arndt as a Top 10 Individual Alpine Skier in its winter sports preview, also ranking the girls’ varsity Alpine ski team as number two.

Thirty-five students received Student Recognition Awards at a December 7 ceremony. Students are listed on our website.

Posted December 6

Boys’ hockey player Grant Besse Is a Star Tribune Athlete of the Week. “After back-to-back 30-goal seasons, the junior right wing has picked up where he left off with four goals and nine points in…victories over St. Cloud Tech and Hill-Murray.”

Senior girls’ basketball player Khadijah Shumpert scored her 1,000th point during the December 3 game against Eden Prairie.

The Minnesota High School Press Association has honored the Knight Errant with several awards. The online publication received first place for Website General Excellence. Another top honor was given for Staff Editorial. Senior Emma Eldred took home second place for Feature Writing, and senior Ethan Perushek received honorable mention for Page One Design.

Posted November 30

Sophomore Lexi Johnson is one of 20 Twin Cities area high school students who will be performing a holiday concert with well-known vocalist Linda Eder. The concert will be held December 2 as part of Hennepin Theatre Trust’s SpotLight Musical Theatre Program.

Junior Grant Besse was named to the Star Tribune’s boys’ hockey preseason Metro-area Dream Team. The paper reports, “Besse has scored 63 career goals in 54 games. [He] fulfills his role as the Red Knights' finisher by finding the right places on the ice to release his deadly accurate shot.” Also, three BSM hockey players were chosen by the Star Tribune as Metro Players to Watch. Senior Jake Horton and junior Dan Labosky represent the boys and sophomore Kelly Pannek plays on the girls’ varsity.

UPDATE ** Senior Paul Graupner was named to both the All-State Team and All Pioneer Press Football Team as a kicker and a punter. Since he also achieved All-State honors for soccer, he earned unique recognition as someone who earned an All-State Award for two sports within the same season.

Posted November 22

A Minnesota high school wrestling website, The Guillotine has ranked junior Jarred Oftedahl #1 in the Class AA 106-pound weight class. Sophomore Jake Deutschlander is #6 for 138 pounds. As a team, the BSM wrestlers are just on the edge of being ranked by The Guillotine.

Senior Casey Nightingale finished as a state runner-up in diving at the Class A State Swimming & Diving Meet, held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, November 17-19. During the season, Casey set new school records for both six-dive and 11-dive meets and qualified as an All-American. Also competing as a state diver was junior Rachel Thorstenson, who placed 14th. Nine swimmers competed in the following events: 50-yard Freestyle (junior Catherine Cole—10th place, with new school record of 24.75), 100-yard Freestyle (junior Emily Egge—9th place and Catherine Cole—10th place), 200-yard Freestyle (Emily Egge—7th place and junior Amanda Semler—8th place), 500-yard Freestyle (Amanda Semler—7th place and 7th grader Madison Semler—17th place), 200-yard Freestyle Relay (Catherine Cole, Emily Egge, Amanda Semler and sophomore Megan Pohle—6th place, with a new school record of 1:39.28), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (Catherine Cole, Emily Egge, Amanda Semler, and 8th grader Tru Walor—team disqualified), 100-yard Backstroke (juniors Madison Winston—17th place and Amanda Dingman—19th place), and 200-yard Medley Relay (Madison Winston, Megan Pohle, Tru Walor and 7th grader Claire Torgerson—13th place).

The National Scholastic Press Association awarded the Knight Errant website fourth place in the national best of show contest for schools with enrollment under 1,500.

Senior Anna Landis won third place in the Voice of Democracy essay contest, sponsored by the Golden Valley VFW. Anna will receive a cash prize for her award.

Boys’ soccer coach Dave Platt was selected as the NSCAA State Coach of the Year for private schools. Also, the recent state championship victory was his 200th win as a head coach.  

Posted November 15

Senior Paul Graupner was named to the Star Tribune All-Metro Football team as kicker. Paul was noted for having “30 of 46 kickoffs go for touchbacks.  [He also] booted a career-long 72-yard punt at New Ulm on Oct. 14.”

Ninety-six juniors and seniors were recently inducted in the National Honor Society. A full listing is on our website.

Senior Casey Nightingale broke her own 11-meet diving record that she had set earlier this fall. Furthermore, her score of 378.8 not only surpassed her old record by more than 24 points, but since it was at least 370, it also qualified her as an All-American. A tape of the meet will be sent to a panel of judges, who will re-score the dives and select the top 50 divers in the country as All-Americans. Results will be known in March. Casey finished as the Section 2A champion, and junior Rachel Thorstenson placed second. Both will go on to compete at the state meet, being held next week, November 17-19.

Nine swimmers have qualified to compete in the following events at state: 50-yard Freestyle (junior Catherine Cole), 100-yard Freestyle (Catherine Cole and junior Emily Egge), 200-yard Freestyle (junior Amanda Semler and Emily Egge), 500-yard Freestyle (Amanda Semler and 7th grader Madison Semler), 200-yard Freestyle Relay (Catherine Cole, Emily Egge, Amanda Semler and sophomore Megan Pohle), 400-yard Freestyle Relay (Catherine Cole, Emily Egge, Amanda Semler, and 8th grader Tru Walor), 100-yard Backstroke (juniors Madison Winston and Amanda Dingman), and 200-yard Medley Relay (Madison Winston, Megan Pohle, Tru Walor and 7th grader Claire Torgerson). The BSM varsity swimming and diving team placed second at the Section 2A Meet.

Posted November 8

Sophomore hockey player Jack Glover has been selected to play on the U.S. under-16 boys' select team at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games, being held January 13-22 in Innsbruck, Austria.

The boys’ varsity soccer team claimed the Class A state title, defeating Prairie Seeds Academy 3-1. BSM players named to the All-Tournament Team were seniors Paul Graupner, Jake Horton, Johnny Mulvahill and Brendan Schember. Jake was also featured as a KARE-11 Athlete of the Week this week. Johnny will be featured in this week’s Catholic Spirit.

The girls’ varsity soccer team finished as Class A runners-up. All-Tournament players included seniors Mikayla Coulombe and Peggy Renier, junior Dana Buckhorn and sophomore Kelly Pannek.

Junior Davis Schuh recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 537 (Medina) of the Boy Scouts of America. Davis with help of school friends, neighbors and troop members installed a sensor flower garden at a group home for developmentally disabled adults.

Posted November 1

Both the boys’ and girls’ varsity soccer teams will be playing in state championship games, Thursday, November 3.

Senior Casey Nightingale broke another BSM school record. Last Saturday, October 29, she came in fourth at the Hopkins Invitational and scored 354.72. for an 11-dive meet. The previous record was set in 2006 by Lauren Roy. At that same meet, junior Rachel Thorstenson placed seventh (out of 40 divers).

BSM’s girls’ varsity tennis coach Dave Wolden was named Coach of the Year for Section 6 AA. Other girls’ tennis accolades include four All-State Academic Awards (seniors Kelly Dwyer, Morgan Grahek, Sarah Silvestri and Julia Weber), seven All-Conference honors (seniors Kelly Dwyer, Morgan Grahek, Megan Kelly, Julia Weber and Katie Witkowski, and 8th graders Paige McLeod and Taylor McLeod), MVPs (Kelly Dwyer, Megan Kelly and Katie Witkowski) and Coach’s Award recipients (seniors Morgan Grahek and Melissa Luther).

Senior Khadijah Shumpert committed to play Division I Basketball at the University of New Mexico.

Senior Alexander Michael Herbst achieved the rank of Eagle Scout last spring with Troop 345 (Deephaven) of the Boy Scouts of America. For his Eagle project, Alex worked with the Minnesota Landscape Arboreteum to build a woodland trail bridge, capable of supporting 10,000 pounds, using recycled and donated materials.

Posted October 25

Senior Jack McGinn earned a perfect score of 36 on his ACT. Roughly one-tenth of one percent receive a top score. Among test takers in the high school graduating class of 2010, only 588 of nearly 1.6 million students earned a composite score of 36.

The Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association named BSM senior boys’ soccer player Johnny Mulvahill Class A Mr. Soccer Minnesota 2011. This is the first time a Red Knight boys’ soccer player has received this honor. He was also named to the Star Tribune All-Metro team as a defender. The paper noted, "He's a natural defender, but can play any position."

Seniors Paul Graupner, Kevin Lebahn and Johnny Mulvahill were selected to the Boys’ Soccer Class A All-State Team. Senior Brendan Schember received honorable mention.

Seniors Mikayla Coulombe and Peggy Renier and sophomore Kelly Pannek were selected to the Girls’ Soccer Class A All-State Team. Junior Dana Buckhorn received honorable mention. Mikayla was also selected to the Star Tribune All-Metro Second Team as the goalkeeper.

For cross country, senior Sam Conley was named All-Conference for the boys, and senior Nicole Sauer earned the same honor for the girls. Honorable mention runners for the boys were junior Matt Racchini and sophomores Jay Biwer and Andy Renier. Freshman Maggie Conry received honorable mention for the girls.

Posted October 18

Sophomore girls' basketball player Grace Coughlin has committed to playing for the University of Minnesota Gophers.

The Red Knights have three conference championship teams this fall: girls' soccer, boys' soccer and girls' tennis. Both soccer teams also claimed section championships and are advancing to state.

Posted October 11

Senior football player Paul Graupner was selected as the Punter and Kicker of the Week last week by minnesotapreps.com.

Posted October 4

Senior Dan Lundberg has been chosen as a KARE 11 Academic All Star. The segment will air at approximately 6:20 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. on Monday, October 10. Dan was selected for the volunteer research work he has done with Dr. Mark Gormley at Gillette Children's Hospital. Dan and Dr. Gormley submitted their research abstract for the American Academy of Pediatrics International Convention in Boston, where Dan will be presenting on October 15.

The College Board has selected Frances Jimenez as a National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) Scholar. The NHRP identifies outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. This year, the NHRP is recognizing nearly 5,000 students from a pool of over 235,000. Students recognized identified themselves as at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino and have achieved a minimum PSAT/NMSQT/PAA score for their region. Scholars have a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Posted September 27

Senior Isaiah Gray is featured as a Pioneer Press Athlete of the Week this week for football. The paper notes, "The quarterback rushed for 108 yards on 12 carries and scored on a 20-yard run in the Red Knights' 42-12 victory over Fridley. His TD run came about a minute after Fridley had pulled to within 21-12. Also completed 3 of 4 passes for 47 yards."

Seniors Leila Aboussir and Reilly Dillon were crowned homecoming queen and king.

BSM has two National Merit Semifinalists this year: seniors Dan Lundberg and Jack McGinn. Dan and Jack are among approximately 16,000 semifinalists, and will be considered as finalists, which will be announced in February. Commended Scholars are Michael Gerten, Nicholas Hillson, Sam Ingbar, Ian Norman, Benjamin Rosengren and Jennifer Vogl.

Serving as freshmen class offiers this year are Blake Castaneda (president), Maddy Karlen (Vice-President), Sofie Scott (Secretary) and Mary Pat Ross (Treasurer).

One of ESPNHS’s lacrosse experts has been putting together lists of the top lacrosse players in the nation, sorted by position. BSM senior Dom Burg was named the nation's Number 19 faceoff player in the Class of 2012. ESPN states, “Burg was one of only two juniors to earn All-State first team honors in Minnesota this past spring. Last season Burg won 115 faceoffs and lost just 35. He led the Knights to the state lacrosse title.”

Senior Ryan Lawyer committed to play NCAA Division 1 lacrosse at Lafayette College. He will join BSM alumni Sean O'Toole ('10) and Zach Silvestri ('11) at Lafayette for the 2013 season.

For a second year in a row, BSM's speech and debate teams have been awarded the National Forensic League's (NFL) prestigious 200 Club award. This means that the students on these teams achieved 200 degrees or more last year, and it puts BSM in the top 5% of NFL chapters nationwide.

Posted September 20

Underclassman attendants on the homecoming court are juniors Kaitlin Duda and Andrew Roeder, sophomores Grace Coughlin and Eric Wagner and freshmen Shannon O’Connor and Will Duda.

Posted September 13

Senior Casey Nightingale set a new school record of 222.95 for girls’ diving.

Homecoming queen candidates include seniors Leila Aboussir, Katie Cashman, Kate Hinkens, Allie Ison, Taylor Kenyon and Grace Ronning. King candidates are Reilly Dillon, Thomas Gilligan, Sanjay Lumpkin, Brendan Schember, Kale Walch and John Worley. Emcees for coronation will be Sarah Ehlen and Theo Merriam.

One of our ESPNHS lacrosse experts has been putting together lists of the top lacrosse players in the nation, sorted by position. BSM Senior Thomas Gilligan was named the nation's Number 15 goalie in the Class of 2012. Peace states, “Gilligan helped Benilde-St. Margaret's win its second consecutive state title this past spring, saving 16 shots in the title game as the Red Knights beat Eden Prairie by a 9-3 score.”

Posted August 30

Seniors Alex Bonvino, Taylor Kenyon and Natalie Walsh have been named captains for the fall and winter Dance Teams.

Seniors Leila Aboussir, Emily Kruse, Dan Lundberg, Ned Nelson, Casey Nightingale, Ryan Philbin and Natalie Walsh were selected to serve as Link Crew commissioners this year.

Posted July 19

Boy’s hockey forward Dan Labosky (’13) was one of five Minnesota boys chosen for the under-17 U.S. select team that will play in the Five Nations tournament, August 9-13, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dan and the others were picked from a development camp held in Rochester, New York, in mid-July. Minnesota, with five, is the state with the most players on the 22-player roster. Other teams in the tournament are the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Lexi Johnson (‘14) and Christine Silikowski (‘13) earned first place honors at the Hennepin County Fair Talent Contest held June 18. The girls sang a duet from "Wicked,” winning both the teen division and the overall. They will be performing in the semifinals at the MN state fair. 

Seven boys’ lacrosse players were named All-State. Dom Berg ('12) and Christian Rekow ('11) were both awarded First Team All-State honors. Christian Horn ('12), Taylor Topousis ('11) and Zach Silverstri ('11) each were named to the All-State Second Team, and Will Hoesley ('12) and Adam Clark ('11) were selected to the All-State Third Team. Three were selected to the All-Tournament team: Thomas Gilligan ('12), Silvestri and Topousis.

BSM social studies teacher Kathy Green was one of four Minnesota teachers selected to participate in the annual reading and scoring of the College Board’s Advanced Placement examinations for AP European History in June.

 
2501 Highway 100 South, St. Louis Park, MN 55416     952-927-4176