Sophomore Clara Lovelace loves all the small moments with friends she gets throughout the season, whether it’s driving to practice or talking to her golf partner at meets. Lovelace has been part of the team for two years and values the memories she has made. “This season’s been really fun. I’ve played in a couple [of] matches, which have been fun and those matches have helped me make connections, because I’ve been partnered up with people of different grades,” she said. Lovelace loves the fun golf brings, but also works toward personal goals. This season, she hopes to improve her putting on the green and lower her overall scores.

In the past, the St. Paul Academy and Summit School girls lacrosse team has been described as a young program, but after five years, the team has established itself and is experiencing rapid growth. Senior captain and midfielder Dia Chaney plays both school and club lacrosse and is a leader on the team.“The team improved a lot. Everybody seems to understand how the game works a little more and people can catch and throw with a lot more accuracy,” she said. As the season goes on, she hopes to keep improving as a team and an individual and keep winning. Her favorite game this season was when the team beat Visitation School for the first time in program history.

Track and field can be a singular sport, but the SPA track team works hard to make it feel like a team sport. Sophomore Sophie Kannapiran is a distance runner on the team and loves this season because of the improved team culture. “Team culture this year is better than it’s been in other years and it’s nice because we’ve been bonding more as a team, especially as a distance team,” she said. Kannipran’s personal goal for the season is to keep lowering her times and she is confident that she will accomplish this. “Going into running, you just have to do it. You get faster as the season goes on, no matter what.”

Eighth grader Alida Nestingen plays for the varsity red hawks co-op softball team. The SPA team is in a co-op with Minnehaha Academy and has had an improved season from last year. At this point in the season, the team has a 9-4 record and hopes to keep improving. Nestingen loves the team aspect of the sport. “My favorite thing about playing softball is just spending time with my friends on the team and making each other better,” she said. She also wants to improve her own skills and hopes to hit her first home run. The team also prioritizes a fun environment and hosted a team vs parents kickball game. Nestingen enjoyed the game, especially since they beat the parents’ team.