2023 in Review: SPA's Biggest Sports Highlights of the Year
2023 brought another year of success for the St. Paul Academy and Summit School athletic teams. As we continue full steam ahead with the winter season, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the biggest moments of the year.
1. Six State Championship Titles
As always, the Fencing program continued their long history of success by earning a few more podium finishes in their 2023 State Tournament last February. On the boys’ side, SPA clinched Championship Titles in the saber AND epee relay events.
A few months later, the SPA boys’ tennis team enjoyed a Championship run of their own. They cruised through the State Tournament with a clean sweep, including 7-0 wins over Breck, Foley, and Rochester. For the second straight year, the team was crowned Class A State Champions. You can read the full recap in the Pioneer Press article.
Our girls’ and boys’ soccer teams earned the final two State Championships of the 2023 year. The girls capped off a historic postseason run by winning their first-ever Class A State title with a 3-0 victory against St. Charles. You can find their full State Tournament story here. On the boys’ side, their 3-2 win over Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa makes them back-to-back State Champions and their sixth in the history of the program. You can read their championship game recap in the Pioneer Press article.
2. Five Sports With Individual State Qualifiers; boys’ alpine, girls’ nordic, boys’ golf, girls’ track & field, and boys’ tennis + Girls’ Nordic and Girls’ Cross Country Teams Qualified
For the third year in a row, Henry Giles ’24 earned himself a trip to the State Alpine meet after his strong performance at Sections. In Sections, Giles placed 2nd overall, finishing in 59.16.
At the girls’ nordic ski Sectionals, the team accumulated an impressive score of 381, finishing 2nd overall and earned a ticket to the State Tournament. A couple of State meet highlights included a 6th place finish for the team overall, and a 2nd place finish for the sprint relay duo of Maren Overgaard ’26 and Helen Townley ’25. You can read more in the Pioneer Press Article.
The girls’ cross country team had a strong showing in the Section 4A meet. They finished just behind Nova with a final group score of 56 and enough to advance to the State Meet!
In the Section 4AA golf tournament, Connor Overgaard ’24 shot an impressive 77 (155 over two days), finishing top of the section and a earned him a ticket to represent the boys’ golf program at the State Tournament.
Elizabeth Tuttle ’26 qualified for the Track and Field State Tournament after an impressive showing at the section meet. Tuttle qualified for the long jump, 100m hurdles, and 300m hurdle events. At State, she placed third in the long jump (17’02”) and 6th overall in the 100m hurdles (15.50).
In addition to the Boys’ Tennis Team success, three individuals also advanced to the Class A Individual State Tournament. On the doubles side, the duo of Leo Benson ’24 and Maik Nguyen ’24 clinched the Class A Doubles State Championship Title. Zahir Hassan ’27 battled hard and captured the third-place medal as well!
3. IMAC Accolades; Two Conference Championships, Five Athletes of the Month, 42 All-Conference Honors
The girls’ nordic team secured the Conference Title after sweeping the top three spots on the podium. Taylor Barkwell ’25 placed first overall as the IMAC Individual Champion. Other scoring skiers included; Paloma Good ’27 in 2nd, Alyda Overgaard ’28 in 3rd place, and Johanna Pierach ’25 in 7th place. Maren Overgaard ’26/Helen Townley ’25 also earned first in the relay race. See the full results here.
The boys’ lacrosse team went undefeated in the IMAC Conference, including two HUGE wins over Breck (18-8) and Providence (22-8). The team went 12-2 on the year which was largely in thanks to an unstoppable force in Joey Stolpestad ’23 who broke a State record with over 100 points on the season.
IMAC Athletes of the Month:
January 2023: Ethan Carter ’24 (boys’ basketball)
February 2023: Maren Overgaard ’26/Helen Townley ’25 (girls’ nordic)
June 2023: Maik Nguyen ’24/Leo Benson ’24 (boys’ tennis)
4. Seven All-State Academic Individuals, Two All-State Academic Teams, Eight All-State Honorees, and the Class A Mr. Soccer Recipient
The girls’ lacrosse (3.84 GPA) and girls’ hockey (3.76 GPA) programs were awarded All-Academic Team honors. They finished with the highest team cumulative GPA in their respective sections and conference. Additionally, seven athletes across various SPA teams received this Gold Standard as individuals with 4.0 GPAs.
All-State Honorees:
- Girls’ Nordic: Maren Overgaard ’26, Helen Townley ’25, and Inga Wing ’25
- Boys Lacrosse: Joey Stolpestad ’23
- Boys’ Soccer: Cooper Olson ’24, Awaale Osman ’24, Ezra Staub ’24, & Orion Kim ’24
- Girls’ Soccer: Sawyer Danielson ’24 & Annie Zhang ’24
After leading SPA to another Championship in his senior campaign Cooper Olson ’24 was honored as the Class A Mr. Soccer recipient. This year alone, Olson collected 80 saves, 6 shutouts, and only 15 goals allowed across their 23 games! This recognition also makes him the first-ever goalkeeper to win this award! You can read more about Olson’s impact in the Pioneer Press Article.
