Spartan 2024 Fall Sports Preview
The 2024 fall athletic season is underway and our student-athletes and coaches are gearing up for a great season! Read below for a preview of each of our varsity teams and check out their individual team pages for more information.
Coming off an exceptional 2023 season in which they captured the program’s second straight State title and sixth championship overall, expectations for Spartan Boys’ Soccer are high. The team returns a roster of experienced players, led by All-State & All-Conference honoree Ezra Straub ‘25, All-Conference honoree Arlo Zirps ’25, and All-Conference Honorable Mention honorees Carson Granberg ’25, and Lucas Granja ’25. Captains for the 2024 season are Straub, Liam Sullivan ’25, and Zirps.
It was a championship season for girls’ soccer. After a 6-6-4 regular season, the team peaked at exactly the right time to power through the postseason, advancing all the way to the State championship game. In the title game, they defeated St. Charles in convincing fashion 3-0 to win the program’s first state title. Led by Captain, All-State, and All-Conference players Sawyer Bollinger Danielson ’25 and Annie Zhang ‘25, the team also returns All-Conference Honorable Mention honorees Lucia Gonzalez ’26, Clare Ryan Bradley ‘26 and Elizabeth Tuttle ‘26 for the 2024 season. Captains are Bollinger Danielson, Gonzalez, and Zhang.
Coming off last season’s second-place conference finish and an individual state meet appearance, Girls’ Cross Country has a lot to be excited about for the 2024 season. The team returns State and All-Conference performer Taylor Barkwell ‘25, All-Conference honoree Alyda Overgaard ‘28, and All-Conference Honorable Mention honorees Paloma Good ‘27, Maren Overgaard ‘26 and Johanna Pierach ‘25. Captains for the 2024 season include Barkwell, Overgaard, and Pierach. On the boys’ side, the team returns talent with IMAC experience from last season. Captains for the 2024 season include Jack Hickman ’26 and Isidor Valdez ’25.
The SMB Wolfpack, a cooperative program between SPA, Minnehaha Academy, and The Blake School, looks forward to what should be a rebuilding year after finishing with a 0-8 record last season.
Girls’ Swimming and Diving (Co-Op)
The Sparks team, a co-op between SPA and Highland Park Senior High, is coming off of a strong season in 2023, where they finished third in the St. Paul City Conference. The team returns All-Conference performers Avital Coleman ‘27 and Adele Gjerde ‘25 and All-Conference Honorable Mention honoree Ayla Rivers ’24. Captains are Sophia Bietz ’25 and Gjerde.
Girls’ tennis spent the 2023 fall season developing individually and collectively as a team. Notable victories for the year included victories over Highland Park, Visitation, Minnehaha Academy, and Cretin-Derham Hall finishing with an 11-6 overall record. The team returns All-Conference honorees Nellie Larson ‘26 and Georgia Ross ‘25 and All-Conference Honorable Mention honorees Nabeeha Qadri ‘27 and Elle Williams ‘26 for the 2024 season. Georgia Ross and Liza Rose Thomas ‘25 will serve as captains this season.
Spartan Volleyball spent the 2023 season focusing on mastering fundamentals and establishing its rhythms as a team with big victories over St. Paul Humboldt, St. Anthony, and IMAC rival Breck. This season, the Spartans return young talent from last year’s team that won a first-round section game, including captains Murphy Miltner ’27, Madelyn Moser ’25, and Lucy Thomas ’25.
