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Cross Country Area 3 Awards were awarded and senior, Hannah Herd was named  2A Girls Runner of the Year and senior, Connor Cloyd was named 2A Boys Runner of the Year.  CAL cross country head coach, Lowery Stallings, was named 2A Boys and Girls Coach of the Year.  Stallings was also named Area 3 All Louisville Girls Coach of the Year.  

Congratulations CAL Cross Country!

Congratulations to Christian Academy junior Sarah Son for being named to the Region 5 All-Region Team for the 2013 golf season as voted by the regions coaches. Sarah is the first CAL golfer to receive any type of regional or state recognition since 2003, when CAL golfer Ashley Current was named to the 2003 All-State Team.

Sarah was a key player in a very successful season for the CAL girls golf team. Besides qualifying for the 2013 KHSAA Girls State Golf Championship Tournament, Sarah was named to three other All-Tournament teams as a result of great individual performances throughout the 2013 golf season. Her 83.4 scoring average in 18-hole tournaments and 39.7 average in 9-hole matches led to top-10 individual finishes in the Henry County Lady Cat Invitational (10th), The Jefferson County Invitational (2nd) and Region 5 Tournament (tie-6th). Sarah’s energy, smile and sportsmanship was contagious on the course and in practice and we are proud of how Sarah represented her team and Christian Academy this past season. Congratulations Sarah on a great season!

Congratulations to CAL head football coach, Stefan LeFors, for being named the Kentucky Football Coaches Association (KFCA) District 2-A Coach of the Year for the 3rd consecutive year.  Only KFCA members are eligible for the awards. The KFCA will name its top player and coach in each class during the state finals Dec. 6-7 in Bowling Green.

Here are the district winners, with Player of the Year listed first and then Coach of the Year:

CLASS 2-A
District One – Elijah Sindelar (Caldwell County), David Barnes (Caldwell County); Distirct Two – Houston Hartz (Owensboro Catholic), John Edge (Owensboro Catholic); District Three – Evan Jaggers (Green County), Fred Harbison (Metcalfe County); District Four – Dylan Byrd (DeSales), Stefan LeFors (Christian Academy); District Five – Nate McCoy (Gallatin County), Tim Browning (Gallatin County); District Six – Kagen Skidmore (Somerset), Randy Frazier (Middlesboro); District Seven – Jalen Beal (Covington Holy Cross), Matthew Schmitz (Newport); District Eight – Dylan Hamilton (Betsy Layne), Eddie Melton (Leslie County).

On Monday, senior Hannah Magnuson signed a letter of intent to swim for the University of Louisville (UofL) Cardinals next year.

“The coaching staff and swim team at UofL is undeniably the best fit for me. I am honored to call myself a Lady Cardinal,” said Magnuson.

CAL head swim coach, Amy Albiero said, “Swimming is not an easy sport. It’s for tough people. I have watched Hannah’s commitment to her faith and to swimming on a daily basis. This is an exciting day on so many fronts. I’m technically Hannah’s coach, but really I’m just a huge fan. I’m so proud of her and can’t wait to watch her these next four years.”

“Hannah is a wonderful young lady with some great skills. It’s been a pleasure watching her go from the state level to the national level,” said Mike Essig, coach and owner of Triton Swimming.

CAL assistant high school principal and former CAL swim coach, Robbie Brown, was emotional in speaking about Magnuson. “I can speak historically that Hannah is the greatest we’ve ever had. She is our 1st ever state champion in swimming. She is history here at Christian Academy. She is a great person, athlete, and teammate. I’m excited to see how she finishes up.”

Hannah and her parents, Ken and Katherine, thanked her coaches, teachers, and teammates for their support.

“I am full of gratitude toward Hannah’s coaches and how they have poured into her over the years. I’m extremely grateful for the University of Louisville and Coach Albiero. Hannah’s dedication has been an inspiration to us as her parents. She is the hardest working person I’ve ever seen,” said Mr. Magnuson.

Magnuson has earned several state and school records including the 100 and 200 Backstroke (2011) and 100 Fly and 200 IM, among others. Hannah looks forward to attending UofL in the fall and plans to major in nursing. Magnuson chose Louisville over Arizona, Alabama, and Stanford.

The Lady Centurions overcame a season of adversity to race away to a State Runner-up title, in the Kentucky Cross Country State Championships. The 2013 season was marked by injuries, pain and illness. But the team kept working and adjusting as needed, to score the school’s highest State placing.

After finishing a very close 3 points to North Oldham in last week’s Regional, the team was feeling confident of a strong State finish, as Christin Eckerle was expectedto come back from her stress fracture at the beginning of the week. But news came Monday, that Christin would not be ready for another 2 weeks. Still, the team was hopeful, even though themargin for error had shrunk. Fridayafternoon, the team previewed the course and all felt ready.That was untiltop runner Hannah Herd came down with a 101 degree fever. But the daughter of a sixth generation soldier, would not be denied. Not onlywas she able to racethe next morning, but she earned All-State honors with her 10th place finish. Running right alongside of her, was outstanding freshman Clara Lynch, who finished one spot behind, to also earn All-State honors. Halfway through the race, all therunners needed to move up significantly to find a place on the awards podium.Every Lady Centurion did just that, with all of the top 5 runners moving up 20 or more places throughout the race. Callie Donaldson who has really come on strongin the last part of the season, continued that trend to finish 31st. First year runners Candace Putlak and Kenzie Stovall,rounded out the team score at 154 points, topush Christian Academy 24 points ahead of North Oldham, to secure 2nd place todefendingState Champion Highlands. Caroline Hughes and Maddie Luette also ran well for the team. Joining the team withsilver State Runner-up team medals around their necks on thepodium, were alternates: Christin Eckerle, Katlin Mingari, Savanna Hatfield and Taylor Ross.It was a great way to end a season, demanding so much perseverance. The exciting thing is that all, but Taylor will be back for another run to the podium.

The boys team alsohad a nice finish to the season,with a 7th place team finish,improving on their regular season #8 state ranking. The teamimplemented two tight packs, to earn Christian Academy’s second consecutive top 10 State finish.The five seniors on theRegional/State entry, decided to leave their mark on the cross countryprogram by takingall thescoring positions for the Centurions. Conner Cloyd, AustinSchaper, Eric Lesmeister and Caleb Pryor blanketed the finish between 18:10-18:16, on the challenging Horse Park course. That 6 second window was matched by the remaining Christian Academy runner, as senior Dominic D’Ettorre, led juniors Adam Waggener and AndrewSitlinger,to times between 18:38-18:44. Alternates Casey Diamond, Alex Curry and Michael Good, were also readyto run if needed. Looking to next season,the return of last year’s top runner AJ Ross,who was lost for the entire season for injury, along with the other underclassmen, the team is poised for another top 10.

On a crisp Saturday afternoon, both the boys & girls teams extended their seasons one more week, by qualifying for the State Meet at the Kentucky Horse Park next Saturday.

The boys took the starting line first, in the 13 team Regional, including top-ranked North Oldham. As expected the Mustangs ran away the the Regional Championships, but the Centurions ran strongly to secure Regional Runner-up honors. The Christian Academy runners started the race conservatively and at 2 miles were sitting in 4th place. But then the runners began a nice push to the finish, picking up valuable places. Seniors Caleb Pryor and Eric Lesmeister crossed the line in the same time of 17:59, to lead the way, placing 10th and 11th. Andrew Sitlinger, Conner Cloyd and Austin Schaper formed a nice pack to take the 16-18 spots. Adam Waggener and Dominic D’Ettorre completed the team performance. The team is strongly positioned to improve on their #8State ranking.

The girls race was a titanicbattle between the #2 Lady Centurions and #3 Lady Mustangs. Both squadshave had a key runner out for the last half of the season. North’s # 2 runner Marissa Lowe returned to action last week,enabling their full squaded team to pull out a very narrow Regional Championship title. The Christian Academy runners, with teammate injured Christin Eckerle’s name written on their knuckles, had an outstanding raceto finish only 3 points back of the Mustangs. Clara Lynch and Hannah Herd ran in tandem the entire race, finishing within 1 second of each other, placing 3rd and 4th. CallieDonaldson worked her way through the field, to take the 5th place spot. Freshman Candace Putlak broke 22 minutes for the first time, to finish 12. Kenzie Stovall had a good kick, in spite of back pain toput another Centurion in the top 20. Caroline Hughes and Maddie Luetterounded out the team’sfinish.With Christin expected to join the team next week, the team is looking for a very high placing at the State Meet!

Regional 3 Places & Times for Christian Academy Boys
10. Caleb Pryor, 17:59
11. Eric Lesmeister, 17:59
16. Andrew Sitlinger, 18:11
17. Conner Cloyd, 18:15
18. Austin Schaper, 18:18
20. Adam Waggener, 18:25
23. Dominic D’Ettorre, 18:42

Regional 3 Places & Times for Christian Academy Girls
3. Clara Lynch, 20:16
4. Hannah Herd, 20:17
5. Callie Donaldson, 21:00
12. Candace Putlak, 21:57
18. Kenzie Stovall, 22:28
25. Caroline Hughes, 23:40

Congratulations to CAL Head Volleyball Coach Patty Ernst who was named KVCA Coach of the Year for the 7th Region! 

CAL was 29-10 and ranked #15. The Lady Centurions also took home the District 28th Championship title this year. 

Coach Ernst will be honored at the 2013 KHSAA State Tournament at Valley High School in Louisville in ceremonies directly preceding the State Championship match on Sunday, November 10th. Coaches.  Recognitions were voted on by KVCA member coaches.  

The cross country Centurion girls entered the week ranked 2nd in the state with the boys ranked 8th. The CAL runners validated the ratings by bringing the Private School Championship traveling trophies back to English Station Saturday.

The girls faced a battle with 3rd ranked Presentation and a strong Holy Cross team as the main competition. Clara Lynch and Callie Donaldson led the charge, presenting CAL with 3rd and 4th place overall finishes respectively. Hannah Herd ran the race as a workout run, getting ready for state, but still crossed the finish just six spots behind the leader. Kenzie Stovall and Candace Putlak finished up the scoring, putting CAL in a 43-43 tie for first with Presentation. As the sixth runner tiebreaker, Caroline Hughes sizzled the course with a PR and a Centurion victory.

The boys dominated the closest competitor, DeSales, 63-19. Conner Cloyd claimed his first victory in a cross country race with Austin Schaper and Eric Lesmeister completing the Centurion trifecta that dominated the field. The “Red Sea” of Andrew Sitlinger, Dominic D’Ettorre, Adam Waggener, Caleb Pryor and Casey Diamond flooded the finish with CAL uniforms as eight of the first 11 runners hailed from 700 South English Station Road.

On Monday night, the Lady Centurions faced KCD. Game one was rather uneventful with CAL winning easily, 25-16. In game two, CAL slacked off a bit, opening the door for KCD to take the lead. With the score 18-23, it looked as though a loss was imminent.

Then, one at a time, the Centurions chipped away at the five-point lead and ended up winning, 26-24. This seemed to take the wind out of KCD’s sails. Game three and the match was uncontested with CAL winning, 25-14. With the win, the Centurions earned a chance at the District Championship game.

On Tuesday, the Lady Centurions did not know quite what to expect as they faced the Eastern High School Eagles in the championship game. Earlier in the year, Eastern had trounced CAL during the regular season. The courageous, young Centurions were not about to let this happen a second time. CAL took Eastern by surprise attack in game 1, taking the lead and keeping it to win, 25–19. In game two, Eastern led much of the time with CAL trailing closely behind. At 25’s, the score vacillated between the teams until Eastern finally prevailed, 27-25. The Centurions regrouped in game three and built a five-point lead at 18-13, but when CAL lost intensity, Eastern crept back until the score was tied at 22’s. Again regrouping, CAL launched a couple of solid kills and finished ahead, 25-22. Game five was ALL CAL, as Eastern’s confidence appeared to wane. CAL took the game (15-8), match, and District Championship for the second time in the last three years! Congratulations also go to Abby Davis, Caroline Rassenfoss, and Alyssa Turner as the coaches’ picks for the All-District team.

By winning the District, CAL will get to host the first round of the Regional Championship on Monday night. It’s a great night to come watch some awesome volleyball. Be sure to catch CAL play Atherton in their last home event of the season at 6 p.m. Monday. The winner will move on to the next round against nationally ranked Assumption at 6 pm Tuesday at the Valley Sports Center.

Louisville swim team lands Trinity’s Thomas Cooper, CAL’s Hannah Magnuson and Sacred Heart’s Ashley LeClair