88

Prep
News
Volume 88, Issue 01
“If nothing else, value the truth”
St. Louis University High School | Friday, August 25, 2023
sluh.org/prep-news
Volume LXXXVIII, Issue I
Students
welcomed
back with
first ever
Convocation
assembly on
Monday
BY Lucas Hayden and
Daniel Neuner
News Editor, reporter
The 2023-2024 school year
got off to a roaring start
last Monday with the first ever
St. Louis U. High Convocation,
held in the Si Commons
to recognize the departed
Class of 2023 and to celebrate
the arriving Class of 2027,
making SLUH whole once
more. It was also the first event
SLUH celebrated with Fr. Matthew
Stewart, SJ presiding as
Principal.
The convocation was held
during a rare Monday Advisory
period. Students started
out the day in their Advisory
groups before making their
way to the Commons. Once
the sophomore through senior
continued on page 4
St. Louis University High School | Friday, August 25, 2023
BTSM returns to the Drury Plaza
BY Micah Doherty and
Nick Robert
Flex Editor, reporter
St. Louis U. High concluded
a week of returning to
classes and the homework and
quizzes that go with them with
Friday night’s infamous Back
to School Mixer. Organized
by StuCo, the BTSM featured
loud music, sweaty bodies,
and the utter chaos of 2500
students moshing.
Though the BTSM is wellknown
for its sweaty mosh
pits and spectacular outfits,
StuCo’s diligent planning of
the night helped make sure
the event lived up to the hype.
Whether laying out water stations
or helping to roll out
caution tape, StuCo made sure
that every need and problem
was accounted for.
One of the major changes
of the Back to School Mixer
was the switch from inside to
outside. In 2021, the BTSM
was held outside in the Drury
Students and faculty venture to Fútbol Club
STL during first ever Reunification drill
Students during last week’s drill.
BY Drew Figge and
Jens Istvan
News Editor, Staff
While last week was filled
with many ‘firsts’—the
first day of school, first allschool
Mass, and first day of
formal attire—another first
was added to the list: the
photo | Clark Davis
school’s first ever Reunification
drill.
Following the Lockdown
and Evacuation drills on
Thursday, students were navigated
to the Fútbol Club STL
on Manchester Road during
St. Louis U. High’s first ever
Reunification drill. The drill
is designed to be put into effect
in the event that it is not
safe for students and faculty to
remain on campus; the place
of reunification would function
as a meeting place for
students to be securely picked
up by parents.
On the day of the drill, students
filed out of the football
stadium, walked through the
Science Center parking lot,
crossed Manchester Road,
and headed east towards the
Fútbol Club STL, where they
regrouped.
“We reached out to José
at Fútbol Club STL who has
been an amazing partner with
us and allowed us to use the
space just because he knows
it’s the right thing,” said Director
of Security Dan Schulte.
“We needed a close enough
space that could hold a thousand
kids and also had a safe
enough parking lot.”
Months ago, Assistant
Principal for Student Life Dr.
Brock Kesterson and other
leaders of the security team
met with the owners of the
indoor soccer park.
“Mr. Schulte and I try to
(make sure) we have good
relationships with our neighbors,”
said Kesterson. “We
went and introduced ourselves
and Fútbol Club STL was very
gracious for something like
this.”
The Reunification drill has
been adopted by many schools
across the country.
“Reunification is something
that all conferences
we go to talk about. At other
schools it is really an important
drill. When you have a
crisis like Sandy Hook, people
photo | Clark Davis
Plaza in order to follow Covid-19
regulations. Last year,
however, the Back to School
Mixer was brought back into
the Field House and received
some negative feedback.
“I remember just seeing
the great energy in the Drury
Plaza two years back and how
continued on page 5
sluh.org/prep-news
Group of
students
attend
Ignatian
pilgrimage
for World
Youth Day
BY Theo Agniel and
Aiden Erard
Staff, reporter
Heat, hiking and holiness.
St. Louis U. High faculty
and students traveled to Spain
and Portugal in early August
to explore the Ignatian pilgrimage
and join over a million
Catholic youth in Lisbon
for World Youth Day.
For the first part of the trip,
the group traveled to Bilbao
and explored Ignatius’ pilgrimage
through Spain.
“We visited all of the key
sites to Ignatius’ life: Loyola,
Pamplona, Manresa, Montserrat,”
said Theology and English
teacher Justin Kelley, S.J.
“That got us spiritually ready
for World Youth Day.”
Throughout the trip, stucontinued
on page 8
Chapel construction
continues; expected
to finish early 2024
Altar covered by plastic during
construction.
BY Grayson Stevenson
Flex Editor
Following months of sketching,
planning, and more
recently groundbreaking construction,
St. Louis U. High’s
photo | Grayson Stevenson
chapel renovations are in full
swing. The construction work
on the new chapel has ramped
up significantly over the past
few summer months and is on
track to be completed by the
continued on page 5 continued on page 4
The weekly student
newspaper of
St. Louis University
High School
4970 Oakland Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 531-0330 ext. 2241
online at sluh.org/prep-news
prepnews@sluh.org
©2023 St. Louis University High
School Prep News. No material
may be reprinted without the
permission of the editors and
moderator.
new faculty
Sean Ferguson
Sean Ferguson joins the Social Studies
Department from Rosati-Kain.
Page 2
new faculty
Lori West
New faculty member Lori West joins
the Counseling Department.
Page 2
new faculty
Sam Herbig
Sam Herbig ’12 returns to his Jr. Bill
home to teach AP Psychology.
Page 2
news
SLUH 101
Freshmen get a taste of the SLUH experience
in the new mandatory class.
Page 3
sports
Swimming
Splash! Swim and dive kicks off season
faster, stronger, and more determined
than ever before.
Page 6
sports
Soccer trip to Spain
¡Vamos! FútBills raised the Manresa
Cup in their venture to Barcelona.
Page 7
INDEX
2 New Faculty
3 Entertainment
4-5 News
6-7 Sports
8 Around the
Hallways

2
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
Ferguson joins faculty in Social
Studies Department
NEW FACULTY
August 25, 2023
AMDG
BY Otto Reitenbach, Theo
Agniel
Core Staff, Staff
The start of a new school year
brings a host of new faces to
St. Louis U. High including Sean
Ferguson, who will be joining
the Social Studies Department.
Jesuit education has been
a major part of Ferguson’s life:
he attended Regis Jesuit High
School in Denver and then went
to college at St. Louis University.
He also taught at Jesuit High
School of New Orleans as a Jesuit
resident and most recently
at the St. Louis Archdiocesan
high school Rosati-Kain.
“I think that teaching, particularly
in Catholic schools,
we have a push to not only be
a good student, but to learn
and work to be a good person.
And I really enjoy being a part
of that process for young men
and women,” said Ferguson. “I
think it’s a really inspiring place
Lori West.
Herbig '12 joins alumni teachers in Social Studies
BY Billy Albus
Core Staff
With the recent vacancy
in the AP Psychology
role, Sam Herbig enters the
ranks of alumni who are
teaching at SLUH. Having
graduated in 2012, Herbig
returns to SLUH with a
broad swath of wisdom and
experience under his belt.
Herbig will be teaching
AP Psychology, filling the
vacancy that Tom Kickham
left behind. Kickham first introduced
Herbig to the field
of Psychology; Herbig was
a student in Kickham’s first
ever AP Psychology class at
SLUH, when Herbig had his
first encounter with psychology.
Herbig has worked in
the psychology field since
his college days, where he
attended the University of
Tulsa.
“During college, I worked
to be trying to form the best version
of ourselves and live up to
the potential that we set up for
ourselves and identify that.”
At Rosati, Ferguson taught
a wide variety of social studies
classes. At SLUH, he is currently
teaching AP World History
and AP US History.
“I taught our Intro to American
Politics, Comparative Politics,
and I taught world history.
I also wrote a couple of classes.
We wrote a cultural competency
class that we helped to teach and
then a course called Women,
Race, and Society which was
a women and gender studies
class but also an examination of
women’s history in the last 100
years,” said Ferguson.
He is hoping to engage in
many of the same extracurricular
activities that he helped run
at Rosati-Kain.
“At Rosati, I coached tennis
and lacrosse but I would love to
get involved with either of those
on an unpaid basis as a laboratory
assistant. We worked
in a lab and we studied pain,
how people process it. We
studied questions like, ‘How
do people process it, what
are the factors, and how can
we help people feel better,’”
said Herbig.
Herbig graduated from
the University of Tulsa with a
double major in Psychology
and Religion. He accredits
his faith formation and foundation
to his time at SLUH.
“I was growing in my
faith at the time I chose
my major and developed a
strong faith and love for theology,
much of which I got
from SLUH,” said Herbig.
Upon graduating from
Tulsa, Herbig worked as a
theology teacher at Regis
Jesuit after joining the Alum
Service Corps. Following his
time at Regis, Herbig took up
an administrative role at the
College Church on the SLU
programs here at SLUH,” said
Ferguson.
Along with tennis and lacrosse,
he is particularly excited
about SLUH’s successful rugby
program.
“I played rugby back at Regis
High and then also for St.
Louis University. So I’d love to
be a part of that here as well,”
said Ferguson.
Ferguson has experienced
SLUH previously, when he was a
long-term sub for former SLUH
social studies teacher Sarah
Becvar back in 2017.
Guided by his past and current
experience, Ferguson feels
the passion in the hallways.
“I think SLUH is kind of a
unique community and that rigorous
academics and success in
the classroom is really important
but it is also brought together
as a crossroads of spirituality
and of community. I think that’s
a pretty rare thing to find a high
school level.”
photo | Kathy Chott
campus where he worked
with the religious education
program and its various responsibilities.
Following his time at
SLU, Herbig taught at Rosati-Kain
High School as a
jack-of-all-trades: he taught
classes ranging from Old
Testament Theology to Morality
to Psychology.
Herbig has experience in
fields that extend beyond AP
Psychology and is ready for
any call that comes his way.
“I really liked doing AP
Psychology, it’s one of my
favorite topics to teach, but
I do still have that theology
in my blood,” said Herbig.
“It’d be fun to branch out
into pretty much anything.
I like all of it.”
Although Herbig began
his psychology career in the
laboratory, he found a true
passion in the classroom.
“Being a teacher helps me
dive deeper into a subject
Sean Ferguson
West joins Counseling Department
BY Leo Hahn
Staff
As bleary-eyed pupils clear
their books and brains of
dust, many need a visit to the
counselors office to discuss academic
or personal issues. This
year, they might see a new face.
Saint Louis U. High welcomes
Lori West to the Counseling
Department. West is replacing
longtime counselor Dr. Ken
McKenna after his retirement
last spring.
West is taking on the responsibility
of advising around
280 students, all equally distributed
between grade levels.
Predictably many of those in
her caseload, as they call it in
the counseling world, were previously
advised by McKenna.
Right at home in the department,
West has a masters
degree in both social work and
school counseling. West, the
mother of four sons, also has
plenty of experience interacting
with young men, and she
has always wanted to work at
area while also helping other
people foster that same level
of learning,” said Herbig. “I
love working with students
not only to help them grow
as people forming their intellects
and brains, but also
their hearts and good will
towards the world.”
Despite the perspective
change of being at the front
of the room as opposed to
sitting in a desk at the rear,
Herbig has encountered
many other changes with his
new role.
“It’s a blessing to be here
at SLUH. Seeing things from
the other side lets me see just
how important the mission
is here; being able to see the
kind of work we do and seeing
its effects on the people
who are in the classrooms is
a really cool thing for me,”
said Herbig. “I’m profoundly
excited for this opportunity
and I can’t wait to keep going.”
Sam Herbig.
photo | Kathy Chott.
an all-boys school. Overall,
she will be engaging students
about their lives, both in school
and otherwise. It’s important to
note that the value of learning
has never been lost on West.
“I’ve always loved education,”
said West. “And I liked
the educational environment.
I am a first generation college
student myself, so I know
firsthand the importance of
education, and helping others
leverage that is just really, really
cool.”
West has plenty of handson
experience with counseling
from her time in Colorado at
the K-12 Twin Peaks Charter
Academy. Starting in 2009, she
spent six years as the sole counselor
for over 1,000 students,
working with individuals from
all age ranges.
West moved to Saint Louis
in the summer of 2015, quickly
getting back into the world of
college applications as a substitute
for a college counselor.
Shortly afterwards she spent
seven years advising at Westminster
College of Fulton, Missouri.
Despite her success at
Westminster, West missed the
energetic school environment
of her time in Colorado. From
there she turned to SLUH, and
West is eager to be immersed
into the daily life of a Jr. Bill.
“I really want to get to know
the culture and the people,”
said West. “And my freshman
and sophomore students …
where maybe I could speak into
or support a little bit better.”
One of the ways West has
begun getting involved is with
the after-school dancers. West,
who grew up in western Pennsylvania,
both danced and
participated in competitive
baton-twirling. As she begins
to adapt to SLUH, it’s really
relationships with Jr. Bills she
wishes to foster.
“So I think that’s gonna be
fun. I’m really excited about
that. And anybody can drop in
at any time,” she added. “You
know, I’m here and I’m trying
to get out and about in the hallways
and meet students.”
photo | Kathy Chott

August 25, 2023
AMDG
ACROSS
1. Streaming delays
5. *Joist, e.g.
10. *Weapon that shoots a bolt
14. The good dinosaur in The
Good Dinosaur
ENTERTAINMENT
PN Crossword: Crossword Puzzle
Crossword | Paul Baudendistel | criticisms, compliments, and ideas welcome at pbaudendistel@sluh.org
15. Yogi, for one
16. Sonic the Hedgehog’s company
17. *Direct to elsewhere in the
same document
19. Make money, and a homophone
of 7-Down
20. Kindle and Nook
21. Divine
23. Certain appliances
24. GAA or GPA
25. :(
28. *Elliptical machine, or
footwear when using one
32. *Line on a sight
33. Retro hairdo
34. Not esto or eso
35. Feature of a snake or vampire
36. Recoils
37. Uncluttered
38. REO Speedwagon’s “Take
_____ the Run”
39. 47-stringed instrument
40. Prop for Woody
41. 12:50
43. Snapchat feature
44. X (Twitter) feature
45. Ginger drink
46. *Encounter
49. *Fall sport
54. One of music’s Big Three
55. Link ... and a hint for these
theme answers
57. What little George couldn’t
tell
58. Former name for Congo
59. Voiced
60. *Emergency assistance organization
with an iconic logo
61. Discharge
62. Sixth sense (abbr.)
DOWN
1. *Spring sport
2. Pirate’s utterance
3. TV show that produced
more than 200 Hot 100 hits
4. Couch
5. *Labradoodle or puggle
6. Draft picks?
7. Sea birds
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
3
8. Pendulum path
9. Conductors of pieces by
54-Across
10. *Area that determines terminal
velocity
11. Yogi, for one
12. Fiona’s true form
13. What a wizard waves
18. Mystery writing award
named for Poe
22. Level below MLB
24. Throat infection
25. “10 Things _____ About
You”
26. Runner at first, in MLB
27. *Self-blessing gesture
28. *Bullets flying in opposite
directions
29. Creator of a mushroom
cloud
30. Clear a whiteboard
31. Palindromic blade
32. *Type of fitness regimen
33. Lend _____ (help)
36. Certain length measurement
40. Rank between sgt. and
capt.
42. “Yuck!” in Yiddish
43. Piece of broccoli
45. Some laptops, or some
servers
46. *Target of a soccer challenge
47. White as a ghost
48. pH < 7
49. *Railroad track support
50. Pro wrestling stable that
featured “Hollywood” Hulk
Hogan
51. Item sold by Luigi in “Cars”
52. Messenger molecules
53. Sharp cry, as from 5-Down
56. Pester, as a spouse
SLUH 101 helps freshmen get the
hang of SLUH life
BY Thomas Juergens
Core Staff
St. Louis University High
freshmen once walked into
the halls of SLUH, unsure what
to make of the place. However,
with the summer’s inaugural
SLUH 101 class, this year’s
freshmen arrive more ready for
life at SLUH.
Incoming students enter
SLUH on many different levels
and capabilities. The SLUH 101
class was designed to introduce
students to the way SLUH functions
so they can start on the
same footing.
“What we want to do is get
as many freshman wrapped
into our way of doing things
as early and as quickly as possible,”
said Assistant Principal
for Academics Kevin Foy. “So,
we want to expose guys to the
specific skills that we think will
make them successful in their
freshman year.”
Students went through basic,
but critical, freshmen activities
such as biology POGILs, using
a calculator, writing C.E.A
essays, and using Canvas.
“I absolutely think (SLUH
101) was helpful, and I’ve seen
real benefits of it already in the
first week and a half of school,”
said English teacher Jamie Cordia.
Freshmen also learned
about deeper topics, such as
SLUH brotherhood and Ignatian
life, to begin their Jesuit
education.
“You bounce into really
specific things like how to use
your calculator, then you go real
general about what’s the mission
of the school. You come back in
and get real specific about how
you work Gizmo. And then you
come back out and you talk
about our Jesuit identity and
how it’s been important and
how that’ll be a part of their
guide,” said English teacher Tim
Curdt.
Because of the skills that
were taught, freshmen teachers
find it easier to get right into the
curriculum, instead of having
to tell the freshmen how to use
their planners or Canvas.
“I think that the work they
did with using their planner
and being organized, working
with technology—practicing
Google Drive, and working in
groups—were the three things
that were the most beneficial,”
said Cordia.
“Instead of teaching them
these new procedures and ways
to be successful, it’s a quick reminder,
‘Hey, remember doing
this?’ It allows them to really get
rolling faster,” said math teacher
Craig Hinders.
Students also found the class
beneficial because they learned
basic skills that normally
would’ve taken a few weeks into
the school year to get used to.
“It really helped me learn
the layout of the school; that’s
the biggest thing I noticed,”
said freshman Daniel Bennington.
“They also taught us how to
take notes and how to annotate
notes, which is what I will probably
use later in the year.”
“(I use these skills) every
day, probably even every class,
whether it is something small
like a study skill or something
big like an essay,” said freshman
Edmund Reske.
For its first year, the SLUH
101 course has been a major
success, and it will continue to
improve in the future. It will
continue to bring incoming
classes together as a group and
academically.
“It’s a relatively common
story for really bright kids to
come to SLUH with very poor
study skills, and then they do
less well relative to their potential
in the first quarter, maybe
the first semester, maybe even
all of freshman year,” said Foy.
“So whatever we can do to stop
that from happening is really
important.”
SLUH 101 has become a
necessary next step in helping
freshmen become accustomed
to work and life at SLUH.
“As a freshman teacher,
someone who teaches three
sections of freshmen, I get to
reap the benefits of it. I think it’s
so necessary. I’ve had last year
and I have this year and I know
that my life is easier,” said Cordia.
“And that’s not to say that
my sophomores from last year
weren’t sweet little cherubs that
I love with my whole heart. But
that is to say that I like the skills
that the freshmen are coming
in with right now, a week and a
half in, makes me feel like it was
in fact necessary.”
SLUHsers
SLUHsers | Leo Hahn

4
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
NEWS
August 25, 2023
AMDG
Class of 2027 introduced to the
brotherhood during Convocation
Freshmen receiving a warm welcome from the rest of the school.
(continued from page 1)
classes had been seated, a
large section in the center of
the room, formerly occupied
by the Class of ’23, remained
empty. After a few minutes,
freshmen poured into the
Commons to fill the empty
space amidst thundering
applause and a rendition of
“Choose Joy” by the Symphonic
Band and Chamber
Orchestra.
The remainder of the
event contained reminders
on dress code, StuCo introductions,
a welcome to
new faculty, and speeches
by a number of faculty and
students, including Student
Body President Archie Carruthers,
Assistant Principal
for Student Life Brock Kesterson,
and President Alan
Carruthers.
“I think it was a great
way for the school to introduce
the freshmen and make
them feel welcome,” said junior
Gavin Moyich.
The idea for convocations
began over the summer.
Its predecessor, class
meeting days, had been perceived
as average and fine by
much of the school.
“We’re always reimagining
what those days look
like,” said Stewart. “As I was
coming into the job and
thinking through how to
start the year, and how important
beginnings are, first
impressions, all that kind
of stuff, I said, You know,
I think that since we don’t
love how we do these class
meeting days anyway, I’d
love for us to find a way to
begin together. Let’s have a
big convocation.”
A major inspiration for
the event was the fact that
SLUH as a school doesn’t
fully gather together very often,
other than class Masses
and the occasional Advisory
assembly.
“What if (on) the first
day of school, we started as
a school?” said Stewart. “To
begin together.”
To put this idea into action,
a committee of faculty
began talking through it in
May. Stewart, excited to begin
his tenure as principal at
SLUH, was ready to prepare
for the August event nearly
three months in advance.
After that, a meeting in July
was held with Stewart, Kesterson,
Assistant Principal
for Mission Jim Linhares,
science teacher Megan
Menne, and math teacher
Stephen Deves. The purpose
of the meeting was to really
flesh out what the convocation
would look like.
“We talked as a team, and
I helped brainstorm with
StuCo because they played
a huge part by being spirit
leaders and leading cheers.
We also had Archie Carruthers,
student body president,
give his address to the
students, so I worked with
the guys in StuCo by making
sure they were ready to
go and had everything prepared,”
said Deves.
Deves gives credit to
Stewart for the idea of inviting
the freshman into the
community as the frontand-center
focus of the
Commons seating arrangements.
“That was one of the
things he was really excited
about, giving the freshmen
a ceremonious welcome.
All of us on the committee
agreed that this was a wonderful
thought, and it turned
out to be very powerful,”
said Deves.
The convocation was the
first moment of a memorable
four years to come for
the Class of 2027.
“For me personally, I was
a student here for four years.
And then I’ve worked here
now for eight. Over those
years, this idea of brotherhood
and community has
looked different for each
stage in my life, but I absolutely
love this place,” said
Deves. “My colleagues and
my students here, in my time
as a teacher, have felt like a
strong community. When I
photo | Nick Sanders
was a teenager, I felt by the
end of my four years that
many of my classmates were
really my brothers.”
In addition, the convocation
couldn’t be complete
without music.
“Father Stewart, who
was a musician himself and
a great advocate for the arts,
asked a few weeks out (if we
could play),” said band director
Jeff Pottinger. “Which I
was like, ‘Absolutely, sounds
like a lot of fun.’ But it was
also scary.”
Initially, the plan was to
use a small group of very talented
musicians that could
play anything needed, but
that idea quickly grew into
something bigger.
“As I started thinking
about it, it seemed to me like
it would be better suited to
play something that was a
little bit more exciting,” said
Pottinger. “In my mind, I was
just going to play a pep band
song, a pop song. I started
to think (it) through and I
thought, everyone played
“Choose Joy” at the concert
last year, which means everybody
who’s a returning
student will know it.”
The song was also played
for Pope Francis’ entrance
into St. Peter’s Square when
the SLUH band was there
last year, being used once
again for the Class of 2027’s
entrance into the commons.
In the end, the convocation
acted as the spark for
not only the exciting new
year but the beginning of
the freshmen’s experience
together as brothers.
“I believe the convocation
was very positively
received,” said Deves. “For
me, having the whole community
together on the first
day, before any classes or lessons
whatsoever, was a very
powerful tone setter.”
Construction continues, building new
department offices and Campus Ministry
(continued from page 1)
Future Campus Ministry area.
start of the New Year.
The construction project
extends beyond SLUH’s
chapel and encompasses
broader aspects of the
school. SLUH’s chapel will
be reduced to two-thirds its
original size to accommodate
a brand new Campus
Ministry space on the main
floor. The second floor of
the space above Campus
Ministry will be transformed
into offices housing the English,
Math and Social Studies
departments.
SLUH’s chapel sits on the
northern part of the school,
connecting the J-Wing to the
rest of our school. Although
most of the alterations to the
chapel remain concealed behind
the walls lining freshman
and senior hallway,
there are some noticeable
changes to the exterior of the
chapel. New wooden beams
arch over both entrances to
SLUH’s chapel and the traditional
hallway space found
on both sides of the chapel
are partially blocked to allow
for construction to progress
without interruption.
“The new space in the
chapel is a lot of things,” said
President Alan Carruthers.
“It is everything from insulation
and a new roof, right
down to new foundational
components and additional
support systems in the foundation
to support both the
weight of the school and the
weight of the chapel and new
offices.”
“This is a big project,”
added Carruthers. “This is
an $8.1 million dollar project,
and $1.2 million is being
put into new electricity, but
really this is an investment
in our academic departments.”
In addition to the three
new department offices,
the construction project includes
a new second floor
conference room, a new
work room, and a kitchen.
This comprehensive
multi-million dollar project
will completely alter the
aesthetic of the once dim J-
Wing.
“That end of the building
will feel brighter, lighter,
and just be aesthetically eye
popping, and I think it’s going
to be really exciting for
everyone to see the chapel,”
said Carruthers.
Although the project
has been running smoothly
so far, it hasn’t been without
its hiccups. In the early
stages of renovations there
were some concerns about
the structural integrity of
the wall near the choir loft.
Despite this, SLUH administration
and the construction
team were able to effectively
work around the roadblock.
“The old choir loft wall,
Chapel progress continued over the summer and is expected to be
completed by 2024.
which had been a half wall,
was incorporated into the
wall of the English office,”
said Carruthers. “We didn’t
know that it was a heavy
duty support, so we had to
kind of think on the fly, and
were able to strengthen that
wall and put in new supports.”
Working through these
roadblocks has allowed for
the project to remain on the
originally outlined schedule,
and for a hopeful dedication
time before Lent.
“I think the prospective
end date is set for the beginning
of 2024, around the
New Year,” said Principal
Matt Stewart, SJ.
“If the construction is
done before Lent, we hope
to do a dedication of the new
space before the Lenten season,”
added Carruthers.
Ultimately, the goal of
the renovations has been
to effectively create a functional
space that honors and
revitalizes the chapel and the
school while functioning as
a meaningful work space for
faculty members around the
school.
“We are investing in
making Campus Ministry
and Christ the center of the
school,” added Carruthers “I
think it’s indicative of who
we are, but it also says that
we are here for another 100
years.”
photo | Patrick Byrne
photo | Vincent Weinbauer

August 25, 2023
AMDG
NEWS
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
School adds new Reunification drill into safety protocols
5
Students filing back out of the Fútbol Club FC during the Reunification drill.
(continued from page 1)
had no place to go and parents
weren’t notified if their
child was dead or not for 12
hours,” said Schulte.
“It’s important that we do
these things and we do them
well so that if, God forbid,
we needed to use it, we know
what we’re doing,” said Principal
Matt Stewart, SJ.
Following the CVPA
school shooting last October,
the administration decided
to continue to improve the
school’s safety protocols.
“After what happened at
CVPA, we highlighted that we
photo | Clark Davis
need to protect you guys. It’s a
big task to move 1200 people
across the street, but we need
to do it,” said Stewart.
“You have things like the
CVPA shooting where after
the shooting, they were all
gathered in a Schnucks parking
lot and it was not a controlled
place,” said Schulte.
“We have to find a place that
would be a controlled environment
so if anything were
to happen, whether it be a
shooting or fire or whatever,
we have a place that we can
take a thousand boys.”
Additionally, getting the
students from campus to the
soccer park was an ordeal itself.
Police blocked off Manchester
and students were
escorted safely to their destination
by law enforcement
and faculty.
One major component of
the drill was the coordination
with the St. Louis City police
force, who oversaw the entire
process.
“Part of (our relationship
with the police force) is Mr.
Schulte having been a St. Louis
City police officer. It gives
us a tremendous relationship
with them. Hopefully if we
were to ever need them for
an emergency, we can really
draw on them because they
know our people as well,” said
Stewart.
While the first practice
run of the Reunification drill
was a success, there is more
to develop. Improvements
would include an attendance
system and a way to check out
students when their parents
pick them up. Another adaptation
that SLUH is hoping to
make is adding another potential
location.
“In some ways (Forest
Park Community College)
would be a better location for
us. But what we realized was
it’s probably good to have two
locations if necessary,” said
Stewart. “There’s reasons why
we might want one location
or another and it’s good to
have multiple locations.”
The Reunification drill
was schemed up largely by
Schulte and Assistant Principal
for Student Life Brock
Kesterson over the summer.
Schulte and Stewart then
walked the route before walking
the entire faculty through
the route during faculty meetings.
“I tried to cancel the Reunification
drill seven times
just because I was so nervous
about how it would work,
but Fr. Stewart wouldn’t let
me,” said Schulte. “We have a
thousand kids and additional
faculty but then I realized that
it was just a drill. If it looks
bad, we can work out a new
plan, but it all worked great.”
“We are doing this because
of the safety of the students,”
said Stewart. “Your
parents send you here not
just with the hope, but with
the plan that you’re coming
home that day and it’s our responsibility
to make sure that
happens.”
2,500 students pack Drury
Plaza, mosh the night away
(continued from page 1)
fun it all was,” said StuCo
moderator Stephen Deves.
“When we ended bringing the
mixer back inside, it was just
disgusting and kind of gross.
The floors and walls were slick
and covered in so much sweat
and humidity.”
“After last year, we realized
that we needed to make
revisions for the BTSM,” said
StuCo Intramurals rep Kodi
Cade. “It just was not going to
work out again this year.”
Instead of going back into
the sweat-covered gym, StuCo
brought the mixer back outside
to avoid the issues of last
year’s mixer.
“We decided to make a few
revisions this year with the
set up of the mixer since the
Drury Plaza worked so well,”
said Global-Ed Representative
Tomas Grignola.
Once all of StuCo’s plans
were set, they began to send
out ticket information to all
the girls in the St. Louis area.
While StuCo initially believed
that 1500 tickets would be
more than plenty, they were
not ready for all of those tickets
to be sold out in less than
a day, prompting them to send
out 300 more.
“We definitely did not expect
the right number of girls
when we sent out the BTSM
invitations,” said StuCo Senior
Intramurals rep Tommy
O’Keeffe. “It was insane.”
Before the mixer had even
started, students came decked
out in their unusual attire to
celebrate the first Friday of the
school year. SLUH students
wore clothes ranging from
Hawaiian tees, construction
vests, jorts, Halloween costumes,
and much more.
“It was awesome to see
everyone show up and show
their SLUH spirit and weird
outfits,” said sophomore Aidan
Smith. “No one does it better
than us.”
Finally after a school
week’s long wait, the Back to
School Mixer began at 7:30
p.m. sharp with high schoolers
pouring in the gates of the
Drury Plaza greeted by DJs
and strobing lights to begin
the madness.
“I love how people could
go from moshing in front of
the DJ table to walking around
the outside and talking with
all of their friends there,” said
sophomore Jude Wulf.
“My favorite moment from
the mixer has to be when we
all were chanting ‘When the
Bills Go Marching In,’ and everyone
was locking up arms
together,” said O’Keeffe. “It
was so cool just being up on
stage and looking out at all
those kids, locking arms and
swaying back and forth.”
The Back to School Mixer
wrapped up at 10 with around
2500, 1800 girls and 700 SLUH
boys. All left sweaty and tired
after the wild night of parading
around the plaza.
“It’s just great seeing all
of these people showing up
from different schools because
you really get a sense of how
everyone is a community of
these people from all across
St. Louis is just having a good
time,” said Grignola.
The Back to School Mixer
continues to be a beloved tradition
among SLUH students
as it starts off the school year
on a great note for all.
“I always try to tell freshmen
to go to the mixers,” said
Cade. “You only have one high
school experience and I don’t
think that the underclassmen
really realize that. You just
have to try to do everything
with your brothers because, at
the end of the day, it’s a great
experience.”
Left: Group of freshman
posing for a picture
during BTSM.
Below: Group of seniors
posing for a photo.
Right: Seniors Brendan
Cunningham, Grant
Locker, and Mathew
Birch at BTSM.
Above: Members of StuCo prior to BTSM.
photos | Nick Sanders

6
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
SPORTS
August 25, 2023
AMDG
Returning talent has football hopes high for ‘23 season
BY Tim Browdy and
Ben Begley
reporters
The temperature is not the
only thing heating up on
Oakland Avenue. The St. Louis
U High football team is ready
to go tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
after the game, originally scheduled
for tonight, was changed
due to the heat. The Jr. Bills kick
start their season on the road
against the back-to-back state
champions of St. Mary’s. According
to the GSV large and
small school rankings, the No.
10 Jr. Bills competitively stack
up against the St. Mary’s No. 2
roster. Second year head coach
Adam Cruz and his staff are eager
to see how their largely returning-varsity
roster will fare
against St. Mary’s this weekend
and against other opponents in
the coming weeks.
The Jr. Bills are hungry for
revenge based on their history
against St. Mary’s the past couple
of seasons, and on St. Mary’s
recent success in the state finals,
according to Cruz.
“The game is going to mean
a lot with what’s happened at
their school over the past couple
of years,” said Cruz. “And
like I told the guys, they’re two
time state champs and they’re
going to act like it.”
In recent years, the Jr. Bills
have fallen short when it comes
to Week 1 performances.
“We haven’t won our opening
game since 2019, which was
when the current seniors were
eighth graders,” said Cruz. “It’s
important to get off to a great
start and I’m excited to kind of
buck these trends.”
The Jr. Bills’ other opponent
this week as they prepared for
St. Mary’s was the unusually
high temperatures. The team
was forced to shift practice time
to later in the evening to avoid
the heat.
“Everybody’s going to have
a ton of excuses and have to
make a ton of adjustments this
week,” said Cruz. “We’ve got to
roll with the punches because
they’re rolling with them over at
St. Mary’s and all over St. Louis.”
Cruz is especially confident
about Week 1 and the
rest of the year given the talent
that is returning to St. Louis
U. High this fall. At the helm
of the quarterback position is
returning starter and captain
senior Marco Sansone. Sansone
will look to build off his
second team All-MCC Athlete
selection as both a runner and
a passer after throwing for 2,245
yards and 22 touchdowns last
season.
Sansone is also eager to face
St. Mary’s tomorrow.
“I’m happy that we get to
play them because of our outcome
last year. We get a chance
Marco Sansone preparing to take a snap in the jamboree against Marquette.
to get revenge and it’ll really set
the tone for the season,” said
Sansone. “The heat plays in
great. We’ve got no players that
play both ways. We just need to
be disciplined.”
The offense will also feature
a dynamic and seasoned wide
receiver and a strong running
back core. Arguably the deepest
position group on the team,
the Jr. Bills will be loaded at the
receiver position as they return
three key starters. Senior captain
5-star recruit Ryan Wingo
headlines the core as he seeks
All-Metro and All-State honors
for consecutive years.
Alongside Wingo, SLUH
returns senior captain Joe Harris,
who is an All-Conference
and All-District selection himself,
and two-way senior speedstar
Jacobi Oliphant. Oliphant’s
6-foot-5 frame and speed will
be a matchup dream for the Jr.
Bills at the wide receiver and
safety positions.
In addition to the strength
of the receiving core, Cruz is
also confident in the running
back corps, which includes
senior John Smith along with
sophomores Jordan Taylor and
KaLaun Grace.
At the tight end position,
Power 5 prospect Landon Pace
will also be a threat for the Jr.
Bills this season.
Cruz is especially excited
for the team’s non-skill positions
as well.
“We’re young on the offensive
line, but I’m really excited
about that. Defensively, it looks
like right now it’s an all-senior
defensive line, which is also
pretty cool,” said Cruz.
Notable defensive assets
include senior captains and
defensive ends Archie Carruthers
and Vince Chappuis,
senior linebacker Kyle Wright,
sophomore linebacker Kendall
McNutt, junior cornerback
Matthew Moore, and sophomore
safeties Will Schulte and
Keenan Harris.
This heavy hitting team
was put to the test last Friday
when they took part in the
Marquette Jamboree. The Jr.
Bills were faced up against
Webster Groves, Lindbergh,
and the home team Marquette.
Competition is not new for this
photo | Vic Lewchenko
team as they have been a part of
multiple joint practices against
good teams like Eureka and
Rockwood Summit.
Game 1 was against Marquette.
Sophomore Jordan
Taylor started the jamboree off
hot, breaking multiple tackles
on the very first play and forcing
Marquette to fear the run
game, which allowed Sansone
to throw a laser to senior Joe
Harris to put SLUH on the
board early for an easy 7 points.
SLUH’s defense followed
up with an even better performance,
holding Marquette
scoreless with key defensive
plays from sophomore Kendall
McNutt, Oliphant, senior Kodi
Cade, and senior edge rusher JJ
Brandon.
After winning the first
game 7-0, SLUH matched up
against Lindbergh. The Jr. Bills
unfortunately did not carry the
energy from the previous game
to the next as they went scoreless
through their entire drive.
However, the Jr. Bills defense
returned the favor, holding
the Flyers scoreless with Vince
Chappuis making a game saving
tackle to prevent the Flyer’s
QB from scrambling to the
end zone. Although they didn’t
lose to Lindbergh, they weren’t
happy with the results.
“I thought our defense did
really well and executed plays
well, but on the offensive side
we couldn’t find a stride, we
just executed poorly. This week
we’ve just been trying to execute
better and are trying to get focused
for a big game Saturday,”
said Sansone.
SLUH moved on to their
next game against Webster
Groves to close out the Jamboree.
The matchup was electric
with both teams scoring
21 points each. The Jr. Bills
offense finally picked up with
touchdowns from senior WR
Nathan Gunn and Oliphant.
“Last year we won the Jamboree
state championship and
that didn’t reflect on the season.
We’re not so much worried
about results as we are executing
and seeing some things we
need to see,” said Cruz.
The Jr. Bills plan to learn
from the Jamboree but not
dwell on it as they head into
their first matchup against St.
Mary’s tomorrow night .
Swimming kicks off season with Blue and White intersquad meet
BY Andrew Hunt and
Kearney Foy
Core Staff, reporter
This is a State Championship
team!”
These are the words spoken
by varsity swim coach Lindsey
Ehret that her battle-hardened
team has begun to echo—an exciting
proclamation of success
this year, and a promise to work
hard. And it’s certainly fitting:
the team returns stronger than
ever this year, with newfound
speed, new faces, and even
higher season prospects.
The St. Louis U. High swim
and dive team kicked off the
2023 season—and all this excitement—with
the Blue and
White intersquad meet Saturday
afternoon at Chaminade.
This annual meet, a tradition
in the program, pits half of the
swim and dive team members
against the other half in friendly
competition of Blue vs. White.
This year’s competition was an
undisputed success.
“The Blue and White meet
was a lot of fun this year,” said
senior captain Aidan Brawer.
“It gave our new swimmers an
opportunity to run through a
high school swim meet for the
first time and it provided some
friendly competition to our returning
swimmers.”
The meet, alongside time
trials a week prior, also highlighted
the incredible speed
improvements of this year’s
varsity swim team. Last year, the
squad was teeming with young,
promising talent among the
freshman, sophomore, and junior
classes. Now, it’s their time
to shine as the team’s promising
underclassmen become upperclassmen
and display new personal-bests
early in the season.
The off-season work for swimmers
like juniors Charlie Hill
and Ben Chumley and sophomore
Connor Dunker is already
proving to pay off.
“There’s just so much of a
difference between a freshmansophomore
strong class and
when they get older, so our
middle classes are really, really
strong,” said Ehret.
Coupled with this newfound
speed, a lot of swimmers
will be shifting around which
events they swim, as part of
Ehret’s new season motto that
“everybody has got to have two
events.” Ehret hopes to broaden
each swimmer’s capabilities for
meets throughout the season—
for example, Hill will take a
more permanent role among
SLUH’s “distance dudes” (swimming
long races like the 500-
yard and 200-yard individual
medley), while Dunker squares
in on the 100-yard butterfly
and junior Evan Zimmerman,
a breaststroker, tests out the waters
in the 200-yard IM.
SLUH has talent from the
new Class of 2027, with three
freshmen making varsity.
Among them is prodigy Drew
Hopkins, who garnered topten
times in all four 50-yard
events at this year’s time trials,
including the fastest time for
backstroke (24.88 seconds). He
will likely swim the 100-yard
backstroke and 100-yard butterfly
events in meets this year.
“I’m very excited about
Drew Hopkins,” said Ehret.
“He’s very promising.”
Although more freshmen
tend to make varsity, Ehret
highlighted how the junior
varsity team, led by economics
teacher Rob Hill, has some future
varsity prospects brewing
in the pot, like sophomores Jack
Brawer and Will Steurer.
The SLUH home pool at
Forest Park Community College
remains under construction,
whisking varsity away to the waters
of Principia, JV to Chaminade,
and diving to Brentwood,
similar to the 2022 season. The
FPCC pool is scheduled to reopen
for SLUH use in October.
“We’ll be home, which will
be a relief,” said Ehret. “I think
it just helps create community.
It eliminates a lot of stress. It
makes your focus more on doing
good in practice instead of
all these other factors.”
Nevertheless, the current
adversity has only brought the
team closer together and made
them stronger. The faster-thanever
times have varsity buzzing
with excitement for the year’s
big meets: the COMO meet at
Mizzou, which will introduce
them to the best teams in the
state like Rockhurst, and the
State Championships in early
November.
“I’m most looking forward
to our (COMO) meet at Mizzou
this year,” said senior captain
Aidan Brawer. “Because it
is a two day meet and we will be
staying there overnight, I think
it will be a great opportunity for
Geroge Albert on the diving block.
our team to grow closer and to
put up some fast times.”
While the team fell short to
fifth place at state last year, its
members are confident—and
very determined—to work hard
and make it big this year.
“We got more dogs than a
photo | Brendan Hunt
kennel in Cleveland,” said senior
Mattie Peretz, who was chosen
by the captains as last week’s
Swimmer of the Week. “I got
more faith in us winning it all
this year than I do in the good
Lord making the sun come out
tomorrow.”

August 25, 2023
AMDG
SPORTS
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
7
Senior Captain Grant Locker last season against Webster Groves
BY Will Feise
reporter
Two thousand twenty-three
is the year of the Soccer-
Bill. After the 2022 playoffs
loss against Chaminade, the
boys’ minds have been set on
one goal: to win state. But this
goal does not come without
sacrifice. It takes hard work,
determination, and a keen
mind.
“Man can’t conquer the
world, until he conquers himself,”
said senior captain Will
Wolfe.
Wolfe believes that the
mental game is just as powerful
as the technical game. The
ability to stay concentrated,
even during the midst of a
100 degree practice, is a key
component to make it far this
season.
“The mind is everything.
What you think, you become,”
said senior captain Christian
Thro.
This attitude is apparent
throughout the whole team,
and was executed during the
Jamboree at Gay Field this past
weekend. The first opponent
of the day was Clayton, who
possessed the home field advantage.
The advantage didn’t
mean much as senior Keegan
Kesterson juked the goalie early
in the first half and pounded
the ball into the back of the net
for the first of what promises
to be many goals this season.
After Clayton tied it up,
senior captain Grant Locker
quickly turned the tide of the
game. Locker found himself
alone with the goalie, and
his only option was to slot it
home. 2-1. Locker realized he
wasn’t finished, and scored
another goal making the final
tally 3-1.
The Jr. Bills’ next opponent
was MICDS. After valiantly
persevering and battling all
game, the Jr. Bills settled for
a 0-0 tie.
“The boys were buzzing
throughout the day. They really
turned up against Clayton,”
said junior manager Steven
Baudendistal.
The Jr. Bills played their
hearts out and they have very
positive views on the upcoming
season.
“We have a nice chance of
getting past districts and winning
the state final,” said senior
Chris Lewis.
The rest of the team shares
this optimism. SLUH has not
won a state championship in
10 years. Despite numerous
chances such as back to back
playoff runs in ’22 and ’23,
they have not been able to
seal the deal. This year could
be the year.
“We have a lot of depth
this year and we are really well
bonded,” said Kesterson.
Key assets such as Locker,
Thro, and Lewis will have immediate
impacts on the game.
All three have been threeyear
starters and they are not
afraid to control and dominate
the turf. The mixture of these
three and the new upcoming
varsity talent will be a hard
team to stop.
The squad’s strong depth
should also help tremendously
throughout the season. If
a starting player is injured,
many skilled athletes are on
the bench that can close the
gap to keep the team rolling.
The ability to stay strong
through setbacks such as injury
is extremely important in
soccer, and the Jr. Bills have
the backup to stay lethal.
In order to excel in a competitive
sport like soccer, players
must not only possess skill,
but they must possess chemistry.
It’s not the type of chemistry
in Ms. Chott’s lab, but it’s
the personal bond that each
player has with one another.
The friendship and brotherhood
on the team is deep.
The combination of elite
skill and beautiful team chemistry
makes this squad a force
to be reckoned with, and a
team to watch this fall. The
jamboree was a sneak peak at
the power they possess, but
there is much more to come
in the future. Come watch
the first home game against
Chaminade on Aug. 26, because
senior Mathew Birch
says it best: “We have unfinished
business.”
XC has eyes set on state as they move into the season
BY Charlie Gray and
Tristan Kujawa
reporters
After the first two weeks
of the official MSHSAA
Cross Country season, St.
Louis U. High’s Jr. Billikens
seem confident with the spot
they are in. After an underwhelming
end to the 2022
cross country season, the Jr.
Bills look to bounce back with
a more successful year. With
100-plus members in the program,
this year is one of the
largest teams in the program’s
history.
Every year in XC, four
seniors are voted on as team
captains. Since the program
has so many underclassmen,
it is crucial to have this leadership
from the oldest guys on
the team to form them into
great people and runners. The
four senior captains—Noah
Evers, Charlie Murray, Mason
Scargall, and Anthony Zangara—believe
that they can
create a positive and uplifting
environment for the program.
“It is important to have
faith in a program,” said Murray.
“Faith is what will allow
us to build the community we
strive to achieve.”
Unlike many other sports,
it can be hard to tell where a
cross country program stands
in terms of times. In order to
have a better understanding
of where the team is, the program
had the annual two mile
Alumni Race on Friday, Aug.
11. This event not only serves
as a pre-season glimpse into
how the program is doing, but
also as a chance for the alumni
to come back to their old team
and race with each other. The
athletes, however, see this as
their first opportunity to see
where they are on the team
time-wise.
A typical cross country
race is five kilometers, or 3.1
miles. The Alumni Race can
still provide powerful insight
about how the team is performing.
“We always look at things
at the beginning of the year
as a starting point,” says head
coach Joe Porter. “We want to
know where we’re at so that
we can focus on our improvement.”
Looking at the numbers,
the times from the Alumni
Race may seem underwhelming,
but there are still many
positives to take away. Leading
the race for the team,
freshman Jackson Miller took
home the number one spot
on the day. Running a time
of 9:58 for two miles, Miller
averaged under five minutes
per mile. This is the first time
in program’s history where a
freshman ran sub 10:00 for his
photo | Kathy Chott
Unfinished Business
Soccer looks for a state run after two
years of losses in district finals
Alumni Race.
Following close behind
him, junior Gus Talleur
ran 10:03. Behind Talleur, a
pack of five athletes, Murray
(10:11), Evers (10:16), and
Zangara (10:13), and juniors
George Donahue (10:15)
and Alex Bendaña (10:16) all
finished within five seconds
of each other. The 1-7 split
of only 18 seconds is a very
strong positive that the team
looks to carry into the season.
Overall, the program understands
that there is a lot
of work to be done, but fully
trusts that they will be in good
shape when it matters.
In addition to a successful
start, the program also
welcomes two new coaches,
coach Chris Staley ’19 and
coach Charlie Hatch.
Hatch, from the town of
Nashville, Ill., is still awestruck
by the sheer numbers
the program has.
“I came from a very small
town where we had a really
kind of skeleton crew” said
Hatch. “And this is just the polar
opposite here. This is just
one hundred guys running in
an incredible program.”
Having run Division 1
cross country at Cornell,
Hatch looks to provide unique
insight to the team. He looks
for team success on the course
this fall, but also he takes
pride in developing the program
to create strong young
men.
“Coach Hatch brings
much needed support to the
team,” said Evers. “He also
brings a personal connection
as he converses with many of
us on the team at practice.”
Staley, working as an ASC,
is glad to give back his time to
the team he once ran on.
“I’m really excited to be
back helping out cross country,”
said Staley. “I was a runner
in my time at SLUH. And
it’s a really special program.
And I’m just glad to give back
to it.”
With Staley running in
two state championships
during his time at SLUH, he
hopes to guide the program
to the state podium this November.
“I have enjoyed getting
to know Coach Staley,” said
senior captain Anthony Zangara.
“I am confident that he
can bring energy to the coaching
staff and team as a whole.”
With the first races less
than a week away, the SLUH
Cross Country program looks
to succeed on every level.
With new coaches and new
teammates, the possibilities
are endless for this program,
but two things are for sure,
brotherhood will be built and
there will be No Egos.
SLUH soccer takes on
Barcelona and hoists
the Manresa Cup
BY Vincent Weinbauer
Sports Editor
Los bills fútboleros han
conquistado España.
From winning the Manresa
Cup to seeing the Cave of St.
Ignatius, what didn’t the Fútbolbills
accomplish on their
trip to Spain this summer?
On the morning of June
7, the St. Louis U. High soccer
team arrived in Barcelona,
Spain. Not even two hours after
their arrival the Jr. Bills,
eager to play fútbol, were
already on the pitch practicing
for their first game the
following day against CE
L’Hospitalet. However before
that match was able to take
place, they first got to visit
Camp Nou to see the stadium
where FC Barcelona plays
their home matches.
With all the excitement
of the trip, the Jr. Bills were
headed into their first game.
Unfortunately, the game did
not turn out as hoped, as
SLUH lost 5-0.
“As we were going on the
trip, we all kind of had this
mutual feeling that we were
going to get demolished,” said
senior Dylan Freeman. “After
the first game, that feeling did
not go away.”
After the heartbreaking
defeat, the Bills had the night
in Barcelona to hang out and
experience the Spanish culture.
The third day allowed for
the team to recoup and enjoy
Spain, going on a tour of the
Barcelona Sagrada Familia.
Although the boys had practice
in the morning with local
Spanish coaches, most of the
day was spent enjoying the
city and the unfinished cathedral
that began construction
in 1882.
On day four, the group
visited Montserrat where
Saint Ignatius left his sword
and decided to live a holy life.
Like Ignatius, the boys then
headed over to Manresa and
saw the cave where he spent
eleven months creating the
Team after winning the Manresa Cup.
Team at mass in Manresa.
Spiritual Exercises.
By day five, it was time for
the cup. The Manresa Cup is
a round robin between three
Jesuit schools which were
comprised of SLUH, FC
Pirinaica, and Guardiolenca
AFA. The first match was
against FC Pirinaica and the
team secured its first victory
of the trip by a narrow margin
of 1-0.
The second game took
place and because of the small
numbers in the tournament,
a win meant the cup would
be theirs. After a hard-fought
match from both teams,
SLUH was able to slide one
in late and secure the victory.
“It was so fun,” said varsity
soccer coach Bob O’Connell.
“It felt as if we won the World
Cup, the people there treated
us so well. The game was dramatic,
we scored a late goal to
win it and it was an amazing
experience in and of itself.”
The final two days of the
trip were free days where the
team was able to spend time
at the beach and exploring the
city. On the last day, the team
faced off in Spain one more
time against CD Fonstanta
Fatjo. The team was able to
use the momentum from the
Manresa Cup and swiftly defeated
their opponent in a 3-1
final to cap off their memorable
trip with a W.
After a week of a culture
immersive and soccer combination
in Spain, the group’s
key takeaway was not raising
the cup or being able to see
Ignatius’s cave, but the brotherhood
that was formed between
the young men who
conquered Spain.
“There’s guys from all different
age groups,” said senior
Keegan Kesterson. “Some of
us didn’t really know each
other that well, but as the days
went on we got to forge these
bonds with these guys we
weren’t close with at all. We
all became good friends and
made so many great lifelong
memories.”
photos | Brock Kesterson

8
Prep News
Volume 88, Issue 01
Pay now for stickers:
In the early morning rush to leave their
house, many SLUH students neglect to
grab their lanyard on their way out.
However, SLUH’s lanyards are a
critical requirement in keeping the
school secure. Dr. Kesterson and
Mr. Schulte are now charging $5 to
students who forget to bring their
lanyards. Students get one freebie
per quarter.
Sisyphus display:
In the previously blank hallway outside
the new Dill Center, sits the new Sisyphus
display, where past Jr. Bill’s visual art and
poetry is displayed. Some of the exhibits are “Fear”
by Timlin Glaser ’06, “Tidewall” by Ryan Fox ’99, and “Blue
Towel” by Nathan Rich ’22. Past covers of past issues of Sisyphus
are also displayed, in addition to a wall of Saint Louis
themed submissions.
Around the Hallways
Volume 88, Issue 1
888
New football scoreboard:
Remember the massive truck blocking
the exit to Oakland Ave? That’s the
machine responsible for the installation
of St. Louis U. High’s new scoreboard on
the football field. Now parents and fans
alike can enjoy the new view!
-Compiled by Thomas Juergens and Jens Istvan
Core Staff, Staff
Students venture to Spain to embark on World
Youth Day; celebrated mass with the Pope
Justin Kelley SJ with students on hike in Portugal.
(continued from page 8)
dents got to exercise their
own independence while
living in another continent.
“We had a lot of free
time to explore the city on
our own,” said junior Alex
Bendaña.
After exploring Spain,
the second part of the trip
was the actual World Youth
Day.
“It’s more of a World
Youth Week,” said Kelley.
“The days usually consist of
a speaker and a Mass or holy
hour.”
During the week, SLUH
students got to hike to where
the Papal Mass would be
held.
“We traveled for about
four hours on Saturday to
this park and camped out,”
said Kelley.
However, the Jr. Bills
weren’t expecting the imminent
heat wave awaiting
them on their hike back on
Sunday afternoon.
“I was just looking at
my phone and thinking that
this isn’t going to just be
uncomfortable today walking
back four hours, with 50
pound bags. This is going to
Prep News
photo | courtesy of Justin Kelley, SJ
be dangerous,” said Kelley.
“I got kids and we weren’t
really well fed, we slept on
rocks outside, and we were
pretty dehydrated.”
Luckily, the homily given
by the pope had just the answer
to Kelley’s worries.
“He was speaking in Italian
so I didn’t really know
what he was saying, but the
message of the homily that
he was repeating was ‘Be not
afraid’,” said Kelley. “Which
is really funny because I was
afraid the entire Mass.”
However, Kelley was
comforted by what he saw
from the SLUH students.
“I turned around and I
saw SLUH students kneeling
on the rocks and the
dirt during the Eucharistic
prayer,” said Kelley. “It
pulled me out of my fear
because of their faith.”
Faith was a big part of
the students’ experience too.
“It impacted me in the
sense of how big the church
is,” said junior Gus Talleur.
“And how many people really
believe in the Catholic
faith and how many people
care enough to go to one
spot to have Mass with the
Pope.”
An experience that SLUH
students seem to take for
granted because they meet
him so much, is the Pope.
“It was really cool when the
Pope drove by in his car and
proceeded up to the stage.
Everyone was so happy to
see him,” said Bendaña.
Other students said that
this trip put into perspective
how diverse the Catholic
faith is. “There were people
from Poland, Germany,
Mexico, and Colombia,” said
Bendaña. “It kind of humbled
me a bit.”
“The most special part
for me was being able to
spend time with Catholics
my age from all around the
world, who all believed the
same thing I did,” said Talleur.
Friday, August 25
1st Possible Fall Sports Contest
Football and Soccer District Assignment Release
NEW Shadow@SLUH Host Application Deadline
10:35am Activity Period Meetings
Saturday, August 26
9:00am C Team Soccer vs Chaminade
10:30am B Team Soccer vs Chaminade
12:30pm V Soccer vs Chaminade
7:00pm V Football vs St. Mary’s
Monday, August 28
August 25, 2023
AMDG
FGABC
DEFGA
10:35am Activity Period Meetings
10:35am RETURNING Shadow@SLUH Host Orientation
3:30pm Facilities BoT Committee Meeting
4:30pm C Football vs Francis Howell Central
4:45pm DEI BoT Committee Meeting
5:00pm JV Soccer vs CBC
6:30pm JV Football vs St. Mary’s
8:30pm Swimming & Diving vs Francis Howell Centraly
Tuesday, August 29
Fall Activities Fair (during Advisory)
3:45pm Academic Affairs BoT Committee Meeting
4:30pm B Team Soccer vs Marquette
4:30pm C Team Soccer vs Marquette
5:00pm Advancement BoT Committee Meeting
6:00pm V Soccer vs Marquette
Wednesday, August 30
10:35am Activity Period Meetings
10:35am NEW Shadow@SLUH Host Training
4:30pm C Team vs St. Dominic
Thursday, August 31
Calendar
BCDE
FGABC
DEFG
Late Start - Department Meetings
3:30pm NEW Admissions Student Ambassador Training
Credits
“What did you lose at BTSM?”
calendar | Grayson Stevenson
First soccer game
tomorrow @ SLUH
12:30
First football game
tomorrow @
St. Marys 7:00
BE THERE
Sports Editor
Vincent “my wallet” Weinbauer
News Editors
Drew “phone charging capabilities” Figge
Lucas “dignity” Hayden
Flex Editors
Micah “my self-confidence :(” Doherty
Grayson “editorial position” Stevenson
Core Staff
Billy “Pushups”Albus
Andrew “The sleeves to my shirt” Hunt
Thomas “ My racquetball record” Juergens
Otto “Arizona Passport” Reitenbach
Staff
Theo “my spot on Jazz 1” Agniel
Leo “special scent” Hahn
Jens “German Shorts” Istvan
Staff Artists
Jesse “my chicken fight” Heater
Colin “Missed it” Schuler
Reporters
Aiden “golf clubs” Erard
Ben “my left AirPod” Begley
Tim “silly string” Browdy
Will “the ability to walk” Feise
Kearney “my curls” Foy
Charlie “Dragonfly’s ” Gray
Tristan “a couple inches” Kujawa
Daniel “my ID” Neuner
Nick “my voice” Robert
Artists
Kane “ cut-off overalls” Luchun
Carson “My physics grade” Heller
Chase “My Pilot G-2” Dietrich
Photographers
Patrick “My humanity” Byrne
Clark “my D1 baseball scholarship” Davis
Kathy “the last element” Chott
Moderator
Steve “HTRLLAP” Missey