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Courtesy SPA Athletics
Spring 2015 Season Wrap-Up
The 4 X 800 team set a new school record at the State meet.
GIRLS’ TRACK It was a championship season for the girls’ track team. Mary Naas ’15 took first place in the IMAC 1600 race, followed by a first
place finish at the Section meet and finally by a third place finish at the State meet. Naas was also a member of the 4 X 800 team (pictured left; Naas at far right) which set a new school record at the State meet with a fourth place finishing time of 9:45:30; the team also included (pictured left to right) Emma Hills ’18, Greta Sirek ’18, and Lexi Hilton ’16. Naas was named All Conference and All State; Sirek, Hilton, and Hills were named All Conference Honorable Mention along with Lauren Hansen ’17 and Sorcha Ashe ’18.
BOYS’ TRACK The team was led by Mike Destache ’15, who finished third in the 1600 and second in the 3200 at the IMAC conference meet. The 4 X 200 relay team of Destache, Peter Baker ’16, Matt Jaeger ’17, and Dalante Peyton ’17 took second place at the Conference meet and third at Sections. Mike Destache earned All Conference honors and Dalante Peyton and Peter Baker were All Conference Honorable Mention.
GIRLS’ LACROSSE The girls’ lacrosse team, a cooperative with Visitation, showed tremendous growth this season, finishing with a 10-3 record. The team finished in third place in the IMAC just behind powerhouse teams Blake and Breck. All Conference honors went to Ella Matticks ’17, and All Conference Honorable Mention honors went
Ami Berger
DAWN WICKSTRUM AND JAY SCHUTTE TAKE ON LEADERSHIP ROLES IN DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS SPA’s Department of Athletics welcomed two new staff members in leadership roles in the fall of 2015. Dawn Wickstrum is the school’s new Director of Athletics, having joined the school in July after a national search to replace Peter Sawkins. Wickstrum comes to SPA from the Francis W. Parker School, an independent school in Chicago, where she led the athletic program for four years. Prior to her tenure at Parker, she was the Lower School Physical Education Coordinator at Lake Forest Country Day School. Her work in K-12 independent schools was preceded by a career in college athletics, as an Assistant Athletic Director at Defiance College, Assistant to the Athletic Director at Lake Forest College, and Assistant Athletic Director for Women and Minorities at Earlham College. “Dawn comes to SPA with a wealth of experience in athletic administration combined with a nuanced understanding of independent schools,” says Head of School Bryn S. Roberts. Wickstrum is also an experienced coach, having coached both basketball and softball at the college level. She was also an exceptional two-sport collegiate athlete in softball and basketball. Wickstrum holds a B.A. from Lakeland College in Wisconsin and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. Joining Wickstrum in the Department of Athletics is Jay Schutte, who joined SPA in August 2015 to fill the new role of Middle School Athletic Director. Schutte, who also teaches Middle School physical education, was the Athletic Director and elementary
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Dean of Students at Community of Peace Academy in St. Paul prior to joining SPA. He has taught physical education in schools in Minnesota and Nevada and is a football, basketball, and baseball coach. He holds a B.A. in K-12 Physical Education from Concordia University in St. Paul, and a M.A. in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University in Irvine, CA. “With the growing participation numbers in Middle School athletics, it became clear that we needed someone to really focus on the experience of our athletes,” says Middle School Principal Jill Romans of Schutte’s new role. Schutte works closely with students and with the Middle School leadership team to make sure athletics “always has a voice at the table,” Romans says. “Community is a critical piece of the Middle School academic experience, and we wanted to ensure that the same community expectations and norms that we emphasize in the classroom are also present in the athletic program,” says Romans. “Jay’s work has provided that important bridge between the students’ academic lives and their athletic lives.”