Monday, Feb. 25, 2019

Stensby, Robotics Team Win Third Straight State Titles

Stevenson added two state championships to its lengthy list of trophies over the weekend.

Senior Topher Stensby won the 50-yard freestyle championship for the third straight year at the Illinois High School Association boys swimming and diving meet Saturday at New Trier High School. Topher is one of only three boys swimmers in state history to win the 50 freestyle three times. He also won two other state medals to finish his prep career with 13, second in program history. More details can be found in the Patriot Sports section.

Stevenson won its third straight Illinois VEX Robotics state championship Saturday at Niles West High School in Skokie, and also qualified for the VEX Worlds Competition April 24-27 in Louisville, Ky.

The 1965A “Duck Duck Goose” team won state for the second straight time. Three students on the roster were part of last year’s state-winning s quad: Seniors Ethan Gordon and Erik Rademacher, and junior Rahul Subramanian. They were joined by senior Riya Gyanmote and juniors Divyansh Ojha. The team finished fourth in the qualifying matches with a 6-1 record, then went unbeaten through the elimination rounds to capture the title and a berth in the world tournament.

Joining Duck Duck Goose in Louisville will be 1965T “Firewall,” which won its second consecutive Design Award and reached the state semifinals. The roster was the same this year as last, except all the students are sophomores: Kendrick Boardman, Krethikram Gowrisankar, Sofia Kolobaev, Jeremiah Lee, Brandon Lu, Ansh Parekh, William Rademacher and Rushil Vora. They were selected based on demonstrating an organized and professional approach to the design process, project and time management, and team organization.

Two other teams qualified for state, giving Stevenson four in the expanded field of 56 robots. The 1965P “Warm Refrigerators” team featured all seven of its members who competed at state last year, plus junior Pranav Putta, who was a member of the state champion 1965A squad in 2018. He joined fellow juniors Husain Badri, Wynne Chen, Max Kulick, Michael Levin, Duncan Paul, Jaap Singh and Piper Starr. The other state qualifier was 1965R “Chimera,” which also participated in the 2018 field. Seniors Jonathan Distel, Joshua Kulick, Haechan (James) Lim, Jacob Shupak and Alan Tokarsky were on last year’s Chimera roster, and were joined by classmate Beulah Lee, who was on the 1965A titlists in 2018. The robotics team sponsors are Mike Anderson and Frank Radostits.

Freshman Wins CSO Young Artists Competition

Freshman Rosie Wang won the 2019 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition on Saturday. She was one of four finalists who performed at Symphony Center, backed by the Chicago Civic Orchestra. The flutist performed Fantaisie by French composer Georges Hüe. Click here to watch Rosie’s performance. With her achievement, Rosie earned the opportunity to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during its 2019-20 concert season. The date and repertoire have not been determined. Rosie is the second Stevenson student in the last three years to reach the Young Artists Competition finals. Haddon Kay (Class of 2018) was a finalist in 2017.

New Shanghai Circus Returning to SHS March 9

The New Shanghai Circus makes its third visit to the Performing Arts Center for an animal-free show at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 9. The event is sponsored by the Stevenson High School Foundation. Acrobats, jugglers and contortionists are among the acts that will perform, enhanced by extraordinary choreography, lighting, scenery and music. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased online through Thursday, March 7. Any available tickets will be sold at the door. Click here to buy tickets. The show will last approximately two hours with intermission, and is recommended for ages 6 and older.

Winter Band Concert Tuesday and Wednesday

The Winter Band Concert will be held Tuesday and Wednesday in the Performing Arts Center. Each night begins at 7 p.m. The Advanced Symphonic Band will perform Tuesday, as will the Freshman Band. The Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Honor Band will play on Wednesday. Admission is free. For those unable to attend, the concert will be streamed live on the Fine Arts Division’s Vimeo page.

PATRIOT SPORTS

Click here for today’s athletic schedule

Saturday’s Varsity Results

Boys Swimming and Diving
Stevenson at IHSA State Meet: Topher Stensby won the 50-yard freestyle championship for the third straight year, becoming the first Patriot swimmer to capture four state individual titles in his career. He claimed four medals overall and led SHS to an eighth-place finish in the team standings. The Notre Dame-bound senior, who battled shoulder pain throughout the season, swam the course at New Trier in 20.04 seconds, and entered IHSA annals as one of only three swimmers in state history to win the 50 free three times. The other two were Brian Kurza of Hinsdale South (1986-88) and Brian Alden of Neuqua Valley (2006-08). Topher’s three titles in the 50, along with the 100-yard free championship in 2018, gave him four during his Stevenson career. He is the first Patriot athlete to win four individual state titles in one sport, and only the second from SHS to claim four individual state titles overall. Former Patriot running great Pat Joyce (Class of 1993) won the state cross country title and the 3,200-meter crown in his junior and senior seasons. Topher left his final state meet with three other state medals. He finished second in the 100 free (44.71), anchored the third-place 200 free relay with classmates Richard Lee, Max Ryaguzov and Joseph Song (1:23.48), and closed out the seventh-place 400 free relay with juniors Nic Comini, AJ Carollo and Jack Zhang (3:04.82). Topher finished his career with 14 state medals, second in program history to 2004 graduate Tommy Gregory, who had 16. Other Patriot medalists included a trio of 11th-place finishes: Max in the 200 individual medley (1:55.92), Joseph in the 100 breaststroke (58.05) and the 200 medley relay team of Joseph, Jack, Richard and senior Beno Maya (1:34.78). Head coach Doug Lillydahl has now seen Stevenson capture six state championships and 60 state medals during his 12 seasons at the helm. – Official Results | Pioneer Press, Daily Herald

Girls Track and Field

Stevenson at Wildcat Indoor Invitational: At Wheeling, the Patriots opened their season by finishing fourth out of 10 teams. Senior Kendall Roberts finished second in the 1,600-meter run (5:25.6) while sophomore Camille Clay was runner-up in the shot put (37 feet, 1 inch). Sophomore Lindsey Hendler was third in the 400 (1:09.4). SHS had a trio of fourth-place entries. Kendall and Lindsey were part of the 1,600 relay with seniors Raeden Mays and Olga Piatkowska (4:36.6); Raeden ran in the 600 relay with senior Emily Ossentjuk and sophomores Jade Cadichon and Jordan Tollison (1:26.5); and sophomore Kendall Goldenson was fourth in the 3,200 (15:37.4). The 3,200 relay unit of senior Alyssa Collins, junior Caimin Xi, and sophomores Emily Fejes and Emma Finnegan placed fifth (11:29.6). Four Pats placed sixth: Jordan in the 200 (30.0), Caimin in the 800 (2:44.6), junior Hailey Peterson in the 400 (1:11.2), and freshman Mia Mikolajczak in the 55-meter hurdles (9.90).

Friday’s Varsity Results

Boys Track and Field

Stevenson at Huntley Indoor Invitational: The Patriots finished seventh among 15 teams in their season-opening meet. Junior Jahleel Perrin placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.10 seconds) and was fourth in the 200 (23.25). Freshman Ray Zhao was runner-up in the high jump (6 feet, 1 inch), while senior Anand Batbaatar was third in shot put (50 feet, 7 inches). Junior Shane Johnson tied for fourth in the 60 (7.27) and was fifth in the 200 (23.27). Senior Dan Erdenetsogt was fifth in shot put (47-9) and freshman Jimmy Davis was sixth in the 400 (54.98). The 3,200 relay team also finished sixth (8:48.20).

STUDENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

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CLUB NEWS

Write Club is hosting an open mic event from 7:10-8:10 a.m. Tuesday in the Little Theater. The stage will be open for walk-in performances before the Stevenson spoken word team performs its group and individual poems in preparation for the Louder Than A Bomb festival in Chicago. All students are welcome to watch or perform!

Anime Club will meet today after school in Room 1414. Come and join the fun! Everyone is welcome.

The next meeting of FIRE (Fostering Intercultural Respect and Empowerment) will take place at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in Room 2600. All are welcome to attend.

In the Loop is meeting after school today in Room 7064. Never knit before? It’s “knot” a problem! The club will teach you. All are welcome.

Animal Welfare is meeting after school Tuesday in Room 7064. The group will be making dog toys to donate to Orphans of the Storm. All are welcome!

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