Friday, October 30, 2020

Featured: Humboldt High School Athletics - Football and Volleyball

Submitted by John Pucci, Humboldt Athletic Department 


Head Coach and Humboldt alumni Arnulfo Flores was excited and apprehensive when informed that there would be a Fall Football season for the Hawks. The Hawks graduated a massive contingent of players from last year’s team; a team that finished 4-4, the Hawks best finish in years. With that said, Coach Flores is optimistic about some of the young talent on the roster. Headlining this core of young athletes is Junior, Michael McCambell. 

McCambell was the top wide receiver on the team last fall as only a sophomore, and was primed to have a break out Junior season prior to injuring himself in the Hawks’ first match. All hope is not lost however with the rest of the youth movement on the Hawks’ roster, headlined by sophomore running back Obadiah Chea. Chea will headline the Hawks’ offense the coming fall with some impressive breakaway speed.

In addition, another new aspect of the Football team this fall is the inclusion of OWL athletes. This is adds to an already strong partnership between the two schools, as it becomes the 12th Co-op sport between the two institutions. The fresh faces from OWL have brought in additional young talent,

including 8th grade Lineman Noah Hayes. While Hays is only a middle school athlete, he towers over the opposition, standing at a whopping 6 feet 2 inches tall. The new look Hawks look to build on last year’s successes, as well as pave a way for future success with this young cohort. The Hawks next game is Friday November 6th, agains St. Paul Johnson. The game will be held at Bakken Field at Harding High School.

With only Volleyball and Football left in completion, we are able to go a bit more in depth with the Volleyball team. The team looks to have come back strong after a few early season losses. The Hawks statement victory came with a 3-0 defeat of conference foe Washington Tech, followed by two tightly contested matches with St. Paul Central and Como Park. The Volleyball team looks to earn their second victory of the season with their upcoming match on November 4th. The Hawks face conference rival St. Paul Harding, and after dropping a very tight early season match to the Knights, your Hawks are looking to come back strong and earn some points. Good luck Volleyball!

(Photo Credit: Volleyball, principal Steven Aeilts)


Thursday, October 29, 2020

Do I Like Distance Learning 2.0?

"I do not like it at all."

By Chenoa S. (Advisory Journalism) 

(Photo: The Conversation - Fair Use) 


      I feel that it’s very unorganized and extremely slow in communication when reaching out to some
teachers. I also feel that some days it’s hard to focus, and it gets frustrating and makes you want to give up sometimes. I like the idea of Hybrid learning, not to just have that physical schoolmate feel - but some students might need that extra help to cope with their mental issues, and being able to leave home to connect with the community can be a start.

      I wish things online would get better, I also understand the seriousness of this virus and how many people and families it’s taken since the beginning of 2020. I have my dislikes online but, I also have a few positives it’s made within myself. It’s made me closer with family as far as spending time, it’s shown me away to become more responsible without the physical force of teachers and staff, and it’s also shown me I can learn online. 

     I really wish that SPPS talked to us, the students. 

     The small issues that’s not so good with online can become great if those things get addressed, I also put myself in some teachers shoes to try and understand it as a teachers stand point with communication for several kids and I agree it’s tuff. It’s a lot of negative and positive things about online learning and it’s unfortunate that starting my ninth grade year off in the center of a pandemic has been difficult but it's what we have to do as future leaders of this world. This would be great if the tech issues and communication with teachers were better. 

      I also understand that some kids including myself are used to having that physical one on one explanation for the assignment or more information about it and sometimes it’s hard to understand it online versus in class.

Monday, October 26, 2020

Humboldt's Pucci and Luna named St. Paul City Conference "Coach of the Year"


Source: Matt Osborne - Athletic Director Humboldt High School


Congratulations to John Pucci and Mario Luna for being named St. Paul City Conference Coach of the Year!  John coaches the Humboldt Boys' Soccer team who finished second place in the conference with a 5-1 record and an impressive 7-3-3 overall record. It was a great year for the team and even better to see coach Pucci recognized for all the work he puts in. 


Mario Luna won the Boys Cross Country coach of the year award. He did a great job motivating his team who got faster with each meet. In his first-year coaching, during a pandemic, Coach Luna was able to recruit and maintain more boys than in previous years. 


Go Hawks! 


Monday, October 19, 2020

Humboldt Athletics: Men and Women's Soccer, Cross Country, Swimming

 by John Pucci, Humboldt Athletics 


Boys Soccer wrapped up conference play with a 1-1 draw to #6 2AA Central and finished second in the conference on Friday. They opened section play this week, with a 3-1 defeat of conference rival Highland Park. The Hawks’ offense was powered by Senior Captain Joe Deuitch, who scored 3 goals in the match!

Girls Soccer begins section play in a slightly different fashion this week, as they will participate in pool play as opposed to single elimination. The Girls open section play on Wednesday, 10/14 against Hiawatha Collegiate Academy at 4:15 on the Humboldt Turf. 

While the Cross Country conference season may have ended last week, Coach Luna has been preparing his teams for a strong showing in sections. The teams will run this Wednesday, 10/14/20 against the other SPPS teams in their sectional race. Good luck XC!

Girls Swimming finished their season with a .500 record, earning four wins and four losses in conference play. They have been preparing for both the conference meet, which takes place on 10/14/20, as well as their sectional tournament which will take place on Friday October 23rd. 


Humboldt Athletics SPOTLIGHT: VOLLEYBALL


by John Pucci, Humboldt Athletics 


Many Volleyball athletes around the state received crushing news on August 1st, when the Minnesota State High School League declared that Volleyball would not be offered as a fall sport in 2020. You can imagine their excitement when the MSHSL reversed course and decided to hold a fall season! Coach Damon Liberatore wasted no time organizing his squad, using grassroots techniques to spread the word amongst his athletes that the season would begin mid-October. This put several Hawks’ Volleyball stars in an unusual predicament; being two-sport athletes in the same season. Juniors Lili Hobday and Hai Gay Soe are normally standout athletes year round at Humboldt, with both girls participating in not only Volleyball, but Basketball and spring sports as well. This year, Soe and Hobday find themselves with a unique opportunity that no one has had the opportunity to do before; become four sport athletes. Both Hobday and Soe decided to join Girls Soccer this fall, and will be among the select few athletes in the state to boast participating in four sports in the same year.

The Hawks kicked off their season last week with a home match against a tough conference rival, St. Paul Johnson. While the Hawks played a tight match, they were ultimately faced with defeat. They had a similar result against another tough conference foe in Harding on Monday, 10/12, but the resiliency of the Hawks’ Volleyball girls is outstanding. They have been training hard all week in preparation for their next opponent, Highland Park, who they will face off with on Wednesday, 10/14. Best of luck in that match, and congratulations on getting your season back Volleyball!

Monday, October 5, 2020

Alexander MacDonald Keith Obituary

Minnesota History

Editor's Note: This obituary is written by my son's second grade teacher Mr. Ian Keith, Social Studies, Randolph Heights Elementary School - SPPS. We are very grateful to have Mr. Keith teaching young minds and our condolence to him and his family. 

 

(Photo: Judge A.M. “Sandy” Keith, St. Paul Pioneer Press - Fair Use) 


A.M. “Sandy” Keith, aged 91, died peacefully at his home on October 3, 2020. He was born on November 22, 1928 in Rochester, Minnesota to Dr. Norman Keith and Edna Alexander Keith. He graduated from Amherst College and Yale Law School and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. After boot camp at Quantico, Virginia he served for a year in Korea as a First Lieutenant. He married Marion Sanford on April 29, 1955 in Washington, D.C. and they moved to Rochester where Sandy worked in the legal department of the Mayo Clinic.

In 1959 he was elected to the Minnesota State Senate representing Olmsted County. He was Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota from 1963 to 1967. After losing an election for governor in 1966, he returned to Rochester to practice family law at the firm Dunlap and Seeger that earlier he had helped found. He was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1989 as an Associate Justice and from 1990 to 1998 served as the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. In 2005 he helped form and lead the Rochester Downtown Alliance for five years as its first executive director. In his life he served his hometown, state and country.

Sandy was a public man - the only person in Minnesota’s history to have served in all three Branches of state government. He loved politics. He loved working with people from all walks of life. And he loved wrestling with tough issues – at the state capitol, at city hall or in the Courtroom. He brought a tireless energy, buoyant spirit and fearless determination to improve the lives of his clients, his constituents and the people of Rochester and the state of Minnesota. He had a unique ability to make things happen, to bring the right people together in the right way to address important issues. Whether it was helping parents resolve custody and parenting issues through mediation, breaking down barriers for women to serve as judges, unifying the state court system or revitalizing downtown Rochester, Sandy found ways to work with others to get things done.

Sandy loved his home in the country and every spring for many years attempted the impossible of country living: digging every dandelion in sight by hand. He loved his daily walks with his beloved dogs. He loved skiing in Colorado and, to the embarrassment of his sons, singing “Born Free” at the top his lungs while carving turns down the slopes. He loved fishing in Canada with his sons, grandchildren and friends. He particularly enjoyed “counselling” young people about their lives and throughout his life was a prolific letter writer. And perhaps more than anything, he loved his work! 

He is survived by his wife, Marion Sanford Keith, sons Ian Alexander Keith (Gail) and Dr. Douglas Scott Keith (Mei) and grandchildren Sean Keith, Ingrid Hagen-Keith, Ingemar Hagen-Keith and Andreas Hagen Keith. He was predeceased by infant son Peter Sanford Keith, his parents and sisters Helen Keith Kling and Janet Keith Shands.

The family thanks all of the people who walked with him along his path of life. The memorial service will be announced at a future date. Condolence messages may be sent to: iankeith2@aol.com.