September 11, 2020
The weather was cloudy with a little drizzle at times. But our girls were shining bright.
Margo led our varsity girls. She was dealing with some painful hip flexors, but after some strength and stretching, she decided to race. She ran with the top SPA girls for 2 miles, but then the hip flexor got painful and she wisely backed off. She still managed to finish 4th.
Cara ran very well to take almost a minute off her best time on this course. Izzy was not far behind, with a time not that far off her time at last year’s IMAC Championship near the end of the season on this course. Abigail, running her first varsity race, knocked almost 5 minutes off her previous personal best time! If she does that again, Margo will be looking over her shoulder. Sophia wrapped things up for our varsity girls. In this small field, she wound up running alone, but still managed to take over a minute off her previous personal best time.
Later in the afternoon, Amy made her way to Battle Creek to run in the junior varsity race. She had never run this course, but the girls from Minnehaha were nice enough to show her the way. Amy started out cautiously, but turned it up a notch during the second half of the race. Showing some determination, she finished strongly.
All the times (including the varsity winner) were on the slower side. This was everyone’s first race. And if you think about previous years, we would be running our first race on Saturday. So these are early days. Running in a meet with just three teams is also a very different experience, with many gaps forming, leaving runners running alone, which is much harder.
With more interval workouts (did I mention that we will be doing 600s on Monday?) and a few more races, you will be sharp and ready to race your best times.
You can see the results for our girls here.
One of the annual traditions our community has enjoyed celebrating is the MPA Homecoming festivities, which had been scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2020. Due to our ongoing focus on health and safety given the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as limits on social gatherings and visitors on campus, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s activities. We will miss the joy, laughter, and sense of community shared by all during Homecoming, but look forward for new ways in the coming weeks and months for current families and alumni to celebrate our Panther Pride. Look for our chance to celebrate together again during Homecoming 2021!
What do you love about MPA?
During his time at MPA, Kethan Dahlberg found his home-away-from-home. From early morning jazz band rehearsals and Nordic ski practices to late night track meets and study sessions for group projects, MPA taught him the importance of teamwork, perseverance, grit, and, importantly, the value and benefit of being an active and engaged member of the community. “Now, reflecting as an alumnus, and especially given the past few months of lock-down orders and quarantines, I feel it’s important for me to become further involved with my fellow alumni and the school to make sure the same strong sense of family and opportunities that I had during my time on campus remain in place for current students,” he said.
We hope you’ve been able to read and digest all of the information coming your way about the student experience this fall—we are working closely to ensure not only our exceptional academic program remains strong, but that we maintain the utmost attention to our students’ health and wellbeing, both at school and at home. We offer here a few more details for your planning and preparation for the start of school in just a little more than a week.
Eighth grader Izzy E. has been selected to participate in the Central Zone Diversity Select Swimming Camp sponsored by USA Swimming. Each spring, USA Swimming invites 48 athletes from underrepresented populations to participate in a three-day camp program which includes pool training, motivational and educational sessions, and team-building activities. Selection is based on times swum at USA Swimming sanctioned events. Congratulations Izzy!
Consistent with the Executive Order issued on April 23, 2020 by Governor Walz that schools will remain closed through the end of the academic year, Mounds Park Academy is canceling spring sports for the 2020 season. This is not the information we hoped for. We are holding our students and their families in our minds and hearts, as we recognize the deep loss many are feeling.
Congratulations to our Panther skiers who competed in the Alpine State meet at Giants Ridge!
Meet 2019-20 Alumni Association Board member Nate Bander ’09!