June 28, 2018
The Panthers traveled to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winstead High School on May 8 for the Section 4A True Team Meet.
In a typical meet, only the top eight individuals and top six relays score, but in a True Team meet, every participant scores. There are 16 teams in Section 4A, and with each team able to put up to two athletes in an event, many individual events had 32 athletes. This is a very competitive meet and MPA athletes stepped up with great performances.
St. Croix Lutheran Invitational
June 28, 2018
On Wednesday, May 23, the Panthers traveled to West St. Paul for the St. Croix Lutheran Invitational. With most MPA athletes performing in the choir concert, MPA focused on the first events and only entered those not in choir in later events.
On the girls side, our relays made a statement. MPA girls placed first in the 4x800m with a time of 10:43.5. The team of Junior Gabby Law, ninth graders Izzy Quam and Katie Dahiya, and seventh grader Margo N. ran almost a minute faster than any other team. The 4x200m team of senior Maya Sayers, junior Ellie Quam, sophomore Catherine Moore, and ninth grader Izzy Quam, placed second with a time of 1:51.9, good for a spot on the MSHSL honor roll and fifth best all-time at MPA. The 4x100m team of seniors Maya Sayers and Quinn Campbell and sophomores Aaliyah Kellogg and Catherine Moore finished third with a time of 54.0.
June 28, 2018
MPA Track and Field traveled to Providence Academy for the IMAC Championships on Thursday, May 17.
The girls placed sixth with 27 points, just 3 points behind fifth place. The girls’ top finish came from junior Ellie Quam, who was the conference champion in the 100m hurdles, winning in a time of 17.52, just off her personal best. In the 800m, ninth grader Izzy Quam finished fifth, scoring for the Panthers with a personal best of 2:33.21 and just missing the MPA top 10 list. In the 1600m, seventh grader Margo N. scored for the Panthers with her sixth place finish. She ran 5:56.06, just off her personal best.
June 28, 2018
MPA opened the 2018 outdoor season later than usual due to surprise April snows, but finally got underway with our first meet on May 3 at the IMAC relays, a relay-only meet.
Highlights from the girls team included the 4x1600m team of senior Sarah Ley, ninth graders Izzy Quam and Katie Dahiya, and seventh grader Margo N. placing third with a total time of 26:29.41. Margo N. finished in fifth place in the 1600m individually with a personal best time of 5:53.35! In the 800m sprint medley, the team of seniors Maya Sayers and Quinn Campbell, junior Catherine Moore, and ninth grader Izzy Quam placed second. Their time of 1:59.42 is the third fastest in MPA history!
June 28, 2018
Three MPA athletes qualified for the MSHSL State Championships held on Friday and Saturday, June eighth and ninth at Hamline University.
Senior Blake Henke finished in fifth place in the Wheelchair Shot Put (Category 1) with a put of 12’8 ¾. His throw established a new MPA school record in the Wheelchair Shot Put!
In the high jump, junior Yahya Madar placed fourth, clearing 6’5 in a near personal best performance.
June 28, 2018
The Section 4A Championships are the culmination of months of hard work for our team, and MPA athletes showed exceptional talent and drive at this competitive, 26-team meet.
On the girls side, our 4x800m team of junior Gabby Law, ninth graders Izzy Quam, and Katie Dahiya, and seventh grader Margo N. earned a medal with their fourth place finish. In the 100m hurdles, junior Ellie Quam placed third with a time of 17.23, the fastest time at MPA in 15 years.
In the 4x200m, the team of senior Maya Sayers, junior Ellie Quam, sophomore Catherine Moore, and ninth grader Izzy Quam ran 1:50.36 to place second in their preliminary heat and qualify for finals. That time was their fastest time this season, the third fastest time ever at MPA, and the fastest time since 1999. While they didn’t do as well in finals, they still scored with an eighth place finish. Their time from prelims qualifies them for the MSHSL honor roll.
2018 Upper School Awards Assembly
June 7, 2018
Congratulations to all of the Upper School students who received honors and awards at the 2018 Upper School Awards Assembly! On Friday, June 1, the school gathered to commemorate all of these students’ achievements. Academic, National Merit, Scholarship, Yearbook, Choir, Band, Orchestra, Visual Art, Math, English, Science, Social Studies, Forensics, French, Spanish, Drama, Athletics, Service, Spirit of ’86, Junior Mission Statement, Certificate of Distinction, and Alumni Association awards were given. Please join us in congratulating the following students! View photos of the assembly or watch the assembly here!
MPA Spring Athletics Highlights
June 4, 2018
We are excited to share many updates and highlights from the 2018 spring athletics season! While the season got off to a wintry start, the MPA athletes and coaches made up for their lost time with various achievements. Please congratulate and celebrate them with us!
May 31, 2018
by Dr. Bill Hudson, Head of School
If you happened to drive through the north parking last Friday, you no doubt noticed the playfulness of the seniors as they celebrated their last day of school. From filling the parking lot with cars parked askew, to the American Ninja obstacle course inside the north entrance that we all needed to traverse, to serving ice cream at 8 AM in the morning, the seniors showed a bit of mischievous humor. For that to serve as a last impression would be a mistake. They are a group of accomplished, multi-faceted, enormously talented, and genuinely good people.
May 24, 2018
This is an excerpt from Nicholas Guiang’s ’18 senior speech, delivered on Friday, May 18, to Middle and Upper School students, faculty and staff, in the Nicholson Center. As a school community, we are immensely grateful for his family’s 24-year commitment to Mounds Park Academy.
Dear MPA,
Today I hold a unique challenge. I am not only thanking you for my time over the past 13 years, but I also hold the responsibility of thanking you for my family’s past 24 years.
For me, this spring signifies the end of those 24 years. It is the end of high school, childhood, and the end of a huge part of my life. In the fall, I will be heading off to Northwestern University to pursue my love of journalism, broadcasting, and sports. On June 9, I will toss my cap in the air on this very stage and these past 13 years, and the 13 years that each of my three older brothers spent here, will simply be the stories of old. However, MPA, you have been more than a school, you have been our home.