On November 15 at the Minnesota State High School League Swim and Dive State Championship Meet, Izzy Westling claimed the state title in the 100-yard freestyle with an outstanding time of 51.75 seconds. In addition to her first-place finish, Izzy also earned second place in the 200-yard individual medley.

In 2024, Izzy swam two individual sprint events, placing 6th in the 50 Free and 3d in the 100 Free earning All State honors in both events.

Izzy wasn’t just a standout in individual events—she also teamed up with Lilah Mohs ’27 for the 200-yard medley relay at the MSHSL state meet, held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. Regan Douvier ’28 served as the team’s alternate. Known as one of the most competitive events in Minnesota high school swimming, the relay featured some of the fastest swimmers in the state. The team finished 14th out of 23 teams, an impressive achievement.

Saint John’s Prep swimmers compete as part of a community co-op team with St. Cloud Apollo and St. Cloud Cathedral, giving student-athletes the opportunity to participate in high school swimming and diving at the state level.

We’re incredibly proud of these scholar-athletes and their dedication. Way to go, Johnnies!
Learn more about our programs at .

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Seniors Nick Hansen and Olivia Pauly are the 2024 Saint John’s Prep recipients of the “Triple A (Academics, Arts and Athletics) Award” by the Minnesota State High School League.  According to the MSHSL, the purpose of this program is to recognize and honor high school seniors who have excelled in the classroom, on the athletic field, and in the fine arts. The two will be honored at the Section 5A Triple A Award Banquet on January 17.

Nick is the son of Denise and Greg Hansen of St. Joseph. He is the brother of Isaac ’19 and Holly ’22 Hansen. While attending Saint John’s Prep, Nick has been a member of the varsity cross-country, track and field, Nordic ski and soccer teams. He serves as a captain of the Cross Country and Nordic ski teams. Nick Hansen has been involved in band, focusing on percussion. He is a talented ceramicist and enjoys creating pieces of pottery in the Saint John’s Prep art studios. Nick is also a captain of the SJP Robotics team. Nick is a member of the National Honor Society and has served on Student Council. Outside of his school activities, Nick is a member of Duck’s Unlimited. He is a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and serves as an altar server, lector and Eucharistic minister.

Nick is an all-state cross country athlete who appeared in three state cross country championship meets. He finished in 3^rd place at the 2023 meet at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course in November. Nick is a 2023 State Class A State Champion as a member of the 4x800m relay team for Saint John’s Prep. Individually, he earned 5^th place at the state meet in the 3200 race. He also competed in the 2022 state track and field championship meet.

Nick plans to pursue a STEM major at a college that has competitive track and cross country programs.

Olivia Pauly is the daughter of Jill and Jonathan Pauly of St. Cloud. She is the sister of Sofia Pauly ’27. Olivia has been a member of the varsity cross-country, track and field, Nordic ski and soccer teams at Saint John’s Prep. She serves as captain of the cross country team. Olivia is also a member of the mock trial team and the yearbook committee. She is a dedicated artist who enjoys creating pottery, painting with acrylics, and sketching with pencil. Olivia competes in MNTA piano competitions and has earned superior ratings in both performance and theory. Olivia is a member of St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud where she has served as an altar server.

Olivia is the 2023 5A Cross Country State Champion. She earned her first place title in November at the University of Minnesota’s Les Bolstad Golf Course. Olivia has appeared at three state track and field championship meets. In June, she finished in 6^th place overall in the 1600 meter race.

In December Olivia signed her NCAA Division 1 letter of intent with the University of St. Thomas where she will join the track and field and cross country teams. She’s considering majoring in business with a minor in German.

Both Nick and Olivia have been students at Saint John’s Prep since sixth grade. They are proud members of the Class of 2024 and will graduate with their classmates on May 24, 2024 at the

Criteria for the Triple A Award include:  Exhibit citizenship and be a respected individual in their home communities and school, have participated in a MSHSL-sponsored athletic program and fine arts activity, maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and comply with the MSHSL’s Student Code of Conduct.

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Saint John’s Prep is proud to congratulate Olivia Pauly ’24  for winning the MSHSL Class A State Cross Country Championship race on November 4. She is the first Johnnie athlete to earn the state championship title.

The race was held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Falcon Heights, MN with . Olivia was in a strategic 23rd place one mile into the race, about 10 seconds behind the lead group of runners. Olivia moved up to first place at mile two. She held on to the top spot and accelerated into a dominate lead for the last 1.1 miles of the race. She crossed the finish line a full 11 seconds before her closest competition! Not only did Olivia win the race, but she posted a course record with a time of 18:20.5. Her pace during the 5k run was 5:53.9.

Olivia completes her senior cross country season as the Central Minnesota Conference Champion and the MSHSL Section 5A Champion. Olivia is still weighing her options for competing in college and she is looking forward to competing in her senior season as a captain for the Saint John’s Prep track and field team. Olivia is coached by Lance Nydeen, Kurt Salzl ’87 and Stephen Woods ’09.

Olivia is the daughter of Jill and Jonathan Pauly of Saint Cloud. She the sister of Sofia Pauly ’27, who also earned all-conference honors for cross country, and all-conference honors for soccer this fall.

It has been a very successful season for the Prep Cross Country program. Both the Saint John’s Prep girls’ and the boys’ cross country teams won Central Minnesota Conference championship titles on October 17. The girls’ team placed third at the Section 5A meet. Junior Louise Ruzanic also earned an individual spot to compete at the state meet. She finished in an impressive 11^th place! Click here to read more about Louise’s season and trip to the state meet!

The Saint John’s Prep boys’ cross country team won the section championship title and earned competed as a team at the state meet. Hansen ’24 earning third place in the championship race.
Click here to read the details about boys’ team seventh place finish at state!

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