As winter approaches, DePaul Prep is wrapping up its 2023 fall sports season. With snow falling onto the ground and the temperatures getting cooler, outdoor sports have come to an end. DePaul Prep fall athletics encountered great accomplishments and have grown tremendously this past season. 

The girl’s cross country team is led and coached by Stephanie Stecz and the boys are coached and led by Noah Deck and Mitchell Buam. Over the weekend of November 3, both the boys’ and girl’s teams traveled to Peoria to compete in the state. 

Both girls and boys teams advanced with the boys team finishing in 25th place and the girls finishing in 10th place. There were many consistent improvements and lots of hard work put in by the girls team especially throughout the beginning of the season to the very end.

 Stecz stated, “The girls approached practice very seriously, the workouts very seriously, there was no whining or complaining, and they knew what it meant to put the hard work in. It takes a whole summer of conditioning to be ready to start training in the fall, if that means running on vacation, or running while at camp.” 

Overall there have been many significant changes and improvements to the girls cross country team, there have also been many new additions to the team. 

“Freshman Emily Stecky, top runner, was breaking the school record, over, and over again. Emily had finished Allstate and state,” Stecz says, “The girls really embraced her and set a good tone.” 

The boys varsity soccer team also had a season of accomplishments and improvements that exceeded expectations. The boys finished with a record of 13-3-6. 

Boys head coach, Tim O’Reilly stated, “With moving up from the 1A to 2A division, and white to blue, the boys really stepped up to the challenge.”  

The boys won the Ridgewood Tournament, won the super sectional game, and the regional championship. This was a great season for the boys, the Rams are excited to see what comes next and watch the team grow. 

Another amazing fall sports season, girl volleyball. Both teams JV and Varsity ended with great seasons and excellent records. Varsity ended with an overall record of 29-9 and JV with a record of 26-7. Both teams ended on a very high note with great expectations for future seasons. The girls volleyball program at Depaul College Prep has drastically increased in size and in performance.

A team with expansion and more years to come, the girls field hockey team has shown tremendous growth. Being only the second year of having field hockey as a sport at DePaul College Prep, it was the girls first year playing at a varsity level. 

Varsity head coach, Emily Davis and Junior Varsity coach, Sara Conneely led the girls teams throughout this past fall season. Although it was a tough season, the varsity girls came through winning against St. Viator. Many more years to come, many more years of growing the field hockey community and continuing to represent the Rams. 

Boys and Girls golf ended their season with a very rewarding finish. The girls team placed 4th in the GCAC conference, and one of varsity’s very own competing in sectionals. The boys also had a very outstanding season, with lots of accomplishments and many things to be proud of. With lots of practices and summer camps, both boys and girls were very prepared to come into this year’s fall season. 

Girls swimming, a new addition to the fall sports here at Depaul College Prep. Although the girls have only been together for a very short amount of time, we can recognize that this community will expand. Without our very own pool, the girls still represented our school and worked hard to prove to competition what being a ram truly is. Getting a team together, building a bond, and performing together can be challenging but the girls swimming team really showed. 

Football, one of the fundamentals of school spirit, has demonstrated an excellent season. The excitement of waiting for the announcement of the themes, the cheering for your school, the tension when playing against a rivalry, so much more. The experience of football games is one of the most exciting and is a very valuable core memory for many high school students.

This year at DePaul College Prep, the boys varsity football team ended with a record of 4-5. The football program is also expanding as the years progress. The commitment of the coaching staff, the commitment of the players, the time and effort put into the work during the season and during the off season has shown many improvements, and the work efforts continue to increase. DePaul College Prep is excited to cheer on the boys when they open the school year next year and many years to come. 

Girls tennis was a source of strength and excellence for the DePaul Prep community. Starting off strong, sophomore sisters, Kate and Keira Lloyd advancing to state. The rest of the team was extremely proud as well as many other acts of excellence throughout the season, including the breast cancer awareness match to support Coach Kucera. 

Bright pink T-shirts were made in honor of this match and the whole school got in on it. The girls worked hard and the junior varsity team ended up placing third in the GCAC Tournament. The tennis program is amazing and truly shows many core values. DePaul prep is excited to see how the girls progress next season. 

The amount of support, excellence, and gratitude shown at school this past fall season has been amazing. The increase of teams, the efforts in putting in hard work, the commitment and so much more has really paid off. The Variety of teams is one of the best parts about the DePaul Prep community.