Upper School

Varsity Cross Country

2022 DIV. II CROSS COUNTRY STATE RUNNER UP

The Academy of the Sacred Heart Cross Country Team ran an amazing State Championship Race on Monday in 42° temps in Natchitoches, LA. It was a very exciting race, we finished the 3 mile race by tying Vandebilt Catholic with 45 points. This occurrence is very rare at the State Meet due to so many different variables that can potentially come into play. The way that scoring works in a cross country race is by taking the first 5 runners from each team and adding their place that they finish in the race. So when Leah Varsico ’26 finished in 3rd in 19:05, she was worth 3 points for her team total. Then it is simply adding the 5 together and you get your score. But when it ends in a tie between the first 5 from each school as it did, then the 6th place finisher from each of the tied teams is used to break the tie. 

Vandebilt’s runner was 19th in 20:59, which was a 50 second personal record and secured the title for them as Colette English ‘27 was 21st in 21:04 and gave all that she had and in the end, only 5 seconds separated them, a true nail biter. But there is so much more to the story than just that. The entire team on this day ran with the purpose of making a statement to all of the teams in the state. With the addition of two more middle school runners and the high schoolers pushing themselves all season, this team proved that they are one of the top programs. Throughout the race, Courtney Habetz ‘28 held her position from the beginning and finished where she started by crossing the line in 9th place overall in 20:13 and earning herself All-State honors in just her first year as a varsity runner. The next four runners ran together so tightly through the first mile that only 1 second separated them all with a time of 6:42 in spots 21, 22, 23 and 24 in the race. What happened next is what this team has worked on all season long, to continue pushing and passing other runners as a group to lower our eventual score and to increase theirs. Over the next mile of the race, Lily Varisco ‘27, passed up 5 more runners, Colleen Collins ‘27 passed up 10, Vivian Real ‘26 passed 8 and Colette English ‘27 passed 4, causing our overall total to drop from 76 points after mile 1 to a much lower 53, while Vandelbilt remained at 40 from mile 1 to mile 2. These four runners continued to close the gap between the two teams and left nothing on the course and even found a little more over the last 300 meters as they made their way onto the red track surface that led to the finish line. 5 more passed for Lily Varisco as she sprinted to a new personal record of 20:31 for the 11th spot in the race, while pulling her teammates of Colleen Collins also in a new record of 20:32 for 12th and Vivian Real for an amazing season best time of 20:39 for 13th, her best time at state by nearly 1 whole minute. 

During the 3rd mile of the race, Charlotte Johnson ‘26, who was pushing through her hip pain that flared up again, was able to finish what she had started and crossed in a very respectable time of 22:38 for 37th overall. So as we waited for the final tallies to come in, we were very grateful to hear our school’s name called over the loudspeaker to please come to the infield for the trophy presentation. Leah Varisco and Courtney Habetz were whisked away as members of the All-State Top 10 team and were honored for their individual efforts with a special medal placed around their necks. And then the announcement was made that the race ended in a tie between our teams, which meant that we improved once again over the last mile and we knew by our own calculations that we would be the STATE RUNNER UP team on this day. What a great way to finish the season by having 2 personal records, 1 season best and two All-State Runners that finished in Top 10 overall.  

Please help me CONGRATULATE this group of amazing student-athletes for representing the entire Sacred Heart Community with honor and respect. Once again and as in the past, the future surely does look extremely bright for the Cross Country program at the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

• 3RD - 19:05.0 - LEAH VARISCO '26 - ALL-STATE - Best Time @ State
• 9TH - 20:13.3 - COURTNEY HABETZ '28 - ALL-STATE
• 11th - 20:31.8 - LILY VARISCO '27 - Personal Record
• 12th - 20:32.1 - COLLEEN COLLINS '27 - Personal Record
• 13th - 20:39.0 - VIVIAN REAL '26 - Season Record / Best Time @ State
• 21st - 21:04.6 - COLETTE ENGLISH '27 - Best Time @ State
• 37th - 22:38.4 - CHARLOTTE JOHNSTON '26

When a runner works hard and is fortunate enough to finish in the Top 10 at the State Championship race, they are recognized as one of the best on that day. We are honored to not only have 1 this year, but 2 individuals earning this accolade in a very competitive race. Leah Varisco ‘26 - 3rd in 19:05 & Courtney Habetz ‘28 - 9th in 20:13 earned All-State honors for their efforts. 

Varsity Volleyball

The varsity volleyball team competed in the LHSAA Division IV State Championship last Thursday and Friday at the CajunDome in Lafayette. On Thursday in the Quater-Finals the Cardinals took on rival John Curtis. The Cardinals had a tough back and forth battle with the Patriots but the team managed to prevail in five sets with the scores of 22-25, 13-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-12. The team came together as a group and fought hard for every point to come away with the victory. The match was a total team effort.

On Friday in the Semi-Finals, the team played perennial power, Pope John Paul. The team won the first set 26-24, and was up 11-3 in the second set, but eventually lost 25-21. Losing that pivotal second set would prove costly as the semi-finals also went five sets with the team ultimately losing in the semi-finals, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 16-25, 10-15. Leading the way offensively was MC Mazzanti ’23 with 40 kills followed by Cami Davis ’23 with 24 kills while Gigi Gibbons ’24 had 19 kills. Brooke Habetz ’23 added an incredible 87 Assists for the two matches. Over the course of two games, Katherine Hale ’23 had 53 digs, Kate Farris ’24 added 35 digs, followed by Lucy Vaicius ’23 who had 21 digs and Brooke Habetz ’23 contributed 26 digs. The team was led by MC Mazzanti ’23 6 aces and Gigi Gibbons ’24 rounded out the defense with 4 block solos. Thank you to our wonderful 9 seniors and their families and a special thank you to the JV volleyball team and their families for traveling to Lafayette to cheer on the team in the Semi-Finals! The team had a fantastic season finishing with a record of 26-11. 

Varsity Sports Now Partnership

We are excited to continue our partnership with VSN this year to livestream many of our home volleyball, basketball, and soccer games. With your support through the Booster Club, we hope to be able to extend this opportunity to our other sports as well. 

This is the link to subscribe to VSN. It is important to use this specific link, as Sacred Heart will get back 50% of the subscriptions fees.

Join the Booster Club!

Please consider joining the Booster Club if you have not done so already. Your membership provides opportunities for our Booster Club to enhance the athletic experience for each athlete. As a Booster Club member, you have many opportunities throughout the year to volunteer to assist at athletic events.

For more information about our Booster Club, please visit our website via the link below.