News

Shaina Ziner Named 2021-22 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year

In its 37th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade announced on June 30 that Shaina Zinter (CA '22) is the 2021-22 Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year. Zinter is the first Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Concordia Academy.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Shaina as Minnesota’s best high school girls track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award to be announced in July, Zinter joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher (2014- 15 & 2013-14, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School, Ga.).

The 5-foot-10 senior won the national championship in the heptathlon at the Nike Outdoor Nationals this past season. She punctuated that victory with an 800-meter run time of 2:10.47, which ranked No. 74 nationally among prep girls competitors in 2022 at the time of her selection. Zinter also earned All-American status at Nike Nationals with her runner-up finish in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in a state-record time of 59.19 seconds, which ranked No. 3 in the country. She broke the tape in the 100-meter high hurdles, the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and the 200-meter dash at the Class A state meet, setting meet records in both hurdles events.

Shaina has maintained a weighted 4.12 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on an athletic scholarship at the University of Wisconsin this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media, and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.

Shaina joins recent Gatorade Minnesota Girls Track & Field Players of the Year Nyalaam Jok (2020-21, Annandale High School), Madison Schmidt (2019-20 & 2018-19, Blaine High School), and Emily Kompelien (2017-18, Edina High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.

Congratualtions, Shaina, on this major accomplishment in track and field!

Elementary and Middle School Sports Opportunities

For a number of years, CA has offered a BEAMS Athletics program for middle school students, including football, dance, basketball, and track. In 2021-2022, we are excited to begin our Beacon Buddies program, offering flag football, volleyball, soccer, and basketball camp options on Saturday mornings for our youngest future Beacons in 1st-4th grade.

Click here for more information about BEAMS Athletics for middle school students.
Click here for more information about Beacon Buddies sports camps for students in Grades 1-4.

Seniors Awards Presented at Honors Convocation

At the Honors Convocation on May 18, departmental and extra-curricular honors were presented to the following seniors. Congratulations to all of them for their outstanding achievements!

Valedictorian and Salutatorian Named

Concordia Academy is proud to announce the top three students in the Class of 2022. Cam Erskine has been named salutatorian, and Emily Erickson and Grace Erickson have been named co-valedictorians, both with identical GPAs through the hundred-thousandth decimal place! Congratulations, Emily, Grace, and Cam, on your outstanding accomplishments!

COVID-19 Updates

Click here to see how Concordia Academy is addressing the COVID-19 coronavirus situation.