This senior class has been instrumental in shaping the program's identity. Their leadership, work ethic, and commitment to the Comet system have elevated Hillcrest basketball and helped establish a foundation for the future. The impact of this group is even more significant considering who the Comets will graduate. Hillcrest will say goodbye to its entire starting lineup, along with its sixth and seventh men off the bench, marking the end of a remarkable era of leadership and production.

Experiences like this are part of Hillcrest’s commitment to connecting learning with lived experience. The forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a place of confusion, transformation, and ultimately restoration. By stepping into that story through live performance, Hillcrest’s 9th graders were able to see Shakespeare not simply as an author from the past, but as a storyteller whose insights still resonate today. And perhaps that is the lasting lesson of the trip: great stories are not just meant to be read, they are meant to be experienced.

For the first time in program history, the Comet girls’ basketball team is headed to the Minnesota Class A State Tournament. Behind a dominant offensive performance and relentless defensive effort, the Comets defeated Breckenridge 67–52 on Friday night to secure their place among the final eight teams in the state and continue what has already become a historic season.

The victory was significant for more than just the scoreboard. The night also marked a milestone moment for senior wing Sean Berge, who etched his name into the Hillcrest record books by scoring his 1,000th career point. The accomplishment brought the crowd to its feet and added an emotional highlight to what may very well be one of the final home games played in the Comet Gym this season, as both the boys and girls teams push deeper into the postseason.

The call to missions has been forming in the hallways of Hillcrest for generations of students. And as students gather for conversations like the recent lunch with Dave Narvesen, it is clear that the tradition continues.

As a team, Hillcrest shot 21-of-57 from the field (36%), including 12-of-22 on two-point attempts (54%) while converting 11-of-17 free throws (64%). The Comets also knocked down nine three-pointers, providing a balanced scoring attack that kept the Tigers from mounting a late comeback.

Hillcrest’s House System is helping students grow in community, character, and connection. One simple bin at the gym door is becoming a powerful lesson: some moments are too important to scroll through.

From the opening tip, Hillcrest controlled every statistical category. The Comets built a commanding 40–19 halftime lead and matched that output with another 40-point half after the break.

Flags lined the doors. Countries were represented in color and creativity. Students hurried past in team hues, whispering about chapters they had finished the night before and debating which book deserved to advance. In classrooms, brackets were filling up. Medals were being earned. And quietly, steadily, something powerful was happening: children were falling in love with good books.

The Comets closed the regular season with a strong 77–61 road win over Norman County East/UH, and they did it without starter Sean Berge and sixth man spark Zane Holmquist

“Dads at the Doors” is one expression of a broader commitment at Hillcrest to partnership with families. We believe children flourish when school and home are aligned. When fathers show up physically, it sends a powerful message

As the playoffs approach, the Lady Comets are showing what makes them dangerous: efficient offense, balanced scoring, and a defense that competes on every trip down the floor. Just as important, they are playing for one another, and that unity is becoming one of their greatest strengths.

As the postseason approaches, these two weeks may ultimately be remembered as the stretch that prepared the Comets for playoff basketball. The numbers show a team that has tightened execution, clarified roles, formed resolve to withstand adversity, and built trust under pressure, the profile of a group dialing things in at the right time.

This week, Hillcrest didn’t simply bounce back from a loss; they adjusted. Defensive focus sharpened. Offensive patience increased. Efficiency followed. The Comets turned a close defeat into a week of clarity, and if the trajectory holds, the stats suggest this team is still climbing.

Interior toughness led Hillcrest to the win, and Ella Knutson was a highlight, posting a powerful double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while also adding five assists to keep the offense flowing.

Moments like the National Honor Society induction matter. They celebrate diligence, leadership, service, and scholarship, but they also affirm that these virtues are meant to be lived out in love. Academic excellence becomes a means of equipping students for lives of eternal significance, where knowledge is guided by wisdom and achievement is anchored in gratitude and humility before God.

When children are truly known by their parents, their teachers, and their school, they don’t just learn more effectively. They live more faithfully.

For Coach Hannah Clark, win No. 100 arrives not as a single achievement but as a reflection of sustained culture. The numbers tell the story: disciplined defense, focused ball movement, unselfish offense, and players empowered to contribute in multiple ways. On a night that celebrated a milestone, the Comets delivered a performance that captured exactly why that milestone matters.

The Hillcrest Comets put together their most complete performance of the season Tuesday night, overwhelming Brandon-Evansville 93–55 behind suffocating defense and disciplined rotations, a connected team effort on both ends of the floor.

Each month at Hillcrest, students are invited into something deeper than a lesson or a theme. Through a unified and intentional virtue program, the Lower School is being shaped in how students think, respond, forgive, and love. This January, that focus is Grace: loving others despite their faults.