The 2018 season was a special one for the Hillcrest Academy boys soccer team. The Ravens put together a 15-1 regular season. The Ravens started 12-0 with victories over No. 1 Iowa City Regina and top ten Burlington Notre Dame and Williamsburg, rising all the way to No. 2 in the state in 1A. The Nikes handed the Ravens their lone regular season loss in the championship game of the Southeast Iowa Superconference soccer tournament 3-1 but the Ravens came right back to reel off three straight victories to end the regular season. In the playoffs Hillcrest beat Mediapolis 6-0 to open the tournament, got revenge on the Nike’s in the second round 2-1 and traveled to Solon and beat the Spartans 3-0 on their home field to clinch their first bid to the state tournament since 2000.

At state, the Ravens were shut out by Des Moines Christian 4-0. For the year, Hillcrest was led by Louis Etienne with 17 goals, most in the Superconference. Cole Ours scored 15 times, third most in conference, Isaiah Swantz 12 times, fourth most, and Jacob Boller 11 times fifth most. Ours and Boller led the Superconference with 11 assists each. In goal Blake Bontrager made 77 saves, finishing with an 82.8% save percentage.

On the cross country course, senior Levi Geyer qualified for the state meet in Fort Dodge for the second straight season. Geyer finished in 15th place at the Lakeside Golf Course with a time of 16:45, making all-state.

At the state track meet in Des Moines, Levi Geyer finished 10th for Hillcrest in the 3200 and 13th in the 1600. Suzanna Yoder was 10th in the 400 and 19th in the 100m.

The Hillcrest Academy boys and girls basketball teams both had memorable seasons in the winter. The Raven boys fell one step shy of the state tournament as they put together a 21-4 year, finishing as runners-up in the Superconference. The Ravens opened the playoffs in Kalona beating Holy Trinity 56-49 before winning over rival Highland 52-38 setting up a rematch with high powered New London. The Tigers had just beaten the Ravens by 23 points two weeks prior at the Southeast Iowa Superconference Shoot Out at Iowa Wesleyan. With the district championship on the line at Mediapolis, the Ravens would have their revenge, getting by the top ten Tigers with a 61-54 victory.

In the substate final against Lynnville-Sully, The Ravens would find themselves trailing by as many as 20 in the first half before a furious comeback fell just short in Oskaloosa ending with a 52-48 Lynnville win. Mitchell Schmeider led the Ravens on the season scoring 341 total points, sixth in the Superconference. Cole Ours poured in 327 points seventh most. Schmeider also pulled down a team best 185 boards, fifth most in the conference. He led the conference with 50 blocked shots. Ours 77 assists were best on the team and sixth in the conference, his 55 steals were third best.

The Raven girls put together an incredible run in the playoffs. After a tough regular season that saw the unexpected passing of teammate Teresa Cardenas in an accident at a school function and a regular season that saw just three wins, everything came together for Hillcrest in the playoffs. In the opening round the Ravens got by the Keota Eagles 37-36 on a last second layup.

In the second round English Valleys was Hillcrest’s victim. The Ravens traveled to North English and upset the Bears on their home floor 48-47 in exciting fashion again.

The Raven run came to an end in the regional semifinals where they gave top five North Mahaska all they wanted on their home floor, falling 49-44. Hillcrest was led by junior Suzanna Yoder who ended the year as the state’s leading scorer in 1A at 22 points per game. She also joined the 1,000 point club at Hillcrest during the Ravens playoff loss to the Warhawks. Yoder led the team with 81 assists, sixth most in the Superconference and had 54 steals 10th most in the league. Alyssa Hershberger grabbed a team best 151 rebounds, 10th in the Superconference.

The Raven baseball team came up one game shy of the state tournament at Principal Park for the second straight year. The Ravens finished the season with a 16-10 overall record, 9-6 in the Superconference. Hillcrest opened the playoffs with a 16-7 win over Keota and followed that with an upset win over top ten New London on the road 8-3. In the district championship game, the Ravens outlasted Burlington Notre Dame 6-5 on an incredible play in centerfield by Isaiah Swantz

The Ravens saw their playoff run end at the hands of the Lisbon Lions 10-2 in Washington. The Ravens were led on the season by Eli Ours with his .362 average. Drew Blauvelt led the Ravens on the hill with a 2.33 ERA and 4-1 overall record.

The Hillcrest Academy volleyball team brought home a share of the Superconference North Division championship. The Ravens finished with a 15-14 overall record and a 7-1 mark in league play, sharing the division title with Mediapolis. The Ravens were led on the season by Suzanna Yoder with 350 digs, third most in the Superconference and 146 kills, 10th most in the Superconference. Sami Miller with 256 assists, sixth most in the Superconference.

Thursday will feature the 2018-19 academic year for athletics at Hillcrest Academy in our decade in review.