Over the years, Edina has become a hotbed for students looking to make the transition from public to private schools. Therefore, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s student body has been known to consist of many former Edina students. Within multiple sports, these two schools tend to meet in the big games with everything at stake, creating an immense rivalry between the programs.
To this day one of the most decorated games has continued to be the game of hockey. Each team dedicates its season to winning a single game, the section final, where the winner goes to the State Tournament, and the loser goes home. The arena overflows with people standing shoulder to shoulder just to witness this battle, and it doesn’t take much to get excited about this matchup. “When you prepare all season to play your rival, it doesn’t take much to get everybody fired up for that game,” senior Mason McElroy said.
Some spectators have been going to this matchup for years, as it has become an annual event for them. More recently, viewers have witnessed the Hornets end the Red Knights season a number of times. Year after year BSM comes back determined to turn the tables, changing up different strategies and getting creative in the offensive zone. Faculty and staff have begun making speculations as to why BSM has beaten Edina in the regular season, but can’t seem to get the job done come playoffs. “We might have a mental block about it and this might be true for other schools who play Edina as well,” Director of Alumni and Community Events Mary Fran O’Keefe said.
Another sport that is a huge part of the BSM community is lacrosse. As the lacrosse group has been rather successful both boys and girls it attracts people from all over. When playing Edina, whether it is in the state championship, sections, or just a regular game, students often find it hard not to find themselves fired up. While many students come to Benilde because of family or friends, some come for the sports. “I chose to go to Benilde for a lot of reasons, both of my sisters went to Benilde but I had the choice to choose between Benilde and Edina and I stuck with Benilde. When I play against them it is fun and weird because I used to play for them and know a lot of the players. Coming from there creates a lot of tension but we leave it on the field,” senior Genevieve DeCesare said.
Students come from all over the metro to play for Benilde and the rivalry between Edina extends past Benilde. As Edina is a strong competitor they attract a lot of competition. “My switch from Minnetonka lacrosse to Benilde did not change how I feel about Edina, my hate for them will not really change regardless of the school I am at. Playing against Edina is a fun opportunity because there are multiple players that I am friends with and they are a very skilled team,” junior Cole Langevin said.
As students from Edina continue to shift over to BSM, tension grows. Students from both programs are faced with playing against the friends they’ve grown up playing with. Some do not understand the motives for playing for the competition and against what they’ve always known. “I think anytime there’s a crossover between where kids live and being at a private school versus a public school, you’re gonna get a lot of that tension added to the fact that Edina has a reputation in terms of a lot of different things,” English teacher Callianne Olson said.
I think anytime there’s a crossover between where kids live and being at a private school versus a public school, you’re gonna get a lot of that tension added to the fact that Edina has a reputation in terms of a lot of different things
— Callianne Olson
Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Edina have been known to go back and forth each year. One being ranked higher than the other one year and vice versa the next. In recent years BSM has been able to come on top during the regular season, but come sections things seem to change. Last year, the BSM Girls Lacrosse team put an end to this pattern and was able to get the job done, beating the Hornets in the State Championship to win it all. “The rivalry exists in most sports, but I don’t have a rivalry with them anymore because we beat them,” senior Maggie Graczyk said.
As students have continued to mention this matchup, more teachers have caught interest in the growing tension around the two programs. Therefore, they’ve been seeing a change in students’ demeanors on the day of the game. As well as the energy of the school, BSM fans want to see them take down the Hornets. “It’s a big game. Some sports have a block where they think oh we’re playing Edina and I think there’s grown to be such a severe hatred where teams are just tired of losing,” Olson said.
Given the unfortunate outcome of many playoff games, BSM has stayed optimistic and is confident there will be a change in the future. Players and coaches have been spending countless hours thinking of ways for it to finally be their turn. “It’s been a long-lasting rivalry that unfortunately the past few years we’ve been on the losing side of, but I’m very confident that the teams [are] coming and they’ll be able to end this drought of losing to Edina,” senior Caleb Koskie said.