Former MHSAA Coach Lands in NHL
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 5, 2013
This week in the year 2000, Jon Cooper had just finished his first season coaching at any level, having guided the Lansing Catholic hockey team to its first Regional championship in 25 seasons.
It would be the only season Cooper – a local lawyer and former player at Hofstra – would coach the Cougars. But it also was the start of a nearly unimaginable rise that saw him hired to coach the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning two weeks ago.
As the saying goes, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Cooper always was friendly and helpful to this then just-starting local media member, and despite his lone season coaching the Cougars quickly built a local fan base that continues to cheer him on from afar.
An NHL.com piece last week led with the high school angle. Click here to check it out. He took over a team 16-18-2 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but Cooper surely will have plenty rooting him on from the MHSAA hockey ranks as he works to bring the franchise back to the playoffs – and we’ll work to catch up with him this summer during his first NHL offseason.
Grand Haven athletics 'Exemplary'
The Grand Haven High School athletic department received this year’s Exemplary Athletic Program Award from the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association during its annual conference last month in Traverse City.
The program was established in 1998 to recognize outstanding athletic programs and give high school administrators a vehicle by which to self-assess their practices and measure improvements.
Characteristics of “exemplary” programs include district-wide commitment, excellence in advancing the growth of well-rounded participants and serving the needs of all involved including parents and staff, and sustained success in teaching the values of high school athletics.
Click for more details on award criteria and a list of previous winners, and additional coverage by Grand Rapids’ WZZM.
Volleyball teams 'dug' deep
Michigan high school volleyball teams playing "Dig Pink" matches combined to raise more than $50,500 for cancer research last fall to rank sixth nationally, according to the Side-Out Foundation, a non-profit organization that heads up the “Dig Pink” initiative.
Class D Engadine raised the most among MHSAA schools – $5,200 – with Kent City, Bronson, Grand Ledge, Allendale, Stevensville Lakeshore, Monroe, Waterford Mott, Coldwater and Grand Blanc also contributing to the grand total. Also, Grand Ledge’s Katie Everts received a Side-Out Ambassador Program award, one of 10 handed out to individuals nationally.
Total, more than $1.1 million was raised nationwide.
Name that trophy
Few if any schools in Michigan have done more work in researching and identifying the trophies in its case than Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, which will celebrate its 100th season of boys basketball in 2013-14.
It's rare the Eaglets historians can’t determine what a trophy celebrated. In this case, hopefully you can help.
We believe it’s a basketball trophy from the 1930s – but haven’t been able to pin down a season or a level of the MHSAA tournament. A few things that make this one unique are the plaque presentation, as opposed to a standard trophy, and the large MHSAA seal in the center. Any ideas? Email me at [email protected].
Giving back to those who gave
Those from the U.S. 23/I-94 area surely remember the tornado that tore through Dexter a little more than a year ago, on March 15, 2012.
Dexter track coaches Bob and Katie Jazwinski are remembering those who helped them rebuild after their home was destroyed by the storm.
In a Second Half report last year, Bob Jazwinski said he’d seen athletes and coaches from Adrian, Ann Arbor Pioneer, Pinckney, Chelsea, Ann Arbor Skyline, Whitmore Lake and the USA junior hockey team among the many who flocked to the community to lend a hand in the cleanup.
The Jazwinskis began repaying the favor three weeks ago on the storm's one-year anniversary with the Dexter F 3.1 Tornado Run/Walk that benefited non-profit organizations that had donated for storm recovery the year before.
Click to read the March 30, 2012 story about Adrian athletes’ contributions to the clean-up.
Last call for basketball
We got off to a late start on entering basketball schedules for this winter – but thanks to some incredibly helpful school, official and fan inputters, we were able to catch up quickly and finish with a nearly-complete list of results and standings for this season.
Still, there are some schools with incomplete schedules or a few scores missing. And before everyone forgets completely about this season, we’re hoping for a little help in finishing this enormous task.
Please check out your team’s page on MHSAA.com and help us fill in missing scores and fix inaccuracies. The latter could include just about anything – an incorrect game date, incorrect opponent or score, team missing from league standings, etc. For corrections, please email me directly at [email protected]. (Note: If a game was cancelled, don’t just delete it – contact me and I’ll add “cancelled” to avoid confusion.)
Why is this important? Two big reasons. First, MHSAA.com publishes the most complete statewide scoreboard with results from every corner of Michigan. And we have the most complete archive of basketball seasons available, currently dating to 2009-10. Help us fill in the blanks, and they’ll be saved for everyone’s benefit for years to come.
I thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jon Cooper's bio appeared in the Lansing Catholic hockey team's yearbook for the 1999-2000 season. (Middle) Grand Haven athletic director Robin Bye (second from right) poses with Gull Lake athletic director and MIAAA Exemplary Committee co-char Marc Troop, Grand Haven athletic secretary Rita Way and Ann Arbor Greenhills athletic director and MIAAA Exemplary Committee co-chair Meg Seng after the Buccaneers received this year's award. (Bottom) Orchard Lake St. Mary's is hoping to identify the championship recognized by this trophy, believed to be from the 1930s.
Preview: Girls Lacrosse Finals to Match Reigning Champs Vs. Record Holders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 4, 2026
Rockford and East Grand Rapids will add to their shared record of 10 MHSAA Girls Lacrosse Finals appearances Friday at Howell Parker, and could also add to their Division-leading championship counts as well.
But a pair of teams moving up the historical charts are eager to continue making their own names among the all-time elite.
Reigning Division 1 champion South Lyon United hasn’t lost in two years and will try to extend that streak against the Rams. Reigning Division 2 champion Detroit Country Day will play in its fifth-straight Final to move into a tie for most championship game appearances in MHSAA girls lacrosse history.
Below is a glance at all four teams playing for titles. Rankings as part of “best wins” are based on the Michigan Power Rating formula. Tickets cost $11 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online only at GoFan.
Both games will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Division 1
ROCKFORD
Record/MPR: 11-8, No. 10
League finish: Third in Ottawa-Kent Conference Tier 1
Coach: Mark Neumen, fifth season (65-35-1)
Championship history: Nine Division 1 titles (most recent 2021), runner-up in 2024.
Best wins: 9-4 over No. 7 Hartland in Semifinal, 16-6 over No. 9 Hudsonville in Regional Final, 18-11 over Division 2 No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 9-7 over Division 2 No. 2 East Grand Rapids, 7-6 over Division 2 No. 6 Spring Lake.
Players to watch: Ella Larva, sr. M (33 goals, 9 assists); Kiah Kruisenga, jr. M (26 goals, 8 assists); Brooke Gordon, sr. M (39 goals, 22 assists); Ava Wekenman, soph. A (41 goals, 29 assists).
Outlook: After a year away from the Finals, Rockford is back in a familiar spot and riding a five-game winning streak that began by avenging a mid-April loss to Spring Lake. The Rams also avenged their March defeat to East Grand Rapids a month later. Larva made the all-state first team last season, Kruisenga the third team and junior defender Lyla Vogt earned an honorable mention. Seven players total had scored at least 15 goals entering this week, including as well sophomores Avery Maag (25) and Jordyn Coretti (15, 18 assists) and senior Ella Wagenmaker (18/12).
SOUTH LYON UNITED
Record/MPR: 27-0, No. 2
League finish: First in Lakes Valley Conference
Coach: Deanna Radcliffe, 10th season (168-26)
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2025, runner-up 2008.
Best wins: 9-8 and 14-11 (Regional Final) over No. 1 Brighton, 23-8 over No. 8 Bloomfield Hills in Semifinal, 17-10 over No. 3 Lake Orion, 15-2 and 14-5 over No. 6 White Lake Lakeland, 17-3 over No. 5 Grosse Pointe South, 19-5 over No. 4 Birmingham United, 20-5 over Division 2 No. 5 Haslett/Williamston.
Players to watch: Shaelyn Perry, sr. M (78 goals, 23 assists); Cate Cumberland, jr. M/D (33 goals, 20 assists); Gabriela Lucchesi, sr. A (36 goals, 41 assists); Reagan Shields, jr. A (87 goals, 61 assists).
Outlook: South Lyon United has won 48 straight games as it seeks to finish a second-straight perfect season. United also has defeated the other seven top-eight teams in Division 1 by MPR at the end of the regular season, and done so giving up double-digit goals only twice and with an offense that has reached 20 goals eight times. Shields, Perry and Cumberland are returning all-state first teamers, and Lucchesi earned an honorable mention last year. Seniors Alyssa Jakubiec (52 goals/15 assists) and Gianna Lucchesi (51/26) and junior Madison Lukas (49/9) also are among leading offensive contributors.
Division 2
DETROIT COUNTRY DAY
Record/MPR: 14-5, No. 4
League finish: Does not compete in a conference.
Coach: Liz Nussbaum, third season (48-12-1)
Championship history: Division 2 champion 2023 and 2025, runner-up 2005, 2022 and 2024.
Best wins: 23-3 over No. 3 Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard in Semifinal, 13-9 over No. 7 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in Regional Final, 16-2 over No. 11 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek in Regional Semifinal, 11-10 over No. 9 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 9-3 and 18-8 over Division 1 No. 7 Hartland.
Players to watch: Campbell Lindner, sr. G (126 saves, .490 save %); Charlotte Cook, soph. M (74 goals, 22 assists); Adriana Zuk, sr. M (46 goals, 17 assists); Jackie Calso, jr. M (47 goals, 14 assists).
Outlook: This will be Country Day’s fifth-straight Finals appearance, and the Yellowjackets return with a pair of 2025 all-state second-teamers in Lindner and Cook and honorable mentions in Zuk and Calso. The only in-state losses this season were twice to East Grand Rapids and once to Brighton, and Country Day won its first four postseason games by a combined 70-14. They also have notable victories over Carmel (Ind.) and Chicago St. Ignatius College Prep. Junior Bridget Kenney had added another 21 goals entering the week, and sophomore Maggie Stoller had 15.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS
Record/MPR: 19-2, No. 2
League finish: First in O-K Tier 1
Coach: Kira Schoonveld, first year (19-2)
Championship history: Eight Division 2 titles (most recent 2022), runner-up in 2017 and 2023.
Best wins: 20-6 over No. 5 Haslett/Williamston in Semifinal, 11-2 (Regional Final), 12-7 and 13-8 over No. 6 Spring Lake; 17-5 (Regional Semifinal) and 12-5 over No. 9 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 9-7 (Regional Quarterfinal), 7-4 and 11-4 over No. 8 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central; 11-9 and 12-5 over No. 4 Detroit Country Day, 12-5 over Division 1 No. 4 Birmingham United, 11-10 (OT) over Division 1 No. 7 Hartland, 12-10 (OT) over Division 1 No. 10 Rockford.
Players to watch: Avery Albers, jr. G (7.2 goals-against average, 112 saves); Jane Weaver, jr. A (49 goals, 18 assists); Livia Burgess, jr. M (32 goals, 23 assists); Rylee Renker, sr. A (37 goals, 3 assists).
Outlook: Aside from a couple of late losses to Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Rockford by a combined five goals, EGR has been pretty much unstoppable on the way to its first championship game appearance in three years. The Pioneers did end up avenging that CC loss in the Regional Semifinal to finish that season series with a 2-1 edge, and they haven’t given up more than 10 goals in a game – and allowed 10 only twice, both in overtime wins. Albers made the all-state first team last season, Weaver made the second and Burgess and senior Ellen Cross earned honorable mentions. Junior Nora Williams (25 goals/8 assists) and sophomores Ciarra Burns (21/8) and Sarah Cross (15/17) also are among leading scorers this spring.
PHOTO Detroit Country Day’s Charlotte Cook (18) attempts to get past a Grand Rapids Catholic Central defender during last season’s Division 2 Final.