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Bears coach steps down after state tourney season
BY BRUCE STRAND SPORTS WRITER
Gregory Burke, who coached White Bear Lake boys basketball to its first state tournament in 23 years, has stepped down after a two-year tenure.
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Burke, who lives in Plymouth and serves as dean of students at Wayzata High School, said the main factors in his decision were the long daily drive and that his main job is elsewhere.
“I can’t coach the way I want. You want to be in the building with the kids,” Burke said. “And the drive, sometimes it was two or three hours. So I thought it over after the season and decided it was time.”
Burke, who inherited a strong junior class when he took over in 2021-22, is proud of the breakthroughs the team made. The Bears beat Woodbury in the 2022 sectionals, ending a string of nine straight first-round losses. This winter, the Bears, all seniors, were Section 4AAAA champions and placed fifth in the state tournament. It was the program’s first appearance since 2000.
“Now that we’ve done it, the kids coming up know it can be done,” said Burke. “Whoever takes over will have some good young players to work with.”
Lidia Asrat was fourth in the 400 (1:04.97).
GIRLS LACROSSE
White Bear Lake edged Cretin-Derham Hall 9-8 in cold, windy conditions in St. Paul. Olivia Simpkins and Jaeda Jensen notched three goals each, Georgia Kodytek two and Beverly Johnson one. Bear goalie Mesa McElmury stopped 12 of 20 shots.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK McKenna Cunnington
White Bear Lake
McKenna Cunnington, Mahtomedi lacrosse senior captain, pumped in 12 goals in the Zephyrs’ first three games while also logging 14 draw controls and eight ground balls.The 5-foot-8 forward tallied 55 goals as a junior and has 92 in her career. Coach Ann Burns cites Cunnington as “an incredible leader, hard working, talented and humble” and a well-liked teammate. Cunnington committed to the University of Oregon.
Burke is also delighted that the Bears earned the current distinction of “a winning streak against every conference team,” after defeating 10 straight Suburban East rivals late in the season, capped by a 57-55 section finals thriller against SEC champion and longtime nemesis East Ridge. “Imagine,” he added, “beating a great program like Mounds View four straight times.”
The Bears, led by 2,000-point scorer Jack Janicki and two other all-SEC players, Jack Misgen and Wyatt Hawks, were 15-13 and 23-8 in Burke’s two seasons. In his only other head coaching stint, at Maranatha Academy in Superior, Wisconsin, Burke had three winning seasons and one state trip. He was an assistant at Osseo for 11 years and coached the UW-River Falls freshmen. He said he expects to get back into coaching if another opportunity arises.
