The officers kept their distance and tried to get Kloss to put down the knife, saying they did not want him to kill himself and were interested in discussing his troubles.
Participants also learn about the county’s mental health court and the mechanics and nuances of the mental health involuntary commitment process, he said.
Participants also get a sense of what it’s like for someone dealing with psychosis by wearing headphones that play voices, Fox said. They must try to mentally ignore these voices and concentrate on external police commands.
“This is a real scenario police deal with,” he said.
“It provides them with an opportunity to put the training into motion,” McAllister said of the simulations.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
As part of the latest training, simulated scenes played out inside the Catholic Youth Center in Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
Yelland, a Wilkes-Barre Police officer, monitored law enforcement response.
Patty Roper, supervisor of blended case management at the Robinson Counseling Center, played one of the sisters and credited the officers for their sensitivity in dealing with the situation. The officers asked relevant questions in an even tone and did not yank the blanket off the sisters, which could have alarmed them, she said. Police also did not get worked up when the sisters tossed some contents of the box, such as flip flops, on the ground in response to the police directive.
An officer kept the female caller away from the sisters as she loudly complained the women were making people uncomfortable. The other officers approached the sisters and calmly asked them to display the contents of the box to ensure there were no weapons.
Cordaro echoed those sentiments. The training includes presentations from local nonprofits and county departments equipped to help the homeless and those with mental health issues and substance use disorders.
Kloss, who was instrumental in securing funding for the program as the county human services grants director, portrayed a suicidal man clutching a knife.
Another exercise Friday involved a caller reporting an intoxicated woman at the fake Kirby Park.
In one, Wilkes-Barre Police Sgt. Peter Cordaro, who has helped coordinate the CIT program for several years, closely observed officers entering a pretend Kirby Park to respond to a woman outraged over her perception of two sisters who came to the park for a picnic.
“Because they’re experiencing these auditory hallucinations, it’s difficult to organize their thoughts and respond accurately and timely to officer commands,” Fox said. “That’s a huge eye-opener. The officers can see how disorienting this is.”
Cordaro also commended the officers, saying versions of the Kirby Park exercise are regularly encountered by police. While the sisters’ behavior may seem odd to some, they were not committing any crimes, he said.
As the law enforcement training continues for interested officers, the county is starting to plan the creation of a Crisis Intervention Partner, or CIP, training program for residents in other professions, including teachers, bus and van drivers and county Children, Youth and Families caseworkers, she said.
The experience shows officers someone with psychosis is not willingly oppositional or defiant by failing to comply with directions, she said.
Ultimately police had to use a Taser because he plowed toward them with the knife.
“It is improving the everyday interaction between the public and police,” said Fox.
Robert McAllister, the county’s Mental Health/Developmental Services CIT coordinator, said Friday’s exercises followed four days of classroom training.
Overall, the goal is to strategically use law enforcement during crisis situations — such as when there is an imminent threat to safety or a criminal concern — and increase the involvement of mental health professionals, peer support specialists and other community resources when possible, Fox said.
“This is about connecting more to resources that are already available,” Cordaro said.
Yelland said he wholeheartedly supports the program because it promotes safety and reinforces tools and resources available to police officers.
Fox thanked law enforcement, which includes county sheriff deputies, for undergoing the training and for their employers’ willingness to make scheduling accommodations for officers to attend.
Reducing trauma during a mental health crisis can improve long-term recovery, she said.
Known as the Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, program, the five-day sessions provided by Fox’s department connect law enforcement with mental health professionals and advocates to share resources and techniques. The county is using CIT International’s model.
Joe Kloss and Shawn Yelland, also coordinators in the program, oversaw another simulation elsewhere in the building.
“No officers are forced to take the training. These are officers who want to do this,” Fox said.
The sisters clutched a box with their belongings and had a shared blanket draped over their heads to make them feel safe when police arrived.
More than 340 Luzerne County law enforcement officers have completed special training to enhance responses to incidents involving mental health crises, said county Mental Health/Developmental Services Administrator Tara Fox.
Kloss paced back and forth and wouldn’t change his mind, saying he was broke, discovered his girlfriend was unfaithful and had no support from family or friends.
With an experienced eye, Yelland critiqued their actions, commending them for maintaining space, trying to connect with him and recognizing the point when he had to be non-lethally subdued for the safety of everyone involved.
Leah Adams, Messalonskee sophomore middle blocker
Kaitlyn Davidson, Gardiner sophomore outside hitter
Julie Folsom, Gardiner senior right-side hitter
Ellie Gould, Cony senior libero
Kelsie Murray, Messalonskee senior outside hitter
Alanna Voter, Messalonskee junior libero
The 2025 track and field calendar was exhilarating from start to finish, fueled by the indoor and outdoor world championships, the always-exciting Diamond League circuit, the seven World Marathon Majors, and everything in between.
As it so often does, Boston University’s indoor track played host to national and world records across the distance events, laying the groundwork for an outdoor campaign defined by breakthrough performances that had been a long time coming.
As a track and field fan, there were dozens of jumps, throws, and times that could credibly stake their claim as the best of the year, but as someone who has always favored the distance side of the sport, it’s safe to say I’m a bit biased.
With an electric 2026 season on the horizon, here are three of my many favorite performances from 2025.
After a senior cross country campaign that saw her become the fastest high school girl ever to run a 5K on grass, former Timpview (Utah) standout and current BYU phenom Jane Hedengren rapidly emerged as a household name.
Over the last 12 months, Hedengren has cemented herself as one of the greatest high school athletes of all time, and through just one collegiate semester, she has already separated herself at the NCAA level.
In March, she delivered a historic double at Nike Indoor Nationals, running 4:26.14 in the mile and 15:13.26 in the 5000 meters, lowering the previous national records by nearly two seconds and more than 15 seconds, respectively.
That momentum carried into the outdoor season, where she set new U.S. high school national records in the mile (4:23.50), 5000 meters (14:57.93), two mile (9:17.75), and 3000 meters (8:40.03).
Less than five months later, Hedengren opened her BYU career by setting three straight 6K course records, two of which resulted in Big 12 and NCAA Regional titles, before finishing runner-up at the NCAA Championships.
Her penultimate race of 2025 capped the year in historic fashion. At the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, Hedengren ran 14:44.79, shattering Doris Lemngole’s indoor collegiate record of 14:52.57 set in 2024 and Parker Valby’s outdoor collegiate record of 14:52.18 from the 2024 NCAA Championships.
For nearly 30 years, Bell Gardens (Calif.) Michael Granville sat atop the high school record books in the 800, one of the few prep records that had yet to be unseated by this generation of distance talent.
Just a few years ago, the duo of Cade Flatt and Will Sumner came as close as anyone ever had, with the former finishing just three-hundredths of a second shy.
It wasn’t until this past June that Granville’s record was finally beaten, with Lutkenhaus doing so at the Brooks PR Invitational, stopping the clock at 1:46.26.
The summer of personal bests was just beginning for the Justin Northwest (Texas) sophomore, as 11 days later, he became the first high schooler to ever break 1:46, winning Nike Outdoor Nationals in 1:45.45.
Little did we know Lutkenhaus had a lot more in store for the American distance running circuit, and where else better to do it than at Hayward Field.
After running 1:47.23 and 1:45.57 to make it all the way to the U.S. Championships final, the record-breaking sophomore held his own with the sport’s elite, finishing runner-up to Donovan Brazier in 1:42.27.
The 16-year-old established a new world U18 record and now sits behind Botswana’s Nijel Amos on the world U20 all-time list.
At the 2023 Prefontaine Classic, which acted as the Diamond League final that season, Beatrice Chebet came close to history in the 5000m, battling the clock for 12.5 laps as she stopped the clock at 14:05.92, which at the time was No. 2 in world history.
Less than two years later, Chebet once again took on the 5000m distance in Eugene, Oregon, but this time left the Pacific Northwest with an accomplishment no other woman has ever matched.
In a field that had 17 women sub-15, and 10 sub-14:30, Chebet took down compatriot Agnes Jebet Ngetich and Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, with the trio finishing in 13:58.06, 14:01.29, and 14:04.41, respectively.
The 25-year-old became the first woman to ever break 14:00 after coming close on multiple occasions, and currently owns the fourth and seventh fastest performances in world history to pair nicely with her world record.
Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.
Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
A season with championship aspirations was off to a scuffling start for the Gorham volleyball team. The offense was sputtering, and it was showing up on the scoreboard. The Rams dropped two of their first four matches, and coach Emma Tirrell knew it wasn’t the time to wait for things to sort themselves out.
“Our offense and our transition from passing to scoring a point just wasn’t generating enough,” she said.
Tirrell had an idea: Move the Rams’ best player, Liana Edwards, from playing both right-side hitter and setter to a full-time setter role, and switch from running a 6-2 with two setters to a 5-1 with one setter.
“It was that Liana needs to be touching the ball as much as possible,” Tirrell said. “(We thought) ‘Let’s see what happens when she’s the only setter.’”
With Edwards in her new role, the Rams flourished, winning 12 of their last 13 games and earning their third straight Class A championship. For her performance as Gorham’s versatile linchpin, Edwards is our choice for Varsity Maine Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Kellan Schwinn, Washington Academy’s outside hitter, was also considered.
Edwards said she was proud of how the Rams responded to the early struggles, and how they capped their season in impressive fashion with a 3-1 victory over Thornton Academy.
“Comparing this year’s state game to last year’s state game — last year, looking back, we didn’t have a lot of great, hard kills. We didn’t have a lot of swings,” Edwards said. “This year, in the Thornton Academy game, we really proved ourselves and got 10 times the amount of kills and points. We earned our points.”
In the middle of it all was Edwards, who, at 6 feet tall has the height of a middle blocker, the hard hit of an outside and the defensive abilities of a libero. She showcased that versatility during the season, totaling 337 assists, 171 digs, 90 kills and 41 aces.
“She’s a really talented volleyball athlete,” Tirrell said. “It is uncommon to have that (versatility). A lot of girls work their tails off during their whole entire career, but it’s just not something that comes to them as an athlete. It’s pretty cool and pretty rare that Liana has that.”
It’s setting, however, where Edwards feels most effective.
“Previously, I played soccer and I was a goalie,” she said. “I’ve always had something, they would say, special with my hands.”
She was at home at the position this fall, providing the Gorham hitters with precise passes for their spikes.
“Being a setter is like being the quarterback on your team,” Edwards said. “I’ve definitely worked a lot, in and out of the gym, on my mental game, making sure I don’t get in my head from my mistakes or other people’s mistakes.”
That work ethic, Tirrell said, isn’t new.
“She puts a lot of effort into meticulously watching videos of herself play to get better,” Tirrell said. “She wants to be her best.”
This year, however, Edwards became a stronger voice in and out of matches. She took a prominent role in a team meeting after the 2-2 start, in which the Rams talked over what they felt they needed to do to turn things around.
“She’s grown a lot with her communication,” Tirrell said. “This was the first year she really harnessed bringing her other teammates with her too, and leading.”
Edwards said leadership this season was a “priority.”
“We all had to relearn how to communicate with each other, and how to all gain our leadership skills back after not playing with each other for a long time,” she said. “Everyone put in their all, and we all bonded together.”
Dec. 29, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET
It’s hard to believe the 2025 Cheboygan-area fall sports season has been done for a while now.
Whether it was volleyball, cross country, or golf, there were great athletes across the board.
Who do you think was the best girls athlete in the Cheboygan area this past fall? Be sure to vote in this poll, which opens on Monday, Dec. 29, and closes on Thursday, Jan. 1, at 11 p.m.
Here’s a look at the candidates:
Makaela Steiner, Cheboygan Volleyball – Thanks to a superb senior season, the senior star was named the Daily Tribune’s 2025 area volleyball player of the year, while also picking up all-Northern Shores Conference first team accolades.
Briahna Campbell, Cheboygan Cross Country – Delivered a strong junior season for the Chiefs, earning all-conference honors and medaling in several meets.
Elise Markham, Cheboygan Golf – A breakout performer in her sport, Markham earned a spot on the all-Northern Shores Conference first team.
Elizabeth Furman, Inland Lakes Cross Country – In addition to earning her first varsity win at the Cheboygan Invitational, Furman qualified for the state finals for a third consecutive year and secured all-conference accolades again.
Jenna Stubbs, Inland Lakes Volleyball – An all-around star for the Bulldogs, Stubbs earned all-conference and all-region honors in her last year with the program.
Kerry-Ann Ming, Mackinaw City Volleyball – The Northern Lakes Conference’s volleyball player of the year also picked up all-region honors after an excellent senior campaign.
Brooklyn Boughner, Onaway Volleyball – Onaway’s sophomore setter made the MIVCA’s Division 4 all-state team as an honorable mention, while also collecting Ski Valley and all-region honors.
Lanie Irwin, Pellston Volleyball – Irwin capped off a terrific four-year career with Pellston by picking up MIVCA Division 4 all-state honorable mention, all-region, and all-Ski Valley honors.
Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jordan Johnson of B-CU Men’s Basketball have been named Wildcat of the Week for the week of December 22-28, 2025.
Jordan Johnson was excellent for B-CU in a road contest at the No. 1 team in the nation, Arizona. He posted a team-high 18 points on 7-10 shooting including a 4-6 clip from three, two assists, and a rebound.
Each week, The Bethune-Cookman Office of Athletic Communications recognizes one male and one female student-athlete through the Wildcats of the Week award.
This award recognizes student-athletes who have excelled in competition, in the classroom, and in the community over the past week, exemplifying the Championship Culture of Wildcat Athletics.
2025-26 Wildcats of the Week
December 22-28
W: N/A (No Women’s Competition This Week
M: Jordan Johnson, Men’s Basketball
December 15-21
W: Tyler Butler, Women’s Basketball
M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball
December 8-14
W: N/A (No Women’s Competition This Week
M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball
December 1-7
W: Daimoni Dorsey, Women’s Basketball
M: Sha’Nard Walker, Track & Field
November 24-30
W: Chanelle McDonald, Women’s Basketball
M: Jakobi Heady, Men’s Basketball
November 17-23
W: Jordan Brooks, Women’s Basketball
M: Timmy McClain, Football
November 10-16
W: Shayla Henry, Volleyball
M: Javon Ross, Football
November 3-9
W: Madison Molock, Tennis
M: Arterio Morris, Men’s Basketball
October 27-November 2
W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball
M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country
October 20-26
W: Sthefany Carvalho, Volleyball
M: Jaylen Lewis, Football
October 13-19
W: Melissa Gonzalez, Volleyball
M: N/A (No Men’s Competition this Week)
October 6-12
W: Valencia Butler, Cross Country
M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country
September 29-October 5
W: Amya Jennings, Volleyball
M: Ali Scott Jr., Football
September 22-28
W: Sierra Herndon, Volleyball
M: Javon Ross, Football
September 15-21
W: Zahara El-Zein
M: Maleek Huggins, Football
September 8-14
W: Nola Hemphill, Volleyball
M: Cam’Ron Ransom, Football
September 1-7
W: Reese Wilson, Women’s Golf
M: Stephen Sparrow Jr., Football
August 25 – 31
W: Kaleigh Williams, Volleyball
M: Andrew Kiplagat, Cross Country
For all the latest Bethune-Cookman Athletics news, follow us on Facebook (Bethune-Cookman Athletics), X (@BCUAthletics), Instagram (@BCU_Athletics) and BCUAthletics.com.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State Director of Athletics Nathan Christensen announced Monday afternoon that Ted Kopacz has been named the 11th head volleyball coach in Sycamore history.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Ted to the Sycamores as our head volleyball coach,” said Christensen. “From the very beginning, Ted quickly emerged as the leader we wanted to guide our program. He is one of the brightest young minds and a tireless recruiter in the sport, earning strong recommendations from across the country. Ted has won multiple championships and brings valuable experience working with high-level student-athletes. With deep roots in the Midwest, he understands the exceptional volleyball talent surrounding Indiana State University. Please join me in welcoming Ted and his family to the Wabash Valley.”
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be named Head Coach of the Indiana State Volleyball Program,” Kopacz said. “I want to thank Nathan Christensen, Angie Lansing, and President Godard for their trust and support. Their thoughtfulness and vision for the University and the Athletic Department showcased their passion to work together to build something special in Terre Haute and the surrounding Vigo County Community.”
The Libertyville, Illinois native played club volleyball at Indiana University where he was a captain and earned All-Big Ten and All-MIVA honors. Kopacz graduated from Indiana with a degree in Informatics and Computing with a specialty in Sports Marketing and Management. He has recorded coaching stints at Colorado State, Nebraska Omaha, and Colorado, as well as with USA Volleyball.
“Indiana is a hotbed for volleyball and the sport is barreling towards becoming the next major sport across the country,” Kopacz said. “I’m determined to build a program rooted in work ethic, problem solving, and collaboration, one that is competitive not just in the Valley, but across the Midwest. I am fired up to get started with this talented group of student-athletes and to make the University and community proud. Go Sycamores!”
Kopacz spent two seasons at Colorado State as the lead defensive coach, implementing an opportunistic style of play and mindset focused on improving team defense. The Rams went from last in the conference in opponent hitting efficiency in 2023, to first in both 2024 (.190) and 2025 (.187). Among his individual work included daily practice planning focusing on blocking, team defense, middle/setter offense and overall team development, mapping individual development plans for each athlete.
The Rams’ defensive success propelled Colorado State to both the 2024 Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championship, earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament Berth since 2019. He guided 2024 AVCA All-American Malaya Jones during the run, while Jones and Emery Herman both recorded AVCA All-Region honors.
He also served as the head coach of the 2024 Mountain West All-Star team that finished as the Silver Medalists at the Global Challenge Tournament held in Pula, Croatia.
Prior to the Rams, Kopacz spent the last two seasons as an Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at the University of Nebraska Omaha. At Omaha, he mentored the setter position and assisted in the development of offensive game-plans. Kopacz helped Omaha to their first D1 NCAA tournament appearance and first Summit League Championship in 2023. His work with the program included mentoring AVCA All-American McKenna Ruch, while also helping guide Ruch and Shayla McCormick to AVCA All-Region honors.
Kopacz started his college coaching career at the University of Colorado in January of 2021 as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. With the Buffaloes, he assisted with the training of first contact and floor defense and helped design scouting reports and prepare the scout team.
After graduation from Indiana in 2016, he worked in Benefits Administration, most recently as a Senior Account Manager at bswift, while consulting for several different clubs and high school teams in the Chicagoland area.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Volleyball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
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