Zach Jorgenson and Kristen Coleman will lead their teams moving forward into the future
The Lewisburg High School basketball teams enter postseason play with the knowledge that their head coaches will carry their respective programs forward for the rest of this season and for seasons going forward.
Boys’ basketball coach Zach Jorgenson and girls’ basketball coach Kristen Coleman took over their teams last September when longtime Lewisburg teacher and coach Adam Tipton passed away after a brief illness. Both were assistant coaches to Tipton at the time of his untimely passing.
Jorgenson and Coleman were aware when they were appointed as head coaches they would be interim coaches for the season and their positions would be reevaluated when the year was done.
Both teams have done well this season and principal Kris Perkins made the decision official Monday to take the interim tags off both coaches and officially install them to lead their programs into the future.
“These coaches stepped in during a critical time in our program and have demonstrated their ability to take both programs to the next level with individual and team records in a short amount of time,” Perkins said in the announcement released Monday afternoon. “I am confident that the future of LHS basketball is in good hands with Coach Coleman and Coach Jorgenson.”
The Patriots and Lady Patriots have responded well during the season, with the Patriots taking a school-record 20-5 record (4-2 in Region 2-6A) into Tuesday’s semifinal game against DeSoto Central at Center Hill. Lewisburg earned the second seed into the tournament.
The Lady Patriots finished the regular season with a 17-10 mark, which is just the third time in school history the girls’ program has had a winning record. Lewisburg will be the number three seed into the region tournament when they play DeSoto Central, also Tuesday at Center Hill.
Jorgenson, a 2013 graduate of Lewisburg who played high school basketball there was an assistant for five years under Tipton.
He said he’s excited for the news but he’s trying to stay focused on the task ahead of moving his team forward in the playoffs.
“The program means a lot to me and for them to allow me to keep going with this group and to take over at home is a really big deal for me,” Jorgenson said Monday afternoon. “We still have a job to finish but I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”
Coleman was also an assistant coach in the girls’ program, first under former coach Jason Greer and then with Tipton when he took over the team after the 2020-21 season. In her 12th year in teaching and coaching, Coleman was head girls’ coach at Southaven Middle School before coming to Lewisburg five years ago.
She said she’s enjoyed leading a team which she credits for having persevered through a lot of adversity.
“Anything that’s been thrown their way, they’ve just battled through it,” Coleman said. “This is the group I want to go to battle with. I’m just excited for this opportunity.”
