Always A Hornet

A 2015 Edina High School grad, Taylor was named Minnesota Ms. Hockey and the Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year as a senior while also receiving Edina’s Athena Award. Taylor was a 5 time hockey letterwinner at Edina, a three time all-state honoree and four-time All Lake Conference selection and in 2015 was named to the USA Today All-USA Girls Hockey First Team.. At the University of Minnesota, Taylor was a member of the 2015-16 NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey National Championship Team. Taylor’s international career included competing on the USA Under 18 National team from 2012-2014 as well as competing as a member of the USA Under 22 National Team while she was in college. In 2024, Taylor was named the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award Winner by the National Girls and Women in Sports Day for her relentless and inspiring battle against two potentially career-ending medical diagnoses. Taylor was inducted into the Edina High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2025

Marty Collins (EHS Class of ‘90) and Brett Johnson are two of the best-known restaurant owners in the twin cities. Brett is an owner of Hilltop in Edina and Marty, Brett, Peter Hoff and a group of others own and operate NOLOs Kitchen and The Basement Bar in the north loop of Minneapolis. Brett and Marty have been huge supporters of the Edina community especially students and athletes in Edina Public Schools. The two of them got a chance to sit down and talk about their current and future ventures and the community-building opportunities their restaurants have to offer. 

Will grew up playing youth basketball in Edina. He became a 3 year starter and 2 time captain for Edina High School. In his time at Edina he was All-State and one of the all time leading scorers, scoring over 1,000 points. ​While playing collegiately at the University of St. Thomas, where he was a member of a national championship team, he started coaching young players in Edina, which ultimately led to the creation of DeBerg Basketball. These camps, clinics, training, and leagues have been going on for 15 years and have involved teaching and coaching hundreds of young boys and girls about the game of basketball. Will is also the Head FIBA National Coach for the Tonga National Team. 

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Jaime Gaard Chapman, a 2003 Edina High School grad was a dominant force on both the basketball court and the tennis court during her high school years. In addition to leading her team to three state tournament appearances in basketball, Jaime earned four state championship tennis titles. After a successful career at Gustavus Adolphus College, Jaime returned to her alma mater to coach basketball and tennis. In 2020 Jaime took over the position of head girls’ tennis coach at Edina High School. Joining us today, along with Jaime, are two senior tennis players who were state doubles title winners in October. 

Edina Girls Swimming and Diving Assistant Coach Mellanie Pusateri has been teaching and coaching at Edina Public Schools since 1993. Mellanie is currently teaching physical education at Edina High School and assistant coaching with the girls swimming and diving team. She was recently (2025) inducted into the Edina High School Athletic Hall of Fame. To make the conversation even more interesting and fun, Mellanie brought along three of her 2025 state champion swimmers, and we had a good discussion about what it takes to compete at a high level as a swimmer, how the athletes manage the pressures they encounter as well as some of the ways they stay focused on having fun. 

A 2012 Edina High School graduate, Cavonte (“CJ”) Johnson established himself as a three-sport star and scholar athlete during his time at EHS. He was a varsity football, basketball, and track and field athlete who was a member of the Edina Boys’ Track and Field record setting 4 X 100-meter relay team. Cavonte was the recipient of four awards coming out of high school that included the Howard Merriman Student Athlete Award, the Kirby and Tanya Puckett Award, the National Football Foundation Scholarship Award and was awarded the highly prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates Millenium Award. Among his other accolades, Cavonte was a captain of the football, basketball and track and field teams, a member of the EHS Student Council and was the commencement speaker at his HS graduation. This episode is a bit longer (55 minutes) than our usual episodes, but we think you will appreciate hearing what Cavonte has to say about moving to Minnesota and being afforded an opportunity to get an Edina Public Schools education through the generosity of his “Moms” and “Pops” Sarah and Doug Jones. Hang in there with us all the way through the episode. You’ll be glad you did! 

Sisters Kathryn and Christine Graf were teammates on the first volleyball team from Edina High School to make the state tournament (2018). Kathryn went on to play volleyball at Bradley University and Christine played 4 years at California Baptist before playing a post-grad year at High Point University while getting her MBA. The Graf sisters talked to us about how they came to focus on volleyball, what it was like to be part of the group that was instrumental in elevating the fortunes of the EHS Volleyball program, and what the "sibling-teammate" experience was like for them. 

Art Downey began coaching swimming and diving at Edina High School in 1956 when he founded the swim program. He coached for 62 years retiring in 2018. Under his leadership the Edina Boys’ Swimming and Diving team won 10 state championships. Art is in the Minnesota Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame and the National Swimming Coaches’ Hall of Fame

Scott Johnson was a teacher & assistant coach with the Edina Boys' Swimming and Diving team from 1992-2018 and became head coach in 2018, following the retirement of veteran head coach Art Downey. He also coached with the Edina Girls' Swimming and Diving team from 1992-1996. Coach Johnson has led the Edina Boys’ Swimming and Diving team to 6 Minnesota State Championships. Scott was inducted into the Edina High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024

We were lucky to have these two legends together in the studio for a conversation about how they got into coaching swimming, changes in high school swim programs over the past several decades, some career highlights and their legacies. 

Lifelong friends Jay Bennett and Jeff Wright, both 1967 graduates of Edina High School, were two of the most successful athletes to come through EHS. Jay and Jeff led the Hornets to four state titles in three years - two in football and two in basketball. After high school, Jay attended Dartmouth College where he played football and still holds the record for the longest punt in program history (83 yards). Jeff is still considered to be one of Edina's greatest all-around athletes leading, along with Jay, the Hornets to those two football and basketball titles and was a captain and All-Lake Conference selection in baseball. After an All-Big Ten career at the University of Minnesota, Jeff played seven seasons of professional football for the Minnesota Vikings competing in 3 Super Bowls. Jay and Jeff joined us to talk about their appreciation for the athletic and academic experiences they had growing up in Edina as well as the positive and lasting impact their coaches had on their careers and their lives. 

A 1997 EHS grad, Greg Buth played 4 years of varsity basketball for Edina High School. During his senior year, he was named 1st team All-State and a finalist for the statewide Mr. Basketball award. Greg went on to play 4 years of NCAA Division I basketball for Dartmouth. As a sophomore, he was presented the Edward S. Steitz Award for being the top three-point shooter in the nation in Division I Men’s Basketball. Greg joined us to talk about growing up in Edina, the evolution of his basketball career, how he approaches coaching his own sons, and what he has been up to since college.  Greg lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Shannon (EHS ‘97) and his four boys.