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In a ceremony held at the MPHS gymnasium with
friends and family in attendance, the crowd first sang “Happy
Birthday” to Cooper at the urging of MPHS principal Terry
Morgan.
MPHS
Softball
Coach
Travis Lingafelter then gave a speech congratulating Cooper on
this recent accomplishment. Lingafelter is very proud of Cooper
for advancing to the next level and he knows first-hand that she
is deserving of this opportunity.
“It’s really special whenever you’re a coach and
you get to see one of the kids that you’ve had on the team get
to go on and further their softball playing experience or any
sport experience,” said Lingafelter to the crowd. “Olivia
finished the season last year batting .510, which is phenomenal.
Millikin is very lucky to have her coming to play for them. I
know she is going to be a big asset for them as well as this
spring whenever she plays for us. So, congratulations, Olivia,
you definitely deserve it,” he concluded.
In her speech, Cooper thanked God, her parents,
her teammates, her coaches and the game itself.
“First I’d like to thank God for blessing me with
the ability to play and for guiding me in times of struggle,”
began Cooper. “I would especially like to thank my parents for
supporting me through thick and thin, loving me unconditionally
after all the long days and pushing me to be my best self day in
and day out. Today I wouldn’t be me without my friends and my
teammates. To all of you, I thank you for making the bad days
better, picking me up after a bad play, or simply just being my
friend and supporting me. You all rock and I love you. A huge
thank you to all my coaches I’ve had throughout the years. I
wouldn’t be the player I am today without you. Thank you for
teaching me to do the little things correctly, focusing on tasks
at hand and helping me put all the work in to achieve all my
goals on and off the field. Finally I’d like to thank the game
itself. It has provided me with so many opportunities, strengths
I never knew I had, relationships I will have forever and great
memories I’ll never forget. I’m so thankful for the people who
believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. This isn’t the
end. It’s only the beginning.”
Cooper, who played summer travel ball for
Whiplash last summer, plans to play for The Hitting Center this
summer. She has spent her youth dedicating herself to the game
and her future at Millikin seems like a perfect fit. Even though
it is close to home, Cooper will live on campus and get the full
college experience.
“From the start, I’ve always loved Millikin like
before anything started happening,” said Cooper. “Over the
summer I just really was like Millikin is such a good school for
me. I went to games and I would always talk to their coaches and
then they showed a lot of interest in me. It was just an easy
choice. It was my first choice.”
Cooper’s future plans include being an English
teacher. She is very excited to join the Big Blue, where she
will be teammates with friends from Warrensburg, Mount Zion and
Riverton.
Cooper is the daughter of Chad and Janette Cooper
of Mount Pulaski. Her grandparents are Janet White and Gary and
Pam Cooper.
[Teena
Lowery]
Sports
Reporter/Feature Writer | Lincoln Daily News
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