Athletes of the Week Aug. 16

Matt Baran

This goalie helped lead the Jack Lingo 30+ team to an 11-2 victory over the HD Elite squad to garner the Ocean City Lacrosse 30+ championship last weekend. He allowed just eight goals in pool play and a combined five goals in the semis and finals. He made 12 saves in the final game, of which five were in-your-face stops. Matt was an all-state goalie at Tatnall School in 2002. He was also a two-time All-Patriot League goalie at Bucknell University in 2005 and 2006. After college, he played three years with the New Jersey Pride Major League Lacrosse team. "With Matt in goal, I know we always have a good chance to win," said Lingo player/coach Jack Lingo. Matt has a dental practice called Limestone Dental Associates in Pike Creek near Wilmington.

C.J. Fritchman

A member of Dewey Beach Patrol, C.J. recently traveled with the Sussex County Lifesaving Association to compete in the U.S. Lifesaving Association’s National Championships in South Padre Island, Texas. C.J. successfully defended his championship in the beach flags event. His efforts contributed points to SCLA’s overall total, helping the team win the national championship. In his free time this summer, C.J. also played for the Shorebreak Lacrosse team, which won the DE Turf Summer League title at DE Turf in Frederica. As a senior at Cape in 2023, C.J. was named Cape’s Male Athlete of the Year after being named boys’ lacrosse state player of the year and winning an individual state title in wrestling.

Konner Knarr

A member of Rehoboth Beach Patrol, Konner recently won the 90-meter sand sprint at the U.S. Lifesaving Association’s National Championships in South Padre Island, Texas. It was his first national title in lifeguarding competitions. “I wouldn’t say I was surprised to win; I’ve been training all summer long and sort of knew where I was at,” said Konner, a 2023 Cape grad. He said the best part of the experience was finishing one-two in the event with fellow Sussex County lifeguard LJ Sengphanchanch. Konner was also part of the fifth-place 4-by-90-meter relay squad with Sengphanchanch, Isiah Brittingham and Jodi Johnson. Konner is a rising sophomore at the University of Tennessee, where he’s majoring in business analytics.

Chris Petrush

A goalie on the Jack Lingo 40+ squad, Chris made some highlight-reel stops to lead the team to the Ocean City Lacrosse Classic 40+ championship Aug. 11. He made 10 saves in the 10-8 victory over a strong Tether Marketing team in the finals, after posting 12 saves in the semis against the Inner Circle squad. "We are lucky to have an outstanding goalie like Chris on the Lingo 40+ team," said player/coach Jack Lingo. "He rarely gives up rebounds and makes saving the ball look easy." Chris played for CCBC Essex before joining the Retrievers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where his finished his college career. He is in his sixth year of coaching goalies for the Harford Fighting Owls in the NJCAA.