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Local lacrosse players lighting up the college landscape

Salisbury baseball ranked No. 1 in NCAA D3
February 21, 2023

Take me to your feeder - Atlantic Lacrosse and later the Eastern Shore Lacrosse Club harnessed local athletic talent and turned hundreds of kids into lacrosse players. I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the sports of lacrosse, both men’s and women’s, and field hockey have put the most high school players on college rosters. Locally connected athletes currently playing college-level lacrosse include: Luke D’Ambrogi (Catholic), Hank D’Ambrogi (Fairfield), Mikey Frederick (Mercer), Tucker Brown (St. Joe's), Finn Forcucci (McDaniel), Brody McMahon (St. Vincent’s), Ben Weathersby (Lebanon Valley), Jacob Snarsky (Lebanon Valley), Hunter Jones (Rollins), Grant Thomas (Washington College), Nick Arnold (Wingate), Dylan White (Goucher), Reece Stone (Mary Washington), Sam Winkler (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), Ella Rishko (Virginia Tech), Chloe Schaeffer (Mercer), Superia Clark (Syracuse), Chloe Jones (Syracuse), Molly Mendes (Rollins), Lindsay Monigle (West Chester), Peyton Hagy (West Chester), Kelly Bragg (Mt. St. Mary’s), Regan Torbert (Stevenson), Sawyer Walker (Xavier), Hailey Craig (Lynn), Anna Stancofski (Swarthmore), Karissa Worley (Delaware State), Riley McQuaide (Wilmington University), Kealey Allison (St. Leo), Molly Martiner (Rhodes), Jenna Davis (Millersville), Elizabeth Szell (Shenandoah), Kyleigh Dill (Eastern Michigan), Clare Fuchs (Wingate), Miranda Beebe (Franklin and Marshall), Amanda Dill (Widener) and Taylor Steed (Delaware State).

Celebration time gone wrong - I have become like an ancient Greek poet – a Homer. A career sportswriter, I have strived for objectivity, mostly sparing coaches competing against Cape from the delightful experience of having to talk to me in the wake of a loss. But now I spare myself from talking to them in their triumphant moments. State championship losses this school sports season by field hockey in overtime to Smyrna and wrestling in the finals to Salesianum, and going back to last spring, boys’ lacrosse to Salesiaum have proven to me that I have grown too close to the Cape teams I cover. But I’m from a place I have embraced that has hugged me back, not some free-floating, non-aligned objective observer waiting for each story to play itself out. I spoke with wrestlers Luke Bender and C.J. Fritchman after the state duals were over. Both athletes won by fall versus Caesar Rodney and Sallies. I have covered them since they were in middle school. “Sports bring these moments to your doorstep,” I told them. “You have to stare them down and embrace them. It's part of the process. If it were all good, it would be no fun.” And then I said to myself, “Fredman, please shut up.” 

Race cars and all-stars - I watched the Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star Game Sunday, although I took major timeouts to move about, fearing being scalloped on the sofa for 10 hours was detrimental to overall flexibility. NASCAR penalizes drivers for leaving pit road above the 55 mph limit, then once on the track, it becomes insane – just too many wrecks ruin the racing. It seems the drivers have forgotten how to be scared. And you know it’s coming, the driverless car at the Great American Race watched by fans rocking artificial intelligence fueled by beer in a 12-pack box.   

Snippets - Mikey Frederick, a freshman, had three goals and three assists in the Mercer Bears’ lacrosse win over Holy Cross 15-6. Chloe Schaeffer, a senior, had two goals and two assists as the Mercer women upset Virginia Tech 11-8. Tucker Brown had three goals and an assist as St. Joe’s beat Towson 16-13. Mikey, Chloe and Tucker all live locally in the 227. Ryleigh Elliott is a junior outfielder for the Randolph-Macon softball team. The Yellowjackets open their season Saturday, March 4, at Pfeiffer in Raleigh, N.C., at the Grand Slam Triangle Classic. Salisbury University baseball, the top-ranked team in NCAA Division III, opened the season last weekend by beating Widener and sweeping a doubleheader against 14th-ranked Cortland by a combined score of 38-6. Brock Hilligoss, a lefty out of Milford High, is a pitcher for Salisbury. Salisbury competes in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. They have more than 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports. Luke D’Ambrogi has a goal and two assists as Catholic University men’s lacrosse opened the season with a 15-13 win over Mary Washington. Congrats to Jawon Sivels, as his Milford Middle School boys’ basketball team beat Gunning Bedford 50-41 to capture the Capital Classic and finish the season 12-1. Jawon is one of the good guys. Go on now, git! 

 

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