NY High School Lacrosse Champions

[otis]

Congrats to West Genesee High School for earning their 3d straight New York State boys lacrosse Championship by defeating a spunky West Islip team 12 to 6.

Congrats also to Fayetteville- Manlius High School's girls lacrosse team for winning its first state championship by defeating a determined team from Brighton 13 to 7.

As a point of interest many observers believe that the Fayetteville- Manlius boys team may be the second best boys team in the NY State as witnessed by the fact that they are the only team to defeat the state champ West Genesee boys team (26- 1).

Coach Sowell recruited many Fayetteville- Manlius kids while he coached at Dartmouth. Lets hope he keeps his recruiting connection to West Genny & F- M while at St. John's.

[MCNPA]

Let's not forget that Long Island's West Islip lost to West Genesee, but Southside and Manhassett won the Class B and C championships. Manhassett currently ranked #1 in the country with 0 losses, and mostly juniors on the roster. Let's also hope that Sowell makes a few trips to Manhassett which is right around the corner, because some of those juniors will be All Americans. On a side note, Sowell lives in Garden City now and is friends with Garden city doach Dougherty. It can't hurt getting some kids from that program either.

[gman]

Let's not forget that Long Island's West Islip lost to West Genesee, but Southside and Manhassett won the Class B and C championships. Manhassett currently ranked #1 in the country with 0 losses, and mostly juniors on the roster. Let's also hope that Sowell makes a few trips to Manhassett which is right around the corner, because some of those juniors will be All Americans. On a side note, Sowell lives in Garden City now and is friends with Garden city doach Dougherty. It can't hurt getting some kids from that program either.

My alma mater(CSH) gave Manhasset a run for it's money in teh playoffs. Manhasset needed OT to beat Peyser and Co.

[ManHATTEN1]

Does anyone in the forum know where Ward Melville finished?

[MCNPA]

Yeah, CSH was a very strong team this season. Peyser is excellent. Let's also remember that Manhassett will return nearly all of their best players next season from this years State Championship run. Too bad we couldn't land Peyser to SJU, but I'm sure Sowell will get his share in the next few years.

[Pouchie29]

After attending several playoff games this year, I would have to say that the class B and C teams were far superior conferences. In long Island, Wantagh, Bethpage, South Side, Garden City, Division, Manhassett and manhandled the class A teams this year.


Looking at the top 10 class B programs records against class A teams, the results are as follows.

South Side 4-0
John-Jay 4-0
Yorktown 3-1
Corning East 12-0
Bethpage 6-0
Wantagh 7-1
Bethpage 6-0
Division 4-0
Comsewegue 2-0
Calhoun 7-2
Total 55 - 4

[gman]

Yeah, CSH was a very strong team this season. Peyser is excellent. Let's also remember that Manhassett will return nearly all of their best players next season from this years State Championship run. Too bad we couldn't land Peyser to SJU, but I'm sure Sowell will get his share in the next few years.

This Peyser is the 3rd i a row to attend Hopkins. CSH wasn't all that strong, but played Manhasset strong both times this year. Another SCH alum(Boloukus) just finished a great season for Cornell, getting named HM AA as a sophmore.

[Pouchie29]

Does anyone in the forum know where Ward Melville finished?

ward melville went 13-5 lossing to west islip 7-4 in the suffolk county semi finals

[johnsliva]

Congrats to West Genesee High School. I think West Islip may have had the first time Championship game jitters but hopefully they will be back again (and stocking SJU with more players). I would have to agree that Manhasset was the best team in the state this year and it would be nice to have interdivision playoffs. Class A may have an advantage just from the enrollment size of thier classes. The best top one or two players will always be the best no matter what the class but it is much easier to fill out a team with quality depth if you have 1000 kids to choose from insead of 200.

[MCNPA]

Actually, on any given year, I'd probably take the Top teams in Classes B and C over the Class A champs. B and C are simply much more competitive leagues despite enrollment year in and year out.

[troy]

it would appear that location is just as important as school size.

[johnsliva]

You may be right MCN, as I have only started following it this year. It would be nice to see them play just to decide it. My Gut is this is like football where the big schools have an over all advantage on totoal roster. The stars can come from anaywhere and carry a team, but when you get to that 3rd defenseman, or strong bench its easier to fill those spots when you have 200 guys trying out for the team instead 30.

Living in West Islip we have 2 middle school teams being fed by 2 6th grade and 2 7th grade teams. Thats about 40- 50 kids per year feeding the system.

[MCNPA]

Well I played football on Long Island at New Hyde Park High school. NHP is in Conference 3 which often included our arch rivals Bethpage, Lynbrook, Roosevelt and others. New Hyde Park had a good team every year and decades before, but after 1995 has had some rough times. That said, at NHP our average graduating class was about 250 or less. Ususally about 230. Every season, we'd scrimmage Massapequa who had class sizes of at least triple what NHP had. Every year we would simply destroy them in our scrimmages from top to bottom. In my senior season at NHP we went 11-0 and won the First Nassau-Suffolk LI championship. That same Massapequa team that we ripped apart that season in our scrimmages won the Conference 1 title that season. Bethpage won the Conference IV that year (Bethpage was dropped to IV that year due to enrollment).

My point is that despite school size, it is really the competitiveness of the league as well as tradition and location that dictate strength. West Genessee is a GREAT team who wins the states almost every year in Class A. That said, Class A is traditionally Long Island's weakest division by far from top to bottom with the Dalers and Melville being the 2 top dogs. West Genessee having owned that class. If I were West Genessee I'd hate to play the Manhassett's and Garden City's every year because I bet you that it would be a different story, despite school size.

[gman]

I'd put the Nassau C league with CSH, Lynbrook, GC, and Manhasset with any league in the country(short of the Private schools in MD). It always tough. No matter how good CSH was(esp. during the years with Jalbert) they still had to run into Manhasset and GC. If you are fortunate to get off the island, you still have to face Yorktown or one of the other tough upstate teams.

[MCNPA]

Another interesting statistic for those fans interested in the NY versus Maryland Lacrosse argument:

48 of the 96 players in the NCAA title game were from NY. 17 were from Maryland who had the second most.

[gman]

Another interesting statistic for those fans interested in the NY versus Maryland Lacrosse argument:

48 of the 96 players in the NCAA title game were from NY. 17 were from Maryland who had the second most..

MD has a lot of talent in a concetrated area. NY has LI and upstate, which equates to a ton of top lacrosse talent. Upstate NY is second to none in the talent it creates. MD's top talent is awesome, they just don't ahve the depth of NY.

[beckettc]

Another interesting statistic for those fans interested in the NY versus Maryland Lacrosse argument:

48 of the 96 players in the NCAA title game were from NY. 17 were from Maryland who had the second most..

MD has a lot of talent in a concetrated area. NY has LI and upstate, which equates to a ton of top lacrosse talent. Upstate NY is second to none in the talent it creates. MD's top talent is awesome, they just don't ahve the depth of NY.

gman, your point is absolutely correct. By comparing NY to Maryland, you are comparing a state with 4-5 times the population of Md. Almost all of Md's talent is from Baltimore; NY's is spread amongst at least 3 regions, each of which have population's exceeding the Balto area. Also, a better measure might be to look at all teams in the tournament or the All-American teams, down to Honorable Mention. Don't forget that you had Syracuse and Navy represented; numbers may have been quite different if you had, say Maryland, Hopkins, Virginia or Princeton.

[MCNPA]

On Maryland, Hopkins etc, there is a VERY high percentage of NY talent.

[gman]

On Maryland, Hopkins etc, there is a VERY high percentage of NY talent.

Hopkins recruits LI very hard. The have recruited 5 players from my HS in the last 5 years. They also have recruited Manhasset(Denihan's) and other LI's schools well. Any top team is going to have a large blend of NY and MD players.

[MCNPA]

Well I sure am glad that we have a nice blend of Long Island, upstate NY as well as Maryland and other states.