It’s the most prestigious honor for a high school lacrosse player — being selected by coaches as an All-American.
The Hudson Valley Region in New York had nine players earn honors, including a pair of two-time recipients: Johns Hopkins-bound midfielder John Ranagan of Yorktown and Syracuse-bound attackman/midfielder Joe Marasco of Somers.
Yorktown, which won its 28th Section 1 title in the last 30 years, also had three other players earn honors: Towson University-bound defenseman John Fennessy, Marist-bound defenseman Ethan Fox and Johns Hopkins-bound attackman Kevin Interlicchio. Interlicchio, a junior, was the only one of the nine who is not a senior.
Goaltender Luke Haggerty became Clarkstown South’s first all-American since Zach Widbin in 2004. Haggerty will attend Bridgton Prep in Maine.
Putnam Valley also had its first all-American in six years (when Steve Amman was named in 2004) as throwback midfielder Jimmy van de Veerdonk, who excels on offense, defense and faceoffs, was selected. He will attend Oneonta State.
Also selected were Mahopac attackman Tyler Perrelle, who will attend Binghamton University, and John Jay midfielder Will Stewart, who is headed to Williams College.
Class C state champion Manhasset accounted for three of the 10 Nassau honorees: Connor English, Manhasset, attack, sr., Virginia; John Duvnjak, Manhasset, defense, sr., Middlebury; and Brad Cappelini, Manhasset, defense, sr., Harvard.
Seven other schools accounted for the other selections from the county: Dominique Alexander, Baldwin, sr., midfield, Ohio State; Jeff Froccaro, Port Washington, sr., midfield, Princeton; Nick O'Reilly, South Side, attack, sr., Virginia; Rob Bellairs, Plainedge, sr., goalie, Hofstra; Thomas Keith, Syosset, sr., defense, Cornell Ben Strauss, Lynbrook, sr., defense, Towson; an Brian Fischer, Garden City, so., defense.
Three players from West Islip, which won its third Class A state title in the last four years, made up the All-Americans from Suffolk: Nicky Galasso, West Islip, jr., attack, North Carolina; Ian Braddish, West Islip, sr., midfield, North Carolina; and Michael McCormack, West Islip, sr., defense, Yale.
The five other players from the county honored were: Steven Murphy, Floyd, sr., midfield, Notre Dame; Nick Longo, Shoreham-Wading River, sr., goalie, Towson; Zach Losco, Hauppauge, jr., midfield; Joey Lustgarten, Shoreham-Wading River, sr., attack, UMBC; Cody Ferraro, Ward Melville, sr., attack, Army; and Dave DiMaria, Half Hollow Hills West, sr., attack, Lehigh.
In Connecticut, Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference champion Ridgefield and four-time Class M Connecticut state champion Darien each had three players named to the all-America team.
Senior attackmen Matt White (Virginia) and Colin Scott (Denver) and senior midfielder Brendan Walsh (Fairfield) represented Ridgefield.
Selected from Darien were seniors John Bolton (midfield, Lafayette), Matt Gorski (defense, Ohio State) and Tyler Foley (attack, Loyola).
Four-time Class L state champ Fairfield Prep had two seniors named all-American: attackman Chase Bailey (Bucknell) and defenseman Harley Brown (Deerfield).
Class M state finalist Wilton also had two honorees: seniors Peter McMahon (attack, Bryant) and Joe LaSala (defense, Washington & Lee).
Other Connecticut honorees were: Andrew Fiamengo (New Fairfield, sr., attack, Tufts); Ryan Hollenbaugh (Glastonbury, sr., defense, Massachusetts); Kyle Feeney (Greenwich, sr., goaltender, Bucknell); Kyle McNamara (Newtown, sr., defense, Delaware); and Todd Heritage (Cheshire, jr., attack).
Under Armour All-America Classic
Forty four of the nation’s top seniors will be playing on June 27 in the fourth annual Under Armour all-America Lacrosse Classic at Towson University in Maryland.
Yorktown’s John Ranagan (midfield) and John Fennessy (defense) and Somers’ Joe Marasco (attack/midfield) from Section 1 will be joined on the North team by Connor English (Manhasset), Jeff Frocarro (Port Washington), Ian Braddish (West Islip), Steven Murphy (Floyd), Nick O'Reilly (South Side) and Matt White (Ridgefield).
Joe Lombardi, who has been a fixture on the lacrosse scene during the sport’s rapid growth in the New York metropolitan area, produces editorial and video content for LaxLessons.com. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.
